Cars These Days!

We drive old cars.  I don't go to auto shows or pay any attention to car commercials, because unless I win a lottery, I'm likely never going to have a fancy, brand new car.

We drove Mark's van until it literally just stopped on the highway.  It died in motion.  It was made in 1996, and it didn't have a CD player in it, but the radio worked, and Mark could play his old cassette tapes in there.

My car is 6 whole years newer than his was - mine is from 2002.  It has a CD player in it.

Since Mark's car left us for that big highway in the sky, we are on the hunt for another one.  We'll do a car rotation, because our deal is, the one who drives the kids around the most, gets to drive the newest vehicle.  The new car will be "mine" and Mark will drive the one that is currently mine.  He'll finally get to play CDs in the car.

So last night I went to a car dealership in a neighboring suburb, to see a used minivan Mark found online that filled our one requirement (a built-in DVD player) and was priced agreeably.  It was manufactured in 2008 and shiny red.

And I was BLOWN AWAY by the features of this five year old car.

It has dual DVD players with wireless headphones.  Touch screen controls for the radio and CD player, satellite radio capability.  A rear-view camera, that shows me exactly what is behind the car when it's in reverse.  A mirror separate from the rear view mirror specifically for seeing what people in the back rows are up to.

When in park, I can play a movie right in the front, on the touch screen.  I can load an ebook to it, and it will read it to me while I'm driving.  There are front and middle row seat warmers.  The middle seats swivel, and you can put a table up between them.

The key isn't like a typical key - it's more like a computer thumb drive.  I've never seen a car key like it.  The two back doors and the back hatch can open and close with the touch of a button from the driver's seat, or from the remote.  The back row seats flip all the way back into the cargo area, for tailgating.  In the cargo area there are fitted compartments for grocery sacks, and hooks to hang grocery bags on.

And this car is from FIVE YEARS AGO!

I swear, cars built in 2013 must be hovercrafts.