My Newest Baby!!!

Finally, after so much searching all over the Bay Area, I find the color of the 2007 Honda CRV that I really want! Ever since the beginning of September, I had been doing my research for a new car. I wanted something a little more practical (I also have a 2000 9-5 Saab and a 2004 Mercedes Benz SLK 230) to drive around the city for those errands that I have to drive. The 2007 CRV was released on September 28 and I raced to the nearest dealer to look at it. But the color that I wanted wasn't available nearby. So Chi Lee (the cutest Honda salesperson ever!) went out of his way to look for it in the exact trim that I wanted -- all wheel drive, leather seats, sports package, great 6-disc CD system, an iPod link. The only thing that was missing was the GPS navigation system which turns out to be a $2000 option. Well, I've driven for the last 20 years and I haven't been lost yet...thanks to Yahoo driving directions. Hahaha! And on October 3, my new baby was delivered! I drove it to Los Angeles last weekend (around 1000 miles round-trip) and it was everything I expected it to be. With a better engine and interior, it drives, looks and feels like a more expensive small SUV. With the Japanese inclination for simple things, every little button and knob made sense and were intuitive. Unlike my European cars where you can spend hours figuring out what all the small buttons and knobs are for. My only beef so far is the iPod link...it announces the songs and when it comes to Pinoy songs, it pronounces the titles in "gar-bish". I laugh all the time!

The pics above are NOT of my actual car. I was told that the color (it's called green tea by the way) that I wanted was available in another dealership so I went to look at it. I knew the minute when I saw it, it is what I wanted. The car above doesn't have all the accesories that I wanted so Chi went to look for exactly what I want. Luckily, he found it at a dealer 30 miles from San Francisco and he went and got it. I will post pics of my actual car later.

The other issue I have is the beige interior--leather seats and carpets--and the new car smell. I had to buy some cheap carpet because it started to rain on the day that I got it and didn't want to track in all that dirt! Hahaha! Talk about ghetto, eh? I had to have the leather seats sprayed with leather protectant so I don't have to worry about them and that was a couple of hundreds, too. Finally, I think I'm allergic to the smell of a new car. I start sneezing and have a runny nose while inside the car. Hahaha!!! Anyway, I've had to drive it with the windows and sunroof open for awhile now. And the smell is slowly going away.