Overloaded

So I've been doing my work in anticipation of getting a replacement car. Checked on loan offerings, done the electronic version of dog-earing Consumer Reports, searched online for cars, and arrived at one unshakable conclusion: I'm less certain of what to do than when I started this process.

OK, that's not entirely true, but it is dispiriting to read reviews, professional and anything but, that essentially say you're doomed to make an expensive mistake because you're looking for an economy car.

I've spent way too much time looking at this stuff today, yet that's what I'll probably be doing until Thursday. I suppose I can be distracted until then by the fact that my current car is sending definite signals that all is not well. (My guess: a cylinder is dying, not that I'm a mechanic in any way.) I'm driving as little as possible in the hope that doing so will keep me from being stranded on the side of the road.

Is this over yet?