new car

Donnice and I have been talking about buying a Prius for about two months now.

The original plan was to wait until we move in June.

But a few weeks ago, Donnice began suggesting that we might buy earlier, maybe even around Christmas or my birthday (Jan 13). And since she's the one who's good with money and who is currently taking public transit to work, it's really her call.

And last week, when it got cold, she'd had enough. She didn't want to deal with DART when it was 40 degrees outside. And, I certainly wasn't going to hold her back if she was ready (like I said she the one who's good with money), especially since it's gonna be my car.

So, on Saturday, after going to an early movie (they're only $5 before noon), we started driving toward Pat Lobb Toyota in McKinney (the first green car dealership). I called Stephane, our sales guy, on the way up, but he didn't answer. We didn't want to show up and have to wait around for him, so we decided to stop at the Honda dealership and look at the Civic Hybrid. I knew I wanted a Prius, but I thought it would be good to at least check out the Civic since we had some extra time.

I had this idea in my head of the pre-2006 Civic. It seemed like such a boring, generic car that I couldn't imagine owning one. But the new design is really a lot nicer. Both the interior and exterior are far more stylish than previous generations of the Civic. It even had a few advantages over the Prius, especailly the price (although the base price is similar, the Civic I wanted was $3,000 cheaper than the Prius I wanted). I left the Honda dealership for our appointment at the Toyota dealership (Stephane called back just before our test drive of the Civic) thinking that I might be back before the end of the day to buy the Civic.

I spoke with Stephane a while and looked at several Prii that they had in stock (none of them were what I wanted), I was pretty convinced that I wanted the Civic. Then, I took the Prius for a second test drive (I'd driven it a couple weeks before when we visited the dealership for the first time). The Prius is so freaking cool! It's different, and it has so much more personality, and you don't have to use your keys. You just leave them in your pocket, and the car detects them automatically, allowing you to open the door and start the car without ever touching the key. Plus, it's got better pickup, more space, and bluetooth.

But the Civic will save us $60 every month for the next five years. I hate decisions!


UPDATE: I bought the Prius, and I'm picking is up tonight (12/11). I bought it from Pat Lobb, the first green dealership. They were just named one of the top ten dealerships in the country by The New York Times:

Pat Lobb Toyota, McKinney, Texas
Both lean and clean, the Pat Lobb Toyota dealership in McKinney is "green" as well. For the true environmentalist, nothing could be better than buying and servicing a Prius from Pat Lobb Toyota in Texas. The dealership's construction is incorporated of approximately 75-percent recycled materials. Highlights include rubber sidewalks made from recycled tires, a cistern that catches roof rainwater for use in landscape irrigation, and waterless urinals that save thousands of gallons annually. Pat Lobb Toyota is also the first dealership to be registered with the U.S. Green Building Council.