Style vs. getting around/quote of the day

"Here I am driving this thing and I still feel amazing, the Jeep was stylish, but I never got the attention before that I get with this [a smart car]."
-- Elizabeth Szewczyk in "Life in the Cute Lane: To Curb Fuel Costs and Emissions, SUV Drivers Downshift," from the Washington Post

One of the problems with car ownership is that people tend to buy the "maximum" vehicle to achieve _any and all possible needs_, rather than think about renting a vehicle occasionally to accomplish truly atypical trips (like buying a kitchen from Ikea and transporting it, or moving).

Except for the sunwash in the photo, I think my photo illustrates the size difference between a Smartcar and a typical car better than the photo that accompanied the article.

The Smart car, center, made by Mercedes-Benz, is benefiting from growth in the U.S. small-car market. As of last month, the waiting list to buy a Smart car was about a year long. (By Dominic Bracco Ii -- The Washington Post)

And for a laugh, check out this article and its advice, from the Post, "Don't Trade Your Gas-Guzzler."
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If you really want attention, bicycle. You'll get a lot more people yelling at you and honking angrily at you while you are on the road.
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Today's Toronto Globe and Mail has a review of the book by Tim Falconer, DRIVE: A Road Trip Through Our Complicated Affair With the Automobile, in "Baby, we can drive our cars -- or can we?"