I feel silly admitting this, but it's been almost eight months since I wrote about visiting the wilds of New Jersey to buy a new car, and I still don't have one. But this Independence weekend, instead of getting tanked on beer, I'm going car shopping again for a deal -- and with all the tax incentives and sales on offer, I'm going to find one. You can, too.

I've test-driven more cross-over vehicles and SUVs than I care to recall, even briefly falling in love with the BMW 535ix sport wagon until I realized I couldn't even come close to being able to lie down in the cargo space...and I'm tall. My side-by and I disagree vigorously over the finer points of automobile ownership; that is, what's important in a car. He's about function over form, a true pragmatist. I am, by nature, a driver -- and a fast one. I look for handling (can I take the Taconic at 70 mph without much oversteer?), pick-up, and aesthetics.

Many of the luxury SUVs I tried couldn't keep up with my foot: the Lexus RX 350, the Infiniti FX35 come to mind. I am always in love with a BMW of nearly any kind, but the X5 turned like a yacht and should have over 300 HP for a truck that size. It doesn't. The X3 is just silly. the X6 is sillier. The GMC Arcadia, well-reviewed, was giant, slow and trucky. The new Audi Q5 made my blood pressure spike but once I rode in the back seat of a 20"-wheel tester, I needed a visit to the chiropractor. So, I'm back to the Murano, and Nissan is offering 2.9% financing or $1500 cash-back this month; select dealerships are also offering $500 off (here's a sample in Cali) for the holiday. BMW wants to get rid of its 2006 vehicles to pay for what consumers may not be buying in new inventory and to offset residuals: they've got .9% financing on almost all '06 vehicles.

Check your local papers for deals: all this business of bankruptcy has shaken the entire auto industry, and though a recovery has been reported, I don't buy it. Even those companies who have not taken government bailouts have felt it -- and they're trying to be competitive.