I've got a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT wagon. Love it. Bought it used and got them to reupholster it in leather, as a condition of the sale. Myself and the animals are too hard on cloth and we usually keep a car for at least 20 years.

We seriously considered a Smartcar, but I couldn't figure out how to get the dogs, hay or building materials into it or how it would manage up here in the hills when it snowed. The Smartcar is also a Mercedes subsidiary and the Mercs have a hideous reliability record.

My husband has an '86 Toyota Supra with a gazillion miles on it. Good car, but its useless when it snows and it does guzzle even more gas than the Sub. We've got to be able to get in and out with at least one car in the winter, because both are used for business purposes as well.

He's still finding himself hard pressed to come up with an alternative he likes, so he continues to keep the old bugger running. He's over 6' and went to try out a Toyota Yaris recently, but couldn't get the seat far enough back to accommodate the length of his legs. You'd think after all these years, the Japanese would be a little more accommodating of the North American market on all their car models.