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DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Ashlee At The Hollywood Bowl

"My mom is a huge Michael Jackson fan. She wanted to attempt to break into the Neverland Ranch. No joke!"

THE RIDE
The Driver: Ashlee
Car in Question: 1997 Honda CRV
Spotted at: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Odometer: 204,578
Car's Nickname: Bertha

THE DEFENSE

Q: What's your car's nickname?

A: Bertha. We named her Bertha a while ago when I was a teenager just because she was so big. I think my friends thought it was funny. Yeah, my parents bought it for me for my 16th birthday, but I'm not a spoiled kid. They got me a used car. It was a '97 guys, let's get real.

Q: I see the hood is a little bent. What happened there?

A: It happened up the street on Cahuenga. I say someone stopped too fast because I swear I wasn't texting. My car just didn't stop in time. I slammed into the back of another car just like mine—the same model, kind of. Nothing was wrong with theirs because my hood just hit their tire on the back of it, but my car got crunched in. This looks a lot better now. It used to look a lot worse, but I think the carwash fixed it for me.

Q: The people at the carwash fixed it without you asking?!

A: Without me asking. I remember them calling somebody over. I was like, "Oh God, they're making fun of my car." But then when I got back to it and got in my car, I noticed that the hood was down. So thank God I tip well, because they did a good job.

Q: Well, where's that carwash? I want to go there.

A: In Orange County.

Q: Oh! Not going there.

A: Hey, it's worth it. Like $18 bucks for them to fix my hood?

Q: Good point. Can you tell me about a favorite trip you took in Bertha?

A: I used to take Bertha to Berkeley a lot, twice a year. A bunch of my friends used to go to college there. I loved that because there was no traffic. It was a nice ride up there. But get this, one time on my way home, we got in my car and someone came up to my car and said, "Um, do you know that your back window is broken?" I didn't. I turned around and saw that this window right here was completely smashed in by someone trying to steal things in my car. And they stole—this isn't a joke—they left my navigation system, my brand new CD player, and my iPod which was sitting on my seat. They took a bag that had some old shoes and a new bra. That was it.

Q: I guess someone really needed a new bra.

A: They really liked my new bra. Really, I liked that bra! I'm pretty bitter about it, but hey, at least they didn't take all the other stuff. I had to have cardboard on my window for almost six months.

Q: That's nuts. What's the craziest car adventure you've ever been on?

A: Michael Jackson's house. It was in my mom's car. My mom is a huge Michael Jackson fan. We were on our way up to San Francisco. She wanted to stop at the Neverland Ranch before we got there.

Q: How old were you? What happened?

A: Fifteen probably. She took me and my two girlfriends and my younger sister, and we drove by. You couldn't really see much because of the gate, so we kept driving. On our way home from San Francisco, my mom said she needed to go back, had to go back again. This time, she wanted to attempt to break into the Neverland Ranch. No joke, she said the words, "Break into the Neverland Ranch." So we drove around and parked next to the side of this huge gate. The estate was huge. Then there was just this huge opening. We thought that if we ran up this huge opening, we might be able to see the lights of this Neverland Ranch.

Q: What time of the day was this?

A: This was around midnight, so there was no one around. We were running up this big dirt hill, basically. Then all of a sudden, we saw a security guard with a flashlight and a car. We had to run and book it. My mom gets in the car screaming, "Let's go! Let's go!" We get chased around Michael Jackson's estate by a security guard. We hid somewhere until he went away.

Q: That's insane!

A: That was a little crazy, but it was fun!

Photos and interview by Michael Shen, blogger of lacantdrive.com

Are you ready to Defend Your Ride? If so, email localautos@cbs.com with "Defend Your Ride L.A." in the subject line for submission details.

View previous Defend Your Ride features and other great stories for people who love cars at CBSLA.com/Autos.

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