CAR SURVIVOR, DAY SEVEN: SWEET SWEET VICTORY
07/19/04 - It's finally over. After nearly seven straight days of sitting in a strawberry red 1995 Geo Metro, the Lathem Auto Car Survivor promotion has come to a close.
We have our winner. And a rather pungent car.
Meet Carlos Santiago, the proud new owner of the car he's spent the last week of his life living in.
Carlos outlasted four other contestants to win the vehicle, and this promotion has had its fair share of interesting moments along the way.
Take the uncomfortable plight of the first victim, Shannon Watson, leaving after only three hours in the car.
Or the mind games of the second victim, James Peters, leaving because he only asked off of work for one day, hoping everyone else would quit before he did.
What about the circumstances surrounding the third victim, Will Campbell? He left the car to accept a free cremation he won at our cremation giveaway night, a nearly inexplicable twist of fate.
A promotional collision of epic proportions.
As for Darlene Williams, the last remaining roadblock in Carlos' way, she exited at 4:27 p.m. today, just after the 165 hour mark of the contest. She left the car in good spirits, saying that she'd had enough fun. When asked why she decided to leave, her boyfriend answered with a smile, 'because she missed me too much.'
When I saw him walking down the concourse just after finally leaving the car, I asked Carlos about the last few minutes, and he told me that he was about to leave.
'I was about to get out,' he said. 'I had to go to the bathroom.'
Pretty bad, huh?
'If I was going to explode, I was going to explode right there in my seat.'
Carlos got out of the elevator on the fourth floor here at Space Coast Stadium, a week's growth of facial hair and odor clinging to him the way a child holds onto its parent when it's scared. We all congratulated him and handed him the phone so that he could call his parents.
'Hey dad, come pick me up,' he said. 'I got out.'
Then an awkwardly silent pause.
'As a winner.'
The other end of the phone erupted in congratulatory celebration, with a week's worth of anticipation and worry now just a vision in the rearview mirror of Carlos' new car.
Carlos was sitting in one of the offices after talking to his parents, and Andy Dunn comes over to thank him for participating and to congratulate him on his new vehicle.
'Have fun cleaning that rice out,' he said, referring to Carlos' rice party yesterday.
Carlos smiled.
'I always keep my cars clean,' he replied.
Let's hope he keeps it up. From all of us here at the Brevard County Manatees, we congratulate Carlos Santiago on winning the car.
-John Van Vleet
