Oh no you didn't !

I did, actually.

Bottom line: I traded in my '96 Honda Civic for a '97 GMC Suburban. Actually, it was a trade-in + $500, but that's all. (it's pictured above)

Rationalizations:

• We can now carry 8 people. That means whole family plus two (for instance: Grandparents)
• I don't drive much (have averaged less than 6,000 miles per year for the last 12 years) so the gas costs are not that bad
  
• We can tow more (trailer, campers) with this vehicle
• I now have a vehicle that I can fit my triathlon gear, and camping gear, etc into without having to borrow Kate's.
• We can get up into the mountains in Winter, and off-road camping now because of the 4-wheel drive
• The Honda dealer wanted $960 to fix my broken electric window switches. The switches will inexplicably stop working for long periods of time. Currently, they happen to be working, so for half the cost of the repair, I get a whole new vehicle.
• The color matches our house trim perfectly (weak rationalization, I know)
• The economic and gas situation being what it is, this is probably the only time I would have been able to trade a Civic for a Suburban
• Safer in a crash due to it's size (I have a little bit of a problem with this excuse, however, since safer for me means less safe for the other vehicle)
• (Convoluted "green" argument, stick with me on this one) Since I drive relatively infrequently, and for short distances, I am making my fuel efficient car available to someone who has to drive a lot, and taking a fuel inefficient vehicle and putting it into minimal use. Ok, it's a stretch.
  
• Now we can get into the freezer in the garage without me having to pull my car out
• With HUGE untapped oil fields in the ANWR and off the coasts, and with the Republicans leading in the polls, and the altruistic oil companies who will sell all the extra oil to America, cheap, I'm sure McCain and Palin will be driving gas prices into the low $2.00 range once the McCain administration goes into action, so I wanted to stay ahead of the curve.