Suba-who?

Before we can scour the country, of course, we need a trusty chariot. The '93 Saturn I rode in on seems ready to retire Out West. I considered a light pick-up for its hauling and camping capacities, but Moxie shuddered to think of roll-over potential across windy Wyoming. Then we weighed the uber-practical mini-van option but decided we're not ready for our soccer-mom period just yet. [But if Mom asks, the real reason is the reduced fuel efficiency of a loser cruiser (thank you ALG!)] Then we got the Subaru bug... renowned handling, 30 mpg highway, and an acceptable we-can-handle-anything persona.

But which Subaru?

We were all set to purchase a silver '99 Impreza Outback Sport reasonably priced at Bluebook standard... but then we stumbled across a far-cuter burgundy Forester of the same vintage for 2K under Bluebook! The seller "needs cash ASAP." Does that make us too nervous? Stay tuned.