The car of my dreams

I've been fantasizing recently about buying a diesel VW Beetle. It's a moderately irrational fantasy, given that A) we don't have a couple grand burning a hole in our pockets, and if we did, we should probably save it for a rainy day because we've had so much sunshine in our lives it seems that clouds should be gathering soon, and B) a two-door vehicle is completely impractical with small children. Still, every week or so I jump on craigslist to see what's out there. What's fueling this fantasy? Ha. no pun intended, but it's fuel (well, that, and the attractiveness of driving a vehicle that's described by some as "perky," a word that seems the antithesis of "minivan.") I watched a movie by that title last year and became convinced that biodiesel is the answer, at least to one of life's persistent questions--how to support a mobile society without being complicit in the global-warming, pollution-producing, war- justifying system of oil? Of course, I'm easily swayed by compelling arguments, and was ready to buy an electric car after seeing the movie Who Killed The Electric Car (except at that time there weren't any electric cars available because they were all dead, and now that they've been resurrected, they're way out of our price range). I hope no one makes a movie about natural gas cars, because then I'd have to rethink my position on the Marcellus Shale mess.

My fantasy has some merit. We prided ourselves on being a one car family for years, and only bought a second vehicle when we started the farm project. Darrel only uses the 1997 GMC Safari on rainy days and in super cold weather; other than that he bikes to work and the red van is dedicated to the farm. Three kids pushed us beyond the capacity of a sedan into a minivan, but I groan at the mileage we get with our kid carrier, a 2002 Honda Odyssey. A little, fuel efficient car for running errands while the kids are at school, going on solitary trips, driving individual kids to appointments, etc. would be perfect. What would be even better is if we could find someone to share it with. Any takers?