Cast #3 is on the arm, everything is sore and I am ready to be over this foolishness.

For the first time in about 5 years, I have purchased an expensive tangible, physical good that required planning, research and contact with salespeople. There are roughly 12 cars in the "small 5-door hatchback that get 30+ MPG" market segment. I drove all of them. The Hondas were nice cars but way too small for me. The two Kias I drove were, mediocre is the closest word I have. The Hundai I drove was great, but to get AWD like the Subaru made the car too expensive for what it is. And my first choice going in, the Mazda 3 wagon, was too small to effectively hold my gear (the telescope mirror cell would not fit into the car due to curves and wasted space. (Mazda 3 interior and ride however were the best of all the cars IMO, and it was sad to see them not fit my stuff.) The VW Golf, oh man I almost bought that car, but I'd never afford all the tickets I'd get. Man, that Golf is a joy to drive. The fords drove well; the Focus and the C-Max are nice enough cars, but wow the interior is pure shit. I ended up with a Subaru. This is where the story gets amusing in a not-funny way. August was the best month Subaru ever had. September was even better... So was October. November is going to dip due to them running out of cars. The car I ended up with the Crosstrek, hit the top of all the lists and sold out everywhere. Being in the middle of the country, you get middle of the country cars, something like this one you have to normally order and wait 6-8 weeks for delivery. I did not have 6 weeks, I did not even have 2 weeks.

Fortunately, the sales guy was a nerd, good with a computer inventory system and worked his ass off to get me a car. My requirements are dark interior, not white, not red, load that dog up with options. Sales guy thought that was funny. There was a hybrid which did not get all that great reviews; I liked it when I drove it. I was ready to negotiate that down when I got the car I ended up buying. So yay.

I think this is the first time I've dealt with a scarce good in years. The whole process reminded me that there is still a whole world that the internet has not really disrupted yet.