ghotifish.net

Miles Biked: 19.02
Average Speed: 16.3

Miles Biked: 27.52
Average Speed: 14.8

Miles Biked: 18.77
Average Speed: 18.0 mph

I’m typing quietly so that the Rx-7 parked outside doesn’t hear this, but I’ve spent a good deal of my morning window-shopping for cars on the internet. Until recently I was fairly certain that my next car would be either a Mazda Protege5 or a Mazda3 wagon (Mazda should investigate the apparently defective space bars on their keyboards), but I’ve recently become more convinced that, at least as far as my taste in cars goes, less is definitely more.

That is to say, I like small cars. Very small cars. And I think that the Mazdas might actually be bigger cars than I want. I’m not ready to take them out of the running yet, though, because I do still like their looks and they get very good reviews — especially in the handling/fun-to-drive department. So, my current list of cars I would consider, in no particular order, is:

• Mazda Protege5: Only available used, but that makes it a bit more affordable. Good handling a big plus, very practical (especially for trips) and I do like Mazdas. Bigger than I’d like, though.

• Mazda3 Wagon: Looks even better than the Protege5, more expensive.

• Volkswagen Golf: Perfect size, great interior, diesel engine available.

• Mini Cooper: Possibly my ideal car: small, sporty, attractive. But pretty expensive thanks to BMW’s decision to market them as a boutique car rather than actually compete with the others on this list.

• Honda Civic Si: Good size, sporty, but pricey compared to other Civics. Used ones aren’t too bad. Can’t argue with a Honda. But it’s got that funky dashboard-mounted shifter — weird.

• Scion xA: I didn’t really look too seriously at this one until today, but it’s just the right size and the price for a new one is pretty amazing, and I kinda like the looks. Plus it’s really a Toyota.

• Ford Focus ZX3: The size is right, the prices are good, and they get good reviews, but I’m not all that crazy about the styling. And anyway… it’s a Ford.

So we’ll see how this all plays out over the months ahead. Depending on how well the Rx-7 looks like it’s going to do this winter, it may be spring before I really start to pursue this seriously.

Miles Biked: 15.39
Average Speed: 16.9 mph