Buying a Car

I've been driving a lot of cars lately. It is time to trade in my Pontiac Torrent and I've been trying every SUV I can find hoping to find the successor. When it comes to buying cars, Larry does the book research, and I do the hands-on kind. He finds the ones with the best ratings, that seem to offer what he likes in a car and then I go drive it and see how I like it. One thing I've learned is that inside a car we look for entirely different things. He's a big man and often a seat that is comfortable for him is too big for me and hits me in the back of my legs.
I've also learned that over the years what is important to me has changed. One of the first things I used to check out were the cup holders. I know I'm not alone here, either! However, I realized this accessory has moved down the priority chain. For one thing, they are now very standard in all vehicles, so I don't have to check to make sure the car has them. But the biggest reason goes right back to that 'view from the empty nest' thing. I no longer ferry kids all around, nor do we do a lot of family trips! As long as my car mug fits and there's a place for a bottle of water or my large ice tea, I'm good.
One thing that has become more important to me is the choice of color. I confess...this one seems really weak, but it became a major player when I bought my Torrent. It seems to me there are a few basic styles of vehicles; Truck, Car, Van, SUV, Sports car. It also seems to me that most of them are Gray while the rest are Tan or Silver. I had a gray Malibu once. It was a very pretty car and looked identical to a Toyota and very much like most other gray cars. Apparently, I don't discern differences in cars very well. When it was time to buy my Torrent I said "I want a car I can find in the parking lot"! The electric blue of my Torrent was VERY easy to find in a parking lot.
As we began the search we knew it would be an SUV, with sunroof, leather seats, electric seat positioning and of course, cruise control. That was the starting lineup. But as we started looking we discovered not all cars come with simple things we have become accustomed to. We were all ready to make a deal on a car when suddenly there it was. 2 sinks in the bathroom! The bottom line for any car was that it had to have an external temperature gauge (Larry's sink), 6CD changer (my sink) and heated seats (this may be the 3rd sink thrown in by the builder). The car we were ready to buy didn't have the external temperature gauge or the 6 CD changer! However, these are things we have had for a long time and we are accustomed to them.
It sounds so picky. I really wondered if we were unreasonable or just plain spoiled. But as Larry put it, "I've worked hard and if I can afford it and they provide it, why shouldn't we have it?" The truth is our lifestyle has changed and these are the things that are important to us. The 6 CD changer was a deal breaker for me. Now that I drive long distances alone a lot, I listen to Audio CD's. To be driving through Chicago while trying to switch out a single CD on a book I'm listening to sounded as bad as trying to text while driving. My CD player has been my traveling companion for a long time. I needed it. The heated seats joined the Must Have list this month as I have had some lower back problems and the heated seats feel so good!!! As for the external temperature gauge...eh... that's his. I'll just stick my hand out the window to see if it's cold or not, but hey, as long as I get my CD changer, he can have his temperature gauge.
The search continues, but we are almost there. I'll let you know the final result.
By the way, if you didn't get all the "sink" references, go back and read the post previous to this one. It will explain it all.