Vroooom!

We got a new toy!! As we settled back into the post-vacation life, it occurred to us that now that we have our handy utility trailer (it was truly essential to the successful camping trip!) we don't really need the truck anymore. Add to that that the truck is paid off, and the idea was born that since both Cindy and I would prefer a sporty car to a truck or a *cough* minivan, we should see what our options looked like...

Well, they looked good! Our truck had done a far better job of retaining value than I expected it to, so I started looking into just what sporty cars would look good in our driveway. The first and obvious choice was a Dodge Daytona, since that was the first car I ever bought, and I loved (really loved!) it... I also had a second one, which was my car when Cindy and I first got together. Problem is, they quit making them back in 1993, meaning that every one I found listed either had prohibitively high miles, or prohibitively high levels of "project" required to make it into the car we would want it to be. Bummer!

So we started looking at newer stuff. Given unlimited funding, I'd be all over the new Dodge Charger. That's my "someday" car. However, they're still far too new to fit into our plan. Plan? Oh yeah, I shoulda mentioned that! These were the ground rules we set up:

#1 - NO CAR PAYMENT!!
#2 - Newer, Nicer, Sportier
#3 - Will Last 10 Years Or More

So I realize that #3 depends at least as much on OUR maintenance of the vehicle as it does the vehicle itself, and I'm willing to put that effort out. But #1 and #2 were absolutely immovable.

So I decided to look at the various models that replaced my beloved Daytona in Dodge's lineup. The first Avenger was extremely bland looking... Not sure what they were thinking, plus it wasn't reviewed all that well... The Stealth was hot hot hot at the time, but like the Daytona, there aren't many good ones to be found. The NEW Avenger is hot hot hot now, but completely incompatible with ground rule #1. Ahh, but in between was the Stratus... Not the midsize sedan, 4-door, wants-to-be-cool-but-falls-short stratus, but the 2-door fraternal twin of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Stratus. Mmmmmm, Tasty! Found a couple, they look great, and the pricing is more in line with what we expected to get out of the truck.

Then I decided to widen the search to include the Chrysler version, the Sebring Coupe LXi. And bingo, up popped the picture above! After a test drive, we knew it was our new car... well, even before the test drive, when I sank into the rich corinthian leather seats, I knew. It's good good stuff! One of the best things about it, was it was at the Lexus dealership, and those people know how to treat a customer!! The trade value of the truck was exactly the price of the Sebring plus Tax, so we ended up doing a straight swap - it was completely surreal to drive away in our new sporty car, without having gone through the pain of the haggling, the financing, payment manipulating, etc. Still kinda feels like "did that really happen?" But when I got up this morning, there it is, in the driveway, waiting for us to come drive it!

And drive it we will.