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new car

I bought a car tonight. The Honda salesman had called me last week to say that he now had a manual-transmission Fit for me to look at. It's their only one and he was holding it for me, so I went on the first possible night (Friday and Saturday being out and dealerships being closed by law on Sundays).

When I got there he said he had some "bad news"; they had sent a 2008 rather than the 2007 we had discussed, and was I willing to pay $60 extra for this? I said "get me the cable for the iPod and it's a deal". He said (after some looking) that they didn't have a cable; I said mailing one to me would be fine. He said I could probably get one at a store (though mentioned in passing that there are different sorts); I said we were talking about hassle factor here. He said ok, he'd send me a cable. Sometimes it's the little things. (He said the difference in trade-in value would be more than the $60 by itself; I said I hoped to drive the car into the ground. He said he was sorry to hear that. :-) )

As I suspected, the manual behaved better for me than the automatic I'd driven before. I attribute some of that to skill; I think there is skill involved in driving an automatic too, and if I ever acquired it I lost it by always driving manuals. I mean, I can make an automatic go; it's just that I don't have the nuance to get a smooth ride that never feels under-powered.

The Fit is not as powerful as the Golf, but I expect that given the difference in engines. The Fit is fine. Its visibility is rather better than the Golf's, and of course its gas mileage is significantly better. And let's not forget the reliability difference between Honda and VW. (Hmm, I'm going to need a new car icon now.)

The Fit is a very comfortable car to drive. In some small ways it is a step down from the Golf; for all its flaws VW does understand the user experience. On the Golf all controls are lighted; on the Fit the ones on the doors are not. On the Golf the inside light comes on when you stop the car; on the Fit not until you open the door. In the Golf I can reach into the bottom of the driver-side door bin from driving position; in the Fit it's a little deeper and I have to lean. (That's where I keep the sunglasses -- the only reason I care.) Stuff like that. Not enough to change my decision, but areas where Honda could improve things in ways that make people say "hey, nice design!" instead of "yeah sure, whatever".

From what I've seen so far, the Fit has good documentation, including a quick-reference card. This might sound frivilous, but for the number of times I had to dig out the full binder of VW doc to figure out what an idiot light meant, it's a good thing. Of course, I hope not to need that kind of reference for the Fit nearly so much.

The salesman was very easy to work with, and I complimented him on being straightforward and helpful. I have every expectation that he will take calls from me next week or next month or next year; that wasn't true at VW. Completing the transaction was easy and not nearly as tedious as with VW.

The car was not the originally-promised blue, but silver seems an acceptable color. (They call it "storm silver", which sounds ominous.) It's smaller than the Golf by about a foot in length and several inches in width, but it still seems to have lots of room inside. And that highly-configurable back seat could occasionally be a real win.

I doubled the car's mileage by driving home from Monroeville. Ah, two-digit numbers. :-)

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Titchadshi! Drive it in good health!

Yay!
Sorry for the little annoyances, but I'm glad you're shifting to a car that hopefully will suit you better.

No car is perfect, so it's all about trade-offs. I think I've traded up in the aggregate. :-)

Yay! Congratulations!

I'm glad it worked out for you :-)

Congrats on the new car!

Congrats! New cars are fun, aren't they?

I hope my next car (in 10 to 15 years) will be a Honda... :-)

Congratulations! I, too, like to drive my cars into the ground. My family has had good experiences with keeping Hondas around for a long time; I hope you will too.

All the cars I've ever owned are manuals, and I learned mostly on manuals. When I drive an automatic, I find myself flexing my left leg when I would use it to downshift (e.g. when slowing down). In general, I don't feel like I have as good control of an automatic as I do of a manual.

I get that leg-flex too, and the right hand will start to reach for the gear stick that should be there. When they started putting the automatic sticks there (instead of on the steering column) I was concerned that I really would screw up, but the absence of the clutch pedal stops me. Also, the automatic shifter behaves differently than a manual stick, so the first attempt at side-to-side movement would end things.

When I was 16 with my shiny new learner's permit, my parents owned two cars. The automatic was a Ford Country Squire land yacht. The other car was a tiny little Pinto. I said "that one" and my father said "then you'll have to learn to drive a manual". So that's what I learned on, and I've stuck with 'em ever since. Your comment about control is spot-on: even though an automatic is supposed to be easier, I feel that I don't control one as well. Even if I actually do, perception is a strong force.

Congratulations! May it serve you long and well.

A Fit, huh? So are you going to name it Hissy? Or maybe it's better not to give it any ideas.

Re: manual vs. automatic: you might like my Mazda Protege. I got a really good year-end clearance deal on a "sport" model. I took it in spite of the silly spoiler because it came with 4-way disc brakes and fog lights standard. But what might interest you is that it's an automatic with on-demand clutchless manual capability. From D, you jink the shift lever to the right to reach manual 1 & 2.

