Doing Our Share for the U.S. Economy: Roxy's Got a Brand New Car....well, SUV

I'd like to give a tentative shout-out to Jim Salerno Automotive in Randolph, New Jersey, where Rex and I just drove off the lot with a shiny 2009 Red Jewel GMC Acadia. The shout-out is tentative because we love our new ride but we don't have such a great track record with the good old boys at Jim Salerno's service and sales team.

For the last two years of our 2001 GMC Yukon XL's life, every oil change at Jim Salerno's service department turned into a thousand dollar repair. Then, two and a half years ago, my blonde investment banker self made a solo trip to Jim Salerno to test drive and find out about leasing a GMC Yukon Denali. The good old boys on the porch came in from their smoke break long enough to tell me I should come back with my husband to make such an important financial decision, and that surely I wanted to own, not lease. So we bought a Chevrolet Suburban in Morristown and leased our current Jeep Grand Cherokee from Fullerton Jeep in Bridgewater.

Since that time, when we drive by Jim Salerno Automotive, London and Maddie have shouted out "Good Day, Sir!" in the style of Gene Wilder as Willie Wonka, indicating that we have nothing more to say to each other.

This behavior lasted until we discovered that the last employee-priced red jewel 2009 Acadia was on Jim Salerno's lot. One far away GMC dealer suggested that she could order one for us for about five grand more. A return to Jim Salerno Automotive was therefore in order. We worked with the female Internet sales manager to avoid making contact with the good old boys, who were and are still out on the porch enjoying an all-day smoke break, since no one is buying cars (and certainly not SUVs) in this economy. There was an exciting moment yesterday when we met Jim Salerno himself, a mild-mannered Mister Rogers type in a blue sweater.

At least for now, the story has a happy ending. By 5:45pm, the Red Jewel was ours... Good Day, Sir!