December 31, 2007

THE NEW CAR!

After weeks of waiting, the Ford dealer finally contacted Emily regarding the car she'd won. So Emily made an appointment to visit the Ford Dealer in Santa Monica. I went with her to see how all this was going to play out. And it ended up being a surprisingly great experience.

While it was actually a 2008 Ford Explorer that Emily had won on the Price is Right, she had the choice of picking any vehicle she wanted (off the base price of the the Explorer she'd won)--- all she had to do was pay whatever the difference might be. And so after looking over the Explorer (average city mileage of about 13 mpg) vs. a brand new Ford Escape Hybrid (average city mileage of 30mpg)--- it wasn't a tough choice for her to make. She picked the 2008 Escape Hybrid.

Oh, I'm sorry. Was I parking too loud?

Personally I'm not a fan of American built cars, particularly Fords. But, I do know that in general American trucks and SUVs are highly rated, particularly the Ford Explorer, and especially the Ford Escape Hybrid. And I gotta admit, this Escape is a great looking mid-sized SUV.

Stop looking at my rack.

Getting a hybrid had less to do with saving the environment and more to do with saving $$ on fuel. But being "green" while driving an SUV helps limit the guilt factor I suppose. The Escape that Emily picked - this is the first one she saw on the lot - is loaded to the teeth with extras: navigation system, power everything, cruise control, sunroof, satellite radio, seat warmers, VIP lounge and monkey containment center. Okay, not the lounge, but everything else... okay OKAY, no monkey containment center either.

Be honest. Does this bumper make my trunk look fat?

So far Emily is really happy with the Escape. I've driven it quite a bit and I have to say I'm a convert, it's a great drive, a sharp looking truck, seems to have plenty of power, and it gets killer mileage - it's averaging 32.5 mpg. Woo-HOO!

But it could really use a monkey containment center.

Curses!

A combative monkey can really mess up that new car smell.

Now I've got to convince Emily to go on Deal Or No Deal and go for the big bucks.