Topic: Cars of Autos.ca Spouses

[evil_twin]

She drives the "premium" family ride in our house.  Though I drive when we're travelling together.  My WRX basically only ever has me in it and possibly one my degenerate friends.

I would say I "3) greatly influence" the purchase decision.  She had certain stipulations: Luxury brand, built in nav, nice interior, AWD, automatic....and I could basically pick anything.   

Had her convinced a CTS wagon would be a good choice until this deal on the 5 wagon fell into our laps.

[Northernridge]

She drives the "premium" family ride in our house.  Though I drive when we're travelling together.  My WRX basically only ever has me in it and possibly one my degenerate friends.

I would say I "3) greatly influence" the purchase decision.  She had certain stipulations: Luxury brand, built in nav, nice interior, AWD, automatic....and I could basically pick anything.   

Had her convinced a CTS wagon would be a good choice until this deal on the 5 wagon fell into our laps.

Very nice.

[bridgecity]

She factors in my opinion, but in the end it's her decision.

[whaddaiknow]

She drives the "premium" family ride in our house.  Though I drive when we're travelling together.  My WRX basically only ever has me in it and possibly one my degenerate friends.

I would say I "3) greatly influence" the purchase decision.  She had certain stipulations: Luxury brand, built in nav, nice interior, AWD, automatic....and I could basically pick anything.   

Had her convinced a CTS wagon would be a good choice until this deal on the 5 wagon fell into our laps.

Great looking rig 

[tooscoops]

for decisions... i'd say i'm a big ole 4...

she has full veto power, but she trusts me with regards to cars.

[blotter]

she always pics... but the last two vehicles (leases) had been picked only due to price.
cheapest hatch she could find without any true concern for the vehicle itself.

Now she wants a car she actually loves.  She changes her mind every couple months but once focused on a particular car, she wants nothing to do with comparables.   
I simply try to convience her to at least make a 3 car short list and test drive them.  But... i really don't get any say.   

[rrocket]

Mrs. Railton's FX37 Limited Edition...with the killer OEM wheels.
Railton

That has to be the very first time I've seen one of those and liked it...those are damn nice wheels.  I always tell my wife that's all it takes to turn a turd into a hot car (we had a Diplomat wagon once, I thought it was awesome, it had great wheels, she thought it was shi7. She NEVER looks at the wheels; it's almost the first place I look).  And yours proves the point!  Very sharp car...SUV...dare I say it's actually quite gorgeous.  What's wrong with you people...making me change my opinions on stuff...jeez!   

Yes, damn nice wheels. I saw some equally nice wheels on a new Nissan 370ZX yesterday at the dealer. They were forged Rays wheels. I have to go back there today to pick up the car so I will take a picture of them and post it.
Railton

Those were the ones they put on the 40th anniversary 370z.

Can you get them on the regular 370z now?

[rrocket]

for decisions... i'd say i'm a big ole 4...

she has full veto power, but she trusts me with regards to cars.

Does she have to pay for etching though? 

[tooscoops]

if it's "mandatory", maybe!

[jyarkony]

With respect to the purchase decision of their spouse's vehicle, I wonder how many forum members:

• Have no input into purchase decision of their spouse
• Somewhat influence purchase decision
• Greatly influence purchase decision
• Make the purchase decision

In my case, it's been 3 or 4.  Only once has she hated my choice - I traded in her 92 Mazda MX-3 (with a smooth 1.8L 24 valve DOHC V6) for a 98 Isuzu Rodeo.  I don't blame her - I also regretted it.

glad you added wagon to the poll... we have one car, a Jetta 1.8T Wagon. no manuals were available at the time of purchase, so it's auto, but that made my wife happy since she prefers an automatic even though she can drive stick. I say it's because she's lazy, but she also gets nervous about hill starts. she'd be happy if the next car was a manual with hill holder.

for us it was more like a mutual #3. i did all the research based on her known criteria: small, nimble, good cargo space for kiddy stuff, four doors as we'd just had our daughter, seating position adjustable for her small frame (5') and decent power - she hates sluggish vehicles. she was sick at the time so couldn't participate in test drives, and we had to get one to replace the previous car, which was an insurance write-off, so i jumped on the 1.8T wagon that fell into our price range because it had the same seating position as the GTI and a bit of a power boost, so i knew my wife would be happy.

next car we are still very strongly leaning to a first-gen mazda5 - love the looks and practicality, and my wife is also coming around on the idea of going manual again, not least because of how terrible the automatic is in our Jetta, but I plan to drive that thing into the ground since it's probably gone over the line into negligible value as a trade-in or private sale....

[Julie]

She drives the "premium" family ride in our house.  Though I drive when we're travelling together.  My WRX basically only ever has me in it and possibly one my degenerate friends.

I would say I "3) greatly influence" the purchase decision.  She had certain stipulations: Luxury brand, built in nav, nice interior, AWD, automatic....and I could basically pick anything.   

