Last weekend Barb and I were at the Cadillac Palace Theater for our first show in this season’s Broadway in Chicago subscription. We had 5th-row center seats for Back to the Future, the musical based on the iconic 1985 movie. The show is high energy and the performances top-notch, but the show-stopper is Doc Brown’s souped-up DeLorean time machine.

She roars onto the stage and flies high above it while jetting Marty McFly from 1985 to 1955 and back again. Whether plutonium-powered or lightning bolt-activated she screams to 88 mph and booms across the decades. The audience loves her.

But the time-traveling DeLorean is not the car most on my mind. A few weeks ago I wrote about my struggle in deciding how to replace my aging and cranky Audi sedan. Like Marty McFly, I was shuttling back and forth, but for me, the decision was whether to buy another sedan or my first SUV. You may recall I landed on something neither fish nor fowl, an Audi A6 Allroad, a throwback to station wagons of the ’60s popular on the West Coast.

Then Barb saw one on the street and reported “That car is ugly. And weird. You cannot buy that car.” So we canceled the order and reviewed our notes. We considered our wants, needs, and finances. I am here to report that two Saturdays ago I joined SUV Nation.

We bought the most basic level of an upscale brand SUV with a few thousand miles on the odometer to help control the cost. Black-on-black, it is stylish and shiny.

Driving the SUV has been an even bigger adjustment than moving to a new house seven years ago. I must get used to the higher cabin, the “tight” ride, and the powerful engine. It’s wider than my old Audi, making it a tight fit in the garage. Then there is the sticker shock of filling the fuel tank with 20 gallons of premium gasoline. Where are plutonium-powered cars when you need them?

Despite the drawbacks, I enjoy my new ride. And having an SUV has already proved worthwhile. Over the weekend Barb and Laury were going furniture shopping for Laury’s remodeled home. It’s a good thing I came along. Two large pieces of art that never would have fit in a sedan (or a weird station wagon) slid easily into the SUV’s rear compartment. I’m sure that huge capacity will also be useful when hauling bikes, golf clubs, or both.

It’s not a DeLorean. It won’t take me back in time, but I am sure it will help us make many future memories.