The lease on one of our cars recently expired. Car shopping has never been my favorite activity, and my experience this round did nothing to endear me further to the sport. In the end, I didn’t get the car I set out to buy, and I paid too much for it, too. It wasn’t even like I was wowed by some slick salesperson; I was just too impatient to walk away when they refused to lower the price any more.

After the dealership screwed up the paperwork, forcing Husband to spend a full day at the insurance company and RMV to straighten it out, I was in an evil humor when I picked up the car. I almost blew a gasket when they made me wait while they regenerated the contract — then they had my address wrong so they had to do it again. By the time the sales guy was ready to give me the grand tour of my new wheels, I just grabbed the keys and drove away.

On the way home, I started warming up to the car. It is the same make as my old one, but despite being two models lower on the food chain, it actually feels more spacious, peppier, and easier to drive.

I was experimenting with the various controls, and I saw one I didn’t recognize. “What’s this?” I thought, and pushed it. The radio cut out, and a voice said, “At the beep, say a command.” The stereo display read, “Telephone.”

It took me a little while to catch on, but it turns out it’s an integrated Bluetooth-enabled hands-free phone system that works perfectly with my new Blackberry. It allows me to dial by voice command and hear conversations through the car radio. I have a talking car!

I know this is hardly new technology, but can I tell you how cool it is to hear someone’s voice coming through six speakers while I drive, without having to lift a finger? It’s exactly like “My Mother the Car.”