Even though I drive automatic, this has sometimes come in handy in bad weather. Especially when we go to see Steve's family in Pottsville at Christmastime -- one sister lives at the bottom of a hill that's impressively steep even by Pittsburgh standards.

I 1st learned to drive a manual. But right about then I was developing fibromyalgia, and there was a good-sized mountain with a couple hairpin curves between my folks' place and civilization. Driving a manual with aching knees is one thing. Driving a manual with knees that give no warning before they refuse to work at all is quite another.

I've never named my cars. Maybe I shouldn't start with this one. :-)

I took it in spite of the silly spoiler

What is that thing for, anyway? I haven't been able to figure it out. Is it a teeny tiny rain shield for the back window? Just art? I don't imagine that it affects aerodynamics.

Thanks for the tip about the Protege. Maybe next time. I loved my Mazda 323; when shopping for the Golf I looked at the then-current Mazda offerings and nothing grabbed me.

Driving a manual with knees that give no warning before they refuse to work at all is quite another.

Err, yeah. I am fortunate to be able to choose without being hindered by medical issues.

I'm TOLD that "real" spoilers (e.g. on a racing-class vehicle) DO affect aerodynamics. But the stupid spoilers you see on regular cars are purely aesthetic, which I totally don't get because I think they all look supremely stupid.

I've never named my cars. Maybe I shouldn't start with this one. :-)

My Protege is dark green. The interior lights and dials are red. Her name is Noelle. ;)

What is that thing for, anyway? I haven't been able to figure it out. Is it a teeny tiny rain shield for the back window? Just art? I don't imagine that it affects aerodynamics.

That's exactly what it's supposed to do. It's an attempt to compensate for drag caused when air is diverted over the roof. That's why you see them on race cars. However, most of the ones on passenger cars are just marketing and create more drag, not reduce it. The one on my car makes enough sense aerodynamically that it might actually work as advertised. But it's a tiny effect at best.

Thanks for the tip about the Protege.

Don't thank me too hard. I didn't mention it sooner because the Protege was discontinued 2-3 years ago. I believe the Mazda 3 is the replacement (as the Protege was for the 323), but I have no idea what features are available.

I believe the Mazda 3 is the replacement (as the Protege was for the 323)

Yep. And the 323 was the replacement for the GLC ... I had one of the later GLC's, a 1982 (they changed the model name to 323 with the spring 1985 redesign) from 1986 to 1998. Nice car, though little; "Dusty" never gave us any serious problems until [a] the rust started seriously impinging and [b] we needed a minivan, since

killernurd had gotten bigger and we packed more stuff for trips and events.

Ok, I can buy spoilers in general helping with aerodynamics. But not this one in particular. :-)

Protege: ah, ok. I test-drove a Mazda 3 in 2004; I really wanted to like it, but it was only ok for me. I'll take a look at its descendant next time around.

Kathy and I were discussing "driving cars into the ground" with my parents last Sunday. They noted that Kathy had owned 3 cars before she turned 40, me 2 cars (we still have #3 / #2). My parents had owned 5 or 6 during that time and my sister and brother-in-law 5 or 6 as well :).

Two digit numbers? It's been a while :)

I bought my first two cars used for cheap (= old), in part because I didn't have a lot of money to spare and in part because I was trying to figure out what mattered in a car. My first new car was the Mazda 323, which I kept for 15 years. Would've been longer, but it was getting expensive to maintain. When replacing the clutch would have cost more than the car was nominally worth, I decided to give in. When I bought the Golf I intended to do the same thing, but I lost trust in it and decided I had to bail before the warranty ran out.

Shopping for cars used to be much more hassle than it is now, and that was certainly part of my "drive it into the ground" approach. But, that aside, if I find something that works I like to stick with it. Change for the sake of change doesn't interest me, so there have to be features that pull me in. (Reliability is a feature.)

I've never bought a new car. The newest car I've gotten was a 1982 Mazda GLC (in 1986); the oldest (in terms of how old it was when I got it) was a 1986 Toyota van (bought in 2001), but the oldest car I've ever had is the 1981 Toyota Starlet I still have (bought in 1989). If I ever manage to move back to PA, the Starlet might get a purple plate (depends on driving limitations for purple plates).

Of the 5 cars that Kathy & I have owned, only three of them have been new. We're hoping the ones we have now will last for many years :)

Congratulations. May it last you a long long time.

Congratulations! Drive it in good health!

Congratulations. So is this what you'll use for your Rosh Hasahana shechayanu? :-)

Heh. That hadn't occurred to me. :-)

Rosh Hasahana shechayanu?

Huh? Says the shicksa.

