I will be going out to a restaurant with friends. I've spent New Year's Eve with the same friend for about 10 years, and the rest of the cast of characters is pretty stable too. I swore in 1988 to never spend New Year's Eve alone again, after the unfortunate wine bottle incident. I was alone on New Year's and decided to open a bottle of wine. There was apparently a flaw in the bottle, and when I turned in the corkscrew, the bottle split apart and gashed my hand. I put on a pressure bandage and drove myself, cold sober, to a doc-in-a-box, where I got eight stitches. I then drove home, poured the remaining wine through a coffee filter, and drank it.

I dislike large cars (in or out of them), and when I rule the world, will have them outlawed along with ponchos and that kind of denim that's overdyed so it always looks dirty.

Well - define "large". I have reasons for loving sedans that have more to do with not hurting myself than with any sense of aesthetics.

If you mean those aircraft carrier-sized things, and H2s, I'm with you.

Well - define "large". I have reasons for loving sedans that have more to do with not hurting myself than with any sense of aesthetics.

Any car larger than a comfortable midsized sedan, any SUV larger than an Bronco, and basically anything where the excuse/reason "But I'm tall!" doesn't really wash because you could fit into something smaller and still be comfortable. (My 6'8" friend drives a Bronco, because it's one of the only cars he fits into. Most people are not that tall.)

I used to love driving my Grand Am. Put 165,000 miles on it before it finally kicked. Now I have a Saturn SC1 which gets me where I need to go, but doesn't have the power or weight of the Grand Am. I get blown around a lot more when driving behind trucks on I-40 or when there's a high wind, and I really have to work the whole clutch and downshifting thing when I want to pass. I got comperable mileage on both cars, which makes me think the Grand Am was just a better design. But since at last sight my Grand Am wasn't moving anywhere under it's own power and my Saturn currently runs reliably, I've gotta give some love to the Saturn. I'm hoping to get a Honda hybrid of some sort for my next car.

I've owned both a V-6 Camry and a 325 BMW.

The BMW is better.

It's not always a question of tall. It's a question of long legs, of long arms, of a very long neck, of being safer with some visibility.

But I think our definition of "large car" may be different. I consider Broncos to be enormous. I think the Infiniti Q45 is a damned boat. I am absoluely with you in loathing the tall things; unless you're a center for the NBA, why do you need eight feet of interior roof clearance?

But honestly, I think tiny little cars on the highways are just as dangerous as the larger ones. Same with motorcycles.

Amy-- I had a 280zx! I got it way used and with a moon roof instaed of a t top but it was a cool car and also had the woman's voice --which freaked a few people out who'd never been in it. It also had a keypad on the door for the security system . I never got the security system to work right but I could always use the panel to unlock the doors. I still miss the ability to unlock my car without the key.

Currenty I have a Honda Accord LX and I really like it, it handles well and it's heavy. I'm still not used to driving it and I find myself going 60 without realizing it.

Also - my brother and his GF are home from visiting her parents. We were chatting talking about the trip and then my bro gets a HUGE grin on his face and says GF "has something to tell you!" And she flashed her left hand!!

They're engaged!!! The ring is just lovely -- shaped like a flower and totally her style. I'm going to have a sister! Which is neat. well, he was married before but that wasn't the same. His DF is way way way way better than the xSIL.

It also had a keypad on the door for the security system

We didn't have that, although it did have a bright green digital-readout dash (which I actually hated). This was ages ago -- Jake was probably eighteen months old, and that was twelve years ago, and it was more than a few years old when we got it, so...maybe an '88 or even an '87?

God, I feel old.

Mmmm, motorcycles. Hubby had one when I met him. On long rides I'd actually go to sleep leaning against him. I trust him driving anything, because he's been in insane situations and knows how to cope. Like driving a full water-tanker firetruck on Rte 1 and having a wheel come off on a curve. He said it was easy, but he has odd definitions of easy.

They were all so responsive, you could practically drive them by thinking loudly. Or perhaps gesturing emphatically

Sean, do you object if I use that line in a fic somewhere? Giles drives a Beemer, after all. And your hat will go out next week. I was going to be responsible and get it out today, but cramps told me I wasn't going farther than a block from the house today.