Shift my what?

My first car was a Datsun 280Z. It was a great car and I was heavy-hearted when it fell victim to northeast winters while I was in college. Most of my subsequent cars were Hondas, and I haven't really looked much at the Datsun/Nissan family of cars since then. No particular reason other than that none really sustained my interest during that "Hmm, what should I get?" phase of car shopping.

Not that you haven't already guessed where this is going, but I got myself a new car today. And yes, it's a Nissan. Thanks to the Best Brother in the Whole Wide World, who pointed me in a new direction when I found myself uninspired by the cars I'd decided to look at, I fell head over heels for the Altima. The way I described it after test driving it is that it gave me that "Yes!" feeling that the other cars hadn't.

For the more curious among you, it's dark slate, pretty much exactly like my last car. What can I say? I like gray cats, gray dogs and gray cars!

None of this is terribly relevant to anyone else, I know. However, the car search is what's been occupying my attention for the last several days so instead of just going another few days and falling out of the habit of checking in periodically, there you have it. The line for rides starts right below.