There is a prayer, shehechiyanu, that is said on various "milestones". It means, roughly, "thank you God for letting me reach this season". We say it on holidays, but there's a problem with Rosh Hashana: the holiday lasts two days. You're supposed to say it on both nights but only the first really counts as reaching that holiday; on the second night you're already there. So, the rabbis (in typical talmudic fashion) said "fine, we'll have to make sure there's some other reason to say this prayer on the second night, so you can get it for the holiday 'for free'". (I'm probably not explaining this very well, for which I apologize.)

The traditional implementation is to eat some "new" fruit (something you haven't had this season) on that night, as new fruits are a reason to say this prayer. Also new clothes (nice outer wear, not your undies). I don't think I've heard of saying this prayer for the purchase of a new vehicle before, but that's what

mabfan was jokingly suggesting.

Congratulations! If we successfully remove the spoiler from our Fit I'll let you know. Hopefully it has no particular purpose, because I want to get my bike rack on there. We also got a silver one after angling for the blue. Oh, and the quick-reference guide? It's fabulous. On our first long trip D kept asking "What's this?" and the quick reference always had the answer in plain English.

hooray! (and what perfect timing, you go buy a car and then walk right into a three-day-yontif this week!)

New cars are fun. And I really like Hondas for their reliability. Seth's VW was chronically sick, and though the warranty was fantastic, once the warranty expired (at 100K miles), the car all but fell apart from the inside out. Now we've got two Hondas (my former Accord became his car and we got an Odyssey for me and the triplets).

(and what perfect timing, you go buy a car and then walk right into a three-day-yontif this week!)

That's pretty much why I decided I had to go look at it last night. They called last Thursday to say that they'd gotten a (single) car in and would hold it for me. I couldn't get there before dark that night, so that made Monday the earliest possible visit. I didn't want to go tonight (doing holiday prep tonight), and the rest of this week is out, and did I say they were holding it for me... it would have been rude to delay, so I had to either go then or tell them to release it and I'd take my chances on the next one. (Which, given my luck, would come in the week of Sukkot...) So, all things considered, it seemed easiest to just do it now.

I bought the Protege even though I really wanted a Prius because my previous vehicle had been totaled (on the NJ TPK on the way home from Lunacon, no less) and there was a 6-8 month wait for any hybrid at that time. With luck it'll be a few years, but I'm planning to get a hybrid of some sort next time.

My purchase of the Golf was also time-sensitive (several weeks, not days like yours probably was). To pass inspection the 323 was going to need more attention than I could justify. At the time there was a several-month wait for Priuses, else I would have considered one. (However, since then I've had the chance to examine one, and it will not meet my needs for visibility. Nor can I cost-justify it; the price difference is way more than the incremental cost of gas for a lower-MPG car. The Fit is rated in the low 30s, which is pretty good for a non-hybrid.)

I didn't even look at anything rated less than 30 MPG.

Car dealerships are closed on Sunday due to law? Why would they outlaw that? A huge Luddite community that said "fine, we can't stop you, but please, no technology on Sunday!"?

I agree about manuals. There is skill in driving either manual or automatic, but with manual transmissions I get about 5mpg more, just by shifting at the right time, or disengaging when stuck in gridlock. After driving one for a while, it just feels right. More control. And besides, they are simply more fun to drive. ;-)

Blue laws. We're a Christian nation, don't'cha know, and people shouldn't be out buying cars (or alcohol, or probably other things -- I wonder if the casinos will also be closed) on the sabbath. Or so it was explained to me.

My state legislators seem utterly uninterested in the negative effects such laws have on those of us with a stricter sabbath on a different day. (Yes, I've written, making that point and also that if faith is to mean anything, people have to be trusted to use it to overcome these minor temptations.) I mean, there's not actually anything in church canon (so far as I know) prohibiting doing business; it's just that you shouldn't let it interfere with going to mass and spending the day with family.

I imagine that this is even worse in the bible belt, but I've never lived there.

(Oh, since the alcohol thing might also be a surprise to you: you can't buy beer and wine in grocery stores like you can in some places. The state controls liquor stores (which also sell wine), and licenses beer distributors (which sell no other alcohol, only beer). Surprisingly, by being Jewish I'm actually better off in one regard: the kosher grocery store is allowed to carry kosher wines, because the state stores mostly don't, and is open on Sundays. So if I need a bottle of wine for dinner at the last minute, I can actually get it. I assume this is not state benevloence but rather state inattentiveness, and that if they noticed that just anybody could go in there nad buy wine on Sundays, they might shut it down.)

Oh, I knew about the alcohol (and pornography) restriction -- went to uni in Misery (err, Missouri). I always assumed that that law came from the Puritanical side of the colonies, rather than anything from the bible.

