I’ve hit a major milestone this week. While I am turning another year older, that’s not the exciting news. My car reached the 100,000 mile mark during my commute to work this morning.

When I was growing up, I thought 100,000 miles was the end of the line for a car. But now I think my 2004 Toyota Corolla is only middle aged. And with gasoline prices at more than $4.05/gallon, I’m okay with that.

During my 4 1/2 years of ownership, I’ve essentially had no problems. (My parked car was hit a few times by random people -- resulting in a few dings, but no major dents.)

I bought the car because my previous one had conked out at 86,000 miles. I needed a reliable car because I drive a lot. These days, my round trip commute is just over 50 miles a day. That’s nothing -- 4 years ago I drove 125 miles a day to get to and from work.

The Corolla caught my eye for three reasons. I needed something affordable that was also fuel-efficient. I am also a 3rd generation Toyota owner. My grandfather had a Celica in the 70’s; my father had a Supra and now drives a Prius. When I was about 5 years old, my mother drove a Corolla. The white hatchback was reliable; in fact, the engine outlasted the body of the car. We had to get rid of it because the floor boards eventually rotted out. Riding in the backseat was reminiscent of being in Barney Rubble’s car.

There are a few drawbacks. Because I was trying to be economical (code word: cheap) at the dealership, I opted out of adding cruise control and a sunroof. That was a big mistake on both fronts.

That said, I’m really hoping that 100K is the new 50K. Every time I pull up to a gas station, I’m so happy that my car gets about 35 miles/gallon. It still runs well and purrs like a kitten every morning and I hope it continues to do so for some time.