Yesterday, my dream car came in the mail: a 1:32 die cast Chevrolet Volt. I bought the model because I can't buy the car... yet. I'll explain why I want the full-size version.

I live less than five miles from the office. If the Volt gets 40 miles to a charge (and has a range of 600+ miles when the engine kicks in to recharge the batteries), I may end up buying more gas for my leaf-blower than my car.

I still drive a '99 Cavalier Z24 that I got my freshman year of college. The Cav gets about 28 MPG, is deceptively quick, and is still a fun car to drive. It's sitting at 125k miles and (fingers crossed) should be about 150k by the time I'm ready for the Volt. I don't want to replace it with a sports car, but I do want a sporty car.

Before I moved from Indianapolis to Lake Jackson to join TDECU, I rode a 2007 Yamaha Virago on my 20 mile round-trip commute each day (that is, until it got too cold to do so). I weigh about a buck-fifty (I'm short) so I got over 80 MPG. On one memorable tank, I somehow pulled off 96 MPG. You read that right.

Now that you know why I want a Volt when it comes out at the end of 2010 (assuming that it'll make it to production), you need to know what could hold me back.

It's rumored the sticker will read at least $30k. I've also heard to plan on a pricepoint closer to $40k. (These rumors originate from this Volt blog I've been keeping up with, which has no affiliation with GM. Take that for what it's worth.)

If I am still indeed shopping for a Volt in three years, I won't take out an auto loan for $40k. It'd be a 60 month loan with a payment of around $775 based on today's rates. No way.

I have 36 months to shift those numbers.

If I put back $375.00 a month to put toward a down payment, I can amass $13,500 in savings (without earning interest, gumshoes). That'll bring my monthly payment down to $525-ish. Much more do-able. Plus, it gives me a nice savings cushion if I decide I'd rather not. That said, every time I try to talk myself out of the Volt, I watch this.