I am very grateful to you guys for your ongoing counsel. I expect that - before too long - you will be reduced to the overanalyzer's spousal reaction of "I don't care anymore - just buy something"

It's a fun journey and it helps me a lot to bounce things off you all.

I drove a 2010 Miata Grand Touring 6-speed with the retractable hard top last night. Man, that was FUN. It sounded right and felt great when I was driving and shifting. Very exhilarating. Problem is, I had quite a time getting in and out of it even though my back is actually in pretty good shape at the moment. I have a sedentary job and have never been overly fit or flexible, so the ingress/egress was pretty uncomfortable given how low the car is.

When I started this journey, I had pretty much dismissed convertibles for a number of solid reasons, including higher insurance, noise, ingress/egress, and general impracticality. Thanks to your bad influence, the availability of retractable hard tops at (attainable?) prices and a couple of transcendent test drives in glorious summer weather, I had put convertibles back on my "potential" list. The reality is that it is dark, gray and "gonna rain soon if it's not right now" for 8 months of the year in Western Washington. Since I'm looking for a daily driver, I really should get a grip and remember my longstanding assessment that it's pretty stupid to own a convertible in Seattle unless you plan to only drive it part of the year.

I've also discovered that I am quite a bit pickier about color, trim level and options than I have ever been before, and that's okay. Because of lifestyle, economics, family, and a general outlook of automobiles as transportation appliances, I'd never really cared too much about some of these details. Now, there are more available goodies than ever, and I find myself wanting to indulge in a few of them. It's weird to have this conscious realization that my decision-making paradigm has shifted due to not only technology, but being at a fundamentally different place in life.

So, now I really want the seats to be comfortable. Having steering-wheel mounted audio controls is pretty much a deal breaker. Heaven help me, I've come to have a preference for heated seats.

And - thanks to Mike for helping me crystallize the concept - I really do need to get a stick. After driving the Miata last night, it was pretty clear to me how much I've missed that level of involvement. I don't have a stop-and-go freeway commute anymore, and there just is no substitute for that level of control. It's gone from preference to deal-breaker. And wow, is it damn difficult to find manual-shift versions of some of these cars.

I apparently owe the Subaruians an apology, and appreciate their patience in showing me the omissions in my knowledge. I incorrectly thought that the Legacy GT afforded changes in trim but not in drivetrain, and now stand happily corrected. Special thanks to Zarak for finally getting through to me. Perhaps I will try to find and drive a 2007-08 Legacy GT SpecB.

But I'm still not sure how I feel about turbocharged engines. My frame of reference from many years ago was that basically any turbo was an inevitable and expensive repair.

Finally, as much as I'd like to throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to indulge my motoring whimsy, I have realized that I am fundamentally pretty darn risk averse and it really pisses me off when things are broken. So, I've discounted certain makes like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc. because of my perception that I don't wait to wait or pay for the boat from Stuttgart.

Seems like I've always dreamed of having a German car, and now it appears that I really don't want one after all.

Murph, not even naked vegetarians in a Prius can get tax credits any more.

I might end up with a Civic Si after all. Even if I could find one of the obscure stick-shift GT's (like the Volvo or TL), there probably aren't enough of them in existence for me to feel good about parts availability.

I gotta go do something else with my life.

Thanks for being there.

bibere usque ad hilaritatem