Fear me for I am mobile again
Well, we spent all day yesterday car shopping. Visited three dealerships - including one way down in Plymouth Meeting. In the end, we were successful.
This is a Honda Element.
Not exactly what we thought we'd be buying - we thought we'd get a Subaru Forester since we liked our old "Bubaru". That is, until it came down with automotive AIDS. We decided to check out the Element as a back-up and because I had been curious about them for a while. It basically kicks ass and we fell for it. Jen, the ever practical, even admitted after we left the dealership to go to the next one, "That was a way cool car!". After tryng out the Forester, we decided it just didn't compare for practical features or coolness/fun, so we called back the Honda guy and said "Make it so". We actually bought the one we test-drove, which apparently was the last 4WD LX model in the whole region (everyone was selling out due to the holidays and the dealerships were sharing inventory). We got a good deal, according to Jen, with a 5.6% APR.
Ours is "kiwi" - i.e. bright metalic lime green. :) It has the big, black rubber fenders and a black and silver-grey interior. Forgive the geekery, but the car reminds me of some sort of shuttle craft out of Star Trek or something. It has a rather Romulan or Klingon vibe. In terms you Earthers will understand, it feels sorta like a jeep - not the dumb SUVs they have made recently, but a real jeep with the rumble seats, no-nonsense practical features, openness and all that.
It should be an excellent SCA and camping vehicle - which is what it was designed for, of course. You can wash the whole thing with a wet mop - it's all rubberized inside. You can fold down all four seats to make a bed. You can remove one back seat and/or fold both up against the walls. It has a tailgate rated to 400 lbs and a removable moon roof (I plan to transport lots of palm trees). Plus, you can get all these funky accessories like a tent, or legs that turn the trunk floor into a removable camping table, or a cusion that turns the tailgate into a sort of sitting bench. How cool is that?
This is a Honda Element.
Not exactly what we thought we'd be buying - we thought we'd get a Subaru Forester since we liked our old "Bubaru". That is, until it came down with automotive AIDS. We decided to check out the Element as a back-up and because I had been curious about them for a while. It basically kicks ass and we fell for it. Jen, the ever practical, even admitted after we left the dealership to go to the next one, "That was a way cool car!". After tryng out the Forester, we decided it just didn't compare for practical features or coolness/fun, so we called back the Honda guy and said "Make it so". We actually bought the one we test-drove, which apparently was the last 4WD LX model in the whole region (everyone was selling out due to the holidays and the dealerships were sharing inventory). We got a good deal, according to Jen, with a 5.6% APR.
Ours is "kiwi" - i.e. bright metalic lime green. :) It has the big, black rubber fenders and a black and silver-grey interior. Forgive the geekery, but the car reminds me of some sort of shuttle craft out of Star Trek or something. It has a rather Romulan or Klingon vibe. In terms you Earthers will understand, it feels sorta like a jeep - not the dumb SUVs they have made recently, but a real jeep with the rumble seats, no-nonsense practical features, openness and all that.
It should be an excellent SCA and camping vehicle - which is what it was designed for, of course. You can wash the whole thing with a wet mop - it's all rubberized inside. You can fold down all four seats to make a bed. You can remove one back seat and/or fold both up against the walls. It has a tailgate rated to 400 lbs and a removable moon roof (I plan to transport lots of palm trees). Plus, you can get all these funky accessories like a tent, or legs that turn the trunk floor into a removable camping table, or a cusion that turns the tailgate into a sort of sitting bench. How cool is that?