After a love-hate (barely tollerable) relationship (we were slaves) with the 97 Dodge Stratus (lemon) we bought from Laura's mom (Florence) a while ago (2 and 1/2 years), we have sold it (barely got enough to pay for the tow - $200) because it had too many problems ($3,000 of front-end work done last year and $1,400 it needed this year). Condolence cards with monetary gifts can be sent to our home address.

We decided (had no choice) to buy (obtained a loan for) a new (new to us) vehicle (2004 Hyundai Accent). It is a two-door (inconvenient), off-green (can't really tell what exact color it is), automatic (safe), teenager (29,000 miles), with a hatch (substitute moving van) that gets decent gas mileage (31 city/33 highway) for the bargain price (had no position from which to negotiate) of $8998 ($154/mo for the next 5 years).