Open Ground

The damage, as seen here on the left. It might not really look too bad, but since it's a 1988 vehicle, I will probably have to endure the misery of it being 'totaled' out. Basically they'll hand me a check that says that this low-mileage 'vintage' econobox that runs better than it ever has and manages to get up to 41mpg is worth something like $1400.

Now, I'm not delusional at all about this. I realize that this car was unspectacular in it's ability to incite envy among my peers, or make me appear as anything other than the welfare recipient/trailer trash at my kids' school. It has negative 'cool-factor'.

However, it ran without exception, got great mileage, cost next to nothing to run, and could park unmolested in the seediest of neighborhoods without me worrying about it. In short, it was a great city-car, that can't be replaced with some measly check that SF says represents it's value.

So I'm kind of pissed off. My car's horked, my back and neck are wrenched, the time I have to spend dealing with this is annoying, and ultimately, it's gonna cost me a ton of money because some wanker from the SF Redevelopment Agency was driving like an asshole. To top it off, the SFPD (Park Station / older, grey hair desk Sargeant)  and the Redevelopment agency lady both made me feel like I was the biggest pain in their ass (they may have a point, but still...).

Grappling with this reality, I'm realizing that coughing up some scratch for a new(er) car is almost unavoidable, and I'm finding the prospect daunting.

I'm really in a quandry about this and would welcome constructive input, especially if any of you have any of these cars and have opinions.

Let's start with my must-have requirements (How Novel!):
1) Reliable
2) Back Seat - need to be able to pick kids up from school
3) Comfortable - I drive a fair amount now...up to 400 miles a week.
4) Reasonably quiet - the Honda's real achilles heel.
5) Sun Roof (maybe even convertible if it doesn't violate #4)
6) New to five years old (less than 35k miles)

From there, everything turns to shit.
Let's get something out there right off the bat: I think the Prius is FUGLY. On top of that, It annoys the shit out of me that I've been driving a 40mpg car for twenty years and all of a sudden these assholes trade in their gallons-per-mile Suburban, think they're somehow green and get to drive in the HOV lane and avoid bridge tolls.

Having been the product of depression-era parents and an expert in self-deprivation in the spirit of frugality, I have a hard time with the thought of paying over $30k for a new car. I said new.  I have always pined for something that sports Pininfarina on the outside. Be it Alfa, Fiat, or Ferrari...this is an exception as it's more akin to art than transportation.

So, let's get back to the matter at hand.

Possible routes that I've been considering, in order of declining cost:

1) In the arena of 20 -> 30k, there is the new VW TDI Jetta Sportwagen getting a shitload of mileage using clean diesel, with VW's usual array of nice features, coupled with inconsitent quality issues and the ability to pump biodiesel into it once the warranty is chewed up. Not a bad option. Rather sporty ride with green cred. Downside...dealer markup because it's a 'hot' ride. All it needs is faux woodside paneling.Don't let that 18k sticker fool you. Diesel and any features you actually want, coupled with dealer rape-age means > $25k.

2) also in this arena is the unimaginative new loaded Honda civic 4-door. Not bad probably about $3k less. Not a bad option as the mileage looks pretty good (no where near my 1988), but good.

3) In the 'reality-check' on how much money this is and what's available that makes me thing WTF?!? is that I can plunk down about $25-28k and get a CLK320 Mercedes convertible that has rear seats.

4) Also in the same 'look at me' category are the legions of BMW lease returns. All in about the same price category.
Not that I don't like BMW's...they're attractive and when my dad was sick, I was driving his 2002 5-series a lot and really liked it. Truly a nice ride. Back in Virginia, it was great. Here, it seems to scream 'Look at me! I'm Somebody!!!'. When in fact, half the cars on that 280 commute are BMW's. I mean...it used to be that driving a BMW meant that you'd ran the gauntlet from Frankfurt to Bremen and knew that the No. 1 lane was for passing. Now you just look like any other moron with a credit rating good enough to get you a 2-year lease. I guess the same could be said for Mercedes, but in either case, I've never really given a shit what folks thought of me, and for those who think I'm somehow  cooler because I drive some German sedan...well aren't they in for a surprise! Do I want to be a target for assholes looking to rip me or my car off? don't think so.

Maybe I've answered this myself, but perhaps incognito is a better route. Go pedestrian and less consipcuous.

5) Used or New Mini. I keep wanting to call them Austin Mini's, but that just shows my age. These look like a hoot and I've not encountered anyone to say anything bad about them. What's the scoop on these things? They seem to fill most of my requirements. Decent mileage, fun to drive, not Blah like a Civic.

6) the rest of the options resemble used cars as cheap as they come. Any gems to suggest?

I really wanna know if I'm overlooking something that I'll really enjoy. Are the days of owning cars for 10-20 years over? I'm sure someone might mention a Dodge/Ford/GM something-or-other...and I hate to say it, anything American has been categorically rejected. Perhaps it was memories of that vomit-green 1972 Dodge Dart with a three-in-the-tree that I used to have to crawl under on burning-hot pavement in Phoenix summers to hand-tighten the shifting linkage so my mom could get the thing out of reverse (I was twelve) that has done me in on American cars. Naw...maybe it was the same car spontaneously combusting in the parking lot of Checker Auto a few months later? nm. I digress. No American Cars. They're actually uglier than the Prius.

So, any feedback to help guide me through this mess would be great. Especially experience with any of the above mentioned routes :)

fun to talk with one of the people whose music provided one of the beacons of my adolescence and young adulthood. What makes this different is that it still makes my ipod rotation.

Now this really isn't anything Montreal-specific, but Just thought it kind of interesting that within minutes of arriving I see a 40-year old car in pristine condition that I've not only never seen but never heard of either.

We basically spent out time there just putzing around in tourist mode. We *loved* the Marche Jean-Talon. They had all sorts of fabulous food stuff going on there and was visually spectacular-
A lot of the time we spent just hopping on their fabulous Metro system and popping up to explore neighborhoods. It's easy to just do the Pier 39 equivalent of View Montreal, but once you've got your kids their souvenir sweatshirt or whatever, it tires pretty quickly.

I will say though that on the whole, the food was really good, with scads of restaurants having outside seating on big, wide sidewalks. One day we went to Outrement, which is a largely Hasidic neighborhood with (again) lots of restaurants and fun little shops. Probably our best meal was at...ummm...crap. Forget the name of place.

Of course, Claire, being the devout student brought along her summer reading for school, taking copious notes, and interestingly, the book 'The Chosen' is about a Hasidic Jew. Our waiter noticed it and it started a large discussion, which was kinda cool. The waiter was also kind enough to point us in the direction of good restaurants and other non-touristy places. Fabulous find. Claire also seemed to have picked the winning lunch (pictured).

Speaking French in Montreal was kinda funny. Once upon a time, I was completely fluent, so I was looking forward to resurrecting it a bit in Montreal. By law, all signage is in French as well as public advertising. However, the rest of the family made no attempt to speak French and everyone seemed to speak English effortlessly. My attempts at French were mixed. They could tell I wasn't from Montreal, but couldn't really figure it out. Conversations in French generally would last a sentence or two before either being over, or reverting to English. So, not really recommended if you want to *learn* French, but definitely gives you a leg up. Leaving Montreal, you'll see less English, but the accent and the vocabulary they use is actually different, in some cases dramatically.

In any event, I should add a couple of other things about Montreal that are noteworthy...The people there were extremely nice and welcoming. The other thing was that, as travelers, you tend to use more public restrooms...well, in San Francisco, that's a pretty adventurous undertaking. Bathrooms in Montreal were almost without exception, immaculate.

All for now.