Failure of the Day: What’s Behind Door Number 3?

C’mon, everyone knows what’s behind door #3…it’s a new car!

I did not find the car buying experience to be as arduous as I’d heard it could be, and even Chris was pleasantly surprised. He spent most of the last week prepping me for The Hard Sell ("Oh I see you've got the moon roof...you'd be CRAZY not to get the bat guard, then!") But by and large, I think we did really well. It only took as long as it did because it turns out that they don’t let you lease a car if you’ve never purchased one before. Who knew? Two months of researching car leases and not one web site mentions that detail. So we spent the first hour setting up a lease and then had to change courses midstream and start the whole process over. And still, the whole deal was over in 3 hours.

So meet the 2006 4-door Honda Civic EX in Nighthawk Black Pearl. It does just about every fucking thing under the sun for you (Chris spent most of the day playing with the stereo—from the controls on the steering wheel). Yet it is still practical as the day is long: ultra low emissions, gas mileage that rivals a hybrid, and so many airbags you could practically use the thing as a floatation device. We are very happy with our car. Her name is Marguerite.

I myself am in about the state you’d imagine—alternately thrilled and convinced that I've brought doom onto us by brazenly assuming that things will be OK for long enough to pay the thing off. Of course, I’m still petrified to drive, but, as I shout gleefully at the TV whenever that commercial comes on that says” On the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers”: I’m a passenger!