I got my car back from the shop today and was pleased at least that they didn't remove my existing inspection sticker, so I'm state-legal through Monday. I've also been made aware of a place that does inspections that, well, let's say they're not quite as vigilant as where I took the car yesterday. I may try and get the car in to them and see if I can eke out another month or two so I can keep shopping for the best deal rather than try and push something through in a hurry.


I went to a lot of dealerships today, looked at many cars, and test drove a number of them I never expected I would have a month ago. As the day went on, I got better at lying to the salesmen in order to get what I wanted. If I simply expressed the honest truth that I was out to be educated and wanted to be exposed to cars about the same size as my Regal, I got nowhere. If I said I wanted to pay less than $10,000 I also got nowhere. By the end of the day I was telling salesmen I wanted to buy something around $15,000 and finally started getting some attention and people that would actually offer test drives. I also found I got more traction if rather than simply saying I wanted something similar to the Regal in size, to tell them I wanted something that would fit me, motioning upward to indicate my height and outward to indicate my girth.


There was one notable exception to this chicanery that I should mention. The gentleman at Lothar's Auto Haus required no bullshitting and told me I could drive every car on the lot if I really wanted to and was very good at comparing and contrasting the features of the cars, rather than just giving personal opinions.


Over the course of the day, I wound up looking at several cars:


# 1998 Buick Riviera
80,000 miles, $5500, metallic blue-green; A/C, CD, Sunroof, Leather, 3.8L V6, Traction Control.
I really liked the color, and the feature set is virtually identical to my Regal. But it's only a minor upgrade and Buick stopped making it in 1999. Alternately, I could look into its cousin, the Olds Aurora, which was made through 2002 but was better looking in 1995-6.


# 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue
42,800 miles, $7500, champagne; A/C, CD, Sunroof, Leather, 3.8L V6, Traction Control.
This is one of the cars I was seriously thinking about even before it became necessary to go shopping. A close cousin to the Regal, it stuck to the ground like glue and as a SC car was super clean. But even with that low of mileage it would stutter at 50mph on hills and had a lot of nicks and dings.


# 2001 Oldsmobile Alero
Little brother to the Intrigue, I did not fit comfortably in this car.


# 2000 Mazda 626 LX
54,900 miles, $7995, cinnamon; A/C, CD, 2.0L I4.
I had never looked at a Mazda before, and while it had a cutesy oscillating blower for the vent, the vehicle was nothing at all special. Not very peppy and very plastic-y inside. But it was a very attractive color and the exterior styling was nice. Perhaps it would be less objectionable at a higher trim level and with a bigger engine.


# 1997 Toyota Camry XLE
61,200 miles, $8348, burgundy; A/C, Cass, Sunroof, 3.0L V6.
I was a little skeptical about looking at a vehicle this old, since Lari is lobbying heavily for something 2000 or later. But I wanted to see how a V6 Camry performed, and I was not disappointed. Even for a 9-year old car it was very tight -- whisper-quiet engine, good handling, and interior that wasn't plush but also wasn't plastic-feeling. It felt solid and dependable. If it had a CD player and traction control and I might have made an offer for it on the spot.


# 1999 Toyota Camry LE
71,300 miles, $7995, tan, A/C, Cass, 2.2L I4.
I deliberately drove the bigger-engine Camry before I tested one with the regular power plant, to get a better apples-to-apples comparison with my Regal and then see where the I4 fell short. The reality is, the 2.2L engine delivers a reasonable amount of pep and doesn't leave the car feeling underpowered. It's very responsive from 0-40 and really only lacks when trying to wring a quick boost out of it while, say, going uphill at 50. For a $500 difference I'd opt for the V6, but I wouldn't pass by a loaded I4 at the right price.


# 1999 Dodge Stratus
Little brother to the Intrepid, I did not fit comfortably in this car.


# 2001 Dodge Intrepid
Probably the closest Chrysler product to the Regal, the sloped roofline left a lot of roof in my field of vision which was very uncool.


# 2002 Chrysler 300M
44,000 miles, $14,400, dark metallic green; A/C, CD, Sunroof, Leather, 3.5L V6, Traction Control.
I had really wanted to look at and drive a 300M from the first time I walked past one earlier in the day, but until I told someone from the get-go that I would pay that much nobody would unlock one for me. This car is FREAKIN' SWEET and is Chrysler's answer to the Buick Riviera but sportier. The leather is softer and the whole car is more posh than my Regal. It's ridiculously responsive and the heated seats move in like 18 million directions.


# 2003 Honda Accord LX
44,000 miles, $14,400, silver; A/C, CD, 2.3L I4.
This was the first year of the re-designed Accord, and I must say that never before have I sat down in a car and found something I really liked virtually everywhere I looked. From the wicked clever cupholders that adjust to fit your beverage, to the intensely crisp and bright dash display, to the cruise controls it was obvious that somebody put a lot of thought into not just making something different, but to making it better. In fact, the sales guy deliberately did not tell me what kind of powerplant it had until halfway through the test drive: the 2.3L I4 Accord performed identically to the 3.1L V6 Buick Regal. True, this car is lacking in the stuff I've grown very accustomed to having -- leather, sunroof, etc -- but what is there is so well-done that if it wasn't so damn expensive I would think about buying one fully loaded.
