Buy American? Shocking, but true

I'm kind of a car guy. Well, not really.

I like cars. I don't love cars, not like my friend Brian who's life centers on cars. Having said that, I really don't like to drive. It's just another chore. If I could teleport myself from place to place, I'd be a most happy camper.

2010 Ford Focus Sedan

But, I've owned a lot of cars. Just ask MFW if you doubt me. And, I could afford to retire today if I wasn't so insistent on trading cars so often over the years. Having said that, I would really be in deep trouble if I'd bought houses like I did cars. And, I'd probably be divorced.

My BMW got in a small fender bender (not my fault). Someone backed out of a driveway and hit my parked car on the street. Oh, well. Not much damage, just inconvenience. So, it's in the shop getting repaired this week.

My "loaner" is a 2010 Ford Focus SES. I've heard a lot about the Focus, but now I'm a believer. This is one nice car. It's got spunk, is fun to drive, has a lot of "luxury" features and best of all is quiet for a car in its price range. I'm really surprised by how quiet it is. Oh, did I mention it gets 35 mpg on the highway and 27 in the city. That's about the same as my smaller turbo Mini Cooper.

And, Holy Martha, the price. I could buy two of these for what I paid for the Bimmer. Now, to be honest, this is no BMW. It doesn't have the fit and finish and the amazing workmanship. But, it's probably good enough.

I'm seriously thinking this will be our next car and probably the one after that, too. Amazingly, this will be the first American-made car I've ever purchase. I had two Ford trucks, but no cars. I like Ford and think they're doing a good job. It has a lot of cool features which was always the reason I bought foreign. Some of the  Ford's implementations -- like Sirius radio -- are superior to the BMW and far, far cheaper. I also think the radio sounds better if you can believe it.

I may have squandered a lot of bucks on cars earlier in my life. Now I see a chance to make amends.