Thanks for the input everyone! I went out this week and test drove a number of cars, but I'm going to wait until the 2009 Honda Fit and Civic come out in September before I make my decision. As of now, here are my impressions: the Prius, I saw one but could not test drive one. The one I saw was being reconditioned to sell as certified used. If I want a new one, it could take 6 to 7 Months! Some parts come from China so production has been at a standstill since the earthquake. I won't be buying one anyway. The controls look like a rocket ship, and although the visibility from the front and sides are fabulous, it is almost impossible to see out the rear window. I'm sure my height does not help. I test drove the Matrix while I was there but I did not like it. The steering was not as responsive as on our Hondas, and the ride was rough. Next I tried out the Pontiac Vibe. I did like it a lot; it is very comparable to the CR-V but less expensive. It is a bit bigger than I wanted though. I drove the 2008 Fit (which I reaaally wanted to love) and although the steering was responsive, the ride was rough and the road noise was awful. The seat height can not be adjusted and I felt like I was sitting in a hole, I could barely see over the dash! It also looked like the interior was made of cheap plastic, I expected better after driving around in our CR-Vs. They are supposed to be fixing these issues on the 2009 model so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I also tried the Civic Sedan while at the Honda dealer, I really liked it. The ride was smooth, the steering responsive, the blind spots were minimal, it was very nice. When the 2009s come out I might try the coupe out. Unfortunately the hybrid version has a smaller trunk because of the battery. Next I test drove the MINI Cooper Clubman. Boy was that fun! I loved driving it around! Unfortunately it is not very practical here in Illinois as a main car. The first time it snowed I would be plowed in! It is really low to the ground. The last car I tried was the Scion xD. I really liked it! It was exactly what I was hoping the Fit would be (and almost exactly the same size). So now I have to wait until mid Sept. for the new Hondas to come out and I can make my decision and order my car. Depending on the dealer they said between 4 and 8 weeks for delivery (other than the Prius). If anyone else has a suggestion I will look into it. I do prefer a wagon over a car since I do haul stuff sometimes (furniture, wood, etc...). I agree about never buying a silver car again! We have a Silver CR-V and a mist blue (almost a silvery blue) CR-V. Where ever I park there are always several identical CR-Vs! I'm thinking of getting red or blue. There are not that many cars in our area in those colors. At least 75% of the cars in our area are silver, gray, white or black. Joanne

Ooh, I"m the mean mom on this one-no, I never let my kids eat or drink in the car. Ever. Not when they were tiny, not older with fast food, not now as teenagers. I bought my (first ever in my life) brand new vehicle when I was pregnant with my first child. To be honest, I knew that the crud of food detritus that ALWAYS results from little ones and food in a car would be impossible for me to bear so I figured it was best not to even start it. So we never did. I do have to say that if you are going to have a no-food rule in the car, it probably has to be something that starts from the very beginning. I think it would be extremely difficult to enforce once the kids (and mom :) are used to it. Oh, and I am such a neat freak I couldn't bear to let my toddlers sit in a high chair and smear food all over themselves. Just couldn't stand it. So no photos of my one year old wearing birthday cake all over the face, body and furniture, no watching them smear peas into a paste all over "brrr, gives me the shudders to think of it) etc...they feed themselves fine anyway nowadays. They'll probably be talking about mean old mom in therapy for years though! Ann

I don't like this - and it has little to do with the bribery part. Mostly, I think you undermined your husband horribly and did so behind his back. The fact that you had to sneak out to do it should have been an indication. If you thought your plan was a good idea, you should have taken your HUSBAND aside and spoken about it. On its face, it isn't unreasonable to pay a teenager to help out at a family business. It may or may not be the best decision, but that should have been a family decision, not yours alone. How would you feel if you found out that your husband was secretly bribing your ss to be nice to you and to help you do something? Also, what does changing the plan midstream teach your ss? If you grumble and complain enough you can cash, if you go along happily you work for free? As far as cash in general goes, I think it is a poor motivator. I'm sure lots of people here can dig up studies taht show overuse of external motivation actual lessens internal motivation. That is exactly the opposite longerm effect of what parents are hoping for. To me though, there is a more immediate concern. Kids really don't value money/material things as much as we think they might. They most powerful motivators of people at any age are respect and freedom. If you want to motive a young person to do something, show them how that action is going to lead to increased personal freedom and increased respect/trust from those they care about. Using money as a proxi for one of the other of those is at best missing the undlying forces at work and at worst distorting the value structure.

I saw this the other day, and my first thought was, what a silly, ill-thought design. I don't think it will be very effective. You turn the ignition off, it makes a noise. That's it? So every time you go somewhere, you can count on hearing a very annoying noise as soon as you turn the car off (to go with all the other annoying noises), because you can't possibly make it to the car seat to undo the baby before the noise starts. In behaviour sciences / learning theory, it's clear that alert sounds and alarms can only modify behaviour if there is a correct action to take to prevent it, in this case there is not. Not to mention, over time the possibility of becoming desensitized to the "going to happen anyway" sound. It all seems very frustrating. I think it especially won't be effective because people will return the seats / throw them in the garbage. The parents who care enough to buy this kind of seat are the ones who are most unlikely to forget their child. For the person who has similarly somehow forgotten the sound (perhaps gotten out of the car to get something out of the trunk first), this new seat doesn't do anything more for that child. If I were designing a car seat with built-in protection, I would put a pressure sensor under the seat, a high tech thermometer sensing the air temperature, both connected to a transmitter with gps location. If a child is sitting in the seat and the car is over, say, something like 90 - 100 degrees or so, it puts out an immediate signal to police so they can come save the baby.