Team Small Dog invites you to meet their new best friends, Panoramic Sunroof, Bluetooth Equipped and Diesel Gas.

So as our saga unfolded last week, Team Small Dog was left stranded when a major part of their transporter vehicle's engine developed a hole in it. Their transporter vehicle made funny sounds, had blinky lights, and horrible smoke coming out the back. The final diagnosis, very, extremely, absolutely, dead.


RIP, Honda CRV. We loved you much. For 210,000 happy miles. Then you died.


Thus started Project It Takes a Village To Buy Laura a New Car. My council involved crack teams of researchers from the cult of Jetta TDI, a husband with good credit, my family members, every single person at work, half of facebook, everyone I know with extra cars, and all these car guys from the internet. This would not have happened without all of you. Thanks Village Council members! The car we jointly selected and purchased?

Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Jetta Sportwgen TDI, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

A hundred. At least a hundred so far. There will probably be more ways as soon as I figure out what all the little buttons and gizmo's do. I suspect by tomorrow, three hundred ways.


It's a station wagon, not very flashy, but I don't even care. Because I am sassy enough to drive a soccer mom car. I will pull out my front tooth and grin a deranged outlaw grin at anyone that suggests otherwise. This car has fancy vegan pleather seats, a ginormous sunroof, is way bigger than dearly departed Honda and gets 50+ mpg on it's low emission diesel engine.

That's right. I am not lying. 40mpg is Jetta Sportwagen TDI having a bad day. We are going for 50!

The ipod plugs in and the phone talks over the radio through Dick Tracy steering wheel buttons and did I mention that it's bigger than my Honda? Oh, hello underground storage area under the dog crates that's the exact same size as my xpen.

Um, heated seats. Can I just write that again? Heated seats.


This is the nicest car I have ever owned. About the nicest car I have ever seen. There are going to have to be many new Team Small Dog t-shirts sold to help us keep those car payments paid. I foresee many trials spent as head garbage lady to pay entries this year. Actually, if you are reading this and coming to SMART and Bayteam at the end of April and want to help me with the garbage for your lunch and raffle tickets, send me an email. It's not such a bad job.

After we sort out the recycling, we can go sit in my car and listen to the Sirius radio on the touchscreen radio. Maybe there's even an agility channel.