fit to be tied

When we found out we (more specifically, I) were pregnant, in October 2007 (a year ago this month!) Shane immediately was excited -- to buy a new car. Both of our cars at the time were two-doors, i.e., not good options for a lovely little family.

Shanester loves cars. This is the guy who will come home from work, where he spent 10 hours sitting at a computer desk, and get on the computer and look up cars on MSN Autos, kbb.com, autotrader.com, and more. Just for fun. Just to be informed. Or, in most cases, because he wants to persuade himself (and me) that it's time for a change. This happens a lot. He always has a new plan for how we should shake up our automobile situation. It's exhausting.

But anyway, when we knew Wesley was coming along, it was legitimately time for a change so Shane was uber excited. He spent hours researching, and we made an Excel spreadsheet with pluses and minuses of a bunch of cars. (If anyone is interested in our research, I'd be happy to share!) We settled on a 2008 Subaru Impreza, which we bought on our five-year wedding anniversary. What a fun little present for us.

In the course of our research, we came across a car that was gaining rapidly in popularity, the Honda Fit. Car & Driver magazine (which Shane reads and mostly likes, although he dislikes the cardboard ads that make the magazine flip open to the same page every time) loves the car and praises its merits. I often see articles in the paper about it. The Lynnwood Honda dealership told us there was a waitlist for them and we had no chance of getting a "deal" on one, since why haggle with us when they could sell it to the next Joe for full price? So basically, it's a hot car.

Since being introduced to this fancy go-mobile, I think I see them everywhere. I'm with Shane, and I'll exclaim, "Honda Fit!" at a passing car. The thing that kills me though is that I am wrong every time. Shane will respond, "that doesn't look ANYTHING like a Honda Fit!" and I feel like a moron.

So I went and got all the pictures off MSN Autos. You tell me what you think.

Me: "Honda Fit!"

Reality: Toyota Matrix. This one is the one I see most often and mistake for a Fit.

Me: "Honda Fit!"

Reality: Mazda 5. We looked into buying a Mazda 3, which it is more similar in size to the Fit than the Mazda 5, but I still get them confused.

Me: "Honda Fit!"

Reality: Pontiac Vibe. My friend Sarah even has one of these... and I still think it's a Fit.

Me: "Honda Fit!"

Reality: Kio Rio5.

Me: "Honda Fit!"

Reality: Chevrolet Aveo. This was the one I was most embarrased about. Not sure why. Maybe because it's American made, so I would think I could tell it apart from a Honda.

So yeah. What's the deal with all these cars looking exactly alike?

Then, just yesterday, I saw a car and exclaimed to myself, "Honda Fit!," fully expecting to see something else... and I was right. Just my lucky day, I guess.