A 10-year upgrade

My parents were generous enough to purchase my first two cars for me: a 1994 Toyota 4Runner then a 1997 Honda Accord. The Honda has been with me since I was 20, but it was never officially named until my brother-in-law dubbed in "LaFonda."

LaFonda and I have had a love-hate relationship that has evolved more into a hate relationship recently - she has one window that slipped off track and is now nonfunctioning, she leaks oil (very safe; good thing I'm not a smoker), she makes a symphony of noises with her various squeaky belts, and she goes from 0 to 60 in about a minute and a half. But....she is a Honda, and you know that means she will chug along for the next 100,000 miles or so.

However, it seems that I will not be with LaFonda for her next 100,000 miles. I was shocked and completely surprised when Grandma called to tell me that she and my Grandpa were going to rescue me from the Honda by buying me a car as a graduation gift! I know, I know - I sound spoiled rotten, but they did give me a price limit and they made the same offer to my cousins in the instance that they graduate medical school/law school/get a masters or PhD/etc.

I initially thought I would play it safe and go for another Accord (newer, of course), but I made the mistake of test-driving an Infiniti on our first trip to the car lot....and I immediately became a car snob. No pesky keys or cloth upholstery for me! Give me a car with push-button start and air-conditioned seats! I regretted even knowing that such a car existed because I was sure that we couldn't afford one until we found a 2007 Lexus IS350 with all the ammenities you could ever imagine in our price range! Now I'm driving the most wonderful graduation gift in the history of graduation gifts....and I have washed it 3 of the 4 days since I got it. We'll see how long that holds up. Thank you thank you thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!