[DeeezNuuuts83]

I've been posting on the forums for a while, but I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger... except it's not for me. My brother is in his mid-30s and his birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and my dad and I talked today and thought we should surprise him with a new car to replace his aging 2000 Honda Civic that he's been driving since it was purchased new. He's not really into cars the way my dad and I are, though he appreciates them.

Yes, a car is a big gift, but no, we are not rich. Long story short, our mother was battling cancer, and he moved back home last year to help care for her at night, even though the move meant him taking on a 50+ mile one-way commute (though he uses a vanpool, so his actual drive is around half of that), though he's still living there and keeping our dad company. Now that the life insurance checks are coming in, we saw it as an opportunity to give him a big thank-you for his birthday for the sacrifices that he made, especially since a new car would be really useful.

Anyway, we're looking at getting him a 2015 BRZ Limited, but with an automatic. The reason for that is because he's pretty much only owned manuals, but he's probably over it by now, and he's not really an enthusiast anyway... I've tried to teach him how to heel-toe, but he's not interested in it. But with the auto generally getting better fuel economy, he'd really like that, as the auto's numbers might end up being a hair better than what he's averaged in his Civic. And the car is still fun anyway. We just hope he likes it -- as much as we'd love to just get him a 3-Series, it's a little pricier than what we'd feel comfortable with, unless we can get some ridiculously good deal on one.