Our new baby.

Steve and I drove home yesterday in our brand new 2007 Volvo V50-T. It's a stylin' ride, one we've coveted for many months as we sorted our finances and came to terms with the foolhardiness of new-car buying.

Originally, we were planning to take advantage of Volvo's Overseas Delivery Program, a sweet deal in which Volvo flies you to Sweden and feeds you swedish meatballs before handing you the keys to your brand new, custom-designed Volvo. As appealing as this offer sounded, the timing just wasn't working for us, and we decided that Sweden was so far from the top of our Places We're Dying To Go list that it wasn't worth using the vacation time. So we'll take a trip elsewhere, later.

Next, we thought we might land a good deal on a 2006 closeout. There are a few such deals to be found, but only if you're willing to settle for an automatic transmission. While only one of us drives, both of us are gear-shift purists, particularly when we were buying such a sporty vehicle.

That put us back in the terrifying new-car market. But with the help of a savvy broker, we landed a pretty sweet deal, very close to the factory price we'd have paid for a 2007 in Sweden. It's still a hell of a lot more money than either of us ever imagined spending on a car, which means we won't even be thinking about buying anything else with four wheels and an engine until 2022.

Yesterday, it was ours. The weather cooperated by being wet and chilly, allowing us to take full advantage of the heated front seats, as well as the extremely versatile front and back wipers. And late last night, we experienced the first snow of the season from the Volvo's cozy confines, as we drove up the steep and windy Flagstaff Mountain road, just for kicks.

The Volvo is  loaded with snazzy-cool electronic features, including such unfamiliar luxuries as power windows and air conditioning. Hopefully, my arm strength won't suffer, now that I no longer have to crank the windows up and down.

But all this luxury is not without its downside. In addition to being fully paid-for and practically maintenance-free, the trusty Civic averages 41 miles per gallon. It's been known to get 47 MPG on the highway, even at eleven years old. The Volvo? Maybe 30, if we're lucky.

Barely an hour after we'd inked the deal last night, we watched An Inconvenient Truth. As the credits rolled, the audience sat in stunned silence, contemplating our collective guilt and weighing Al Gore's call to action. I leaned over and whispered to Steve: maybe we should exchange it for a Prius?

Comments

[Jane]

I love the Volvo cars! My dad swears by them for handling, luxury and especially safety! Congrats on your new 'baby'!