Friday, January 25th, 2008
I don’t know how many people I told this to in the past for weeks…”I got this car on January 3 and I still have a quarter tank.” I guess I met my goal of not driving much. It does feel good to not know what the gas prices are anymore.
Well, I have bad news. The two trips to Lowe’s today forced me to put some gas in the car for the first time. I think gas is around $3.17 per gallon for the cheap stuff, if you can call it that. There are about 450 miles on the car right now and it has an 18 gallon tank. If my math is correct, I am getting around 25 miles to the gallon. That’s not bad for a full sized V6, considering I have done very little highway driving.
They sure don’t make cars like they used to…thankfully.
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Saturday, January 5th, 2008
I went out today to give my new Sony Handycam Camcorder a try. I have mad skillz and I know how to use them. I decided that a look at the engine of the new car would be cool as well as a drive down the road. I had to go drop off some clothes at the clothing drop anyway, so it was a good excuse to use the camera.
As you know, I have been putting some videos on YouTube. My Honda Accord videos have been getting quite a few views. I guess people out there are interested in the new body style. Get this - some little 19 year old posted a comment on one of my videos stating that the car I posted a video on wasn’t really an “EX” or a “V6.” Ok, then…just for him, I took some video of the engine…
…and this is me trying out the camera while driving down the road…
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Friday, January 4th, 2008
Due to popular demand (actually, Paul was the only one who said there were no pictures), I am writing a post with some photos of the new car. Last night was just too dark when I got home to grab anything. I called the neighbor, Tim, to come out and look at the beast. The poor guy looked so cold, but he stood there like a trooper.
Ok, so again, this is a 2008 Honda Accord EX (v6). I guess I can’t write that enough. I took these photos about ten minutes ago. I was going to do some video, but it’s too cloudy out there. I will get some later when it’s nice.
This is the front view. It’s got nice fog lights and halogen headlamps. I like that. I think it has daylight running lights too. I don’t think that’s as much of a feature as it is the law.
Here is the front/side view. The reason I got the EX is because it’s more badass than the other models. The reason I got the V6 is because it’s more badass than the regular EX. I like the 17″ alloy wheels.
This is the side view. I don’t know what to write about that besides the fact that the EX comes with chrome door handles. Honda seems to talk about that a lot. It’s not something I would particularly brag about at parties.
This is the side/rear view. I am sure there is something nice to say about that, but it escapes me right now.
This is the rear view. I can’t believe my license plates got here so quickly. This model has the dual exhaust, so I can be sure it will cost twice as much when it comes time to replace it.
This is the interior view. One thing I haven’t gotten a picture of yet is the moon roof. I love that. Last night, when I was driving home, I opened the moonroof. It allows the air to circulate without blowing all over the place. With the heat on, it’s really nice.
This is the dashboard. There are some things I still have to figure out, like how to find out how many miles are on the car. That’s not readily available. Probably Honda’s way of getting money out of the people who lease. HAHA.
As I said above, I will get some video of it later…maybe when my new video camera comes tomorrow.
Love, peace and hair grease.
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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
Ok, like I said, if I go to the dealer, I am coming home with a car.
Today, I took a drive down to Middletown Honda in New York. I guess I made the decision when I woke up. I had already done tons of research online and there were just no cars out there that could beat the reliability, performance, features, safety and price of this car. I compared the 2008 Honda Accord EX V6 against the similar Toyota Camry and the Honda came out on top. The Camry’s base price is lower, but when you add all the features that the Accord comes with, the price is higher.
I went in and talked to a nice sales guy. I am not sure if he was ready for my attitude, but we did OK. I always think that push is going to come to shove in these places and it kind of did today. I got a little ticked off, but we worked it out. At the end, I traded my car in and drove home later on in a brand new one. Good enough for me.
