vroom
we won't know the state of our car until next week, so in the meantime we've decided it might not be a bad idea to start looking at new cars. if our car is fixable, great. if not, then we don't want to be caught in quick-buy situation without having done any research.
since we are focusing our search either on a civic hybrid or a prius, i compiled a list of maybe 15-20 reasonably local honda and toyota dealers. this morning cam started calling. amusingly enough, he only called two toyota dealers. the first one quoted him a prius waitlist of 3-4 months. the second said they didn't even have a waitlist. thus satisfied, cam found other things to do. (i'm still smiling about this.)
this afternoon, we went to the honda dealer we usually visit for service. we didn't even get ten steps from the car before an old balding guy started hollering at cam -- no hybrids, give me your name and number, blah blah blah. back into the car we went. the only bright spot there was that a fire truck or something went by -- sirens blaring -- much to paul's delight. (have i ever described here paul's rendition of a siren? it's just "weeh-oh-weeh-oh-weeh-oh" in a very flat tone. it's hilarious.)
then we drove past a bmw/mini dealership and impulsively pulled in to see if a britax marathon could possibly fit into the backseat.
standing in front of a convertible mini
cam: don't hate me, but i kind of like this salmon color.
me: [raised eyebrow]
maybe it could have fit, but man, those cars are wee. i didn't want to even open a door and look inside because i feared i could convince myself that we could manage with such a small car. i have loved that car for years, so i wasn't taking any chances. (at the moment, i am saving myself for a honda fit... it may be small, but it's bigger than the mini and it's got four doors. i used to abhor the four, but as a mom, i totally see the point.)
the second and final honda dealer of the day proved much more useful. cam found a guy to show us a 2006 civic (hybrids aren't expected until end of october, i think) and give us a brochure. we tried out the carseat and paul seemed happy. i even sat in the driver's seat -- weird, for me, since i haven't driven since 2003 (or maybe even earlier). cam just fell head over heels in love with that car. we were looking at the top of the line sedan and it showed. way fancy. could hardly believe it was a civic. got good mileage, too. we can't settle on it until cam actually drives the hybrid, but it is really looking good for the civic. of course, it doesn't hurt that i can actually see out the back of the damn thing. (the prius is not meant for short drivers, it seems. the integrated spoiler blocks the view.)
i'm feeling a little bit better about going with the civic. it's a very different car from what we had before -- it's sort of become what the accord used to be. (no wonder the fit is going to be introduced in the states. honda needs a new economy car stateside.) that said, i am only really keen on the civic as a hybrid. cam practically needed to be talked out of pulling out his credit card and buying the car right then and there. reason eventually returned, but he was so smitten with that car he would have become a bigamist for it (um, if the car were a person and all). he left his name and number, so i guess the salesman will contact us when the hybrids actually show up.
i guess now all we have to do is wait...