Thanks for the kindnesses...
We spent some time in the garage last night just suckin' up the new car smell and poring over it. It does look so big and bulky when parked right beside my car. We commented on that a few times.
I've been a bit of an opponent to the popularity of grey cars everywhere lately, but I've got to admit that this one is growing on me.
I didn't have to talk her out of the Impreza -- she did that on her own. Despite being on its last legs before the '08s come out, the deals just don't seem to be there for the Subies.
In fact, I had a mostly side-lined role in this one. She asked what was in her price range and I told her. I made a few further recommendations that were outside of her original scope (ie. Sonata, Fusion, etc.), but ultimately the front-runners were:
1. Impreza Sport Wagon -- eliminated because of its budget and slightly dated now. Thirsty fuel consumption (comparatively speaking) didn't help.
2. Nissan Versa 1.8SL Hatch -- with my corporate discount, this one was pretty much neck-and-neck with the Mazda and the deciding factor simply came down to almost a coin-toss as to which dealership we hit up to make a deal first. The interior size, comfortable and quiet ride, and superb feature-content-per-dollar factor made it a great contender in this fight. I've got to say that I was very surprised and thoroughly impressed with this little shoe of a car. I would recommend anyone looking at a practical little vehicle keep this one in consideration.
3. Ultimately though, when she drove the Mazda3 Sport, and started rowing through the gears making the sales-lady hang on for dear life, I knew (with pride) that she would go for the car with the more sporting pretenses.
Saffy... cars were eliminated from the list if a manual transmission wasn't available. The new car is definitely a stick. Oh, and as for being in a family way... not yet. When you see me get rid of the MX5, then start askin'.
