I am such a hypocrite

I just spent about ten hours this past weekend killing off one of my last liberal vestiges.

We realized over the course of the past week that, much as we would like to continue with just one car, that it was time to look for another car. The current car, while running fairly well, is about to surpass 200,000 miles, and with another baby on the way it would be very difficult cramming everyone into a two-door coupe.

The last realization came Thursday night, when we realized that leaving class at 9:45 PM, taking a train four stops, waiting 45 minutes for a 40-minute bus ride, and then taking a taxi four miles to get home at 12:15 AM was not going to be a feasible solution. Not when I'd driven back the night before and got home at 10:25 PM. The time and expense was ridiculous to compare between the two.

We needed to find a vehicle which had quite a bit more room - enough to cover two baby seats, and various other items - groceries, luggage, a dog, etc.

We knew what we wanted to look for - sedan, wagon, van, or (gasp) SUV. None of which would get very nice gas mileage, but the savings in miles driven compared to putting it all into one car now would be nice.

We started out at a local dealership, based on specials we saw advertised. After four hours of answers that weren't at all straight and endless waiting, we left. Tom Jumper, you are now on my Dead To Me list.

We finally ended up at Carmax at Town Center on Barrett Pkwy. in Kennesaw, just a few miles away. I had seen some vehicles while searching Friday and sent some information requests, so we decided to go and follow up on those requests.

Based on everything above and what we were looking for budget-wise, we found two vehicles which would work for everything we were looking for. Thankfully, unlike Tom Jumper, the Carmax staff were very knowledgeable and considerate to what we desired, and showed us the vehicles that fit those criteria.

One was a Windstar van, which had too many things that needed to be fixed.

The other vehicle had a lot of nice acoutrements, and was very cheaply priced considering the model of car. The gas mileage, though - 21 MPG - was quite a bit less than we were used to. But, we would be saving on mileage driven locally, and be much more comfortable for trips and lugging any heavy items.

We both thought, upon seeing it for the first time, that it would be a perfect fit for us, but it's a big purchase, so we looked at it. A lot. In, around, under, over, through, under again. We did notice one item that needed to be worked on, but aside from that (which is common to Fords) it seemed to be a vehicle which exceeded all our expectations.

After much profound thought, we decided to get the car. And with it, died any hope I can ever truly have of criticizing any other car owner, ever. Despite earlier blog posts and my constant ravings, we decided that, overall, this was the best fit for our current needs and our pocketbook. We also have it worked in for any returns, defects, etc., for coverage so that it will either last for a while, or break down right away and be fixed or returned. So there's some precaution against risk, which is good.

Yes......you have probably figured it out by now.

A SUV. A Ford Explorer.

Yep - after all I write about eco-friendly cars and gas policies, I just went and bought one that represents the antithesis of such (at least, it was until Hummer came along). At the same time, though, for the price (which I won't say), the size (quite enough for two carseats in the back, and Maggie, for any trips), and the other functions included in the vehicles, we can deal with getting six to seven miles less per gallon.

At the same time, before you ask, yes, I do feel a bit bastardly right now.

I will now log off to light myself on fire, before I get flamed to death.