Plenty Luxurious

After eleven months (see yesterday's post) the experiment had run its course. The scheduling conflicts with only one car became too demanding, especially with more frequent solo overnight trips to the Central Valley and Southland.

We bought a compact SUV, a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. With 400,000 sold last year in the U.S. and with the base model priced under $25,000, the RAV4 isn't a luxury car. But it was plenty luxurious enough for me.

Most of these optional features didn't exist anywhere
when we bought our Toyota Camry wagon in 1990.

We selected most of the available options (we've reached an age where deferred gratification is not of paramount importance). Not knowing what most of the options actually were, we just didn't want to take the chance that we'd need them later.

Hybrid drivers I've spoken to like the lower carbon emissions and energy costs that accompany fuel efficiency. I like the increased range, i.e., not having to stop for gas on a trip to LA or a round trip to Sacramento.

It may be a subconscious attempt to avoid post-purchase cognitive dissonance, but after only a few days I'm happy we got this car.

The old car's dashboard was lit up while driving--one reason to get rid of it.

The new car's dashboard is lit up on purpose

[Update - 8/25]: Farewell to the Family Sedan

Sedans, long a symbol of the American open road, are fading in the rearview mirror. In an industry-altering shift, millions of drivers have made what seems to be a complete embrace of sport-utility vehicles...

Owners are less concerned with the shape of the sheet metal or what’s under the hood than they are with how many people their vehicles can transport, or how much sports gear or home-remodeling supplies they can put into the rear hatch. “It’s all about activity today, rather than elegance or performance.”

...parents are putting new drivers in SUVs for safety reasons. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has said that “bigger, heavier vehicles are safer” because they “protect better in a crash.” In recent years, the nonprofit group has advised parents against putting their teens in small cars, long the predominant first set of wheels for young drivers.