You would think, as an automotive journalist, that it would be easy for me to buy a new car. Well, sorry to dissuade you, but it’s actually tougher.

You would think, as an automotive journalist, that it would be easy for me to buy a new car. Well, sorry to dissuade you, but it’s actually tougher.

Several factors work against me. First off, I’m all too familiar with the in’s and out’s of virtually any vehicle out there. Want to know how the Ford Fusion rides? Check the following magazines and sites. Reliablity of the all-new Nissan Altima hybrid? Look here for details. Which has more features, the Acura RL or the Audi A8? Talk to this writer, who did a back to back comparison. (The Audi does, by the way. Just barely.)

I test drove the Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan. I’ve rented a Lincoln LS, Hyundai Sonata, Infiniti M, Honda Civic, and many, many others. I read virtually all of the PRIMEDIA Enthusiast titles: Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine, etc., and have spoken to their editors and writers. I’ve seen–and reported–on the cars at the various local auto shows. I had a good inkling of the strengths and weaknesses of each vehicle.

Worse, unlike my fellow enthusiasts, I also like SUVs and crossovers. My head turns every time I see a Nissan Murano lumber by or, even better, one of the new Mazda CX-7s. Zoom-zoom, watch my head go ba-boom! Fortunately, I had enough rationality left to realize that I don’t “need” the extra room.

And that’s what it boiled down to: “need”. Lacking an effectively public transportation system out here in SoCal, a car is a necessity. But what kind of vehicle, on the other hand, is more vague. All automobiles provide basic transportation from point A to point B. It’s how they deliver you–comfort level, style, reputation, features, etc.–that separates them. These “intangible” features made it harder since everyone assigns a different priority to them. Many enthusiasts, for instance, assign the “driving experience” as their priority when shopping for a car while others check off safety as their number one concern.

I had a hard time figuring out my priorities. V-4 or V-6? One offered high mpg while the other offered power. Looks? Totally subjective (and I liked the looks of a LOT of cars). Technology? While I like navigation systems, I also realized that I could also purchase them aftermarket. And so on.

One factor, brought to my attention, was to consider what vehicle do I want to be seen driving when I’m in my forties. While the idea helped eliminate some vehicles (sorry, Chevy Aveo, Toyota Yaris, and Ford Focus), it still left a breath of vehicles for consideration.

So why did I buy the 2006 Acura RL? It met my spouse’s approval, the most important factor of all.