Yawn...

Dodge's new vehicle.

2009 Dodge Journey: Minivan For The Worldwide Masses - Jalopnik

I'm already tired of the crossover trend. It's just a cross between a minivan and an SUV. I can see the motivation for something in the in-between space, but this just strikes me as an uninspired box on wheels. A transportation appliance. I like the navigation screen and the storage spaces, but just about everything coming out these days has all of that. I seem to be really liking Mitsubishi these days for some reason, I keep thinking I'd rather have an Outlander than a Dodge Journey. Mazda has some pretty interesting vehicles as well. Toyota apparently makes nice vehicles, but I find them overpriced due to their reputation. Plus, I hate having the same car as everyone else.

Of course, I still haven't figured out what kind of vehicle I'm going to get to replace my '95 Dakota. I have a couple of years to worry about it, though. I don't know if I want to get something new and keep it a good long time, or go cheap by getting a used car with the caveat that it'll probably need replacing before too many years. There's also the question of body style. SUV, crossover, small wagon, sedan, coupe... the mind boggles.

I was thinking that I should decide on a body style first before comparing models. In order to figure that out, I need to figure out what I'll be using it for. Currently we use the '01 Dakota for virtually everything other than my daily commute to work. If the new vehicle will be used for errands and road trips that will make a big difference over just a commuter vehicle.

It occurred to me the other day that I'm thinking about this in a software design methodology. Typically you sit down and figure out your use cases, then use that to derive the requirements, and then from there come up with a design that meets the requirements. Works for cars too... figure out how you're going to use it, then what you need in order to fill those uses.

Car geek meets computer geek.