I bought a car today: a brand new 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX.

"But wonko," you're saying, "didn't you already own a WRX once? And didn't it get you into all kinds of trouble with the popo? And didn't you buy a new Mazda just last year?"

Yes, dear reader, all of these things are true. The fact is that while the Mazda3 is a wonderful car, it's no WRX. Yeah, it was a lot cheaper and the insurance rates were better and it was sporty and handled well and got me to work every morning, but it wasn't a WRX. Driving wasn't fun anymore, it was just something I did to get from one place to another. Instead of grinning like a madman every time I whipped through a series of curves or planted my foot on the gas pedal, I just heard a little voice in the back of my head saying, "This isn't a WRX."

So screw it. You only live twice on her majesty's secret service, and all that jazz. I bought myself another WRX.

It was the easiest, most painless car buying experience I've ever had thanks to Carr Subaru's Internet sales department and USAA. I emailed Dan Doyle at Carr, told him what I was looking for, and he gave me an absolutely mind-bogglingly low price quote right off the bat. USAA gave me great rates on a loan and insurance, I made an appointment with Dan, took the car for a quick spin, wiped the slobber off my chin, signed some papers, shook some hands, and that was that. The car was mine, and for thousands of dollars less than I had expected to pay.

I hit lunchtime traffic driving back to the office, but I didn't care. It was still more fun than I've had driving in the last year.