Well, after a long, long day of car shopping and test driving, we chose a 2010 Subaru Forester (it's from the future!).
We picked it up yesterday after what seemed like an even longer day filling out more forms and signing and stamping in triplicate like we were executing a Czech contract.
It was liberating to drive off in it, leaving behind the benighted van that ruined used cars for us. Normally I would have been all nostalgic about leaving one car for another. Hell, normally I wouldn't have done it at all. I would have continued to drive the car because I hate change and I'm cheap. But I hate being stranded in the middle of nowhere even more, and even a cheapskate like me can see the writing on the wall. When your repairs start to equal a car payment, it's time to move on. Thank goodness for us that we have family who are willing and able to help us actually do that. I don't think I can overstate how much their support means to us.