Okay, I have to chime in here. I'm personally a BIG believer in "gender roles" in the house. That being said (and dont blow up at me ladies, until you finish reading, anyway) my wife and I agree on who should do what in the house.
Buying cars? she can pick out what she wants, but I have final say on if she gets it or not. Why? because im a friggin engineer, and I know what cars are reliable and what ones arent. I'm not going to allow her to spend OUR money on a vehicle that's overpriced and unreliable. A while back she wanted to get a new beetle convertible. I showed her the consumer reports rating on it and said "no fuggin way, honey. Pick again."
House stuff? All her. She has final say in what color our drapes are, what furniture we buy, what color we paint the walls. etc. Why? because shes MUCH better at color coordinating than I am, so that's whats best for us.
Oddly enough, the exception to that rule is the kitchen. What pots, pans, knives, silverware, etc we buy is all my decision. I do most of the cooking at our house. Why? because I'm the better cook.
I guess I'm tying this into the whole thread by saying that ANY marriage is going to have some gender bias to it, and any marriage is going to have its share of compromises. Especially when kids are involved. Got an issue with custody? fine, fo to court and state your case. Dont barricade yourself in a house and have a 3 hr standoff with the police, then get hauled out on a stretcher. What the hell is that doing to the kids? Even worse, what is that TEACHING them?