My new wheels – or – Dream cars are relative.

In the past month I’ve driven half a dozen different cars. It started with the Ford Focus, which I’m borrowing from a friend who has been abroad for a while. The goal there was to get through the move and then get back and forth from the new home. I thought I’d see what leasing was like, too.

Then, this week, came the task of picking the right car to lease after she returns and I give the Focus back.

At some point during the Focus time, I had a Mazda 6 for a week, which was awesome; I fell in love with the car back in 2004, thanks to a college boyfriend who turned me on to the Mazda marketing hype. It also runs like a fun toy trapped in the body of an older, more mature toy who has a wild streak at the same time. Maybe a crazy haircut or cool glasses.

The plan all along was to get a Hyundai Getz – a mini car, yes, but the best in its class and a very popular model for leasers here in Israel. It’s a tiny car but great for city driving and packs a punch for its size.

That being said, after test-driving one, I started freaking out a bit. I chalk it up to the American in me screaming at the top of its lungs… As well as my American mom, who didn’t quite scream, but was definitely not happy with the idea of me driving such a tiny thing on the curvy highways in the hills. And, yes, a part of me will admit that I couldn’t bare the thought of being found dead in a Hyundai Getz if that ever became the case.

After a night of good, hard introspection (and reconnecting with my American self) I decided to honor my college boyfriend and the Mazda marketing skills, and go for the car I’ve dreamed about since my first ride in the brand: an electric blue Mazda 3.

[DISCLAIMER: You’re thinking, “wtf, that’s your dream car?” Yeah, well, I was a Saturn driver in the old country – and by Saturn, I mean this – and my ‘dream car’ before the Mazda was a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder… so…]

So while I wait for my new toy mode of transport to arrive in another couple weeks, I’m driving a silver Mitsubishi Lancer, which reminds me of a Japanese teenager in the 80s. I also kind of feel like any minute KITT will start talking back to me. That would be awesome.