I got the car! All I have to say is, it’s awesome!

I contacted just about every Honda dealer between Cleveland to Cincinnati and most gave me great quotes and were up front about fees and other information. I did encounter a couple dealers that had the typical dealer language and price talk. I am not sure why they do that, they just don’t call/E-mail them back.

I purchased the car from Hank Osborne at Superior Honda in Cincinnati. He was the most up front and to the point in E-mail and on the phone. Hank used to work in the tech industry, which may explain why I found it easy to work with him. So if you are a computer guy like myself and want to deal with a dealer who understands how you think, Hank is man.

Here are some pictures:

I will be removing one of my complaints about the rear visibility. I believe the other Civics I test drove had the seat adjusted too low. I currently have the seat adjusted high enough that when I turn my head back I can see the rear spoiler on the trunk.

I am still at shock dealing with the 6 speed transmission. My original thought was the first 5 gears would be about the same as my previous car. That assumption was wrong. I am finding myself putting the car in 2nd gear at 15mph, 3 gear at 22mph, 4th gear at 30mph, 5th gear at 37mph and 6th gear at 45mph. This was in traffic. To me if traffic is moving slow, why rev up the engine. When merging onto the highway I followed the recommended shift points by Honda. Here are the recommended shift points noted in the owners manual:

1st to 2nd: 17mph
2nd to 3rd: 29mph
3rd to 4th: 37mph
4th to 5th: 43mph
5th to 6th: 49mph

So far I am pretty happy with the car. So far I am babying it to see what kind of gas mileage I can get being conservative with the gas pedal. It is so hard though, this thing really wants to get up and go!

UPDATED ON July 22, 2007

Thanks everyone who has posted comments on the suspension issue in this post. I’ve made a new post in light of the Advisory that Honda posted on the 18th of July, 2007. Click here to read more: 2007 Civic Si Sedan Clicky Knock Popping Noise While Turning in Front Suspension

I decided a couple months ago I did not want to renew my XM subscription. I was not aware that the last time I renewed it enrolled me in their auto renewal program. So I called XM and just as my friend Mat told me about his dealings with XM Radio a few months ago, they tried to keep me signed up by giving me 3 free months. I didn’t buy into any of it and told them I wanted a refund.

They asked me why I was canceling service. I told them I never use it anymore since I no longer take frequent drives between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.  If I go on a long trip, I package a set of podcasts to listen to rather than role the dice and hope that I find something interesting on XM Radio.

As far as I am concerned, XM radio needs to merge with Sirius. Once local stations start broadcasting with HD Radio, the only advantage satallite will have is being capable of keeping good reception between major cities. All the other advantages satallite radio had up until the past year are about to go out the window with the availablity of streaming audio through cell phone Internet connections and Podcasts.

I have been eyeing the latest generation of Honda Civics for about 4 years now. I have been a car enthusiest for years but I never considered newer low clost cars as being sporty or fun to drive. By accident I bought a 2 door civic EX in 2000 and within a year of learing about the car I bought I discovered I had a hot car in sub compact car terms. Over the years I have made some light modifications including adding a rear stablizer bar, AEM intake and MSD Ignition system. It has been a lot of fun tinkering with the car and I have to say it is a great feeling to work on a car that likes to be worked on. I wish I could say the same about my first two cars but I can’t.

History
The purchase of my first Honda Civic in 2000 was pratically driven on fate. The Pontiacs I owned (1982 Grand Prix and 1988 Boneville) and the bad luck I observed friends have with their Fords and Chrystlers really encouraged me to take a look at Hondas. My dad would be very disappointed if I ever bought a car that wasn’t made in America. I am sure he meant that to mean only buy American brand cars, he was pretty understanding after I expalined that the Honda car I was about to buy in 2000 was actually made in Ohio. About that same time both my mom’s and dad’s cars (1997 Saturn SL2 and 1996 Saturn SL) had mechanical problems. Mom’s brakes at 25k miles were not working properly and needed replaced under the warranty. Dad’s car was in wrose shape, at 77k miles the head cracked and needed to be replaced. Luckily he purchased the 100k mile extended warranty and took advantage of that. At the time I made my decision I was debating between the 2000 Civic EX Coupe and the 2000 SL2 Sedan. Unfortunate events in the past and present drove the decision.

Research
So now we are at the year 2007 and I am looking at purchasing a new car. I decided to look at all the cars available that would meet my current needs. I made up my mind a few years ago that the next car I buy will have more power and have exceptional handling. More recently since I have been married I have decided the car needs to be pratical enough to handle the next 5-10 years. Last it has to get decent gas mileage.

Below is a list of the cars I looked at with a brief explanation why I eliminated it from the list.

• Honda Civic Si Sedan - Sporty with 197hp 6 speed transmission, 4 doors is ready for a family, gets over 30 mpg highway and it is the car to be compared with the rest below.
• Mazda Mazdaspeed3 - I am no fan of the styling. Other than that this car is a pretty good match.
• Dodge Caliber RT AWD - Where the heck did this thing come from. It’s current sport model only provides 172hp and gets 23-26 mpg. It appears if you want the manual transmission you must also get the all wheel drive. Most likely theSRT4 that follows will be priced comparable to a WRX, which is out of my price range.
• Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V - It is a pretty sharp car but reading about the history of the car’s mechanical problems has turned me off. If you trust that Nissan ironed out all the mechical problems then this may be the car for you.
• Mitsubishi Lancer GTS - In my opinion this is the best styled 4 door in the sub-compact market. It lacks power and the reviews (Motortrend Example) make it sound like the sport model was an afterthought.
• Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged Coupe - Unfortunately the car is a 2 door. Otherwise this car would be a good contender.
• Chevy Cobalt SS Sedan - This model does not have the package of performace options that I seek. If only they made a Cobalt SS Supercharged Sedan, darn.
• Saturn Redline - The dashboard is centered in the middle of the dash and it only comes in 2 doors.
• Subaru Impreza WRX - Car exceeds the price range that I am looking at.
• Scion tC - This car only comes in 2 doors and the performance options are dealer installed.
• Toyota Corolla - They really lack a sport model in this model car.
• Chevy HHR - This car is not really in the same market but if they packaged one with the same performance package as the Cobalt SS Supercharged Coupe I would have to take a serious look at it. In particular, if someone made a real performer with this kind of car they would clean up. It appears the new Dodge Caliber may hit this target but I think the HHR has more potential with its design and functionality. Unfortunately this is a GM car, these are the same folks that killed the Fiero 5 years too early creating a market that was then fulfilled with the Civic Del Sol’s and Miata’s.

Decision
Based on the previous experience I have had over the past 7 years with my current Honda and the overall package the car comes with, I’ve decided to purchase a 2007 Civic Si Sedan.

We finally broke out the Shake Mixer since the move to the new house. Boy does it make great Oreo shakes!