Neon

I adore my 1995 Neon, which is going on ten years old and has never had an engine or transmission problem, no major problems at all, only minor things like blinkers and cables.

But it is all manual: manual transmission, mirrors, windows, steering, everything. And I have ALS and have noticed myself getting weaker and more clumsy. It is not yet a problem with driving the Neon, but it soon could be. And so it is with some sadness that I have decided to junk the Neon and get a car with power steering, automatic transmission, and power mirrors and locks. Oh, and a radio and air conditioning.

My lovely wife agrees. It's not as though I do a lot of driving, but having two cars does come in handy when she takes the kids somewhere in the other car and I have errands to run.

I despise the idea of buying a new car when I have one which works so well and does not come with a payment. So maybe I should look for a quality used car? Or ... buy a new car and then if I kick off or become unable to drive in two or three years, My lovely wife can sell the Ford and use the new car?

You may be wondering why I don't make the new car the family car and drive the Ford. Well, I hate the Ford.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Well, I favor the Passat. As far as I am concerned, it's the best looking thing on the road, and in terms of looks, the rest of the cars are just cars, SUVs (transportation for fat people), or cartoon-luxury jokes like the Jaguar and the BMW-Mercedes-Lexus nexus. For solid, luxurious and stylish, I look no farther than the Passat. And it seems well-engineered and dependable. If I got a new car, though, it would have to be a Subaru, because we are walking-distance from to the maintenance facility for the Subaru. But if I get a used car, and not under warranty, then it could be anything, as there are a couple of decent repair shops near here.

berkeleygal, a sporty green Miata? A Mini Cooper? A BMW Roadster? Those are chick cars. OK, except the roadster, which guys who are trying to show off drive. So chicks and pricks. Those cars are strictly chicks and pricks.