My First!

Every car enthusiast has one. His first. The one that awakened him to the excitement that only a hot car can bring. Mine was a Maroon 1984 Mustang SVO. Previously I suffered through a Toyota Tercel and 1981 Mustang with an anemic (that is a kind description) inline 6 with 94 horsepower. Those were some sick horses also. The only excitement that Mustang generated was it's tendency to stall while turning left at stop lights. Regardless, I had poured over car magazines looking for something different and I found it. The Mustang SVO was everything I was looking for. It was rare, fast (for the day) and good looking. More importantly it only cost me $4000. I quickly headed up to an out of the way place to see the object of my desire. The owner agreed to let me test drive the car and I anxiously awaited my turn at the wheel. The car only had 60K miles on it and the exterior was in good shape. The Biplane rear wing was really cool and gave the car a distinctive look. Best of all it was a manual transmission. The only problem is that I had only driven a manual about 2 times before that. I had driven a rather breathless 4 cylinder Stang and had to give it some gas and slip the clutch to keep from stalling. Thinking I could keep the same technique with the SVO I quickly buckled myself in with the owner in the passenger seat. I slowly pulled it down the driveway. The owner lived on a rural highway with a 55 MPH speed limit so I was nervious about pulling out too slow. So I tried the only method I knew how and gave it some gas while slipping the clutch. Holy mother of god was that a mistake! I smoked the tires and proceeded to do a complete donut before coming to rest in the middle of the rural highway. The suddenly more pale owner of the car quickly told me to get out and drove it back up the driveway. As brief a test drive as it was I was smitten like I never have been before. I quickly thanked the owner (who probably thought he would never see me again) and proceeded straight to the bank the next morning. Somehow I got approved for the loan and some very generous people at the insurance company granted me a policy for my new Stang for the outstanding price of $1800/year. Almost half the price that I payed for the car. I arrived and picked up my beauty and instantly fell head over heels in love with my new car. I quickly grew intoxicated with the immense power generated right after a brief period of lag. Triple digit speeds became somewhat commonplace with my newfound power (if you are a member of the law enforcement community I am making this up) and I would smile widely as I would explore the limits of it's handling. Expectedly I had a few accidents here and there, mainly due to the SVO's inherent ability to oversteer when taking a bend too fast or when the boost would kick in on a slippery surface. Through my boneheaded mistakes I did learn a ton of lessons about car control and recovering from skids. Through all of this I became a better driver and an even more avowed gearhead. I somehow even became cool once I had my car and that paid dividends with self confidence that I never had. That time period started my love affair with the automobile that has not ended until this day. I actually still had the car until last year. It was sitting outside my parents house in desperate need of repair. My parents were going to make me sell it to get it out of their driveway. So I started a search to find a good home for it and turned down multiple people because I didn't think them suitable. It wasn't just a car. It was the memories of my youth and one of the best relationships I ever had, the one with my car. When I finally had to say goodbye it was a sobering moment. It was like I was saying goodbye to my youth, and in a way I was.

Test Driving

Forced to confront my need for more hauling capacity I have made a painful decision to start test driving crossovers. A crossover allows me to maintain the illusion that I don't need a minivan while still allowing a small modicum of performance. I have already started the test drives and the feedback is below:

2009 Nissan Murano: The first thing I noticed when stepping inside the Murano was how nice the interior was. Excellent materials, gadgets galore, and great room signify the interior of the Murano. Borrowing components from the Infinite EX35 sure helps the Murano come off as highly upscale. As for the driving I did not get to do any kind of flogging, but body motions seemed to be well controlled and it had liberal amounts of power. The only downside is that the exterior seems to have somewhat of a feminine feel to it. Room in back was less than other entries, but was adequate for most tasks. No third row seat was present so either you stuff the kids in the cargo hold or resign yourself to hauling 5 in comfort.

2008 Mazda CX9: The CX-9 has a very nice combination of utility, sportiness, and style. I liked the interior which has a nice blend of wood trim, high quality plastics, and leather surfaces. The outside features a stylish profile that masks the large size of this CUV. On the road I noticed that it drove like a much smaller vehicle. I liked the handling and power from the Ford 3.7 liter. The cargo hold has plenty of room. I just have to figure out if this thing could fit in my garage. One gripe is the fact that you can't get a dvd player in back and a sunroof at the same time. Dealer offered seatback option but it was highly expensive.

2008 Toyota Highlander: My first impression of the Toyota Highlander is that car salesmen suck. I asked for help and as soon as I indicated that I was test driving multiple vehicles the salesperson ditched me. Heaven help them that you actually try to size up the competition before buying. Can't you take his word for it that Toyota makes the best of everything in every segment? Just when I was frustrated I found another salesperson that was friendly and offered his time to help me out. That being said the Highlander is a nice piece. It is roomy, had a nice interior (not class leading, but nice) and drove well. I liked the center stowable seet for the back middle row. It is a nice little feature.

Verdict for right now: I would have to say that the CX-9 punches my buttons the best so far. I love its combination of sportiness and style. I am worried about resale value and reliability so that leaves an opening for the Toyota. The Nissan was very nice but relegating any extra kids to the cargo hold is a little illegal. In the old days you could throw your kids anywhere you want. Heck you could probably let them sit on the front bumper. Alas, that is not in the cards so I will probably have to choose against the Murano. If I decide to not have any more kids though and my ego can take the slightly more feminine exterior I will be all over it.