I’m in the market for a new car.  The car I would like to get is the Volvo XC70:

In brown, if you please!  Sadly, this vehicle sells for on the order of $40,000.  I never would have looked at it in the first place if I’d realized Volvo was a luxury brand.  (I haven’t been browsing Mercedes, Lexus, et.)

In reality, we are more likely to buy the Pacific Northwest’s most popular vehicle, the Subaru Outback.  It’s actually so popular around here, it’s ridiculous.  I’m a little underwhelmed, but I’m sure it’ll do the job.  Still, I feel I should be more excited about something I’m shelling out $25,000 for, don’t you?

I took it for a test drive last weekend and was decidedly underwhelmed.  This is actually in contrast to when we test-drove a Toyota Camry and were very impressed, but in our extremely hilly neighborhood, all-wheel drive will be very handy in the winter, and I’d like the additional storage space of a station wagon / small SUV.  I’m also looking at all the other small SUVs below 30K with AWD and 35 sq. ft. of trunk space or so.