I have to say, it’s a pretty sweet ride. I have never owned a brand new car before, so this is a treat. Here are the specs:
Standard Features
Technical Features
• 268-hp, 3.5-Liter, 24-Valve, SOHC i-VTEC® V-6 Engine
• Variable Cylinder Management™ (VCM®)
• 5-Speed Automatic Transmission
• 100K +/- Miles No Scheduled Tune-Ups
• ULEV-2/PZEV CARB emissions rating
• Drive-by-Wire™ Throttle System
• Double Wishbone Front Suspension
• Independent Multi-Link Rear Suspension
• Front and Rear Stabilizer Bars
• Variable Gear Ratio (VGR) Power-Assisted Rack-and-Pinion Steering
• Power-Assisted Ventilated Front Disc/Solid Rear Disc Brakes
Safety Features
• 3-Point Seat Belts at all Seating Positions
• Front 3-Point Seat Belts with Automatic Tensioning System
• Adjustable Front Seat Belt Anchors
• Dual-Stage, Dual Threshold Front Airbags (SRS)
• Dual-Chamber Front Side Airbags with Passenger-Side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS)
• Side Curtain Airbags
• Active Front Head Restraints
• Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure
• Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) with Traction Control
• Brake Assist
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• Four-wheel Disc Brakes
• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
• Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)
• Daytime Running Lights (DRL)
• Side-Impact Door Beams
• Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
• Child-Seat Tether Anchor (Rear-Center)
• Emergency Trunk Opener
Interior Features
• Driver’s Seat With 8-Way Power Adjustment
• Power Lumbar Support
• Power Windows with Auto-Up/Down Driver’s Window
• Power Door Locks
• Cruise Control
• Center Console with Sliding Armrest and Storage Compartment
• Tilt and Telescopic Steering Column
• Illuminated Steering Wheel-Mounted Cruise and Audio Controls
• Ambient Console Lighting
• Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control System
• 160-watt AM/FM/6-Disc In-Dash Audio System with 6 Speakers
• Speed-Sensitive Volume Control (SVC)
• Maintenance Minder™ System
Exterior Features
• One-Touch Power Moonroof with Tilt Feature
• 17-inch Alloy Wheels
• Flat Blade Windshield Wipers
• Security System
• Remote Entry System with Power Window Control
• Multi-Reflector Halogen Headlights with Auto-Off
• Chrome Door Handles
• Body-Colored Heated Power Side Mirrors
• Dual Chrome Exhaust Finishers
• Fog Lights
I took some video of the ride today. You can view them below. Also, I will take some photos and video tomorrow and post.
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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
I gave the Honda dealer down in Middletown a call yesterday just to feel them out. I know I have been talking about getting a new car recently, but the fact of the matter is, my car runs great and I don’t really want to buy a new car. This is supposed to be the year of saving money.
It seems that around every corner I swing myself, there is someone standing there with their hand out looking for thousands of dollars. I don’t like to give out thousands of dollars. I just don’t like it. Over the Summer was the porch, last month and this month is the kitchen. Am I supposed to pay for a new car this month too? As my father used to say, (as well as every other father out there, I’m sure) “Money doesn’t grow on trees. Now get out there and split some wood.”
Let me tell you the reason why I feel like I am being pushed into buying a new car. The first nudge was by the accountant. Accountants don’t like getting yelled at by their clients for the client having to pay lots of money in taxes. The accountant would rather the client spend lots of money for write-offs. The second nudge is the mileage of the car. I think I have over 150,000 miles on it. I got the timing belt changed at about 80,000, which means it needs to be changed again. That’s a bit more than $600 (because of the V6 and no room to work). The final thing that may put me over the edge is the fact that I have to get the car inspected by the end of the month. That wouldn’t be so bad if the “check engine” light wasn’t on. They won’t inspect the car if the “check engine” light is on. That whole thing really stinks, because so many cars always run great (including mine), but because of the check engine light, people can’t get them inspected.
The light went on over the summer and I brought the car to AutoZone. They will plug the engine light thingy into the car to get the error codes for free. There was nothing wrong with the car. A cylinder “missed,” which tripped the light. I took off one the battery terminals to reset the light and it stayed off for a good long time. When the light went back on, I tried the same thing. This time, the light turned off for a much shorter time and then went back on. This may be something as simple as a spark plug wire arcing or something with a spark plug itself. Who knows. The fact that it’s 3 degrees outside doesn’t help any.
I guess I could go out there later in the week to fool around with it. I am going to give the dealer another call today, just to see what they have in stock, but make no mistake, I don’t like it.
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