Car Shopping

SORRY about last weeks short week on the blog, but I won't go black on you, I promise, and everything is alright with me just soooo busy with a few big things.
One is that I'm in the thick of planning my son's Bar Mitzvah, my last but not least... and right about the same time (March) I have to decide on a new car with my lease coming due just about then too.
Frankly, I don't know which one is more work!  One is months of planning and will be over in a matter of 6 or so hours and the other is weeks of research and I have to live with my decision for 3 years.
You might think this is ridiculous even comparing these two unrelated things but they are converging and making me crazy at the same time.
I know a lot of women who have their husbands making this car decision for them but not in this household it's a joint decision, it's the car that I will be living in 95% of the time carting the kids to and fro.
I don't want to spend a lot on a car (it's not where we care to put too many eggs) but I'm thinking to go to a third row so I don't have to say 'no' to taking my 2 kids and all their friends places.
Anyway I tend to do a lot of research on things and usually I'm a very fast shopper (clothing, home decor, etc).  I know what I like, but a car is a big ticket item and there are a lot of players who present a lot of confusing information.
My latest is this... I have never bought an American car but suddenly some of them are looking quite good, especially Ford... with their technology and safety...

...so wish me luck and please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions you'd like to share... Thanks!

Driving & Texting, Texting and Driving... Watch Out!!!

Yesterday, I was driving home with my 12 year old from his music lesson down a country road behind a teenage driver (girl) with all the tell-tale signs of of one who was texting/reading and driving.  This went on for about 2 miles!!!  I could see the lit screen she was holding up while she was slowly and erratically driving her Mercedes.  When the road became two lanes I pulled into the lane beside her and I could see clearly that she was scrolling and reading info on the small screen.  She looked over at me while I looked at her in disbelief... her face was expressionless as she turned back to her business... as far as I was concerned, it was 'lethal business'!

In this months issue of AAA's Car & Drive Magazine there is a very telling article, "Albany AWOL on Texting" on stalled legislation in Albany regarding texting and driving.  It's already illegal but not as a primary offense which ties the hands of the enforcers...

The statistics are glaring... the NTSA reported that 16% of traffic fatalities in 2009 were due to distracted drivers and of all distractions texting poses the greatest risk..."because it distracts drivers visually, manually and cognitively, creating a trifecta of deadly distractions."

Your NY community needs your support, let them know you want tougher laws to protect us...

Visit  www.capwiz.com/aanys/home to weigh in on this important issue!... when you click the link it only takes about 30 seconds to fill-in-the-blank email those politicians in Albany.