Competition

Ford Mustang, consider yourself on notice.  You have just been knocked down a notch on my coveting scale by the new Camero.  I just wish all the cars I like weren't being made by companies that may or may not exist in the future.  Well, not ALL the cars, just the ones that look cool.  And by "in the future" I mean next week.  Then again, that might be good from a purchasing standpoint. (Okay, honestly, I don't really know what's going on with any of the Big 3 right now.  I know some of them are better off than others, but overall, I know it still isn't good.)  

We were driving in town last week when I saw one of these new Cameros driving along next to me, and I was like, "Ooooh.  What is that??"  I was a little bummed when I found out it was a Camero (my first car was a '77 Firebird, which I spent many years pointing out is not the same as a Camero, dammit!) but then my husband tried to make me feel better by pointing out that in a couple of weeks I'll probably be able to get one for, like, eight bucks.  If that's the case, I'm SO getting one!  Wish me luck!  

They do read my blog!

I told you guys the Toyota people read my blog!  How else do you explain this?  You think they came up with the idea for a sexy hybrid all on their own?  Not likely.  (No offense, Toyota.  Call me later, 'kay?)  

Thanks to lance_agena (who was retweeting Mollywood) for bringing this to my attention.  Y'all understand how exciting this is for me, right?!

Embrace Your Inner Hamster

Toyota has recently unveiled its 2010 Prius, and it's got a lot of nifty new features like a solar roof which powers a fan to help keep the interior of your car cool by circulating air from the outside. I know it's the dead of winter and some of you may be thinking how glorious it would be to step into a 125º car right now; but you know as well as I do that when it's 100º outside, the last thing you want to do is get into your 125º car. I imagine this is even worse if you have small children. I haven't met a kid yet who likes being hot, sweaty, tired AND strapped into a car seat. There is also a button on the key fob that will activate the A/C from 30 feet away. How cool is that? Now, I'm not sure if this solar fan thing works no matter what or if there is a way to disable this feature in the winter, but I would imagine that the Toyota folks have thought of that.

So, I'm loving the new features on the Prius. It has also been redesigned to be slightly sportier looking, nothing big, it still looks like a Prius, but a Prius that's trying to look less like a hamster. This is where I am conflicted. You may recall that one of the things that I like about the Prius is that it's cute, but, well, it's no Mustang.  It appears the Toyota people read my blog and tried to address this issue (What? You don't know that they didn't.), but here's the thing:  If you're going to make a car that looks like a hamster, then embrace that and make it as hamster-y cute as you can. The Prius still looks like a hamster, but now it looks like a hamster that is trying to look sporty, maybe more like a jack rabbit. If you're going to make a sporty car, then make it sporty, but don't make a sporty hamster.

(Picture found on Yuval Y's flickr photostream)

What do you guys think?  You can open the links below in separate windows and compare them side-by-side.  
Here is the 2009 Prius, embracing its inner hamster.
Here is the 2010 Prius, trying to make you forget that it looks like a hamster. 

Also, just because I like to bring it up, here is the Tesla Roadster, looking nothing like a hamster but also costing $109,000 AND, as I have just discovered, listed in the #2 spot on Time's Best Inventions of 2008 list .  

Irreconcilable desires

I want a Mustang. A Ford Mustang GT. In Dark Candy Apple Red Clearcoat Metallic, but truth be told, if someone were to walk up to me on the street and hand me the keys to a black or silver one, I wouldn't kick him in the shins. I would even take one of those weird green ones if I had to.

Pro: It looks cool!
Con: A new one costs around $25,000 (you can pay a lot more, but I don't need all the bells and whistles).
Pro: I could settle for a used model, but nothing before 2005. There was a long, sad period of time where the Mustang went from looking cool to looking like a sensible-mom version of itself. Glad to see they're back on track. I love the classics, but at this point in my life, I am leaning more toward new cars; but if someone were to walk up to me on the street and hand me the keys to a 1965 Mustang Fastback, I wouldn't kick him in the shins.

Pro: I would be able to blow anyone off the line if I wanted to.
Con: The V8 engine is completely wasted on me because 1) I live in Hawaii. There is nowhere to put a V8 to good use where you aren't likely to get killed or arrested, and I'm trying to avoid both of those and 2) I am not likely to take advantage of my ability to blow anyone off the line because I am too much of a grown up and too many people out here would take me up on that challenge and then I'd be in the middle of a race and end up getting arrested or killed, and, as I've already mentioned, I'm trying to avoid both of those scenarios.
Pro: I don't actually HAVE TO engage in this juvenile behaviour, I just like to know that I CAN.

I also want a Toyota Prius. They're cute!

Pro: Saves on gas-good for your wallet AND the environment!
Con: Suspect that battery production issues might cancel out the "green" effects of the low fuel consumption.

Pro: It's cute!
Con: It looks like a hamster, and I like Mustangs. These two are hard to reconcile.

Pro: A new one will run you about $20,000-25,000.
Con: Used ones are hard to find.

My husband is baffled by this. He doesn't understand how I can reconcile my desire to drive a Mustang and also consider the Prius a suitable alternative. I understand this confusion...if only there were a way to marry hot and eco-friendly into one car...I bet it would look something like this, the Tesla Motors Roadster. OMG! I want one of these cars!

Pro: Did you see it?? It's hot!
Con: I could buy a new Mustang GT, a new Prius (Touring Edition!), AND a 1965 Mustang Fastback and it would still be cheaper than a new Tesla Roadster. Crap!
Pro: It's 100% electric.
Con: You have to plug it in. This is lame as hell. I do not want to have to plug my car in when I get home at night. I don't know why, but this bugs the crap out of me. I can barely remember to get gas once a week or so. How am I supposed to remember to plug my car in EVERY NIGHT? For $109,000 maybe they include some sort of reminder service. Like a car butler who will go out every night, plug your car in for you and then remind you that he will be back the following evening to do it again.

On a somewhat unrelated note, while the Tesla Roadster is my current dream car, if someone were to walk up to me on the street and hand me the keys to a Devaux Coupe (or on a more realistic note, an Audi R8 beause, you know, that's much more likely to happen) I wouldn't kick him in the shins.

So, what irreconcilable desires do you have??