Buy A Car, Buy A Car, Buy A Car

Pity the poor fleet. They’ve racked up a lot of miles and may rightly deserve a break. If I trade in two to buy one, I could get a nice break and save a bundle on insurance. The economics of buying a new car still don’t make sense, but it’s gonna have to happen sooner rather than later (and a warranty would be nice). There are two contenders so far:

Dodge Nitro (not red)

The Nitro is a kissin’ cousin of the Jeep Liberty except it doesn’t appear nearly as girly or cartoony (yeah, you’ve seen the Chevron ads too, haven’t you?). I don’t need the bigger engine, the Liberty’s engine will do just fine. All wheel drive for the slushy bits, a six speed manual and a jack for the iPod in the stereo and I’ll be set.

2007 Jeep Wrangler (also not red)

Recalling the CJ-7 the new Wrangler has been redesigned to not tip over, I guess, and uses another engine—a 3.8L V6 from a minivan, I’ve read—but keeps the solid axles, tranny and transfer case from the outgoing model. And those three are very good things. More room, a trick three-piece thermoplastic top to keep out the snow flurries and it’s about the same price as the Nitro.

I’d rather stick with the Jeep thing (which you’re not supposed to understand, but I suspect you do), but in the end it’s a road-biased box that can go off-road vs. an off-road box that has become better on the road. Thoughts?

Your pal,

bob