On the bright side

Don't mistake this entry as me proclaiming my happiness to have been in a car accident that totaled my car a month ago. Although I came through it mostly unscathed, I would prefer not to have had the experience. The fact remains that I did, so why not look at the good that came from it?

I only had my last car seven months, and while I had some well-documented problems with it, I was generally happy with the Ford Focus. I would have been happy to get another, but circumstances led me to buy my first Korean-made automobile. You know what? I think this may be a better car. Here's why:

-Significantly improved gas mileage over the Focus, especially for city driving. (I was stunned how bad the Focus' city mileage was.) I'm getting mileage similar to what I got with my Saturn, if not a little better than that. This is a really important quality in a car to me.

-Better cupholder placement. In the old car they were almost underneath the dash. The new car has them to my side.

-The windshield wipers have been more effective than on any car I've ever owned. (Maybe that has nothing to do with the vehicle?) I'm not crazy about needing to move the bar down to adjust the wiper rate--everything else I've driven has required pushing the bar up--but I'm coming around.

-Electronic door locks that aren't as loud. The locks on the Focus sounded like they were too powerful.

-Two power outlets (or what used to be called cigarette lighters).

-A gas tank lock. The Focus was the first car I owned without a lock on the gas tank. (My first actually required putting the key in the gas tank door to open it.)

-A sunglasses holder. No more having to stash them in the glove compartment.

There are plenty of qualities that are essentially equal between the Focus and its Asian replacement. The Focus had a few advantages--brakes weren't as touchy, it probably sat slightly higher, electric mirror controls felt sturdier--but I do think I ended up with a better car. Let's hope that bears itself out in the months and years to come.