Freedom’s student parking lot has over one hundred available spaces, and some of them are taken up by unique and special vehicles. As seniors and even some juniors reach the age of qualifying for a driver’s license and they receive their own cars, it’s nice to appreciate the modifications and other additions that their owners put into their vehicles.

One student, senior Maritza Meza, owns a 2004 Dodge Ram Rumble Bee Edition. Her bright yellow truck resembles a bumble bee on the outside, especially if you open the two doors, hood, and bed cover. Under the hood, her truck has a 5.7 L V8 HEMI engine, and can produce 348 horsepower. The average car is only capable of about 200 horsepower.

Maritza got her truck from her father, and she shared that “this truck is yellow and can be easily spotted and heard, so I believe that my dad gave me this truck so it would be hard to sneak out and he can easily spot me.”

The Rumble Bee Edition truck was inspired by an older line of Dodge vehicles from the Super Bee muscle cars of the late 1960’s, so her truck is definitely worth buzzing about.

Another senior Trevor Carmignani has his own truck, too. He drives a 2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 single cab. Trevor’s truck was meant to be a surprise, but he shared, “I was up late the night before I got it, and was looking for something, and accidentally found the keys to the truck in a drawer. I looked at them but didn’t say anything about them and ruined the whole surprise for both myself and the others that were there.”

Now that he does have the keys, Trevor has put on new wheels and a lowering kit. He’s also installed a new sound system and exhaust to his Chevy. These modifications distinguish Trevor’s truck from the rest, making it more notable.

Straying away from the truck trend, senior Kira Adams drives a silver Jeep Liberty. Her car may not have fancy modifications under the hood, but she has something cooler on the inside- Kira has LEGO figurines displayed on her dashboard.

“They are all marvel ones but my favorite one is Bucky (the winter soldier)”, Kira shared. “He was the very first one I put in when I first got the car so he’s special.” She also has LEGO Captain America, Iron Man, and Loki.

Her jeep has plenty of other distinguishable traits as well. Her fender is cracked, and still has some left over tape residue from a home repair. However, the superhero LEGOs must have given her jeep some special powers when Kira was in the Freedom parking lot.

“Like I said, my car is unique. Once, I went over a speed bump in the school parking lot and my key fell out of the ignition, it still drove though. It was funny because I was driving my friend for the first time and we were both very concerned.” Now, her jeep is able to be casually driven, even without the key in the ignition.

Kira definitely owns a special vehicle, along with Trevor and Maritza and all the cars in the student parking lot. If you drive to school, make sure to be cautious and keep a lookout for wandering kids so you don’t hit them. Be courteous to other drivers, and be courteous to your vehicles by letting the engine warm up for a few minutes before you drive away from school. It’s almost like giving yourself a few extra minutes to lay in bed in the mornings.

If you see someone else with a special car in our school parking lot, give them a little compliment. It might make their day!