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DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Gina At Prospect Park With Shakespeare The Husky

"Shakes loves the sunroof!"

The Ride
The Driver: Gina
Car in Question: 2007 Sunburst Orange Dodge Caliber
Spotted at: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
Odometer: 23,832
Car's Nickname: Cheetara

THE DEFENSE

Q: Hi Gina! Welcome to Defend Your Ride New York. Tell us where we are and what you're up to on this beautiful spring day?

A: Hey! We are at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and I am here with Shakespeare. We are going to take a walk to the dog beach and mingle with his canine friends. This park is great and it's dog friendly.

Q: Does Shakespeare like to ride in your car? What kind of car is it?

A: Shakespeare loves to ride in most cars, but he especially loves mine because of the sunroof. I have a 2007 Dodge Caliber in Sunburst Orange. I love the color almost as much as Shakes loves the sunroof.

Q: Are there any features you love too?

A: I really love that the car is a hatchback. The seats go down in the back, so it made it very convenient when I moved to Brooklyn, also when I take the car on road trips. Not many of my friends in New York have a car. When we leave the city for the weekend, I usually drive. The car is very roomy and it will fit all of our bags and snacks.

Q: Your car has a unique design. Is that what you liked about it when you purchased it? Is there anything else unique besides the design?

A: My previous car was small and I wanted something bigger. This car is technically not a Crossover, but I like that it seems bigger than a regular car. I can adjust the seat height, so I seem taller in my car. I also like that it has a lot of room in the dash area because in many newer cars, I feel claustrophobic. When my dad first saw my dashboard, he said that it looked like a kitchen table!

Q: Where have you taken your car? Does Shakespeare do well on long trips?

A: I have gone to Vermont, Hunter Mountain, camping trips and the Finger Lakes region of New York State. My family lives in Long Island, so I go there often. I also take my car on big shopping trips like Fairway or IKEA. Shakespeare does great on long trips as long as he gets to stick his head out the window once in a while.

Q: Does your car have a nickname?

A: Yes! I call my car Cheetara, from the Thundercats. When I first brought my car home, my mother told me that my car looked like a big cat and I decided thereupon Cheetara.

Q: Has your car ever surprised you for any reason? Perhaps its performance?

A: When I went up to Hunter Mountain, we had unexpected snow and icy conditions. I was white-knuckle driving. I had four other passengers in the car. We were all a little nervous driving the winding roads to the mountain, but the car handled great. She made it up this steep hill with no problem. My car handled better than expected. I made it up that hill in one shot, which was not the case of the some of the guys we were with who were driving big SUVs.

Q: Sounds like Cheetara did a great job, but with some of your guy friends having trouble in their SUVs, you must have earned bragging rights as a driver.

A: Only for the night, unfortunately. It was a good feeling.

Photos and interview by Steven Markovits

View previous Defend Your Ride features as well as other great stories for people who love cars at CBSNewYork.com/Autos

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