So, with new baby, new office space (pictures to come, let me clean this fucking place up, first, jeez) and all, I needed (read: wanted) a car. I debated another SUV (Sundi’s RAV4 is a lot of fun) and the ability to tow/lug stuff around. Thought about a truck, drove a few Jeeps and a CR-V. But the whole time I was thinking about a car. A rear-wheel drive beast like my old 1986 Cutlass Supreme. Or Olds Cutlass Supreme. Either one.

My wife calls it an “old man” car. Yeah, if old men like to pull 180 degree parallel parking maneuvers. Ok, so maybe they do.

So I went to drive and eventually purchased my 2007 Dodge Charger. 3.5 liter v6 engine that surely outperforms the 3.8 liter v6 I had in my first car, a 1981 Buick Century Limited. The best feature of that car was that you pushed the pedal to the floor and the car said “Now?”

250hp, sunroof, 6-speaker stereo, the whole nine. And it spins the tires at a drop of a hat (thank goodness for traction control).

And why is this so exciting? Why do I care, after driving a 1994 Camry for so many years? Because I’m not in Jersey City. In the city, it’s stupid to care about your vehicle – hell, you kiss bumpers every time you park (that’s how you know you can’t back up any more). But, as in my childhood in Massachusetts, when you drive everywhere, you care a little.

And so, it’s like the Cutlass all over again. Except, I think I could smoke the Cutlass easily. And my wife doesn’t call the Charger an old man car. So that’s something.

Of course, there’s a baby seat in the back. But the windows are tinted, so who knows?