The New Wheels

Yep, I finally did it. I've never owned a new car in my life, but last week, I signed the papers on a new vehicle. I am the new proud owner of a 2008 Suzuki SX4 Crossover Touring 5-speed in Azure Gray... on paper that is. No, I don't actually have it yet. My car resides in upper Vermont, scheduled to travel home Wednesday night, amidst the snow. Don't worry, Stefan Urquelle (Steve Urkel's alter-hot ego thanks to "Cool Juice"-->please see Season 5 of "Family Matters" titled, "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool") has AWD/4WD. That's what I've named him: Stefan Urquelle. He's kind of the cool version of the little Urkel car . Whilst shopping for the car, I stopped by several dealerships for a test drive. Every dealership was out of stock. I thought it strange, since I had never even heard of this car until some friends of mine bought one last year. A couple I know named Joe & Skerry (pron. like Carrie with an 'S') raved on and on about the car, pumping it's practicality. Joe claimed after extensive research (being the computer geek he is), they concluded the Suzuki to be the most reasonable choice. It's the cheapest 4-wheel drive vehicle out there, well stocked with standard features. I thought it a bit strange since it's a rather small/subcompact car. Picturing my friend Skerry (who is an Amazonian 6'1" blonde, spikey-haired, punk-rocker, ex-bartender from Boston's Ratskeller) crawl in and out of it was a bit like invisioning the clown car with said clowns pouring out of it. Surprisingly enough, when I did find an SX4 to test drive, it was very roomy inside. After folding down the rear seats, it is said to have more cargo room than the Ford Explorer. I don't know about that, but then again, I didn't go flipping the seats all over the place like a crack infested oragami freak on my test drive. It has also been awarded, "Easiest Car to Park" by someone or other. I can't imagine it being too difficult. I did my homework and aside a few remarks regarding fuel economy not being the greatest, all of the reviews regarding the SX4 Crossover were positive. Oh, I forgot to mention, just for shits and giggles, I test drove a 2003 Mustang GT. I told myself, "eh, it can't be all that bad in winter. I've got no kids, why the hell not?" The salesman told me that if I put snowtires on the beast, that I would be fine. There's nothing like the throaty sound of a V8 Mustang and it was beautiful, but the left side of my brain soon muscled in and convinced me that there was no way my dog and I would both be comfortable in it. After my trade-in (piece of SHITE 1999 Ford Taurus), less dealer cash back/incentives, the total purchase price of my new car is $14,107.00. I can't wait for that new car smell. Bring it Urkel, bring it.