Fashion Board 3-5-04 to 4-6-04

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by spookyfish
She built her husband from a kit.

Very funny. But I bet she did hang up the mirror she mentioned herself.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by spookyfish
She built her husband from a kit.

And that's a good thing.

[purse junkie]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
I bought two pink shirts and a pink pair of capri's yesterday. I think they look cute.

Pink in moderation is very pretty, though I can't wear it. In the massive quantity I saw yesterday, however, I felt utterly assaulted--like a man at a Strawberry Shortcake convention.

Having seen some butter-yellows and leaf-greens on bluefly today, I am starting to feel like there is hope, at least within the Easter-bunny palette. And of course, there's always my tangerine sparkle handbag to gladden a grey day and kick the crap out of those transluscent rubber Hermes ripoffs that are suddenly everywhere.

[purse junkie]

Originally posted by spookyfish
She built her husband from a kit.

Beats buying a plastic inflatable partner from a Frederick's catalog.

[Aloha Mr. Learned Hand]

Originally posted by spookyfish
She built her husband from a kit.

Likes hockey. Got husband at IKEA. IKEA is Swedish. Swedes produce good hockey players. It all fits.

Probably has some goofy Swedish name with 6 vowels and 3 umlauts, though...

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by purse junkie
Beats buying a plastic inflatable partner from a Frederick's catalog.

Speaking from experience, are you?

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by bilmore
And that's a good thing.

It's sometimes funnier if you post a picture, like this:



See what I mean?

[purse junkie]

Originally posted by spookyfish
Speaking from experience, are you?

Sadly, no. I just assumed that what you objected to was the tiresome work involved in a 'kit'.

[dtb]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
Questions:

Should I do anything -- anything -- to avoid becoming a BMW owner?

Based on all of my prior posts, what kind of car should I be driving? (It's Friday: Hurt me.)

Who will be the first person to suggest I get a CNG Honda?

My husband started planning our new car purchase about 5 years ago; approximately 10 minutes after we drove our then-new car off the lot.

He's been researching it ever since. We bought a Volvo SUV last month, and I LOVE it. We needed something with 3 rows, and a minivan was just not an option. We were going to get the Mercedes station wagon, but decided it was just too much $$ for a car. So far, the Volvo totally rocks.

Tangentially, I was at a meeting where the subject was an airline operator company, and an industry analyst was going over the company's assets and giving his opinion on what their value was. Later in the elevator, the analyst said something like, "Yeah that kind of aircraft is like a Volvo -- just keep up the maintenance, and it will go forever."

My parents last Volvo had over 350,000 miles on it when they finally got rid of it.

Point is, it's a nice car, and the SUV is zippy and sturdy. I don't know if that's what you're looking for, but given that we had to do the SUV thing (or station wagon), it was definitely the best option -- the BMW SUV sucks.

[Bad_Rich_Chic]

Originally posted by dtb
We needed something with 3 rows,

Holy crap, woman, why? How many kids do you have? Or do you two have huge extended families without drivers licenses in town or something?

and a minivan was just not an option.

Why, out of curiosity - style or something else? Since station wagons were on the table I'm guessing it's not style.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
If, for some reason, you needed to purchase an automobile in the next week (say aliens abducted your current one), what is the short-list of cars you would seriously consider buying? This is not a "fantasy car league" question, so price/reliability/practicality are considerations.

As a family, we need two cars with different functionality (or rather, at least one needs to have certain functionality), so I have two lists.

The next vehicle I puchase will almost certainly be one of the following:

Nissan Quest SE (the upgraded transmission seems definitely worth going with the highest trim level)
Honda Odyssey
Volvo XC90
Chrysler Pacifica

After that, the next vehicle will likely be one of:
Volvo S60R (oh, please, let me afford an R)
Mazda RX-8
Infiniti G35

If I didn't need a semi-real back seat in the second car, I would go with a Mini or possibly one of the new Mustangs (best looking Mustang since the late 60s).

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
Holy crap, woman, why? How many kids do you have?

I know the answer to this: two kids equals three rows of seats if there are regularly other people and/or dogs around.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
Holy crap, woman, why? How many kids do you have? Or do you two have huge extended families without drivers licenses in town or something?

With one kid, any size car seems fine. And you think to yourself, two kids would be fine, too --- just move one to one side, and the other to the other side. Mom/Dad (or Mom/Mom, or whatever) sit up front, no problem, right? People who drive motherjumpin' huge SUVs are crazy, right?

Then you find yourself going somewhere with a friend or friends, or a grandparent or grandparents, and discover that you can't fit an adult in the backseat anymore. The ease of going somewhere with somebody all in one car has completely disappeared, and you only have two kids. You thinking that going somewhere in an 17 MPG truck or van might not be so bad compared to going there in two cars with 26 MPG.

Besides, when you have two kids you're only a year or two away from a situation in which you're occasionally called upon to squire other people's kids around town. And you're kicking yourself for getting the sedan or wagon.

I'm just sayin.' You hit the "one backseat is not enough" point when you have two kids, oldest is four; or one kid who's six.

Why, out of curiosity - style or something else? Since station wagons were on the table I'm guessing it's not style.

There's a huge gaping chasm between a wagon and a minivan in the style department. American manufacturers never knew this, and now they're not even making them anymore. The Audi, Volvo, and Volkswagon wagons are borderline sporty. Hell, in the case of the Passat, the wagon looks better than the sedan.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by baltassoc
The next vehicle I puchase will almost certainly be one of the following:

Nissan Quest SE (the upgraded transmission seems definitely worth going with the highest trim level)
Honda Odyssey
Volvo XC90
Chrysler Pacifica

It's embarassing to admit I know this, but the Toyota Sienna should be on that list. It tied or beat the Odyssey in all major car critics' lists. Highest trim level is something like $35K, but at that point it's a Lexus without the badge.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
It's embarassing to admit I know this,

Like hell. dtb aside, the minivan is the new cool. What could be cooler than not needing to validate one's "coolness" with the a vehicle? I heard it from my brother (who is much cooler than just about anyone, let alone my suburban-livin', professional-job-holdin', khaki-Docker-wearin' ass), so it must be true.

but the Toyota Sienna should be on that list.

I tried the Sienna during a recent trip to the car megaplex* where I looked at everything on my list except the Volvos, and it just didn't fit right. Didn't even take it out for a test drive. After five minutes I couldn't get remotely comfortable, so I didn't even bother. I've noticed that I seem to have this problem with Toyotas in general. Go figure.

*It was one of those Saturday afternoons where one HAS to get out of the house things. I spent three and a half blissful hours looking at cars.