Rotarctica
11-29-2006, 07:12 PM
Ah, the almighty introduction that most will read, but some won't, consequently setting off a ticking time bomb in the wet storage compartment of their CR-Vs (Start running, guys!).
Of course, that is a joke.. Anyways...
I'm Collin, but call me what you wish. To be honest, the '05 CR-V LX clad in black is not in fact mine, but my mother's. I, unlike her, chose the sports car path and drive an FC RX-7 she now wishes she had when my age.
I am the founder of a new forum for Naturally Aspirated RX-7s and RX-8s, the link of said forum can be found in my profile if you'd like to check it out.
So why, you're asking yourself, sipping a good cup of coffee while you read this from your home computer, did I join a CR-V forum? Especially when I prefer Toyota to Honda (no offense)?
Simple. My mother is not known to research or Heaven forbid maintain her cars to the level that I maintain my RX-7. What will be the result of the neglect and honestly mild form of abuse? A dead Honda in record time!
Contrary to your first impression of me, I don't necessarily dislike Hondas...I just wouldn't care to own one, unless it was an S2000 or a Fit Sport (Don't ask). I do find the CR-V to handle remarkably well for a SUVan, and find it handy for those situations where a two-seater performance machine just doesn't have the hauling capacities that life sometimes requires.
When we first started to shop for a car to replace my mother's beloved 12mpg 2004 Chevy Avalanche boasting a torque-happy 8.1 Litre Vortec V8, the car at the top of my list for her to consider was the Subaru Forrester. Preferably the fastest, most powerful model with a proper gearbox. Well, after she heard 'proper gearbox', she ran. This surprised me, because my dear old mum (She's only 41) was the one who always has said giving up stick years ago when handing back pacifiers and bottles overcame the importance to changing up or down a gear was the worst decision she ever made in her driving career.
Stealing a line from Ryan Seacrest; 'Forrester, out!'
Next on my list? Scion xB. Oh, she laughed at first, thinking it was all a joke. That laughter died instantly when I told her of the great reviews it was getting and the gas mileage that was at least double her Chevy's. Then she felt really silly for laughing at it when she sat in one at the dealer. Face it, the size of the xB to the naked eye, on the outside, is pitiful. Get inside and you'll be swallowed in genius. She wanted it, but could not have it. In the end I had realized that it was a little too low to the ground for our granite rock driveway up to our, at the time, 5 level home on 12.93 acres.
Following my Toyota bias, we ventured on over to the re-designed Rav-4. Cute, fun and just a hint of sillyness. But...not quite my mom's style, for some reason. Also, our six-foot-four salesman merely stepped in to the xB and had to almost fold himself behind the wheel of the Rav-4. I thought that amusing.
Off to the Honda dealer we go, much to my disappointment that I could not push Toyota on her like I had been hoping, considering the Subie was long out of the race...
Now, I know this salesman who greeted us at the door with a big, warm smile that screamed 'FAKE!'. He's been working at that dealer since the last time I'd stepped foot inside that showroom three years ago. He's probably been there since the Del Sol. I know his style. He bad-mouths the competition openly like it'll be out-lawed the next morning. He's quite pushy, and that's something I wouldn't put up with.
I told him we'd like to test drive a CR-V. His immediate words were: "What other cars are you looking at?"
Me: Scion xB, Toyota Rav-4 and the Lamborghini Murcielago.
He laughed at my sarcasm and quickly ushered us onto the lot towards the black CR-V currently in our driveway. We go for a test drive, with him driving (my mom for some reason never actually does the test driving, and she insisted he drive), and what does Sir Sells Nothing do? Tells me to 'watch this!' and floors it on the highway from a mere 55mph. Now, the CR-V's i-VTEC engine does have pretty decent passing power at speed, but his attempt at making me go 'oooooh!' wasn't going to work. I rolled my eyes and mumbled something about four hamsters screaming for their lives under the hood...
Then we hit some twisty bits after taking an exit, some back roads that all the dealers on the Atlanta Highway use for test drives. He's taking corners in the CR-V at 40mph that I know full well can be taken a good 20mph faster in this car, without even coming close to the limit. Again, he was trying to win me over. It didn't work, but sadly, it impressed my mother.
