Speaking of cars...

A few years ago we were at our friends house having dinner and they brought out the personality "color" book - you know the one that you answer a bunch of questions and then it tells you what "color" your personality is - mine was YELLOW (not surprised eh?). We all laughed and joked about our dominant color. I've since realized that this same little "personality" test could be applied to a lot of things - say for instance car buying.

My Philosophical Vehicular Variations are as follows (please keep in mind that I will try my hardest to have no "slant" to any certain category of car buyer - we are after all working on the same end result which in this case is a car...I think...)

The Eternal Driver

You vow (and hold true to that vow) that you will drive your vehicle into the ground and no amount of fire, engine failure, hub cap stealing, fuel pump quitting on I-17 in the middle of the night with 6 people in the car, or strange/loud noises emanating from said car will make you change your mind. Nope. Nada. F-O-R-E-V-E-R. 30 years later you still have a fondness for the beauty and have probably given it a nice name.

Money in the Bank

You will only pay CASH for your vehicle. No ifs, ands, or payments.

The Itch Scratcher

Car buying is an itch and you WILL scratch that itch. Doesn't matter how frequently the itch comes on - the only soothing relief will be found in a nice leather seat with the paper covering still on the floor mats.

CARe less

You could CARe less about what vehicle you are driving - as long as it gets you from point A to point B then you are satisfied. You wouldn't describe yourself as happy - just satisfied - happy would be going too far - showing emotion - and why show emotion about something you really could CARe less about?

The Chipmunk

A little bit of this and a little bit of that. You feel that your bases are all covered if you have both extremes and a little in between. Brand spankin' new and the rattlin' tin cage with maybe a motorcycle thrown in the middle for good measure.

The BIG Daddy (also known as the econoliner)

It better be big 'cause you're hauling a bunch 'o junk in the trunk and you need your space. You also feel a certain power over the little guys you pass beside you. Miles per gallon doesn't even faze you because you figure you're hauling 10x's more than the tiny electric car that you just ran over -which didn't even register a blip on your radar screen.

BLINGbaby

Loaded to the brim - overflowing with all the latest and greatest. Can't see behind you? No need to worry - there's a camera to take care of that. Can't talk on your phone and reach back and wack your child who's making his sister scream? No worry blutooth sync has you covered - hands free BABY - start smackin! Tired of using dumb dials to change your radio station? No worry touch screen will take you where you need to go. Bored with having to insert a key to start your car? Remote start has your engine running. And of course - spinners are a must.

The Uh-Oh

Woops! Made a mistake. I didn't mean to buy that - my bad.

The Clown Car

How the?? What the?? Is that even possible? You have to open the sun roof in order to sit up straight - or hopefully there's a convertible option. But at least you're saving the environment - right?

Horsepower

You have every 0-60 4-door car time memorized and can regurgitate very pertinent information related to your calculated dissection of the aforementioned cars. This and only this will be the deciding factor for your vehicle. You get a thrill pulling up next to teeny-boppers in the rice rockets and blowing them out of the water with your V-something-Twin Turbo Mega-Horsepower vehicle.

Shop 'till You Drop

Exhaustive searching will certainly bring you a better deal. You know that if you try hard enough the perfect price awaits you - whether through a dealer, craigslist, autotrader, costco - endless sleepless nights and unproductive days await you as you peruse the vast expanse of vehicles begging to be bought.

RE-RUN (contributed by Amber S.)

You've found the car of your dreams, which just-so-happens-to-be a 10 on the practical scale, and you plan to drive it 'til it dies. After which you'll buy the same car. Only newer. And maybe in a different color. Maybe.

There you have it. I'm sure there are other categories that I haven't thought of. Feel free to offer them - it's really therapeutic. As with the personality color chart you may find yourself (or your SPOUSE) drawn to more than one category. No worries - I myself fit into several - and no - I won't tell you which ones.

Thank you to all family members and friends who made this post possible - rest assured that you made me smile while I carefully crafted a category based on you.

(I must add that several times during the composition of the above list I had to stop typing so that I could laugh - hard.)