>>>I have great appreciation of the collected wisdom here and have upon occasion asked for advice. This is one of those times.
>>>
>>>As some of you may recall, my father died last May. He was a successful man and I am due to inherit some money next month.
>>>
>>>I do not intend to run around blowing the inheritance extravagantly. Most of it will be spent on my daughters' college educations and left for them to inherit. It will not be spent wildly. Having lost about half my net worth during the recession, my investments will be extremely conservative. But I do have one indulgence in mind. Bear in mind that I have not indulged myself in years. I have not been on vacation in years. My car is over 10 years old and has 120,000 miles on it.
>>>
>>>So I am thinking of running a little amok --
>>>
>>>http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=newcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=104744155&listingRecNum=31&criteria=sf1Dir%3DASC%26mkId%3D20053%26stkTyp%3DN%26mdId%3D20770%26rd%3D30%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26zc%3D60073%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28880%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Nm%3Dlocation%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national&listType=1
>>>
>>>It's not a very expensive car. The Camaro has a high percentage of the Corvette's performance at a much lower percentage of the cost. 22-23K for a beast like this, wow. Great reviews. If I go ahead it will be hard to decide between yellow and orange.
>>>
>>>Allie told me last night she thinks I'm nuts. Opinions?
>>
>>What's nuts about getting a new car when you need one?
>>
>> That is not even moderately expensive. My own preference would be for something in the Chrysler 300 series, but the Camaro looks great. Not enough leg room in a Vette. I seem to remember you are even taller than m 6'2" so just be sure it is very comfortable for long drives.
>>
>>I drive the STS mostly for the leg-room but would probably go to Chrysler 300 for my next car... A certified car about 2 years old usually gives you a better warrantee than new and in the case of the STS or Eldorado I get every couple years means a Cadillac at the price of a new Toyota. You can pick up a 300C or 300 Touring with some pretty impressive goodies for the same price as the Camaro, if you get a certified car about 2 or 3 years old that originally listed for 47K +.
>
>I have never been particularly attracted to American luxury cars. The STS and 300 do sound great for someone so inclined.
>
>I am 6'3" so similar to you in body size, other than the smaller brain ;-) That is something I will keep in mind on a test drive. There are a couple of long trips I have in mind when the weather turns nicer. One is to visit my sister Rachel in Maine and meet my new niece, who is now six months old. The other, partially inspired by the inauguration on Monday, is a week long visit to Washington DC. I have never been there other than passing through. I want to do all the touristy things like the White House, the Capitol, the monuments, the Smithsonian Clear that carbon out of the engine.

When my brother in law first told me he got a Cadillac (back in 97 or so) I laughed at him. (our old fat Uncle Bob used to drive a Fleetwood Bougham that drove like sailing a ship. ) Then he let drive his Eldorado ETC. Holy crap. The STS is the 4 door version. 300 hp+ Northstar engine, run-flat Z tires. Heavy enough to handle better in mountains than the sports cars I used to be hooked on. Nice wide tires. 300 Hemi is like that too. And front wheel drive. The DTS is a little cushier.

I do concur with Dorris however that the Dodge Charger would be a hoot. Our local police department just got them and they definitely *look* mean.

YELLOW??? are they out of chartreuse or lime-green ;-)