Car Shopping, So Help Us All

Because we are gluttons for punishment, we went car shopping today. I'd like to say we briefly went car shopping today, but that's an impossibility in this day and age. We went to one dealership and were there nearly three hours.

Isaac, however, was enchanted. He's our five-year-old auto maven, who wants to know the make and model of every vehicle we pass. He's especially captivated by two vehicles in particular: Chevy's Avalanche (pictured here) and Cadillac's Escalade. Yes, in his own odd, entertaining little way, Isaac loves monstrous SUVs. So it was to his extreme delight that we test drove an Avalanche today. When we got it back to the lot, the salesman told us it was sold to the previous couple. No loss. It handled like a pig and felt like it was made by Fisher-Price, not Chevy.

So we left wihtout a new vehicle, a fact that really confused Lexie, our seven-ear-old. She doesn't yet understand the concept of leaving a place of business without buying something.

We left, of course, because we couldn't find a vehicle that met our expectations -- room for the family and enough power to pull the camper but at a price we can afford. Getting that blend of qualifications may be difficult. Which is why we're now looking at a Honda Pilot. One in particular, this one owned by Michelle's Dad. He wants a new vehicle and offered to sell us his Pilot earlier this year, but we demurred. Now that we've actually seen car prices, the deal is looking better. One problem: It's not blue. Both of our current vehicles are blue, and of the four vehicles I've owned in my life, all were some shade of blue, though the Oldsmobile barely qualifies due to its home-spun tiger-striped paintjob. Oddly enough, I miss that car. It was ugly but had a heart.

So we're back to square one. We have to sell the van first. So I'll have to put it in the paper this week. Whee.