Whilst he's 'showing off the CR-Vs car-like handling characteristics', he goes on to explain to me (as if I'm an idiot) that the Scion xB has such a short wheelbase, that it 'understeers like a shopping cart' and 'demonstrates' what Understeer is like by jiggling the steering wheel back and forth as we (sorry!) pathetically corner at what is now 35 or so mph when the caution sign reads 40mph. I'm not very good at holding my tongue. I'm opinionated, so I went off in a very 'I cannot believe you just did that!' manner about what causes understeer and that it is in no way (-insert steering wheel jiggling here-) like he just demonstrated. I also went on to tell him that, sorry, but he's not impressing me and that I'm the one who says whether she should buy the car or not, and no amount of his showcasing and sugar-coating of the car would help me make that decision.
It was a fairly silent drive back to the dealer. That sounds harsh to you, but I'm not an idiot and his sales tactics are not that great. Recently, I was told by someone in the service center that he sells the least amount of cars out of all the sales guys there, because he's too pushy.
To save you the rest of the story, we left that day having got a pretty damn good deal on a black '05 LX 2WD.
I doubt he remembers me, as it has been over a year since we bought the car. I recently took the car in for an oil change and to have the rotors turned. Three. Hours. I was stuck there, and I was bored. What did I do? Sought out the guy who sold us the car and asked to test drive a 2002 MINI Cooper S sitting on the used lot. He gave me the same creepy fake smile and went for the keys. What did I tell him? "My mom is looking to replace my RX-7 with something newer for my birthday, and I'm looking at the MINI and the Civic Si."
So we pull off the lot and are driving down the back road (reverse order of a standard test drive) and he's telling me the high points of the Civic, but the low points of the MINI. What does he tell me about the MINI?
"What I don't like about the MINI is that it understeers too much. They're so spinable. It does th--" I didn't let him finish and gave the car a bit of steering flick, followed by lift off, letting the back end slide out just a little bit into the entrance of a small neighborhood.
Me: Did we spin?
Him: "No, but please do not do that again."
Me: No problem, but I think in this case you should let me do the driving and not try to upsell me to a Civic with misinformation about the primary car I'm looking at.
So now you're thinking: This kid is an ass!
I'm really not, but I'm giving you a glimpse into my personality when stereotyped or an assumption is made without any evidence to support such a thing.
I'm here to mingle and mix, but mainly to keep track of any handy tips or information on recalls, and also to ask questions if needed.
I like the CR-V. For the type of car it is, it's damned good. :)
-Collin
Of course, that is a joke.. Anyways...
I'm Collin, but call me what you wish. To be honest, the '05 CR-V LX clad in black is not in fact mine, but my mother's. I, unlike her, chose the sports car path and drive an FC RX-7 she now wishes she had when my age.
I am the founder of a new forum for Naturally Aspirated RX-7s and RX-8s, the link of said forum can be found in my profile if you'd like to check it out.
So why, you're asking yourself, sipping a good cup of coffee while you read this from your home computer, did I join a CR-V forum? Especially when I prefer Toyota to Honda (no offense)?
Simple. My mother is not known to research or Heaven forbid maintain her cars to the level that I maintain my RX-7. What will be the result of the neglect and honestly mild form of abuse? A dead Honda in record time!
Contrary to your first impression of me, I don't necessarily dislike Hondas...I just wouldn't care to own one, unless it was an S2000 or a Fit Sport (Don't ask). I do find the CR-V to handle remarkably well for a SUVan, and find it handy for those situations where a two-seater performance machine just doesn't have the hauling capacities that life sometimes requires.
When we first started to shop for a car to replace my mother's beloved 12mpg 2004 Chevy Avalanche boasting a torque-happy 8.1 Litre Vortec V8, the car at the top of my list for her to consider was the Subaru Forrester. Preferably the fastest, most powerful model with a proper gearbox. Well, after she heard 'proper gearbox', she ran. This surprised me, because my dear old mum (She's only 41) was the one who always has said giving up stick years ago when handing back pacifiers and bottles overcame the importance to changing up or down a gear was the worst decision she ever made in her driving career.
Stealing a line from Ryan Seacrest; 'Forrester, out!'
Next on my list? Scion xB. Oh, she laughed at first, thinking it was all a joke. That laughter died instantly when I told her of the great reviews it was getting and the gas mileage that was at least double her Chevy's. Then she felt really silly for laughing at it when she sat in one at the dealer. Face it, the size of the xB to the naked eye, on the outside, is pitiful. Get inside and you'll be swallowed in genius. She wanted it, but could not have it. In the end I had realized that it was a little too low to the ground for our granite rock driveway up to our, at the time, 5 level home on 12.93 acres.
