I am in love. Completely, hopelessly, and insanely in love. With the Scion xA. It's curvy, but not feminine. Small, but not whimpy. Fancy enough, but not yuppie. Even the bare-bones, $14,000 model has everything I want. And the gas mileage is almost enough to send me into a stupor. 32/38 mpg. And that's real user-averaged, not just the company's testing rate. Real owners of this vehicle have attested across the internet to almost forgetting what a gas station looks like. How I long for that.
And the price tag is realistic, too. With even a small down payment, I could swing monthly payments of 180$, I think.

This would be my first new vehicle. Budgeting for it will be tough, but I think we can do it. It's to the point where a new car is a necessity. I can no longer feel safe driving my car. I stress out over every last mile I drive, wondering which will be the last one, worried about not having a backup plan. I can't feel free to get in the car and go somewhere...it's like all the life that's left in it is reserved for work and back. It's sad, and I deserve a little bit better than that.

So, this week will be full of more research, trips to dealers, and probably lots of haggling. But presumably at the end of it, I will drive away in the flint-pearl beauty you see here.