New Car
I need one. I want one. Sort of.
Eight years, One hundred and six thousand miles, kid dirt, pet dirt, dirt-dirt encrusted, and garage paint shavings on the right front fender. Expired inspection sticker, needs new brakes, probably new tires, and the hybrid battery is at lifespan. I want a new car. Until I start looking for one.
Since it’s the first time in a while that I’ve had the privilege of hunting for a new toy, I started out a bit excited. I want an SUV, since I haul kids and pets and luggage around. I also want it to be a hybrid, since I sit in traffic every afternoon, and feel better about the fact that I’m not idling on gas. I would have just snapped up the new model of my current car, but for the fact that the manufacturer redesigned the car so that it looks like it’s wearing Egyptian eyeliner and has a grill like bucked teeth. It was not a sexy car to begin with, but it was serviceable. The updated model makes me grimace when I look at it.
I had actually started out the search for a car last year, and waited in the hope that said manufacturer would see how uncool this latest redesign was and change it. Nope. So, I turned to other car brands, and found some nice plug-in hybrids were available. Well, in theory. Seems that none of the dealerships here in Austin have those nice plug-ins available on their lots, and as I have yet to receive a call back that they’ve located one, I’m thinking that maybe 5 were made for sale in all of the U.S. I mean, it’s an expensive car, the salesman knows there’s money to be made if he finds one.
I’m getting more desperate, though, every time I drive Betsy and the ride feels lumpy because of whatever tire issue is going on, and I’m fighting the driver side sun visor to stay up – seems I have worn that thing out. Three hundred dollars to replace it, money not worth pouring into the car. I’m leaning toward just choosing the buck-toothed car to be done with it all.
