I Gotta Vibe

I got my new car today! It's a 2006 Pontiac Vibe. I'd really been wanting a Toyota Matrix, but the Vibe is essentially the same car. And Consumer Reports rated them both really high. It's a gray "wagon", but without the fake wood paneling. It looks nice outside, but the interior, specifically the dash is really high-tech looking.

The gauges are all completely digital, and really bright. I just think that's the bomb. I also got excited to see it showed the outside temperature. Hey, I've never had that before. Another cool feature is the dual power ports. One is a traditional cigarette lighter style, and one is a 115v AC outlet that you could plug a laptop or something into. And speaking of laptops, the passenger seat folds forward flat, and you can use its back as a tabletop work area.

The back seat is surprisingly roomy, Even with the driver's seat in my normal driving position, I can sit in the back seat without my knees even touching the back of the seat. The cargo area is decent, but both backseats fold down for more storage.

There's also lots of little things that excite me. Stuff like the headlights knowing when to go on and off, the automatic daytime running lights, fog lights, the doors lock when you put it into gear, etc.

Oh, and the radio is pretty cool. Apparently, radio stations can broadcast artist and song data in their signal. I had no idea. This radio can pick that up, if it's there. Obviously it's unlikely the stations in the Mid-Ohio Valley have this, but the station we listen to down here, daveFM, does. Kinda sucks the stereo doesn't have an auxiliary jack for my iPod like the van, but oh well.

Ah, the minivan. Boy, I'm going to miss that thing. Good times. Brenda always hated it, but it's been a great car and served us well. Carmax is giving us $1,200 for it, which is great. I just can't sell it to them until I get a new title to replace the one Murray took a bite out of (long story).

At any rate, we now both have reliable, safe vehicles. You all can sleep at night now :)