We Almost Bought a Pair of Toyota Matrices

Best Parking Spot on Campus

My first car.  A 1996 Ford Explorer Sport, bought used shortly before starting my first job out of college.  Four-wheel drive and horrible gas mileage, it was a great car for a single guy that seldom needed to drive very far and lived in a time of moderate gas prices.

After a couple of years, the ignition system began to stick, so you had to jiggle the key just right or risk dislocating your thumb to start the thing.  My wife once walked back from the grocery store because it refused to budge.  That was the end of that car.

My lottery dreams at the time always involved the car, or cars, I would buy.  After repeatedly watching chase scenes from Ronin, I was hooked on an Audi S8.

Though it lacked the twelve cylinders of Audi's W12, it was still a beast.  Once Volkswagon teamed up with Lamborghini to modify a V10 and stick it in the Audi S8, fantasies became even more vibrant.

Well, the Audi was out of our price range, so we settled for a four-door Explorer.  Not as peppy, but we did get an unnecessarily inefficient, V8 model.  It was a great car, but then came our move to Connecticut.  We needed two cars and gas prices were on the rise.  The SUV was exchanged for a pair of Ford Foci.  The combined engine sizes of the two cars was smaller than the engine of the one Explorer we just got rid of (as well as the combined car payments).

It seems that I have been turned into a closeted environmentalist by our current cars.  Yes, the cars are a little cramped.  Transporting the family and required accessories for any extended vacations is a real-life application of Tetris.  On the other hand, I really like getting over thirty miles to the gallon.  Even though I am no longer commuting, it is nice to only have to fill the tank once a month.

So the S8 is no longer in my dreams, though I still watch Ronin on a regular basis.  I do think I would look good in one of these, however.

Whiplashing acceleration while still maintaining that family sedan vibe ...  oh, and no gas tank.  Maybe Elon Musk will give me one for promoting his product.  If that's too much, maybe a couple laps around the Earth ... for giggles?

I don't know if my lottery dreams are getting more or less practical.