Had her convinced a CTS wagon would be a good choice until this deal on the 5 wagon fell into our laps.

OMG, M-Pkg 5 series wagon.... SCORE! 

[Julie]

Yours is def one of my favorite driveways on here.  I can't complain about mine...but I do like yours. No envy, just admiration...would love to hear the M3 singing.  Also, it seems you lucked out and actually got grass! (i.e. a yard with lawn)  Your neighbours, do they cut their lawns with scissors?    Neighbourhood goat?

Blunder, sorry, i missed your post!

My lawn is actually one of the worst in the neighbourhood, Vman can attest to that.    You just can't see how crappy it is in those photos. But we do plan to rectify when we do some landscaping next year...

Yes, what I love about the M3 is that the engine note expresses itself, even when you're just driving around at low speeds. It just isn't as loud as when you see videos with burnouts, etc.

And I love the rev matching.... http://youtu.be/sxZuXIDhhio

[Frontier1]

With respect to the purchase decision of their spouse's vehicle, I wonder how many forum members:

 1   Have no input into purchase decision of their spouse
 2   Somewhat influence purchase decision
 3   Greatly influence purchase decision
 4   Make the purchase decision

In my case, for the RAV, it was 2 while for the Sienna it was 3/4.  Based on that trend next it will be 0   


Hers is silver, mine is green:



I should mention there is a tinge of buyers remorse setting in, due to lack of power at a certain speed/gear combo and poorer than expected fuel economy.  The Forester, even though it weighs about the same and has similar HP/torque numbers (and both have 4 speed AT's) is much better on hills and gets much better fuel economy.

I would have expected the Forester to be worse on fuel

[random006]

My girlfriend has had a Civic now for about 5 years and intends to keep it until it's finished or she really needs a different car.

She loves it, btw.  Quiet & reliable, it just does its thing without fuss or muss.  I certainly have no quibble with her choice.

[Trainman]

With respect to the purchase decision of their spouse's vehicle, I wonder how many forum members:

 1   Have no input into purchase decision of their spouse
 2   Somewhat influence purchase decision
 3   Greatly influence purchase decision
 4   Make the purchase decision

In my case, for the RAV, it was 2 while for the Sienna it was 3/4.  Based on that trend next it will be 0   



I should mention there is a tinge of buyers remorse setting in, due to lack of power at a certain speed/gear combo and poorer than expected fuel economy.  The Forester, even though it weighs about the same and has similar HP/torque numbers (and both have 4 speed AT's) is much better on hills and gets much better fuel economy.

I would have expected the Forester to be worse on fuel

Me too, but that is not the way it is turning out.  In fact the spread is getting bigger as the Forester at 130,000 kms now seems to be broken in     Fuel consumption this year has been very good and the lowest overall of the 5 years.  My wife can get about 8.0 in the Subaru while with the RAV she gets 10 for the same trip to visit her brother in Vancouver.  And with my driving on the same roads I am also able to get much better consumption.  Very weird.....

[DriverJeff]

My wife chose a 2010 Mazda6 GT.  I was pressing for her to get a Sonata figuring it might be a bit more reliable and efficient in the long run (it's our plan to keep this car for a while -- uncharacteristic for our household), but she was adamant that she wanted the car with the stick shift.     Her car, her choice. 

She's not an enthusiast, but by being around me, she's learned enough to be dangerous.  Now she gets the new car itch every couple of years too.  I imagine that 6 will only be around for another year so.

[Solstice2006]

How is the Mazda6 with the 2.5L with stick?  I took an automatic out for a test drive, felt adequate.  With the stick, does it feel a little more powerful?  From what I have researched the second generation has been pretty reliable.  I wish the V6 had a manual option, like in the first generation..

[DriverJeff]

How is the Mazda6 with the 2.5L with stick?  I took an automatic out for a test drive, felt adequate.  With the stick, does it feel a little more powerful?  From what I have researched the second generation has been pretty reliable.  I wish the V6 had a manual option, like in the first generation..

Agreed, the 6 with a stick would've been nice, but fuel consumption was also a concern for us -- which is actually largely where the 6 has disappointed us so far (though I suspect it has as much to do with my wife's driving habits as the car).

The power is adequate for the car and being a decent handler for a FWD large sedan, and with the row-your-own gearbox, it's not a miserable driving experience.

[tooscoops]

i had grown up with chrysler, and they ALWAYS had better fuel ratings on manual rather than auto... i still get surprised when i see all these new cars where the auto does better than a manual can... never understood it... and not just cvt's it would seem...

nice to see that some cars still trust that we are better than the machines... damn you cyberdyne!!!

[Solstice2006]

yeah the 2.3L/2.5L from Mazda, used in some Fords as well, has never been the most fuel efficient.  That's why I bought the V6 over the 4 cylinder, there wasn't much difference....