I have no carpentry skills, so i don’t haul lumber. In fact, I don’t need to haul anything bigger than a bag of cat litter or a crate of wine. Consequently, a compact hatchback is all the car I need. Plus, I’m stingy. I hate the idea of paying for the fuel required to move extra weight of vehicle.

Over way too many years of driving, my car has been burgled exactly twice. I’m fairly sure that’s because I have always driven a very modest car and I never leave anything of value in sight, even parking change. And driving a manual means joy-riders don’t bother. In Stratford, I don’t even bother to lock it.

As for drive-through liquor stores … ! I was shocked enough to find draught beer for sale at service stations on the New York Turnpike.