Monday, August 01, 2005

a) a new car

So this weekend we began with the 'Things we can do now that we can't buy the new house'. We went out to the Honda dealership with the intent of buying a new Honda CR-V (SE, pewter pearl!). We had decided that we really needed something SUV-ish because we need some more cargo room. And Brian, who is considerably taller than I am, would really have preferred something that he didn't have to squeeze his knees into. We looked at the used cars first, where we saw a 2003 Honda Pilot with only 30,000 miles on it. Secretly I wanted a Honda Pilot. Its a little larger than the CR-V (built on an Accord chassis rather than a Civic chassis), has a lot more room. And, oh. Leather seats. And a GPS Navagation system. Turns out that Brian also found the CR-V very scrunched knee-wise, perhaps even more so than the Civic. We had never actually been in one, you see. The Pilot was also not significantly more expensive than the new CR-V we were thinking about.
Then we also saw a used (!) Civic Hybrid! Ohhh... a used hybrid. A 2005 no less. Only 9000 miles on it. To be honest, we didn't even test drive it. I think I sat inside. Both the cars are certified, so mechanically I was not worried. I loved it. I wanted to take it home to be my new car. So on the spur of the moment we decided to trade in our Civic and get both cars. The hybrid is so exciting. Kristin, who finally got her Prius after a year of being on the waiting list, said that she gets a little obsessed watching the gas mileage guage on their car, which tells you what gas mileage you're getting at every moment. Driving home from the dealership I could totally see how this could get obsessive. I watched that (Ooh!! 48 mpg!!) and the IMA guage (is the battery assisting the motor now? Is it charging?? Woo!) constantly. So very exciting. The car is bright blue and I get to drive it, since I will be driving further to work.
The next day Brian already started feeling guilty about getting an SUV. I figure that the hybrid cancels out the SUV ownership. Our AVERAGE car miles per gallon highway is still ~35, which is good. It equals out.
Now I'm desperate to get an iPod hookup for the cars. Mel has one in her Honda Element (the ugliest car in the world) which I'm very jealous of. I could almost have been talked into an Element for the iPod jack alone. The Honda dealer recommended a car audio shop where we could get one installed, so we may look into that. Otherwise I'll look for an iTrip or something.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

no offense or anything, but I didn't think anyone actually purchased the Element as it's so unattractive...sorry.

Melissa Greenfield said...

First let me say that's so cool you were able to get two cars! Very awesome about the hybrid-ness of the Civic as well as the good deal on the Pilot. That's definitely an SUV I wouldn't mind buying.

Second, as far as the Element goes, you know I love mine. And it's interesting, people either love it or hate it, kinda like meatloaf! LOL! But it has almost been a study in sociology since it seems to be one of the anomolies in life that go beyond any type of social graces.

Let's see if I can make my point. LOL. In general we don't normally tell someone straight to their face if their haircut is awful, or their outfit is all wrong, but strangely if people don't care for my car they somehow feel compelled to insult it straight to my face. And truthfully, I don't really care if someone doesn't like it (I'll even say "Some people find it ugly, but I love it!"), but I do find it amazing how brazen people will be about it. I mean, there are certainly cars out there I don't care for or feel they are completely boring and everyone has one, but I don't know if I've felt compelled to share my opinion on that matter....

Anyway, I probably should have put this respond in my blog instead, but oh well. LOL! Congratulations on buying more Honda babies! Hahaha. :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new autos! sharing one car sucks. (not that I've ever done it) my mom has a civic hybrid and also shows obsessive compulsive tendancies toward the mileage she gets, etc.

I also don't love the Element, but I find the PT Cruiser much more ugly.

Anonymous said...

I love the Element! If you want to see ugly, look at a Cadillac CTS.

Anonymous said...

I passed an Aztec on my way to work...100 times uglier than any other car made.

Lisa said...

mel, i do love you, but whoever anonymous is? my favorite comment EVAH! hee!

Anonymous said...

sorry lisa, it was me. I was anonymous...i didn't want to hurt your friend's feelings as i don't know her. sorry lisa's friend mel. i still believe the pontiac aztec is a strong contender for first. unless they've stopped making it due to the ugliness. i will look on pontiacs web site

Melissa Greenfield said...

It's ok Kendra, I'm not offended at all. I expect the comments. :) And I still love my car, and my new best friend is turducken. :D