We settled on a car

 

I want something high mileage.  Judy wants a hatchback.  We made a deal.  Minimum 35 mpg EPA Highway.  Judy picks the car.  I pick the color.  We settled on a Mazda 3 Hatchback, Grand Touring.  40mpg EPA Highway.

 

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=M3H

 

I picked Accountant’s Gray.

 

Problem is, there are plenty of Mazda 3s in the neighborhood, but none of them are my color.  No compromises.  I didn’t want to look out the door every morning and see a car that was an okay color.  I want to look out the door and say “Yes!  Accountant’s Gray!  I love that color!”

 

They have that color in the brochure.  They call it graphite, but what do they know.  The dealer didn’t have it; not with the package of options we wanted.  They checked around with their local affiliates.  None in Brownsville.  None anywhere in the Valley.  They checked with Corpus Christi.  No luck.  We left.

 

But……it’s the age of the internet.  Internet to the rescue!  Once I figured out the sorting mechanism on Mazda of America’s website, it took me about five minutes to locate two dozen cars that match our description, most of them in Texas.  We called a dealer in Conroe, north of Houston.  He said the internet was correct, he did have that car in stock.  We told him the deal we had with the dealer down here.  He matched it.  We agreed to fly to Houston and pick it up.  He volunteered to meet us at the airport and make the exchange of paperwork and keys.  We landed in Houston at noon.

 

They had the car there waiting for us.  We were on the road in our new car by 12:30 headed south.  We were home by 7.  One airplane flight.  350 miles driving.  One day.  One new car.

 

A good day.