And Here She Be

You like how I did that? Asked on my Facebook page if all my lovely readers wanted me to post a long, drawn out post about my new vehicle or a  fast n’dirty one, then totally took off for the afternoon?

What a hoser, eh?

Forgive me. The piles of snow here in Edmonton brings out the Canadian in me like nothing else does. I’ve had my toque on since the end of October, my beer is in hand and I gave the snow shovel to the husband so he could clear the sidewalk around my Igloo. The dog sleds are readied for the weekend as well.

Now, if only there was hockey….but let’s not get started on that.

Now that I’ve thrown every Canadian stereotype at you in the span of two sentences (oh wait, I forgot Nanaimo bars & buttertarts!) it’s back on topic I will go.

The new car.

Or is it a truck?

Here’s my dilemma,I think saying SUV sounds dumb. So what’s a nagging mother to say?

“Go out to the SUV and get your backpack” OR  “Go out to the truck and get your backpack” OR “Go out to the car and get your backpack”.

Which one?

To clarify, we bought a Dodge Journey last night and if you have been stalking me on my Facebook page you will have read the discussions that have taken place. We’ve been looking and researching 7 passenger vehicles and had narrowed it down to, well, pretty much only the Journey. Nothing else had everything I wanted in it at my price range. Sure, I adore Lexus but Lexus does not like my bank account. Indeed, Lexus sniffs haughtily, throws said luxury nose in the air and walks away when they see my bank balance.

Dodge it was and it was fast.

Tuesday we had to make almost a split second decision, a 2012 Journey came up on a private sale on Kijjij that morning, loaded with every – and I mean every– option that one could possibly put in, minus only the towing package which I will get installed for spring. It was even my first choice in color and leather interior. The price was killer awesome because, well, once you drive it off that car lot, it depreciates almost instantly. Win for us.

And thus we became the owners of the newest vehicle we’ve ever owned. We’ve always driven older vehicles and still and yet, this is technically a used car. We’re just too darn cheap to buy one off the car lot, I guess.

It has the backup camera and sensors, which rocks my socks. Like how you can see the garbage that the city didn’t pick up in the backup camera?

This morning this middle video area said “Hey dummy, your back left tire is too low.”

Seriously, it did.

I hate when my car (truck?) is smarter than me.

I love this video area, I can check everything in the vehicle just by using the steering wheel buttons.

These buttons.

Oh my Lord, this vehicle has more buttons than I have brains to deal with it. I am going to have to read the manual tonight. I went shopping today and couldn’t figure out how to open the back hatch.

I stood there in the parking lot looking like an awkward fool staring at the back of the Journey. I looked underneath, pushed on things, clicked buttons- too many buttons!- and finally gave up and threw my groceries into the second row.

I finally found the outside latch when I got home and was in the garage. I still can’t find an “in car” button to pop it, if there even is one.

The only must-have for me was the GPS, but because this baby is loaded it has everything. Voice command, Bluetooth, climate control, things I can’t even explain yet…..

…but the GPS was a must.

I need to know how to get places.

The most important thing I was looking for was 7 seats. I don’t always need 7 seats however, so they needed to fold down perfectly to allow us cargo room when we travel.

Five seats with massive cargo space:

Seven seats with still enough space for groceries, luggage, what have you.

Not only did I want 7 seats, I was picky about those 6th and 7th seats. I looked at RAV4’s but 7 seats came only in the base model and the seats were small and cheap feeling. These seats Mike can sit in comfortably and like the rest of the vehicle, are comfy, padded leather seats. I wouldn’t sit back there to drive a great distance, but it’s perfect for in-city travelling with family. The kids could travel to Disneyland back here happily, however.

Speaking of trips, the amount of storage in this baby sold me as well.

This?  This is under the kids feet in the second row. These are lift out storage bins meant to be filled with ice and drinks or food. There is one on each side, meaning I have two built-in coolers for road trips.

For people like me who carry large purses yet only take their debit card into the grocery store – because their too large purses are too heavy to carry while getting  groceries- the front seat lifts up to reveal yet another storage space.

Love, love LOVE. Used it right away.

There’s more, like the entertainment system for the kids – priceless tonight when we were stuck on the Henday forever in this bad snowy weather- and all sorts of do-hickeys that I haven’t even found yet. I promised a quickie post and I guess this is as quickie as you get from me!

I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend. If you’re in Alberta, stay home…stay warm…avoid the cruddy roads out there. If you’re not in Alberta I’m jealous of your weather.

And really, is it a car or a truck?

Love,

I’m Sleeping In The Car (Truck?) Tonight Magpie