When I was 16, I wanted a Saab.  I wanted to be a yuppie bastard and this boded poorly for the future.

When I was 20 I came to my senses and wanted a 1954 Corvette.  It’s a gorgeous car and I would still love to own one, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.  And it might have some trouble with Costa Rican roads

When I was 30 my dream vehicle became a Vespa, since owning one would mean I’d be living someplace warm, not wearing socks much and generally enjoying life.  With this I was at least on the right track.

Now, my perfect car would be an old (like 40-50 year old) Land Rover, but those are in short supply.  Plus the benches they have as rear seats are not carseat friendly at all.  So I’ve settled on the late 80s Isuzu Trooper.  Cars in Costa Rica should be easy to repair and have easy parts availability and the Trooper scores on both counts.  Due to the pitfalls of the roads there – potholes a plenty, washed out roads, etc – having ground clearance and a good suspension is a must. I checked Wikipedia and it was a tremendously popular car and a bad-ass offroad vehicle too.  I’m sure at some point we’ll need to drive back though pouring rain and encounter a washed out road or a big expanse of mud, and with a Trooper, we should be good to go.