Fist bump!

No, wait, "Thread bump".

I wanted to revive an old thread rather than start a new one. Recycling and all, you know.

First, Adrian, did you decide to get the Sonata? Sorry if I missed the news elsewhere.

My daughter turned 16 and got her license. She'll be a junior in high school this year and very athletic. I have to practice boy killing. Anyway, she's going to get my beloved 1994 Toyota Camry coupe to drive. It was the first year of the coupe and it is a great car, albeit showing its 150k miles.

So, I'm looking around at cars. It's been kind of fun, but I am still conflicted. Mrs. Tuttle drives a 2004 Corolla and we also retain a 1999 Ford Windstar minivan for its transcendent utility. But I don't really want to drive the van every day, because it isn't fun, gets crappy mileage and we want to preserve it so that we don't have to buy a truck or another van or something for the relatively few times we need it.

So, I can basically get what I want. Yay! I'm looking primarily at relatively recent, nice used cars with ~40k miles or less.

But I'm a practical sort and have a distant past still resonating with good old fashioned Catholic Guilt. I also have a bad back.

I looked at some nice coupes - Nissan Altima, Infiniti G35 - and did not fit. Same thing with the Miata.

Drove - and loved - a 2006 350Z convertible. Not sure about only having 2 seats and also not sure about how much use I could actually get from a convertible in Seattle. I LOVE having a sunroof, because I can decide on-the-go about getting some air and they are quiet.

Drove - and did NOT love - a BMW 328i.

Drove and kind of liked a 2010 Subaru Legacy. Really a very nice car. CVT, luxurious, all-wheel-drive, quite good mileage. It even looks pretty nice to me. Ultimately, I decided I didn't want to spend $24-25,000 on a Subaru. Although I didn't drive it, I came to the same realization about a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I know that may not make sense to everybody, but I obviously keep cars a LONG time, and I just can't talk myself into those brands (and many others) for the long haul.

Where I'm at right now is a 2005 Audi A4 3.2 quattro or a 2006 Acura TL. I like the styling of the Acura better. I fit in both but haven't driven either one. I'm a little concerned about the reliability of the Audi, but it is a seductive car.

Also considering a newer Honda Accord (especially the Coupe) and Infiniti G35 sedan, but neither one of those are really getting me excited. This might be my only shot at a midlife crisis car, albeit a pretty conservative one.

Suggestions and comments greatly appreciated.

bibere usque ad hilaritatem