2009 Dodge Journey-Battle of Wills

I have always been a car person. I enjoy looking at cars, sitting in cars, riding in cars, knowing makes and models of cars, etc. It is a rather strange thing for a forty-something mother of four to enjoy doing, but it is something I have done my whole life. I remember when I was a kid, my dad kept getting these small toy cars as premium gifts from a gas station. I loved them, and would always entertain myself on car trips trying to name the makes and models of cars that I saw passing by. My husband, who is an engineer, is the opposite. He doesn't seem to find any kind of pleasure in cars. He doesn't know makes or models, he doesn't care about how they look or feel. They are simply a tool for him to use, and he considers them somewhat of a painful way of spending money. With all that being said, I have to say in the eighteen+ years we have been married, the only time we have bought at car is when he deems it necessary or when we have a vehicle crisis and are forced to buy whatever "will do" that is on the car lot. My husband is perfectly happy to pump thousands of dollars into an old car, rather than look at the bigger picture and get rid of a money pit and put the money toward something that is newer and more efficient. Another part of the money/car game we play is that he says "yes, let's go look" or "get the old Taurus ready to trade and we'll drive it to the car dealer and see what kind of deal we can get." I do all the research, do the preliminary testing of the new car, and then the real battle begins, present arguments, with supporting evidence, as to why we should buy/lease a new vehicle get all ready to go make a deal, and he changes his mind and says we can't afford it or it's not a good time, or whatever. This pattern has been followed our entire time together, and in the end, I'm the one who loses. We currently have a 2000 Chevy Suburban with 150,000+ miles on it that I drive, a new 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe that he drives (which was an emergency purchase when the Suburban didn't work) and a 1997 Ford Taurus station wagon with 147,000+ miles on it and currently doesn't start. My thought was that since the Suburban is running well now, but seems to have expensive crises every few months, we should keep it as a supplemental vehicle, and trade the old Taurus, and get something that gets better gas mileage, would be easier for me to get around in, and has more current safety features. I could ask him to look at the new Volvo crossover vehicles that are running a cool $40,000, but even though I would love to have one, I started looking at the new, more affordable, 2009 Dodge Journey. The $2.99 gas deal was just as enticing as the car. At any rate, have done all the footwork for this thing, and my husband remains unconvinced. I believe that in the long run, the Journey, if we lease it for three years, would save us money. He sees it as another one of my silly notions and maneuvers to "get my way" and spend more money. This is an eighteen year battle that is never ending and this warrior is growing weary. My husband hasn't said anything about the car since the stupid run-around he put me through by saying we could do it and then, pulling out of it at the last minute, but I will do more footwork and find out how much insurance will be, how much gas would be, how much a license would be, and then see if we would come out ahead. I know in the end, he will win; that's how it has been and until I become independently wealthy, that's how it will remain.