Following my Toyota bias, we ventured on over to the re-designed Rav-4. Cute, fun and just a hint of sillyness. But...not quite my mom's style, for some reason. Also, our six-foot-four salesman merely stepped in to the xB and had to almost fold himself behind the wheel of the Rav-4. I thought that amusing.
Off to the Honda dealer we go, much to my disappointment that I could not push Toyota on her like I had been hoping, considering the Subie was long out of the race...
Now, I know this salesman who greeted us at the door with a big, warm smile that screamed 'FAKE!'. He's been working at that dealer since the last time I'd stepped foot inside that showroom three years ago. He's probably been there since the Del Sol. I know his style. He bad-mouths the competition openly like it'll be out-lawed the next morning. He's quite pushy, and that's something I wouldn't put up with.
I told him we'd like to test drive a CR-V. His immediate words were: "What other cars are you looking at?"
Me: Scion xB, Toyota Rav-4 and the Lamborghini Murcielago.
He laughed at my sarcasm and quickly ushered us onto the lot towards the black CR-V currently in our driveway. We go for a test drive, with him driving (my mom for some reason never actually does the test driving, and she insisted he drive), and what does Sir Sells Nothing do? Tells me to 'watch this!' and floors it on the highway from a mere 55mph. Now, the CR-V's i-VTEC engine does have pretty decent passing power at speed, but his attempt at making me go 'oooooh!' wasn't going to work. I rolled my eyes and mumbled something about four hamsters screaming for their lives under the hood...
Then we hit some twisty bits after taking an exit, some back roads that all the dealers on the Atlanta Highway use for test drives. He's taking corners in the CR-V at 40mph that I know full well can be taken a good 20mph faster in this car, without even coming close to the limit. Again, he was trying to win me over. It didn't work, but sadly, it impressed my mother.
Whilst he's 'showing off the CR-Vs car-like handling characteristics', he goes on to explain to me (as if I'm an idiot) that the Scion xB has such a short wheelbase, that it 'understeers like a shopping cart' and 'demonstrates' what Understeer is like by jiggling the steering wheel back and forth as we (sorry!) pathetically corner at what is now 35 or so mph when the caution sign reads 40mph. I'm not very good at holding my tongue. I'm opinionated, so I went off in a very 'I cannot believe you just did that!' manner about what causes understeer and that it is in no way (-insert steering wheel jiggling here-) like he just demonstrated. I also went on to tell him that, sorry, but he's not impressing me and that I'm the one who says whether she should buy the car or not, and no amount of his showcasing and sugar-coating of the car would help me make that decision.
It was a fairly silent drive back to the dealer. That sounds harsh to you, but I'm not an idiot and his sales tactics are not that great. Recently, I was told by someone in the service center that he sells the least amount of cars out of all the sales guys there, because he's too pushy.
To save you the rest of the story, we left that day having got a pretty damn good deal on a black '05 LX 2WD.
I doubt he remembers me, as it has been over a year since we bought the car. I recently took the car in for an oil change and to have the rotors turned. Three. Hours. I was stuck there, and I was bored. What did I do? Sought out the guy who sold us the car and asked to test drive a 2002 MINI Cooper S sitting on the used lot. He gave me the same creepy fake smile and went for the keys. What did I tell him? "My mom is looking to replace my RX-7 with something newer for my birthday, and I'm looking at the MINI and the Civic Si."
So we pull off the lot and are driving down the back road (reverse order of a standard test drive) and he's telling me the high points of the Civic, but the low points of the MINI. What does he tell me about the MINI?
"What I don't like about the MINI is that it understeers too much. They're so spinable. It does th--" I didn't let him finish and gave the car a bit of steering flick, followed by lift off, letting the back end slide out just a little bit into the entrance of a small neighborhood.
Me: Did we spin?
Him: "No, but please do not do that again."
Me: No problem, but I think in this case you should let me do the driving and not try to upsell me to a Civic with misinformation about the primary car I'm looking at.
So now you're thinking: This kid is an ass!
I'm really not, but I'm giving you a glimpse into my personality when stereotyped or an assumption is made without any evidence to support such a thing.
I'm here to mingle and mix, but mainly to keep track of any handy tips or information on recalls, and also to ask questions if needed.
I like the CR-V. For the type of car it is, it's damned good. :)
-Collin