If Two Wheels Move the Soul

If two wheels move the soul, then four wheels keep me off the bus.

Not that there is anything wrong with taking the bus or rapid transit if it is available in your area. Troubadour has been taking the Subaru to work rather than the Tiger for the last few months.  In the cold, dark, and rain it just isn't any fun to do 23 miles of straight, 5-lane highway.  Especially after surmounting the very large dead raccoon obstacle on his way to work in the summer.

While he's been commuting via Subaru I've been on the city bus.  We've been running with one car for about 7 years now.   For me, it is quite convenient to take the bus to work, it is getting home that is the issue.

We live on a commuter route which means that it comes by twice in the morning and I can get on to come home at the parking lot downtown transit station at 11 am, 3:00 pm, or 5:15 pm.  Most days I am at work at least half an hour early and work through lunch.  I can usually leave early if I have a means to get home. I've been known to walk the three miles weather permitting.  If I miss the bus and the weather is too poor to walk I wait until hubby can pick me up at 5.

Enter the second vehicle debate.  We weighed the pros and cons and finally decided two vehicles made sense at this point.  Not only could I leave work early so hubby could come home to a warm house and dinner ready, but on the days I could leave a little earlier I could stop and get groceries on the way home so we don't have to do it on Friday afternoon or the weekends when it is busier.

We looked, and looked and debated new versus used.  We have a habit of being able to talk ourselves into or out of anything, so it wasn't an easy decision.  We test drove a few things and on the Sunday before Thanksgiving finally decided......and we drove home our new 2015 Fiat 500 Sport we purchased from Lithia Fiat of Eugene.  

(2015 Fiat 500 Sport - color - Billet Argento)

(Silver wasn't our first choice, but it was preferable to the pale green they had in stock)

With a Fiat cash back bonus and a Lithia discount we paid well under MSRP and had no complaints. Hubby even managed to get them to throw in winter floor mats.  It was a long day but we were pleased.  We took turns when we drove it the 50 miles home, switching up with the Subaru.  

Some reviews peg the little Fiat as not having much power but we chose the 5-speed manual transmission and the Sport model.  Press the sport button on the dash and there is enough torque to set you back in your seat....or maybe that is the way we drive.

We've had the car for just over two weeks now and I don't think there is one thing we don't like about it.  It is small, nimble, easy to park, and has great fuel economy - 30 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. I think that might depend on who is driving too.

So far it has had no trouble keeping up with traffic.  We've taken it on our favorite twisty road to Salem and also for a run up Marys Peak on Sunday and it did just fine.  I am glad we chose the manual transmission though, as I don't think the automatic would have been quite as capable.

- Au Revoir

" I must scream it to the world, my excitement from the top of someplace very high. Do you know many Ferraris?" - Luigi in Cars

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