Car Snob

I am not proud of it, but yes I am a car snob. I am not nearly as bad as Brian, but I do judge based on what you ride in.

We are at a point where its time to replace my bug. We sunk a lot of money into her around Christmas and since then shes been going downhill. Don't get me wrong, I still love the ole' girl but we cant afford to be fixin her anymore.

I had decided I wanted a Ford Escape Hybrid. I had my heart set on it. We need a high clearance 4x4 to get to a lot of cool spots in AZ. Plus, a lot of my biology work takes us down rocky and rutted roads. I wanted a hybrid for obvious reasons. We were slowly paying off our debt so we could afford this pricey vehicle.

Over the weekend Brian called the Ford dealer to see if they had any and how long the wait was to get one. Well it was nothing but bad news. They had none and they would be getting none until the 2009's were ready. But, even then you are waiting because other people are in front of you waiting for theirs. It seemed that perhaps December would be the soonest. WTF? I was bummed. We cant wait that long, the Beetle just wont make it, at least not without costing us more. Oh and it seemed you end up paying over the sticker price, so in reality we cannot afford this vehicle.

So we came to the conclusion that we need to look at other SUV's. There has to be some out there that get good gas mileage and are 4x4. I immediately jumped to Honda and Toyota. Those are great car companies. I was having a really hard time dealing with the fact that I would have to drive a Ford, a fricking Ford. Eh. Now I was feeling better, a Honda I can live with.

So off we went to look at CR-V's. They get decent gas mileage, come in 4 x 4 and are affordable. It drove really nice but it felt really cheap inside and I was not digging any colors they offered. I did not love it, or even really like it but we put it on the list.


Next we went to see about the Rav4. I don't like this car at all. I don't like the look of it, the wheel on the back and the controls on the dash. We didn't get to drive one but I pretty much wrote it off. Damn, Toyota is a great company, I would not be embarrassed to say I drove one.


We went home feeling really defeated. Now what? We checked some reviews on the 2 cars and no one had good things to say about their off road ability.

It would seem that this process should be easy. Usually you know exactly what you want so you go to the dealer and get it. This time I don't have a clue what I want and it seems I cant get what I want.

We started looking at other car companies, amazed at ourselves at what we would actually search, like Kia. This is where my snobbery comes to play. We finally looked at Jeeps. They are known for off road capabilities and people seem to like them a lot. We landed on the Compass and soon moved on to the Patriot. We built one and it seemed promising. Affordable, 4x 4, great color choices and good gas mileage. Could this be the one? Then the snob in me starts again. I don't want an American car, they aren't good enough, and this car doesn't have a rockin stereo like I want and its kind a chinsy inside.

I feel my options are limited and I need to let go of what my snob brain is telling me. So today we went to have a look. Boxy yes, but I kinda dig that. Interior is minimal but so am I. So we start berating the dealer with questions and telling him all the things we want. He finds me one that is close. Here is what I love about this car; you can get it in a manual. That's hard to find these days. I was so thrilled that I can still have a stick. Here's what I hate; its called Patriot. What a lame frickin name. Oh, and its embossed all huge in the rear bumper. Can I get over that? Probably.


So off we go in the car. I'm driving the stick and its smooth and easy and handles nice. I am digging it. We go around the block and I decide that yes, a manual it is. We cant get it all crazy 4x 4 trail rated though if I want a stick. Its still a 4x4 and can handle what I need it to do but if we wanted to go crazy, like boulder hopping, then we would need to upgrade. If we did that I would lose the stick and several mpg's. Boo to that.

The dealer thought it might be hard to find the car in a stick with all the upgrades I want. Too bad, cause that's what I want and I will not back down. Build it then, I say.

So it seems that possibly in the near future, I Nina Grimaldi, will be driving around in a Jeep Patriot. I will have 4 doors, 4 doors people, and space in the truck for your luggage. Its going to be such a crazy change for me. Ive been in the Beetle for almost 9 years. Ive always been a compact driver and now Ill be in an SUV. I will be emotional at first, missing the green girl. Shes been good to me and I do still love her.

But we all grow up and I have outgrown her tininess. We need a larger vehicle for the visitors we get and the adventures we go on.

We will keep you posted.

-Nina