Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go!

OK, more like three days plus lag time, but I don't know any songs like that.

If our car is not recovered by Wednesday (or Thursday, depending on when they started counting the 30 days), State Farm will "total" it and cut us a check (after paying off the bank, who would still own it for the next 9 months or so).

So naturally I am shopping for a new toy family car. (And hoping recovery doesn't happen - who wants a car that criminals have been playing with for a month? Yech.) We went to the Mazda dealer first, since that is what we lost and we liked it. Also I have been harassing Will about trading our car in for a newer, larger model anyway. For the baby. Natch. And of course I knew just what I wanted, though I attempted to play it coy when confronted by Man Who Wants To Take My Money (aka John, the salesman). I have never been able to pull off coy, and only succeeded in confusing the poor dear as to whether he should talk to The Husband or the twit who one second understood engines and the next was pondering what color would go best with baby accessories (not really).

I have my eye on the Mazda3 in the 5-Door, or hatchback, variety. This is not your mother's hatchback. It is sexy. Also its dashboard lights up like KITT and it comes in orange. (Go to MazdaUSA.com to see the car, colors, and options.)

We are probably going to check out Hondas and Toyotas too. I mean, if we're going to spend this much money, I would like a hybrid to be in the mix (I doubt we can afford the Prius but the Civic is a possibility).

But I drove that Mazda3 and I really want it. The question is simply what sort of transmission we ought to get - I like sticks, but Will can't drive them (though I suspect it would take him only a few hours to learn), and while the automatic has a "Manual" mode, it also costs a grand. I NEED THAT MONEY FOR A SUNROOF.

So...any suggestions?