If you read my entry from Jan. 27, you know that I’m in the market for a car, since my previous car was recently totaled. I’m considering buying a new one, even though I’m only getting about $5,000 from the insurance company. I like to get a car new and hold on to it for ten or twelve years. At least you know where the problems are. You build a relationship with your machinery.

So, I’ve been researching the 2005 compact cars, and I’ve not been very impressed with what’s out there. I’ve still got my notes from 1999 when I bought the last one, so I was able to do some comparisons. You’d think that cars would get better gas mileage and have more standard safety features after six years. But what’s actually happened is that they’ve gotten bigger, heavier and come with more frills. And if you go back to the Sentras, Civics and Corollas of the late 80s, the size contrast is stunning.

Some compact models (e.g. from Saturn, Mazda, Ford, and Mitshubishi) now get worse gas mileage than six years ago. Honda and Toyota pretty much held even, balancing off greater weight with better engine technology (e.g., variable valve timing). As to safety features, a lot more good stuff is now available (e.g., anti-skid control, head protection airbags), but they’re usually optional for compact cars (and expensive). However, as to frills such as CD players, motorized mirrors and other stuff, a lot more of that is now standard equipment on small cars . . . even the base models (which is what I always buy, being a base kind of guy).

In sum, both car manufacturers and car buyers (yes, that means you!) continue to push for bigger, fancier and less efficient vehicles. That’s the magic of unregulated, laissez-faire Republican capitalism at work. Duhhh, can I ask a silly question . . . . . did it occur to anyone that America’s dependence on oil imported from the Persian Gulf area is a key factor in our vulnerability to terrorism? Is it going to take another nine-eleven to make us think seriously about this?

But hey, other than griping here on my blog, I’m not going to do anything about it. If I had a lot of cash sitting around, I could buy a Civic hybrid or a Prius and get 50 to 60 miles per gallon, and order up all the safety features. If I was a “poor green”, I could go tiny and get an Echo or an Accent, which have higher MPG ratings (35 for the Echo, 29 for the Accent); but they get questionable ratings on stability, workmanship and acceleration. And after the accident, the thought of cruising the highways in a tiny car gives me a queasy feeling in the stomach. There are just too many Expeditions and Yukons and Hummers out there on the road; even an out-of-control Ford Escape or Subaru Forester could take you down.

I’m probably gonna get a base model Corolla or Civic off the lot, with the adequate gas mileage (around 30 or 31 mpg) and the frills and without the safety enhancements that I’d really like. And hope for the best. For both myself, and for our nation.

I’ll be sure to post a pic of the new cruiser. And I’ll feel a twinge of pain and hypocrisy thinking about you intrepid people who get around on bicycles and mass transit. Vanguards of a brave new world, indeed!

Enjoy the big football game tonight, sports fans, and get ready to shift into college basketball mode. Ah, when Dick Vitale (who coached at my high school during my youth) hits the airwaves, can Spring be far behind?