Is it Time to Buy a New Car?

We went car shopping today--sort of. We looked at a few, kicked some tires.  That sort of thing. It's really hard to seriously consider buying a car when you've got two little monkey's running around but we tried it.  Imma wanted to "drive" every car we looked at and Lucy wanted to climb through the hatchback.  The young man at the Infiniti dealership was very kind, even though Imma insisted on calling him Mr. Hamster for some reason and I walked away from there pretty enthralled with the JX, even though Brian almost had a coronary when he looked at the price tag.
I also have a very tough time spending that kind of money.  I know we could easily buy something way less expensive that would provide transportation wherever we need to go.  We could also just hold on to the Pacifica for a bit longer.  It's a nice car, it has a lot of great features. You have to wiggle the shifter to get the key out of the ignition and it takes at least three tries before it actually starts but other than that, it's pretty good. It even comes with a side of french fries if you don't mind picking them up off of the floor.
I guess I grew up in a situation where the reliability of a car was certain--it wasn't going to start for sure, you'd have a flat tire for sure, or something was going to break as soon as you got something else fixed, for sure.  I don't want that for my children.  I want them to know that we are going to be able to go where we need to go and that we won't be stuck once we get there.  I know any car can have a flat or need repairs but I like the idea of driving a new car so I don't have to worry as much.  We had to cancel a doctor's appointment this summer because something broke in my starter and it would not shift into drive.  My car is only 4 years old and I feel like it shouldn't be having these kinds of issues yet.  I love all of the features in my car--nav, DVD, heated leather seats, back-up cam, blue-tooth.  But it's hard to find all of the features I love about my Pacifica in a comparably priced SUV and they don't make Pacificas any more.  You have to think there's probably a reason for that since the Dodge Journey, it's replacement, isn't as good.  Most of the other vehicles in the same price-point as the Pacifica are much smaller or are missing some of the key things that I need (like heated seats because even though I live in Texas, I am freezing 9 months out of the year.)
So we may end up with a car payment again here in the next few months, even though we really don't want one.  It's a tough decision.  We're a bit afraid my transmission is going to go out or something like that and we'll end up sinking a lot more money into the Pacifica just so we can trade it in.
With the economy the way that it is and the gas situation, how do y'all go about making decisions about your vehicles?  I would love to hear the opinions of some rational third parties!
Sorry this wasn't about the girls so much but it does relate to them.  They will be riding in the vehicle.  And there was the great mention of Imma and Mr. Hamster.