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Thursday, February 07, 2008

Last year, it was a Gypsy bicycle; this year, maybe a Scion?

It has been many years since my household has had a new car - definitely not within my 20 year-old son's memory. So we have been sneaking up on the subject of purchasing a new car (never mentioning the search in front of the other cars, of course, as it may encourage them to lose a water pump or worse). Part of the trouble we have had is trying to fit a 6 ft 3in dad and a 6 ft 3in son in the same car, only with one each in the front seat and back seat (I refuse to give up either of my front seats-there, I said it!). For many years now, the car manufacturers seemed to think everyone was shorter than 5ft 7in, and kept sloping those windshields down and lowering the roofline. When we got exasperated a few years ago (tried out the new PT Cruisers, but no leg room for driver or back seat), we asked the salesman what pro basketball players were driving. He (as tired of us not fitting into his wares as we were) snapped back, "They either have chauffeurs, or drive minivans!" Well, we have never had a minivan, and aren't going to start now, thanks to the new 2008 Scion xB. 4 inches of headroom over number one dad's head; plenty of leg and head room for number one son in the back seat BEHIND number one dad. And the pluses for me: a car under 20k that is CHEAP to insure for full coverage, a manual transmission, a built in iPod connection, and (ta da!) a moonroof. After a solid year of covering up the face, I need to have some air and light come in, while wearing my Coolibar hats, you betcha. I want freedom, not skin cancer.
I am so totally spoiled. We haven't signed on the dotted line yet, but I think it will all go through. If it does, this is what will be in the garage next to the Gypsy: http://www.scion.com/rsxb/. Who ever knew that I could get a car with Mizzou colors while living in Nebraska???

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yea, you for getting a new car! Pretty funny about the MU colors, but gold's not so bad. Next time I'm in Omaha, you'll have to take me for a spin.

Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! I am enjoying a new Toyota myself....but after 35+ years of manual.....Atlanta traffic calls for automatic transmission (and airbags of course!). Still, I find my self shifting aimlessly at stop signs...

 
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