But I wasn't in the market for a car back then, so it's possible the dealerships were also closed and I just never noticed? One would think a family outing to the Honda dealership to buy a family car would be far more bonding than having all the males watching (insert seasonal sport here) while the females cook for them, which seemed to be the pattern in most of the Christian families my friends had.

That's very cool about the kosher wine. I bet the few people who have noticed it are likely Jewish (do many others go out of their way to buy kosher wine?) and aren't going to say a word to the state about it.

Oh, and casinos? They'll be open. With the exceptions of Nevada and Atlantic City (and all the state-approved lottos), I believe all casinos are on riverboats or Indian lands. That puts them outside of the provenance of state law, so it would take a federal law to close them down on Sunday.

One would think a family outing to the Honda dealership to buy a family car would be far more bonding than having all the males watching (insert seasonal sport here) while the females cook for them

One would think, yes. Or at least the two of us would. :-)

(do many others go out of their way to buy kosher wine?)

I doubt it, aside from guests visitng Jewish homes who want to bring an appropriate contribution. I've heard that there are non-Jews who seek out kosher meat, either because they think it's healthier or because they're Muslim and that's as close as they can get to halal locally, so I assume some non-Jews shop at Kosher Mart. Whether they tend to even notice the wine, let alone buy it, I couldn't say.

With the exceptions of Nevada and Atlantic City (and all the state-approved lottos), I believe all casinos are on riverboats or Indian lands.

We are about to get a slots parlor on land in Pittsburgh. I don't know whether it will have other casino properties. As you might imagine, there's been something of a debate about the appropriateness of this. The state (not the fed) is handing out a limited number of licenses for such places.

They're still in the legal-wrangling stage, so there's no construction yet, so it'll be a while before we know what their hours of operation end up being.

I've heard that there are non-Jews who seek out kosher meat, either because they think it's healthier or because they're Muslim and that's as close as they can get to halal locally, so I assume some non-Jews shop at Kosher Mart. Whether they tend to even notice the wine, let alone buy it, I couldn't say.

Strict Muslims, probably not. I must live in a very diverse place, though, because many small stores offer either halal or kosher items (usually not both at the same place, of course).

We are about to get a slots parlor on land in Pittsburgh.

Ah, slots. I keep hearing odd things about gambling, and the separation between "games of chance" and "games of skill" -- one or the other being presented as quite all right for the economy, the other maligned. The separation seems about as slim to me as the separation between (Christian) church and state in this country.

I am always torn between the "let the losers give their money to the gambling house" attitiude and the "protect fools from companies wanting to steal their money" attitude. It is not an easy call either way.

I have no idea where local Muslims buy their meat. For all I know there are halal butchers that I've just never noticed (or are in parts of town I don't shop in).

The news coverage for our incipient gambling attraction uses the term "casino", but I haven't seen anything that expands on that. We are getting it at all because of recent law changes concerning slots. Hence my confusion.

In a grand show of the pot calling the kettle black, our spoiled-brat sports teams (with their over-voters'-objections tax-funded stadia) are complaining that the casino will mess up traffic near those stadia. Actually, the stadia mess up traffic for everybody who has to commute through that part of town or who would have otherwise gone out to eat/shop in that area. There's a restaurant we like on the north side (near the stadia), and we now have to check game schedules before deciding whether to go. Dani used to work near there and, even though he had a monthly parking lease, on game days his lease was declared null and void unless he was there many hours before game time. No, I don't think the casino is the big problem here. :-)

I am always torn between the "let the losers give their money to the gambling house" attitiude and the "protect fools from companies wanting to steal their money" attitude. It is not an easy call either way.

I think the fair compromise there is up-front information (hey, we're a casino; we make money off you; maybe even stating the house take) and holding people responsible for their own decisions. And, as a pragmatic matter, if you chase 'em out of the casino they'll just play Powerball or drive 45 minutes to West Virginia, so we may as well keep the taxes local.

In a grand show of the pot calling the kettle black, our spoiled-brat sports teams (with their over-voters'-objections tax-funded stadia) are complaining that the casino will mess up traffic near those stadia.

Ha! Sure. Because casinos have a steady flow of traffic, rather than a once-a-week rush of tens of thousands of cars.

That's really horrible about the monthly parking, though.

I think the fair compromise there is up-front information (hey, we're a casino; we make money off you; maybe even stating the house take) and holding people responsible for their own decisions.

A lot of the Reno and Vegas casinos do note up-front how much their slots pay out. It does amuse me to see them say "the loosest slots in Nevada -- 99.7% return on slot machines!". Uhm, you know, anything under 100% seems just a bit risky over the long term. ;-) (not that I would expect them to pay out that much -- even the .3% discrepancy seems too small to cover the complimentary drinks and land taxes!)

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Time-Sensitive Vehicle Purchases

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