girlfriend traded in her 03 camry last night to cover the dp and cut the monthly payments on her new vehicle of choice - 06 accord coupe ex-v6 (non-hybrid, automatic). 28.4 w/o the navi, so her payments are about 380/month. she's leasing a car for the first time, and i think for someone who drives less than 6k miles a year, it's not a bad option at all for her.
anyway, i had initially been pressuring her to avoid honda at all costs, mainly because i'm more partial to infiniti/acura (having toyed with an integra and currently owning a g35) ? but being a girl and all that entails, she refused to purchase a vehicle that bore the same brand as anything I had ever owned.
so last night we ended up at the dealership. the whole thing took less than a few hours, the salesman himself was kinda thrown-off at the speed all the paperwork, prepping, etc was done. drove the little blue coupe out of the lot, me more than a little disgruntled (having seen all the tsx/tl's on the lot). during the test drive i hadn't pushed the car at all, heh i guess i was trying to emphasize my distaste for the vehicle.
now on the way home, i gave the pedal a bit of a nudge, and found love at second sight.
the car is ultra-responsive, though not quite the throaty grumble i'm used to out of my infiniti, it still has it's own distinctive growl. it literally leaps forward, handles so smoothly, i almost forgot what car i was in. the car is well-balanced, grips the road with ease, and it's truly a pleasure to drive. 244 hp in a small, relatively low, light car like that makes for some great pick-up and i found myself having to lay off the gas after being surprised by the speedometer needle more than a few times. interior design looks very-well thought out, leather and silvered trim are a nice touch. the exterior is far from shabby as well, the new tails plus the whole aggressively profiled frame setting the car a long, long, long ways apart and ahead of the 98-03 models imprinted in my memory. though i tried to hide it- she saw me having a blast in her new ride, and i don't doubt i'm going to catch some flak from it for at least the next half-decade.
the drive home was a pretty enlightening experience for me - 28k will buy a fantastic car these days; a fact i'm still getting used to. though i probably will never purchase a honda (s2000 was what turned me off to the brand in the first place), i have a new-found respect for their capabilities and the design of their vehicles.
for her and her new ride, :beer: for me and the expansion of my consciousness
anyway, i had initially been pressuring her to avoid honda at all costs, mainly because i'm more partial to infiniti/acura (having toyed with an integra and currently owning a g35) ? but being a girl and all that entails, she refused to purchase a vehicle that bore the same brand as anything I had ever owned.
so last night we ended up at the dealership. the whole thing took less than a few hours, the salesman himself was kinda thrown-off at the speed all the paperwork, prepping, etc was done. drove the little blue coupe out of the lot, me more than a little disgruntled (having seen all the tsx/tl's on the lot). during the test drive i hadn't pushed the car at all, heh i guess i was trying to emphasize my distaste for the vehicle.
now on the way home, i gave the pedal a bit of a nudge, and found love at second sight.
the car is ultra-responsive, though not quite the throaty grumble i'm used to out of my infiniti, it still has it's own distinctive growl. it literally leaps forward, handles so smoothly, i almost forgot what car i was in. the car is well-balanced, grips the road with ease, and it's truly a pleasure to drive. 244 hp in a small, relatively low, light car like that makes for some great pick-up and i found myself having to lay off the gas after being surprised by the speedometer needle more than a few times. interior design looks very-well thought out, leather and silvered trim are a nice touch. the exterior is far from shabby as well, the new tails plus the whole aggressively profiled frame setting the car a long, long, long ways apart and ahead of the 98-03 models imprinted in my memory. though i tried to hide it- she saw me having a blast in her new ride, and i don't doubt i'm going to catch some flak from it for at least the next half-decade.
the drive home was a pretty enlightening experience for me - 28k will buy a fantastic car these days; a fact i'm still getting used to. though i probably will never purchase a honda (s2000 was what turned me off to the brand in the first place), i have a new-found respect for their capabilities and the design of their vehicles.
for her and her new ride, :beer: for me and the expansion of my consciousness