On the way to the airport, yonder son-the-older was doing what his siblings have been doing before him: giving me a hard time about my ten-year-old clunker minivan. The thing is a piece of junk inside and out, yea verily, no denying. Since I just laughed off the pride argument, he went for the mechanical one. Hey, it still drives!
After we got home from dropping them off, I picked up the paper and there was an article saying most people don’t realize that all state and local taxes are, through the end of this year, deductible if you buy a new car.  Now. Your Stimulus Plan at work.
And, it turns out… If you buy a plug-in electric starting Dec 31st, you get more tax-credit happiness. For Just One Day, then, carbuyer nirvana. (Right. And do you know how many plug-ins are available on the American market right now? Do you know how many books I’d have to sell to get my dream Tesla?  The dealership is four miles away, but I’m told they charge $2000 just for the test drive. So close. So far.)
Now, my out-of-pocket medical for the year would have paid for a Toyota Yaris with all the options and a year’s worth of gas, so the clunker stays for just a little longer. But that conversation did get me looking, at least. And showing this new thought to those who are still here at the house.
What? What? Hey, *I* thought it was a cool-looking car…!
(And now nobody’s complaining about the clunker. Hey, I’ve been a mom a long time, I know how to do this.)