Picking a new ride...

Well, I am in the market, as it were. On Sunday, I took a bit of time and went to this huge strip of car dealerships near where I live. The last time I went shopping for a car for myself, I did all this research, only to find that my top two choices were too small for me to fit into. So this time I figured, 'I'll just go sit in a few cars and see which I like first.' After all, if you are going to spend some time in the thing, you should like the environment, right?

I am apparently all about the small SUV class of vehicles. Being a pickup owner for so long, I have grown VERY fond of being up high and seeing the traffic patterns and the road ahead. But a pickup won't work with two boys getting so big, and a dog, and if I want to have anyone else tag along, I have the lovely awkward situation of asking if we can take their car. Does not make me feel like a grown-up. In addition, I need something that will hold luggage for four (overnight bags, probably) and have a luggage rack. This is for those travel games of hockey, where one does not want the Reeking Bag of Sweaty Wet Hockey Gear in the vehicle stinking up the ride home.

So, I put my butt in several cars of this class: Nissan's XTerra, the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, the Toyota Highlander (THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!), the Saturn Vue, and the Mazda Tribute. It was amusing watching the poor salesfolk flounder for something to say when I told them I was not interested in anything but trying one on for size. "Don't you want to at least test drive it?" Nope. Just want to see what it's like. Give me your card and I'll call you later to drive it if I like the way it fits. Of the above list, I narrowed it down to the Escape, Vue and Highlander. We'll see who has the best ride in the next day or so.