I emerged from a weekend of car-buying craziness with this sweet little number.  It's a 2004 Impreza Outback Sport Wagon, which I bought at a Subaru dealership after more than four absurd hours of negotiation.  Although I'm not happy with the dealership, I *am* quite happy with my car.  Not only does it have AWD, which is going to rock on hiking trips and my curvy commute, but it's small, gets decent gas mileage, and is reasonably safe.

My nerdy side is still crestfallen about the absence of side airbags, but my lesbian side is stoked.

My DGF saw it for the first time today and definitely approves, though she finds the color "a little childish" (what?!).  But she thinks I got a good deal on it, and since she knows more about cars than I do, I was quite pleased.

While I was weighing whether to buy it, I named the car "Bastian."  I have never named a car before, and it popped into my mind out of nowhere (was "The Neverending Story" rattling around in my subconscious?).  Though I loathe the misogynistic practice of giving vehicles women's names and referring to them as "she," I am perfectly happy to have a male car, because it somehow turns that practice on its head (or does it?).  Anyhow, I hope Bastian and I will be buddies for a long time to come.

The best part of my car search, though, was talking on the phone with a private party seller on Saturday about a different car.  The conversation proceeded as follows:

BW: Hi.  I'm interested in your 2006 Honda Civic.  Is that still for sale?
Car Dude (henceforth CD): Yeah, it is.
BW: Oh, great.  I just had a couple questions about it.
CD: Sure.
BW: Does it have a clean title?
CD: No.
BW: Oh, okay.  In that case, I'm not interested.  But thanks for your time.
CD: I DON'T WANT TO SELL IT TO YOU ANYWAY!!
BW: Um, okay.  Bye.

As my DXH said when I told him the story, I didn't know third graders were allowed to own cars!

For me, this is car-shopping weekend.  I was in an accident last month and totaled my Accord, and I'm down to the wire for finding a new (used) car.

The butch in me wants 4WD.  It doesn't have to be huge--I just want to be able to throw my bike in the back (never mind that I'm not much of a cyclist; I'm nonetheless enamored with the idea), dart up the curvy road to my apartment in the rain without skidding, and maybe strap a kayak on top (never mind that I've only kayaked three times in my entire life).  SUVs are fun to drive, but I loathe the SUV arms race (in which we all buy taller cars so that we can see around all the other people who bought taller cars so they could see better).

Ah, but the nerd in me...  The nerd in me wants a Volvo...  perhaps a used S40.  Or something with amazingly good gas mileage.  Something drool-inducingly safe.  Side curtain airbags!  High visibility!!  Oh yeah, give it to me, baby!!

Ahem.

So this weekend, my butch side and my nerd side will endeavor to strike a compromise.  What'll it be?  A Subaru Impreza wagon?  A "small" SUV?  A RAV-4?  A Civic?  I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, what features do *you* think are essential for a butch's ride?  A multi-disc changer and sweet sound system?  Big cup holders?  Roof racks?  A Moon roof?  Manual transmission?