Car Shopping Based on Headrests & Whether an Upright Bass Fits

[Old Moparz]

My wife was into browsing at a few car dealerships today. It surprised me, but maybe it's because her Mitsubishi Endeavor has 90,000 miles & she's aggravated with a water leak in the dash that was estimated at $1000 labor to replace a $3 hose.   She hates shopping, but hates car shopping even more. For me, looking at cars is always more fun than working on the house.    

So on the way home from the home center where we bought a set of casters for our daughter's new bass amp that weighs more than her, I pointed at the Nissan dealership & told her they have a new electric car coming out. She pulled into the lot & we went into the showroom to see if they had it yet. Nope, but she decided to look at what they had.

After sitting in several cars, she said all the head rests pushed her head forward. I tried adjusting them, but they don't tilt forward or backward, just up & down. It didn't bother me since I am taller, but I know if you can't get comfortable at the wheel it won't work after driving it everyday. Even though she liked the Murano & the Rogue, she just wasn't comfortable.

The next dealership was Honda, so we pulled in there too. The new Crosstour is a really nice car, & pretty big inside. The headrests were perfect, but she wasn't sure if her upright acoustic bass would fit. I think it would, but the only way to know is to bring the bass to the dealer like we did in the past & test fit it. The salespeople always looked amused when my 5'-2" tall wife drags in a 6 foot tall bass.  

The next & last dealer was the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep one where it got interesting. The first car she sat in was a pink Challenger R/T with a Hemi. She spent more time adjusting seats, opening doors, trunk, compartments, & looking at things, than the other cars. I told her we could definitely get the bass into it by folding the seats down, but she didn't buy it.  

The new Grand Cherokee & the new Durango they had both had 5.7 Hemis & also looked impressive to her. She loved the double length sunroof in the Grand Cherokee & all the conveniences it had, like power ports in the back seat, heated seats, heated steering wheel, & more. The Durango didn't have all that, but was also $10K less, so she liked that part. Her bass would definitely fit since it was longer, & the headrests weren't annoying.

I may try to convince her to dump the acoustic bass & learn the fiddle so she can get the Challenger.  

[Brock Samson]

Good goin'. the Durango and the GC both come with the 290 horse Six too,.. both getting great reviews! 
go over to www.allpar.com to read about the different versions...

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ive had my Crosstour since 11/09 and love it....Great in the snow!

[BrianShaughnessy]

I saw the '12 GC SRT8 was coming to the NY auto show in April.   You could fit the bass in there and still kick ass 

[Old Moparz]

I saw the '12 GC SRT8 was coming to the NY auto show in April.   You could fit the bass in there and still kick ass 

Brian, are you going to the NY show? I haven't been there in some time, but need to get a car show fix to help dissipate the winter. Maybe we can find a few people who want to make a day of it.

[bull]

An upright bass?

[Old Moparz]

An upright bass?

Yeah, upright. My wife said it's too hard to play if you leave it laying down on the floor.   

Here she is with her bluegrass band.

[BrianShaughnessy]

I saw the '12 GC SRT8 was coming to the NY auto show in April.   You could fit the bass in there and still kick ass 

Brian, are you going to the NY show? I haven't been there in some time, but need to get a car show fix to help dissipate the winter. Maybe we can find a few people who want to make a day of it.

Me and Rick took the train down last year on a Saturday afternoon... met his son at GC,  ate dinner, went to the show,   met Scott Vanderhdopauidfuapoetriqueriwpo;gaefg and took the late train back to Beacon.     Half a plan to do the same this year....  nothing definite yet.