Car Shopping Extravaganza

So Jen and I are looking for a new car right now. And since I'm on break (still...) :P I get to do a lot of the "shopping." It's been a lot of fun, actually. I got to test drive a ton of cars and learn a little more about what I like and don't like, what I'm looking for, etc. In some ways, my tastes have changed and in others, they're exactly the same.

The problem is that recently we decided that car shopping together just wasn't working because the only day we could shop together was Saturday. And the last two Saturdays have been kind of snowy around here, so we've stayed pretty close to home in terms of the dealers we went to. So last week, Jen said to me, "Why don't you just test drive the cars you're interested in, and narrow down our choices. Then we'll test drive the ones you like together." Well, I thought that was a pretty good system at the time. It made a some sense. I could eliminate a lot of the ones that I didn't like at all, and then we could focus on the ones that I really liked. Yesterday, I finished my test drives and ranked the cars I looked at based on a comparison system that I made up:

So my Tier system has to do with a combination of all of the factors I've listed below: engine performance, sound and feel; interior room and design; handling and comfort, a.k.a. suspension and steering, a.k.a. "ride", gas mileage, and price. All the cars have about the same amount of miles on them and comparable warantees (except the LaCrosse + $795 for the added warantee), so I didn't really take those factors into account.

Tier 1
06 Buick LaCrosse ($12,500+$795), v-6, 30 mpg. hwy, roomy, pretty nice ride, nice engine
07 Ford Fusion ($13,995), 4 cyl., 28 mpg. hwy, comfortable but basic, okay ride, nice engine

Tier 2

08 Ford Taurus ($16,995), v-6, 28 mpg. hwy, roomy, like driving a pillow!, nice engine

08 Honda Accord ($17,995), 4 cyl., 31 mpg. hwy, comfortable (roomy on the passenger side), bumpy ride, really nice engine (feels like a v-6)
08 Chevy Malibu ($12,900) 4 cyl., 28 mpg. hwy, comfortable, bumpy ride, okay engine
08 Toyota Camry ($18,995) 4 cyl., 32 mpg. hwy, comfortable, okay ride, nice engine. No doubt a good car, but not worth the money from my perspective.

Tier 3

08 Nissan Altima ($15,995) 4 cyl. ?31 maybe?, a little too small for me, okay ride, rough engine. I could live with it, but not at that price!

08 Hyundai Sontata (No clue 'cause I don't care), 4 cyl., about the same as the rest, too small, bumpy ride, rough engine.
08 Kia Optima Lets just say I'm not interested.
08 Hyundai Santa Fe ($13, ish) SUV, only test drove cause Jen liked it. Didn't like it at all. Not impressed with the Hyundais.

I haven't shared my tier system with Jen, yet. And here's where the flaw in our logic comes in. So I test drive the cars and, based on the shortened list, we pick one out together. My short list is probably the top 4 or so. The problem is that Jen's favorites aren't on the short list (the Camry and the Santa Fe, though she does like the Taurus). I think she's given up on the Santa Fe. But I told her about the cars I wanted to test drive together, and she asked about the Camry.

So I think we'll chuck the Malibu and make the short list the other five in Tiers 1 and 2. But the Camry's so Friggin' exepensive and even though it was nice, it wasn't amazing in ways that would make the exta money worth it, in my opinion.

Now the next discussion is who gets to drive the new car. I thought that it was decided, but apparently, it's not, as I learned this morning when we talked about my short list. Guess who I think should get to drive it. ;)