Some background

Before I continue, some background on where I'm coming from:

I'm a 24 year old Build Engineer for a Bay Area software developer. I loved my previous car, a 1990 Honda Accord EX that I received two years ago as a graduation present from my father. There were problems with the break-lining at some point, but other than that the car ran beautiful until earlier this month when its timing belt snapped. The damage the belt caused killed the engine, and the cost to repair it was many times more than the value of a 17-year-old vehicle with 223+ thousand miles on it.

With my beloved Accord out of the way, I needed a replacement. I settled on the Yaris liftback due to good reviews, glowing recommendations from friends and affordability. What sealed the deal for me was Toyota's financing program for recent college graduates.. something which, with my (lack-of) credit, I needed.


I'm not a Car Guy. Not at all. Friends and co-workers ask me questions about the Yaris, throwing around terms and figures I don't pretend to understand. As far as I'm concerned: 'What Makes It Work?' isn't nearly as important as 'How Well Does It Work?' That's what I studied in college: Usability. User interfaces. The design of everyday things. How well does something accomplish whatever it is the user expects it to do? How is it intuitive? How is it complicated, and why?


That's what I'm going to try to write about here. I'm not big on the mechanical details a Car Guy might give you; if that's what you're looking for, I'm sure there are plenty of resources for you already. And hey, this Yaris is my first New Car.. I'm sure that sooner or later I'll I praise / condemn -something- about the Yaris that really is about New Cars in general. Something they may have changed about the way cars are made in the last 17 years since my old car was made. I'm sure I'll rant about something you've known about and accepted years ago, and will laugh at me for making such a big deal out of it.


In short: this isn't a cutting-edge, exclusive breakthrough auto-review blog; it's a blog about a normal guy obsessed with the little things in life, and getting used to a big change: a new Yaris.