I got a new car. Darnit.

Actually "darnit" doesn't really express the level of my unhappiness about my new car.

This is my old car - a 2004 Chevy Venture minivan:


I loved, loved, loved my van! But the lease was due to be up in July. So we had to find a new car. Unfortunately, GM isn't doing so hot in the minivan market, so they're giving up. Fine for them, sucks for me. Those power sliding doors were a godsend when you've got a baby in one arm, shopping bags in the other and a toddler tagging along in the pouring rain and all you had to do was push a button as you walked up to the car and the doors would be open and waiting for you when you got there. And there was space in the back for the stroller, the lawn chairs, soccer balls and I could still pile all the groceries in because I forgot to take all that stuff out before I went to the store.

No more. This is my new car:


A 2007 Saturn Outlook. It's a nice car, it just doesn't suit our needs as well as the van did. There are still three rows of seats, like the van, but they seem, I don't know, more compact than before. And, I think because all the seats fold forward in some way, they feel more upright. Alyssa says it feels like she's going to fall forward and she had a horrible time buckling her seat belt because her booster seat is just about on top of the buckle. Lucas is about the same, except his seat (rearfacing) seems to be more vertical too. But Brendan's is the worst. He's so tiny I want him to stay in his 5-point harness. His seat is directly behind Lucas's, which is behind the driver's. With the van I could stand outside, get Lucas buckled in and then reach back and with his help holding the straps and buckles in place, I could get Brendan buckled in with one hand, push the button to shut the sliding door and hop in the driver's seat. Not anymore. Now I can't even see the place where his buckles come together. I tried to get Alyssa to do it, but she's either not coordinated enough or doesn't have big or strong enough hands to do it. So now I'm going to have to get Lucas in on the driver's side, go around to the other side (I can't get in the back on the driver's side with Lucas's seat in the way), get into the car, buckle Brendan up, get out of the car and go back around to the driver's seat. Crap, what a pain. We have to do it this way so Alyssa (and Brendan next year) will be able to get out of the car quickly and easily at school in the morning. And they also like to be able to sit next to one another.

Then there is the storage issue. During certain times of the year, like soccer season, I get a bunch of stuff riding around in the back that we use often enough that I don't want to take it out to save time and so I don't forget to take it when we need it. I don't see it all fitting very well. And I'm really curious to see how we're going to manage to fit in all the big baby stuff (stroller, pack-n-play, etc.) as well as everyone else's stuff when we go on vacation. Jeff thinks we may have to have Brendan in the middle next to Lucas, so he can fold down part of the backseat next to Alyssa. Ahh, I can just hear the cries of protest!

Besides all the inconvience issues, this new car is costing almost $100 more per month than my old van. OUCH! I wonder where that money will come from....

The car does have it's good points. It rides very nicely. It's nice and comfy for the front seat passengers (too bad they don't give as much consideration to the non-paying passengers). It has nifty sliding seats in the second row that are supposed to make it easier to get in and out (completely useless with a carseat strapped onto it). It should eventually get slightly better gas milage than the van. It has a MUCH higher safety rating than the van. And I like the color.

We've been over and over it, and this is the best option we could come up with. I guess I'm just going to have to live with it. But I don't have to like it.