And speaking of trucks...

Chasmyn has a link to a beautiful post about SUV's. I'm a hypocrite when I bitch about SUV's, because I own a 4wd pickup truck. Shun me if you like. My truck lets me do things I couldn't do with a Prius, even if the dealership had any in stock. ...Like filling the bed with free mulch from Carondelet Park, which soaked up 5 inches of rain before I could offload it; turning the truck bed into a murky swamp. Apparently, mulch is a good sealant. Now it's a frozen swamp. But I digress.

I wanted to talk about the SUV temptation.
I understand the allure of power. I used to own a ton and a half of steel and chrome that could push other cars out of the way (and came with special bumpers just for that purpose). But I was 17 at the time. And newer cars couldn't get up to 55 mph with a full compliment of passengers.

Now I'm 35, and things are different. Any car can carry passengers, and still not be a traffic hazard. And they can do it with better fuel economy than the crap from the early 80's. There's no need to buy "power", unless you genuinely use that power daily. If you want attention, glue dollar bills to your car. It's friendlier to the environment. Again, I digress.

When the Hubby-Man and I went to the showroom to buy a new truck, we knew exactly what we wanted. But since they didn't have a pickup truck that scavenges pollutants out of the air and emits nothing but potable water, we settled on a Toyota Tacoma. Lightweight, 4 wheel drive, seating for 5, and able to haul stuff. We looked wistfully at the single shiny Prius, knowing that we couldn't afford 2 cars and that the Prius didn't fit our family's needs; then went to find the Tacoma of our dreams. We found it alright. It was parked next to a Tundura. With 4 doors. In the color we wanted. It was almost the same price. I swear they do that on purpose.
The Tundura flashed it's paint at us and seemed to say, "I have more leg room! My seats are plusher! I have 4 doors! You know you want me." And, oh! We did want it. It wasn't a stick shift, but look at those seats! It wasn't 4wd, but 6 cylinders, wow! The truck bed was smaller, but... wait a minute. What's the mileage on this beast? Oh. My. Gods. Seventeen miles to the gallon. And that's before you put any weight in the truck.

It made it easy to wipe the drool off our chins and buy the Tacoma. I don't regret the decision when I gas up once per paycheck. I don't regret it when my son has to climb over the seat, either. A little exercise is good for a person.