Mary M

I'm looking to buy a late-model used Honda CR-V (ideally, 2-4 years old, and under 35,000 miles). I don't really need all-wheel drive. I live in Seattle, where we don't get much snow. I hardly ever do any mountain driving in the winter. I don't plan to go off-road. I will mostly be driving it around town--commuting to work, shopping, etc. I mainly like the CR-V because of the size, appearance, and reputation, and because it rides higher than a lot of small cars (I have bad knees--that makes it easier to get in and out of). I intend to drive the car I buy for a long, long time (I got 17 years out of my last Honda).

But...there seem to be a LOT more all-wheel drive models out there on the used car market than front-wheel drive ones. I have only some vague ideas about all-wheel drive--that it lowers gas mileage, and that it's just something else to break down. But if I rule it out, my choices of available cars that meet my other criteria will get a lot narrower.

SO...can somebody help me better understand all-wheel drive? Are my ideas about it outdated and off-base? Is it going to be a liability in my situation?

I need some ideas for plants that will sprout and grow from commercially-available seeds, that are really hard to get rid of once they're established. Something that just keeps popping up, no matter how often they're yanked out, would be ideal. Morning glories come to mind, but I'm open to other suggestions. The location will be in the Pacific Northwest--warm, relatively dry summers, moderately cold, wet winters, not much snow, regular dips below freezing in winter, but not far below. The planting will be done in the summer and the areas will get regular watering.

Thanks much!

I live in Washington. I'm looking at buying a 2010 Nissan Cube that was first sold in California when it was new. I know that, years ago, new cars sold in California had to have extra emission-control equipment that new cars sold in other states didn't have. Are they still doing that? I like the idea of a cleaner-running car--but I still remember people complaining that the California smog equipment did a number on performance, plus it was prone to breaking down, and expensive to fix. Is that still the case? (or for that matter, was it ever really that much of an issue?)