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I was chilling at home today, when I said to my dad, "Lets go shop for a car." Now this wasn't totally out of the blue. I had been waiting to buy a car since last year. I had set plans for May, but I never really got around to it. Today I felt like going car shopping so I asked my dad, and he said, "Lets go."

I had been thinking about a car for a long time. I wanted something that would excite me. I had driven a Chevy Lumina for such a long time. Its a pretty old car now. But it still runs great. I can feel the power when I drive it. That's why I first started out by looking at American muscle cars. I thought nothing less than 6 cylinders would do it for me. There is nothing more thrilling than driving fast and knowing that you still have more power waiting to unleash at your command. That is why I had been interested in the Dodge Charger. It has amazing amount of power. But a four-door sedan (in fact the charger is essentially a full-size car) was not what I had in mind. It seemed too big in the end, and seemed unfitting of the power it contains inside.

I also considered the Ford Mustang. I must say the new models do look very good, with the retro look making it look like a typical American muscle car from the golden days of Ford. But I was never really a Mustang fan. The 4 liter engine was also heavy on the gasoline budget. But the cheaper price of the car still kept it in the running. There were two other cars that I considered, the Nissan 350Z and the Infiniti G35 Coupe. They are both excellent cars but a little more on the expensive side.

Among all these cars, I liked a car that stood out. I told my dad to go to a Mazda dealer first. The car is an RX8 and its very easy to see why I love it by just looking at it. The car is quite low and fairly small. It has a sleek narrow design with the wheels jutting out, which gives it a unique look. The car is certainly one you would turn around and look just to see what it is. It only gets better from here. I suppose the most interesting thing about the RX8 is the doors. The car is a four-seater, but unlike other coupes, this one has a half-door on each side which opens the other way to make it more accessible to get inside. No more sliding the seat forward to let people in or out. Sans the center pillars, these doors are termed as "Freestyle" because of the way they open.

Sitting inside, the dashboard looked very good. The wheel is nice and small and the dials glow a nice cool white with a digital speedometer sitting inside the tachometer. Attached to the steering wheel on both sides are handles, very ergonomically fitted, which can be used to shift the gears up or down, even though this is an automatic transmission. The sleek method of shifting the gears gave it a true racing feel. There is a nice digital display which tells you what gear you are in. In fact, with the rear-wheel drive and the limited slip differential, this car is ready to drift.

The car is not just revolutionary on it exterior, taking a look under the hood, you will have a hard time searching for the engine. The RX8 no cylinders. Instead there is a twin rotary engine, which is unusually small. With only 1.3 liter displacement, the RX8 still spits out 232 fine Arabian stallions. I took it for a test drive and does not have a standard piston engine. There are discovered that I never knew how much pleasure I could get from a car. The pick up on the car is thrilling, I had reached 55 just barely after turning right from the dealership. The transmission was very smooth, and the acceleration surprised me with how much power, such small a thing could have. But better than the speed, was the handling of the car. It hugged the corners very very nicely and it was so much fun exploring those curves in the road. If I wasn't in love with the car before, now I knew for sure.

Coming back to the dealership, I decided on the right trim package. I settled for the Grand Touring with leather seat and seat warmers and all other nice little things. I ran into a conundrum trying to decide if she looked better with or without the spoiler but settled for having one in the end. We then discussed all the financial stuff and I put down a deposit. I will confirm all the final stuff on Monday and if all goes well, the car will arrive by Wednesday. I still have till Monday to decide which color I want, I had settled for the black with the black/red leather interior. But if you guys suggest a different look, I might still reconsider.

Now the only other thing I can't decide on, is a name for her ...