Level IV Smug Alert!

My little Corolla was almost 12 years old. It was getting rather frayed around the edges. It had a cracked windshield. Its headliner was starting to sag. The plastic trim around the doors had shrunk and had pulled away from the door frames. Its fuel economy had dropped to only 28 miles per gallon tooling around town.

It was time to think about getting a new car.

Thanks to BEA being bought last year and Mom's advances on our inheritance, I had some money sitting around screaming "SPEND ME!"

Today was the day to obey the money.

I didn't record the results of the poll I had with my BEA story but I remember what the outcome was. The choice with the most votes was "Buy a Prius."

I bought a 2010 Prius IV.

You thought I'd get your basic model? I thought I would have but I didn't. I wanted the solar powered ventilation system and the remote air conditioning system. I didn't really want heated, leather seats but, hey, why not? I've been rather frugal with my cars for a while.

Now I have to read about all the fun things I can do with it. I have to learn how to get my phone to talk through the bluetooth connection to the car. I have to figure out all the buttons (there are a lot of buttons).

It's going to take a while to be able to just walk up to the car and get going. Cars need keys in an ignition switch to run. At least they used to.

Well, I need to read up on this thing.