This is NOT our car, this is only a photo to give the general idea what our new one will look like minus the "gutters."
Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of us meeting in person at the Chili’s on US 183 and I-35 (now gone, moved a bit south on I-35). To everybody else, it was a day off through the Federal holiday of MLK Day Observed or by calling in sick on Blue Monday, allegedly the one with the highest rate of absenteeism in the West.
We put it off a day since Somara traded her Monday off to get this Tuesday free. I lucked out as well. Even if I didn’t, Somara was still going to the nearby Honda dealership to test drive the 2010 Fit. I’m sure I will be bombarded with the usual litany from a certain person about not buying the new VW Golf TDI, a car that’s only good for the environment if I drove 50 miles/day; our commute is less than seven one way, we’re very fortunate compared to many co-workers.
So why this car? Originally, I was more set on the Toyota Yaris for a while and I remain set against a VW for the long term. The Yaris proved to be too small for our special purposes (aka transporting wedding cakes) while the Fit has around the same mileage capability. Consumer Reports liked the Fit Sport model more and gave it some of the best safety ratings. People sending text messages on their phones while driving may be illegal now but I’m not holding my breath with all these morons in their mobile living rooms on the streets. There have been numerous quality issues popping up for Toyota too, namely the floormat issue they’ve finally settled about. Sadly, American cars weren’t in the running for our money. Making them the dominant brands for rentals was the dumbest thing I think they’ve ever done; they always demonstrate to me again and again of what I would never buy as they fail to impress me during my short uses of them. Besides, the currents ones at dealerships are all fire-sale models they’re unloading on everybody until they re-tool and maybe start making cars people really need with the assumption that gas will remain (relatively) expensive.
In short, the Fit is the best compromise overall. The mileage isn’t as fantastic as a Prius or electric car; it’s very hard to recover their costs through fuel savings unless gas jumps to $4/gallon again, I have doubts on the other stuff through my cousin Dana and friend Mark M’s ownership of theirs. Diesel again is impressive on paper yet reality shoots them down too; all the savings with them evaporate on repairs (maybe I’ll revisit them when there’s diesel-base hybrid) and the goal is to drive less, not more. The Smart car isn’t practical in Texas thanks to all the Hummers, pickups and SUVs; if we lived in a congested metropolitan area, I’d like it. The most depressing fact is that all new cars’ manufacture are equal to driving 23,000 miles when it comes to tearing up the planet. Definitely makes me reconsider the whole thing…until one of us is stranded on Wells Branch, holding up the morning rush hour traffic, late for work. Grief (really peace of mind) is certainly one commodity I’ve been spending too much on with my car. However, Somara’s truck is being traded in first. It is older and lacks any amenities: heat, air conditioning, radio (more of a liability in Austin) and I can’t drive it anymore. In exchange, the Fit will be Somara’s car whenever we have to drive separately.
The test drive went well too. Somara did all the driving. I let our sales guy (Sam, very nice and recommended by a friend) know it will be her car, I’ll take her word and in my mind it will feel like a rental, I can adapt quickly being a hatchback driver for 13 years. We took it up I-35 a bit, turned around near the Outlet Mall, did some tight turns at Chuy’s parking lot (simulate Apple’s parking lot Somara said) and then back to the dealership. I would agree with her, the Fit feels heavier in the front since the gas tank (around 10 gallons/38 liters) is closer to the engine instead of being placed in the traditional rear section of the frame. Being sold on it, we went ahead with our options. This is the first car we’ve ever bought together and the first new one for either of us in at least 13 years, we decided to treat ourselves to a couple features:
- USB set up for our iPods. Austin radio blows, the less I have to hear it outside of KUT’s better shows and Chillville on 101x, the better.
- These gutter things on the car’s frame. They have a technical term and for some reason they’re not legal in every state but they’re really practical. The window can be rolled down without it dripping in because the “gutter” protrudes out a fraction of an inch. Maybe they’re awnings.
- A cargo cover so thieves can’t see what’s in the back.
- Manual transmission. Both of our current vehicles are. We’re comfortable with it. The Fit has a tachometer to help me (I don’t listen to the engine like Somara can, it’s quiet anyway). People remain better at shifting gears than computers too (this is true with video games). This will squeeze a little more mileage from the car. Most of all, it discourages some people we don’t like from wanting to borrow the car…we kid there, all those we dislike moved away.
Now Sam is in the process of hunting down a match or we’ll have to wait for Honda in Japan to start building it. He mentioned something like January 27th for its completion. (Somara already shot down the idea of giving the car a birthday party.) We’ll see soon. For the interim, we will be hunting down the title on Somara’s truck (it’s a long story, ask her), shuffling the money around to get a big(ger) down payment, adjusting the fiscal plan for the Maggi Republic (I can answer this inside joke) and most importantly…buying a new, cheap iPod to put in it when we can take possession! We should have our new car within 90 days. I’ve waited a few years, a couple months won’t kill me.