I started car shopping the other day. I don’t know what I want. Well, that’s not entirely true. I want a car that gets awesome gas mileage. (Who doesn’t?) So, I at started to do the research. Then I got confused. Hybrid, normal with good gas mileage, smaller SUV, crossover, Dodge, Mazda, Honda, convertible, red, blue, gray… So many choices!

I think I pick my cars based on their attributes. I want good gas mileage, a sunroof, a rocking radio, a great color and low payments. Is that so hard? Maybe my heart isn’t in it quite yet. I won’t really get into it until I start test driving.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with my SUV necessarily. Although, it doesn’t get very good mileage and it’s kind of big and bulky. Sure there’s plenty of room to haul stuff, but I don’t haul a lot. And it’s 3.5 years old.

I originally got this car when I moved to O! because they get snow in O! and my little Stratus was not going to handle snow very well. So, I got a Mazda Tribute. A smallish SUV capable to maneuver snow banks and crappy weather. What I learned later is that a 2WD SUV wasn’t anymore useful in snow than a sports coupe. Or so my friends from O! told me. (This is why I maintain that if it’s snowing, you should really just stay home.)

So now I’m back in Texas and the land of sunshine (and currently of rain). We don’t get snow very often, and when we do we sure as hell don’t leave the house. Heh. So, I have a moderately rated for snow SUV in a state without snow. Or something.

So, I have a Tribute which is a good car. It drives just fine, is comfortable and has plenty of space to haul stuff. However, with the ever growing gas prices, it’s time to change. It’s time, I think, to find something a little more economical. Sadly, that does not include this.

And this is where I ask for your help. I’m taking suggestions. I’m taking stories. What do you drive? What should I start looking into? What car have you owned that is terrible? What cars have you heard get great gas mileage? What cars get awful gas mileage? Should Dallas try and make better public transit? Feel free to try and talk me into a Hummer! (If you can do that, I’ll buy you a car too!) (Maybe.)