The not-so-subtle way to vehicular upgrade.

So, once upon a time, I had a 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser in Marine blue. It wasn't anything special. It didn't have air conditioning for the first two years I owned it. Indeed I suffered much disparagement from several of my friends (mostly male car enthusiasts. You know who you are.) but it was MINE and it got me where I needed to go.
It looked like this:

Pulled this photo from the interwebs. I honestly wasn't fond enough of
my car to take pictures of it while it was still intact. 

Now it looks like this:

In a word: Wrecked.

Crunched up. Sad. Lifeless.

The bottom line is that driving in a storm on FM 1960, with a car that doesn't have the tightest brakes, doesn't mix well with blue pickup drivers who stop too fast at yellow lights.

The craziest part was when I finally got over the shock of an airbag exploding in my face, and got out of my car (climbing out through the back door since the front doors wouldn't open) and went to inspect the damage, the driver I hit was GONE!!
He totally drove off! The driver in front of him that he bumped, chased him down! The whole day was a mess and I don't care to think much about it. I was shaken up, but got away with only mild scrapes from the airbag deployment and a bit of a sore neck. The kids were thankfully, completely unscathed!

What was REALLY frustrating was the prospect of not having a car of my own anymore. Especially since I was pretty sure, even then, that it was a total loss.

FINE! Whatever! I totally wanted a new car ANYWAYS!

{It is at this point that I really need to give a shout out to USAA. We are insured through them and I have to say, everything AFTER the wreck went perfectly smooth! They set me up with a rental car immediately and set about working on the claim. If you are eligible for USAA, whether by former military service, or having a family member who served, I HIGHLY recommend them. We have fantastic coverage and a lower premium than any other company can offer, plus they are all really nice and helpful!}

After determining that the car was INDEED a total loss, we determined it was time to go car shopping! Once again USAA hooked us up with everything we needed to go about purchasing a NEW CAR!!

...Okay it's not "new"(certified pre-owned) but it is new to me!!!

MY 2012 Chevy Cruze!

mandatory 'car pose' pic (Rob's idea.)

This is the first car I have ever owned, that I feel a little sense of pride driving. For one its the 'newest' I have driven, and I actually had a hand in selecting it! I kind of, sort of, really love it.

Now I have the task of naming it and finding decent replacements for my good car seats that I  had to trash after the wreck.