Our New Prius & some car thoughts

For those who haven't heard yet Katie and I made our first big purchase. We bought a new Prius and are loving it! We have been thinking about a new car for about a year with the thought of me selling my truck and purchasing a vehicle that was much more economical. I had my heart set on the Honda Fit because it was small, economical and had a surprisingly large cargo area.
At the beginning of June I started my new job with Kennedy/Marshall Company. This is a great company to work for because the PA I replaced has gone on to work for Stephen Spielberg! Anyways... I work in Santa Monica which is not far from Katie's work and this allowed us to carpool. We found that throughout this last month I only got in my truck to move it from one side of the street to the other so that I wouldn't receive a street sweeping ticket. So we decided to sell my truck due to the lack of need. We also discovered that the money I make from mileage when I do runs throughout the week would almost entirely pay for a car payment.
We looked at a handful of cars but decided that the Prius, with it's gas sipping tech, would allow my mileage money to go further.
We picked the car up on Sunday and just love it.

Now on to some of the other cars I would recommend...
I was talking to my mom the other day who mentioned that she and my dad might be looking into a car purchase in the next year or so, and I created a quick list of cars I thought they should check out:

Here is an excerpt of an email I sent her with a list of cars I think she should check out if they are thinking about a new one in the next year.

Sports Cars:
The Honda CR-Z
This is a very cool sports hybrid car... now practicality...is kinda lacking but it would be fun like your current car and get stellar fuel economy!
http://cr-z.honda.com/

Small SUVs
The Chevy Equinox
This is a small suv that is getting great reviews. Super quiet and great interior refinements. It has plenty of room and equipped with the 4cyl engine you get 32mpg highway!
http://www.chevrolet.com/equinox/

The Hyundai Tucson
This is a brand new vehicle by Hyundai and looks very cool. It can get 31mpg on the highway as well.
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/tucson/
Hatchbacks
The Ford Fiesta
Very cool car that can get 40mpg when equipped with their new automatic transmission. It has some great features like the ability to connect to your iPhone and have access to all your music, as well as bluetooth calling, Pandora radio, sunroof, push button start, and automatic proximity door locks (very cool). I love this car and is pretty much equal to the Honda fit. The interior is very cool and hip with red back lit lights. I am not a fan of overly used red lighting in interiors but its easy to get used to. The back seat does not fold flat like the Honda fit so it makes it more difficult to lay flat items in the back but again is adaptable.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fiesta/
The Honda Fit.
One of my favorite cars. It has so much room and a price that is hard to beat. It doesn't have all the cool tech that the fiesta has but makes up for it in it's incredible interior styling and use of blue lighting at night. I love blue night lighting and really disliked that our new prius uses an old green lighting motif. Agh. Honda has some of the best interiors but lacks in it's tech department.
http://automobiles.honda.com/fit/

Katie and I have a our new Prius and absolutely love it. I love the fact that its like a huge electronic toy that is drivable. The car successfully turns driving into a mile per gallon game and although you risk creating quite a few angry drivers following you it feels good to keep passing the pump. I am excited to fill up though and feel the excitement as the pump stops at around 12 gallons and doesn't continue to 24gallons! :) I will miss my truck but for now Katie and I love our prius and the fact that we get to spend so much more time together as we car pool.