Why would you avoid the 2.5l engines? My Mom says that I ride the clutch too much, but I won't be driving it much. It'll be my husband's car more than mine.
Response to side note: I think the sense of what is Upstate has a little to do with population density and a lot to do with I-90. There are more than 8 million people in New York City and their choices in elections, for example, greatly influence statewide results (NY has a total population around 19 million). Potsdam is definitely above the I-90 line and almost into Canada, Syracuse and Albany are on it, and Norwich is below it. Albany is more than 2 and a half hours north (150 miles) of New York City, and, actually, I live north of Albany, but very few people would recognize the name of my little town.
Here's a way to tell if a person is or isn't an Upstater:
Jeff Foxworthy on Upstate New York
If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Saranac Lake is the coldest spot in the nation, and Syracuse gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live in Upstate New York.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Upstate New York.
If your town has more bars than churches, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Upstate New York.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WHEN:
1. "Vacation" means going South past Syracuse for the weekend.
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend / wife knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
15. Down South to you means Corning.
16. A brat is something you eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.
18. You go out for a fish fry every Friday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
21. You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."
22. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Upstate New York friends.
#2 thru 5 apply to me, as well as #8 thru 12, 16 thru 18, 21 and 22. So that’s 14 points out of 22 (64%), and 8 out of 9 of the non-numbered points at the top of the list, I think I qualify as an Upstater. Would you agree?
