nanovivid

Saturday morning I went to start my car and the engine refused to turn over. So we jump started it and it was fine for the rest of the day. Even with multiple starts and stops, there was no sign of any problem. I did notice some corrosion on the battery terminals, so I cleaned it off, just to be safe. Everything seemed perfectly fine and I figured it may have been a fluke.

Sunday morning, I checked to see if the car would start and, again, it was dead. This time after jumping it, I took it to Sears Auto Center (which is apparently the ONLY service place in all of Cleveland that’s open on Sunday). After hours of waiting, they told me that they couldn’t find anything wrong with the battery or the alternator, but they’ve redone all the connections, so maybe something was loose. I checked it again that evening and it started up fine.

This morning (you have to know where this is going), I tried to start the car and, of course, nothing. It was even more exciting this time because it wouldn’t start even when being jumped. So rather than spend all the time, energy (and money) to troubleshoot a problem that apparently doesn’t exist on a twelve year old car, we decided to look for a new one.

Now, I had my heart all set on a used Civic, because I love Honda. Unfortunately, even used Civics are a tad pricey. They’re especially pricy when compared to a certain car named after a type of atom created by a company named after a planet.

After some research, Bryan and I decided to first go to the Saturn dealership before we went down the Civic route. It quickly became apparent that Saturn’s pricing was going to be a bit too competitive to pass up, considering that a top of the line ION is priced closely enough to a well-used Civic for there to be little debate as to which one we’d be getting.

As a result, Bryan and I are now the proud owners of a brand new 2006 ION Type 3. Thogh it’s really more mine! It’s very pretty and silver and super fancy. There are automatic headlights, a magic rearview mirror that dims when headlights hit it, and the stereo is all iPod friendly with a built-in front-panel auxiliary input. One of the weird-but-cool features is that the instrument panel is above the center console and tilted toward the driver. That one is taking a bit to get used to, but I think it may actually better than having it in front of the driver. Oh, and the radio? Shows you what song is playing (as long as the station is broadcasting the information).

Best of all? The buyer’s remorse hasn’t hit yet, and hopefully it never will. Now we just need to think of a name. Maybe Francium because… wait for it… it has the lowest ionization energy. Or… maybe not.

♫ Kings Of Convenience - Singing Softly To Me