When I had my beloved Pontiac Vibe totalled out from under me a few years back, what I really wanted was to simply grab the more modern replacement, because I loved the thing so damned much. Unfortunately, at the time, both the Vibe, and it’s sibling the Toyota Matrix, had been discontinued. I needed a small economical car, and prefer hatchbacks immensely (bikes and bass rig fit better), so I settled for the Toyota Yaris, which was very nice, but a bundle of compromises (a little small, four speed automatic transmission, etc), which I made due with. It’s still a pretty nice looking car, though, as this photo I took yesterday (apologies for the road dirt; it snowed here on Monday) clearly shows:

Since last summer, when I saw that Toyota (under the soon-to-be-departed Scion marque) was releasing what’s essentially the next generation Vibe/Matrix (actually, it’s the European model, the Auris, with a body kit) as the Scion iM, my resolve to make due with this perfectly serviceable little car started to crumble. I’d drooled a bit over models while I was over at the dealership getting the Yaris serviced; it was exactly like the car I had from 2006 to 2013, only with a few more modern conveniences, some more aggressive styling cues, and an available 6-speed manual transmission.

So, on Saturday, killing time on that side of town between dropping the youngest off at a birthday party and picking her up and taking her to dance class, I stopped by the dealership to look yet again and kill 20 minutes, and got talking with Anthony, the dealership’s Scion guy, and had a seed planted.

A few phone calls on my part and his later, I’m signing papers on Monday afternoon to buy a fancy black one (the only manual available in the metro area, sitting at another dealership), getting really nice deal, a zero percent interest rate, and a good trade in-price on my Yaris, that paid off the remaining loan balance and then some.

I picked it up after work yesterday. It’s pretty:

It felt weird, trading up to a new car after only three years, when I tend to keep cars a really long time (like until the wheels fall off or somebody totals the thing out from under me), but as nice as the Yaris was (and it was nice – you can buy it if you want – it’ll probably be sold by the end of the week), it wasn’t quite meeting my needs. I think I’m going to be okay with something a little closer to what I wanted in the first place that’s more fun and engaging to drive (read: four speed automatics are boring). I’ll get over my genetically encoded blue-collar instinct and enjoy the new ride.

I’ve had enough crap come down the pike in my life the last couple of months…I think I can deal with treating myself a little. People have done way worse in dealing with those mid-life crisis feelings.