Hi, everyone!

Just thought I'd introduce myself here. I don't have any pictures of my Sport-Red '05 Aveo5 LT Sport package yet, because it's in the shop and I didn't have a camera when I first started got it and didn't ever get around to taking photos of it because I wasn't finished decorating it. I'd like to take some once I do get it back, though.

I started off with a White '04 Aveo5 without a spoiler back when I was about 2 years into college and had a horrible wreck that totaled the Buick I owned before that. I'd originally wanted a station wagon because of the ability to roomy interior and being able to transport lots of stuff at once - and I'd planned on using the back to make a napping bunk for those long breaks between classes, but that's a different story. They were out of my price range, and the dealer decided to show me this new little car Chevy had come out with. It looked sort of silly at first, but at the same time kind of cute, too. It was brand new, but the price was still super affordable, and so I test drove it. And I loved how much pep it had! I was sold! I loved it and used it as my home-away-from-home (as I'm sure most College Students do) for a full year until one day, I found myself at an intersection where there had been a rough wreck. I was stopped at the red light, and a 1-week old Chrysler sports car stopped behind me. The SUV behind him, however, didn't. And so "The Egg" was totaled when the SUV crashed into the Chrysler and the Chrysler into me. Needless to say, I had extremely terrible luck with cars when I was younger, especially since I'd already had a fender bender in it months earlier that required the bumper be replaced.

I was extremely sad to see it go. I loved that little car! It was my baby! So I decided I would replace it with another!

I started my search, looking mostly at blue Aveos, since I have an uncontrollable attraction to the color. The problem was that the only Aveo that came in that super-beautiful pearl blue I found myself so enthralled by was a four-door. There was a dark blue Aveo5, but it just didn't call to me. So I finally decided to choose the 4-door, and we drove back up to the dealer the next day to buy it.

When we got there, we found sitting on the lot, waiting for us from the shipment they had received only an hour before, a sport-red Aveo5. For some reason, the little thing grabbed my attention and smacked me around mentally, pulling me away from the little pearl-blue number that had entranced me so much before, and I knew I had to have that one instead, even though it was the higher-end model and thus 5000 more then the first one had been! I test drove it and tried the entire time to keep from squealing in glee at it. The Egg hadn't had any automatic door locks or cruise control or power windows, so I was pretty happy to see those were on this model. I drove 2 hours a day for school and work, and cruise was a wonderful thing to me. The electronic options also made me fall even harder for the little thing when we got out after the test drive, the dealer turned and pressed the automatic lock button on the key fob, and I heard it give the most adorable, high-pitched, happy-sounding chirp I'd ever heard come from an automobile. Not even the dealer knew they did that, and we both laughed so hard! It was like the little thing was happy it had found an owner so soon! I decided right then that he was named "Chipmunk," because it reminded me of the chatter the little guys made when we saw them every year on our camping trips. (Yeah, sorry if it sounds weird, but I tend to think of my car as having a personality. I forgot how creepy it could be until just now...)

I got him about the time Transformers came out and rekindled my childhood obsession, and so he ended up being my outward expression of my nerdiness towards the series. Over the years, I ordered decals to put on his hood and elsewhere. I have a large, black vinyl Autobot logo on his hood, a couple of small aluminum Autobot badges on him, right where a hood ornament should be and on the rear directly underneath the "Aveo" badge as if it were part of the same emblem, and a small, silver vinyl decal on the gearshift. I also plan on getting a pair of red and black Autobot-logo'd seat covers for the front, and have been looking for a logo'd steering wheel cover. Unfortunately, I've only found a Decepticon version for the steering wheel, so I might have to skip on that. :/ I also would like to get a set of the wheel badges, though I'm still debating whether or not it would be best to leave the Chevy-emblem visible or make the change. It may be overkill at that point, and go from "turning him into a 'Robot in Disguise'" to being obnoxiously overboard.

I've had a few problems with it over the years. Not long after I bought it, the driver's side door handle on the inside came "unglued," I suppose you could say, and rattles in the setting. It's not that big of a deal, so I just ignore it instead of making a fuss at the dealership. The locking-pin on my gas cap door cover sheered off and wouldn't keep it closed some time after that, and I didn't ever get around to fixing it until now. I also had the ignition switch die last year. Since I work for GM in cust support, I know that that's a common issue with some of their vehicles, so I just shrugged and got it repaired, since it was out of warranty and wouldn't be covered anyway. Now, at around 67000 miles, I've had a vacuum hose (or something of the sort) go out, and the radio has fried itself and won't turn on, according to the mechanic I've taken it to.

Still, even with the issues, I love my Chipmunk, and I can't wait to get it back from the shop! I never really expected to be that much of a fangirl for a car I owned, but I adore it! Up until today, I didn't even know there were other people out there who were as crazy about their mechanical pets as I am! I came here looking for solutions to what types of radios I could get to replace the one that died, and found this forum. I always cracked jokes about how adorable it would be to see someone trick out an Aveo - especially the 5-door versions - and when I saw that there was an entire forum here devoted to just those sorts of things, I was so tickled! I didn't even know it was possible to do that!

So I came here looking for help on my radio issue, and I think I'll be staying here just to spend time with more crazy Aveo fans like me! Just seeing the modifications people have made to theirs makes me want to get into mechanics just so I can learn how to do it myself! I'd love giving the Chipmunk even more pep then he already has!

Hope I'm not too dorky for you here, and that my newbiness doesn't get to be too much. :P Hopefully I'll be able to take my car for a "bath" once I get him back, and then take pictures to "show him off." I know everyone here has one of their own and mine will probably look pretty silly compared to the extreme mods some have done, but I still love bragging on it!

TL;DR - I love my Aveos and am happy to find other people like me! I didn't even know places like this forum existed!