Flunking Clunker...

It's been a busy month as expected...Work has been absolutely nuts...and what is on the agenda for the week on Mondays...turns out to be something totally different come Friday...We're not talking minor changes...wer're talking major ones...huge ones...groundbreaking ones...ones that involve hundreds of thousands of dollars...It has not mattered what day of the week it is anymore...there's no such thing as "the end of the week." It's been one day at a time yet, one long never ending day...

All I needed to remember...was to drive to the airport on the 20th of the month and not miss my flight to Mansfield MA by way of Providence, RI for visits with friends and back to back Bruce shows...That day couldn't have come soon enough...I was counting down the minutes of my never ending day...

Now, in the midst of all of the craziness...time and money was ticking away for the national Cash for Clunkers program...what better distraction than thoughts of a new sparkling car with new car smells during all of the whirlwind of what my life had become swept up in...

Now, I am by nature...practical...I can't necessarily say my decisions are always right...but for the most part...if I am to give thought to a decision, the deciding factor is based in practicality, common sense, and functionality....and well, maybe a twist of rationalization...

Sometimes it sucks...Sometimes I'd like to just freakin' go nuts and splurge selfishly on something that I'm intrigued with, even if it doesn't quite fit the mold of need versus want... even if it's ridiculously expensive...

Even my travels to see Bruce...have elements of self restraint...I've traded in that annual vacation to the beach or cruise or what have you...on sporadic trips between the east and midwest...wherever Southwest or AirTran can get me for a reasonable price...My expenses once there are fairly minimal...good company, a bottle of Patron to share and some food on the run is all I really need...

So I was excited like a kid getting ready for Christmas...the opportunity to trade in my 1989 Toyota Camry for $3500 seemed stupid to pass up...Hell, even the Kelly Blue Book value didn't exceed $800...so..........$3500??? Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out...The Camry had served me well...and prior to that, it served my father well...It's one of those cars that turns out to be a gem...and even now, who would have ever thought...a 20 year old car is the 3rd top car still being stolen nationwide...So, even though I figured I'd keep the car until it's last sputtering breath...I decided I was ready to part with it...Those 270,000 miles clocked in had many stories to tell...

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech...thud* Not so fast...

My first stop was the local Toyota dealership...I was looking to see if they had a Camry Solara convertible however they are tough to find being as they are a discontinued model...Well, the salesfella asks about a trade-in and of course I smugly tell him I have an '89 Camry with 270,000 miles on it... So a few clicks here and there with the mouse....and what?!?!?!? It doesn't meet the list's criteria???? What do you mean the gas mileage is too good???? Seriously...you can't really believe the gas mileage is the same 20 years later.............Crap. So here I am at the dealership...I couldn't very well just turn around and walk out...so I ended up test driving the 2010 Camry and Corolla Matrix...neither of which did much for me...Now, I've not bought a new car since1995 but damn what's the deal with trying to find a manual transmission????? Sheesh. So apparently the Camry doesn't come with a stick shift...but it does have some sort of automatic shifting gears...I'm not quite sure what the purpose is...but an automatic is nowhere as much fun to drive...The Matrix was a cute car...an automatic but didn't grip the gears as smoothly as I would have liked...It was a great car to send your kid off to college with...

Well, being as I'm a die hard Toyota driver...I wasn't concerned about reliability...that's universally solid...but comfort has bumped up higher on my priority list...As much driving in the Jersey, PA, VA area...I needed something that was going to be comfortable so as not to be all seized up by the time I reached my destinatioon...I like to think the quality of what they are passing off as comfort has deteriorated over the years...and not just my body...okay...maybe a little of my body...Nonetheless...I've reached that pinnacle of adulthood where I've decided I should splurge on my own comfort every once in a while...My Camry is the ultimate in comfort...big lounging velour seats that go up and down...adjustable lumbar support...great visibility that doesn't interfere with lounging in the seat...My '93 Corolla however.........sucks in tems of comfort...sucks. I'm in the car not even 2 hours and I swear rigormortis starts to set in...A 4.5 hour drive straight through to New Jersey is a killer...

Well, I am disappointed but had some other dealerships to check out...figured I'd look at a Honda and a Suburu to begin with...Instead...the salesfella tells me I should take a look at the Scion tC...that is has much of what I've said I wanted...something sporty...fun to drive, comfortable...So I look at the one they have in the showroom...the salesfella tells me why the Scion exists and what "pure pricing" means then hands me off to the Scionfella...Well, next thing I know...I'm in the car taking it for a test drive by myself...the salesfella tells me to take it on a cruise with the instructions of taking the exit curve with some acceleration...and I do...and it's nice.................in fact, I really liked the car...tons of standards...sunroof, cruise control, 7 airbags, 7 speakers...stick shift, sporty....all sitting on a Camry chassis with a Camry engine...but 10k less............Hell, thank goodness I wasn't in the mood for an impulse buy...I could've done it easily...but I didn't...

I did check out the Suburu and VW dealerships and for the money...was unimpressed...

So a few weeks have passed, allowing me to do some research and weigh my financial options...

It a great deal for 17k...I'm just not sure if it's someting I want to still be driving 10 years forward...I was thinking 10 years from now, I'd be in the position of driving something in a whole different class.........................the BMW roadster class.........................

And here we are again...luxury versus functionality.................

Today.....................I stumbled upon a 2000 BMW Z3 with 42,000 miles on it...same price as the brand spankin' new Scion...

Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...