New car

Monday, thanks to my sister's generosity, I traded in my beloved van for a practically brand-new car, a 2008 Kia Rondo with about 7,000 miles and most of the warranty on it. It's either a station wagon or a micro-mini van, depending on how you look at things. Here's the Edmunds take on it.

It has full-length side-curtain airbags, stability control, anti-lock brakes, a front wiper de-icer (but for some reason not heated side mirrors), rear window defrost, interval wipers fore and aft, power locks and windows, cruise control, keyless entry, a sunroof, a couple of power points, an MP3 jack, and an 8-speaker 6-CD in-dash changer Infiniti sound system (which, btw, is merely mediocre). Also a 60/40 split bench seat, which I'm leaving half up and half down to make it easier for the dogs to get in, and a nifty plastic tray in the cargo area that will be great for hauling plants home next spring.

I've spent most evenings this week poring over the owner's manual trying to figure out how to work things, and discovering what features this car has. For someone coming from a 1992 van, it's kind of complicated and not at all straight forward--not what I would call intuitive at all. I'm having special problems with the windshield wipers. Also, apparently, I'm going to have to take it to the nearest Kia dealer (there's not one here) because every time I turn on the headlights, the inside roof light comes on and stays on. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drive at night with inside lights on. Follow-up: A friend who's really good at fixing things was admiring my new car when I told him about this problem. He stuck his head through the window, took at look at the dashboard, pushed a button, and said, "There, that will fix it." He was right (of course). Now why couldn't I find that in the owner's manual??? Thank goodness for friends!

Although admirably color-coordinated with Taenzer, she doesn't like it, doesn't like getting in it, and after her first two rides produced a large, soft, green stress-poop as soon as her paws hit the grass when we got home (and yes, I'm grateful she waited until she was *out* of the car!).

Timber has no such problem, but I've always said that if someone wanted to steal Timber all they'd have to do is stop their car, open the door, and call "Here puppy!" and he'd be gone. Taenzer rides gingerly on the part of the seat that's up in seat-formation (when she's not trying to get in front with me) and Timber rides in the cargo area.

It will take me a while to get used to it. But I parked near a new blue Dodge Caliber today, and decided that I think I'll be happier with the Rondo than I would have been with a Caliber. More visibility for me and more headroom for the dogs. And the siver color looks pretty with the newly-painted garage.