If indeed the car gods decide to have their fun at my expense and my transmission blows, or the engine tanks, or the driver's side door falls off, of course I would be screwed, because I rely on my car for so many things these days. Still, I couldn't complain given the steadfast reliability of the previous 156,000 miles that have been the journey of the last decade of my life.

This summer marked the 10th anniversary the purchase of my silver 1999 Saturn SL1 compact directly off the lot. I was 22 years old, just starting my first job as a professional reporter, and in dire need of an affordable means of transportation that had the dependability and fuel economy to fit my meager budget.

Having been born in the Motor City, and given the fact that my grandfather had spent nearly 25 years as a foreman for General Motors, an import was out of the question, nor was I very interested in the idea; American girls drive American cars, for better or worse.

Thankfully for me, it turned out for the better: for a little over $10,000 I was able to finance my new car, complete with air conditioning, cruise control, and a CD player — which was just about everything a young person in my position could want. Furthermore, it ran at 38 mpg highway, which I wouldn't come to fully appreciate until much later on down the road, when gas prices tipped over to nearly four bucks a gallon.

Many things would change in my life over the ensuing decade — marriage, divorce, returning to school, road trips, moving from here to there, and back again — but my car has always been a steadfast fixture. When my grandmother died of cancer a few years back and I couldn't afford to fly, my car shuttled me safely from Worcester, Mass. — where I was living at the time — to Vero Beach, Fla., and back again for her funeral with no trouble. For anyone who values the freedom of being able to just get up and go, an automobile isn't just an automobile. For me it has been my office, my closet, my refuge of solace, and my ticket to adventure. Without it, I wouldn't be able to continue my education — as I'm doing presently. It may not be as sexy a Camaro, you can't slap huge 4x4 tires on it and take it off-roading, and it isn't as sophisticated as, say, a Lexus, but I don't care.

Let me put it plainly: I still am completely in love with my car.

I love it because it is loyal to me, and I love things that are loyal to me: that's why I have two black Labradors sitting at my feet as I write. I have to confess that it is a love that has not always been deserved. I take no credit whatsoever for the fact that my car has lasted as long as it has; rather I attribute it solely to the Saturn's commitment to making a quality automobile.

I'm not one of those people who take meticulous care of their vehicles, as friends and family will attest. When companies test things for quality control, they have people like myself in mind because I'm hard on everything I own, from my scuffed up shoes to my near-bald tires. Make no mistake — anything I've managed to own and not destroy in a 10-year period is a well-made thing. I don't get oil changes on time, I don't change my air filter like I should, and I don't give it service checks. I mostly put gas in it and go.

I even broke the passenger side mirror off once due to a very unfortunate parking incident involving a fence, and presently it has a huge crack in the windshield from an ex-boyfriend who decided to get mad and punch it over a year ago. I know I'm supposed to get it fixed, but I'm not going to do that until I'm ready to quit being reminded of what a jerk that guy was. And my car seems OK with that, for now at least. My car seems to understand female angst.

That's one of the reasons I chose Saturn in the first place. I had never purchased a new car and I had no idea what I was doing. I brought my mother along for moral support, but she didn't really know what she was doing either. We just knew what my needs were, and we new we needed them met at a decent price. I had heard through word of mouth that Saturn was a no-pressure operation. I remember being nervous that a predatory sales person would target me like some wolf in a hen house, and that I would be suckered into selecting something way outside the parameters of what I was looking for.

We never had that experience at Saturn of Okemos. The guy who sold me my ticket to freedom was very knowledgeable and relaxed. He respectfully and thoroughly answered our questions. I really felt that when I drove it off the lot that warm summer day, I had chosen something affordable that I actually wanted to buy. I still have that feeling all these years later.

Curious about what was going to happen to the dealership now that Saturn seems to be the next in line as a casualty in the war to preserve the American automobile manufacturer, I contacted Sherrill Freeborough, who owns Saturn of Okemos. She anticipates that, even though there are currently no more Saturns being manufactured due to Penske's backing out of the deal, her dealership will remain open for at least another year selling used cars and performing maintenance in their service shop. She said consumer law requires car companies to provide parts for discontinued cars for up to 10 years in order to fulfill the terms of any warranty. Still, she says, the whole thing was a major shock.

“We were waiting to celebrate being a new company on Wednesday, and even GM didn't see it coming. Everybody was taken by surprise,” Freeborough said. “Everybody was anticipating this great change.”

I can't say enough how sad I am that Saturn won't be around to see someone have its back the way the car they made for me has had my back all these years. I'm also pretty darn disappointed that I won't have another chance to buy a Saturn, as I planned to do, if and when my car ever decides to go kaput. Given my current shortage of funds, I may end up just having to drive it until the wheels fall off.

Since they are no longer making them, maybe I'll take it down to Detroit next summer and drive it as part of the Woodward Dream Cruise, fractured window and all. In my mind, anyways, Saturn will always be a classic.