Car Shopping

It seems that a bout of car shopping is in my future. This thrills me about as much as hearing my dentist mentioning a root canal. My vehicle is at the point where expensive repairs are going to be frequent and inevitable. I've had this vehicle for almost seven years. It's been said that one should never love something that doesn't love you back, but when you've been through so much together, it's hard not to get attached.



Typical winter morning in Traverse City Michigan. Days like this were fun with four-wheel drive. In an entire winter living there, I only got stuck once, when I drove off the road in a blinding snowstorm and into a low spot that was lined with ice.


Enough room to haul three days' worth of camping gear AND four years' worth of non-sorted macroinvertebrate samples back from Michigan when I returned for a short vacation and a visit to The Reservation for some work to be done on a contractual basis.

Years of hauling bikes, cross-country skis, a snowboard, and diving gear. Additonal cargo: garden supplies; papers, cans, and bottles to recycling: and stuff from Lowe's that my husband just had to buy THAT VERY DAY.

Making a decision that involves large amounts of money and dealing with car salesman is never easy or pleasant. Do I go for another four cylinder engine? This one was economical and adequate for the Midwest, but barely made it up Look Out Mountain in Tennessee. What about Escape hybrids? Are they worth the extra cost? Do they come in any color other than barf green?

I only hope I make as good a choice as I did last time. I knew I had a winner when my normally reasonable Unitarian friend looked at me, slightly horrified at the sight of a dreaded SUV and said "what would Jesus drive?'.