Many of the folks checking out cars and trucks at the 2007 Northeast International Auto Show Thursday were seriously in the market for a new vehicle. The show, which is sponsored by the Rhode Island Auto Dealers Association, runs through tomorrow at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.

Roland and Patricia Lallier are in the market to buy. He’s retiring and they are moving to Georgia in a matter of weeks. They’ve already sold their house in Pawtucket. Roland said they currently have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am and a 1996 S10 Blazer. They want something in between, a Saturn Aura or a Chevy HHR perhaps. “We’ve got a my-car and a his-car and we need an us-car,” said Patricia.

Roland is very particular about the seating. “If I’m going to drive for any length of time, I don’t want to get out with a backache or with my legs tired,” he said. “It means a lot.”

Roland also said he wants a four-door car with comfortable back seats so they can transport friends. The vehicle has to be easy to get in and out of, and has to be roomy. “I don’t like feeling I’m sitting on the floor,” he said of low seats. “And I don’t like to feel (the seats) are too tight. I’m not a big guy, but it’s surprising how tight some can be.”

Roland is someone who cares about his cars. He maintains logs of his mileage – noting his Blazer got 14.7 miles per gallon towing a trailer to Georgia – and takes good care of them. “If you saw my Blazer, you’d never think it was 10 years old,” he said. “I’m leaning toward GM; I’ve always had luck with GM,” he said. “I buy American if I can.”

“He wants to change his car,” said Ivona Dutkiewicz of her husband, Walter, who was sitting in the driving seat of a Saturn Aura XR 4-door sedan. “Yeah, I kind of forced her to come here,” said Walter grinning. The couple, who came to the United States from Poland 10 years ago, has been driving an Infiniti for 10 years. They are not sure what they want next.

Earl and Barbara Marsh were looking for a car to replace Barbara’s Jaguar. “The Jaguar’s repair bill is very expensive,” said Earl, citing $5,000 for a new exhaust system. But he conceded that Barbara loved the car. “She says she loves because it fits her,” he said.

He said the couple was currently cash poor but were expected a windfall in the near future, “and then we’ll be dangerous.” In addition to the Jaguar, Earl said he has two Jeep Comanche pickups, an ’88 and an ’89, which are getting on. He says he wants a Ford Ranger pickup “which will last me the rest of my life.”

Earl said there was no car that had everything they liked, but he seemed to be leaning toward something with a DVD player for their grandchildren. He noted a trip he and Barbara had taken with their daughter and 1-year-old and 3-year-old grandchildren from Tennessee to Florida. “We discovered the value of amusement centers,” he said, noting the children had pretty much “melted down” by the end of the two-day trip.

Kimberly and John Mallon were looking for a new car for Kimberly, who currently drives a Chevy Suburban. “My (three) children are grown,” she said. “I don’t need the room.”

But she still likes the SUVs to “go through the snow.” She said she wanted something with “luxury inside,” and has been impressed by the GMC Acadia but was still looking. When was she looking to buy? “In the next month,” she said. “Absolutely.”

Randy Knight, who runs Knight Builders in Westerly, was looking at a Honda Odyssey minivan along with his father, Lee. He said he and his wife currently own a 2000 Ford Windstar. “I told my wife when we bought (the Windstar) that if she drove it for 10 years she could have any car she wanted,” he said, noting that while 10 years is not yet up, he was checking out the market. “It’s got 140,000 miles on it,” he said of the Windstar.

Knight added that he was not interested in an SUV. “SUVs are less car for a lot more money,” he said.

He said his father had suggested they come up to the show. “He loves cars,” said Knight of his father. “I wasn’t going to come, but I’m glad I did.”

Lee said he loves Mazda Miatas. “Maybe Shelby would like a Mercedes,” he joked, referring to the pledge that Randy had made to his wife Shelby that she could have any car she wanted. “She won’t,” replied Randy, climbing out of the Odyssey. “She’s sensible.”

A.J. Thomas and Patrick Watt, who are both chefs, were checking out cars. They both liked the Mercedes-Benz S55 – “It was spacious and sleek and had features I’d never seen before,” said Thomas – but reckoned the price was about $75,000. “A typical Benz price,” said Watt. Was this a fantasy? “Well, everyone kind of gets lucky once in awhile,” he said, and then added, “Yeah, it’s a fantasy.”

Thomas said he liked the Nissan Altima and the Honda Accord Coupe. “I’m a fan of Honda cars,” he said. “Something happens and the parts are not expensive and you don’t have to wait for them.”

He said his father had a BMW and one of the headlights broke. “It was $500 for a new headlight,” he said. “That’s insane, plus he had to wait weeks to get it in.”

“Yeah, but he has the BMW money for it,” said Watt.

John Williams, a student at Johnson and Wales University who was recently working as a chef at a sushi restaurant, said he liked the Toyota FJ Cruiser. There’s a bright yellow one at the show. “It could take all my stuff and I could go to the mountains or the desert,” he said, adding that he likes to move.

Stacey Bailey was looking to upgrade from her Dodge Neon. She was looking around with husband Eric. “I want bigger, definitely, but I have no idea what,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.”

She said so far she had been impressed by the Honda Ridgeline truck, a big change from a Neon. “It’s a very real possibility,” said Eric, noting that he drives a full-size Dodge truck.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Stacey. “The Neon is 11 years old. We bought it new and its got over 200,000 miles on it.”

Alex and Brian Medeiros are expecting to buy a second vehicle in the next few weeks. They recently moved back to Rhode Island from North Carolina with baby Niña, who is almost one. The young couple has a minivan and is looking for an all-wheel-drive vehicle for the New England winters.

The show was “the easiest way to check out what’s available,” said Brian, adding that they had liked the Subaru Tribeca and four-door Jeep Wrangler.

“We need something for her stroller and everything else she needs,” said Alex of Niña who was clambering out of her stroller and ended up on Brian’s shoulders.

Gordon Stone of Bristol and his two grown sons, Doug and Jeff, were “on assignment.” They were looking for a vehicle for Gordon’s wife, Nancy. “She wants us to pick it out,” Gordon said. “ ‘Pick out one or two you like,’ ” she told us. “So here we are.”

Gordon said he was interested in crossovers – he said the three of them like the Ford Freestyle – noting he did not want a vehicle he had to step up to get into. “See,” he said, opening the door of a Ford Freestyle and getting in. “You step into it just like a car.”

pelsworth@projo.com