It's been over a year and a half since I last updated this page. But I'm only updating this since I wanted to write a review about my new car (or it was new). It's a 2006 Honda Civic LX Manual that was purchased on March 28th, 2006. After about 9 months of driving it, I should be able to give an indepth scope of the car. Prior to purchase My Nissan Altima 1996 GXE, during it's course of August 2001 (my birthday present) to March 2006 it has given me poor gas mileage and consistent headaches. Not only was it not reliable, I've gotten as low as 17mpg on the car and seldom got over 20mpg despite being conservative when I drove it. Of course this also depends on the owner, but the carfax report showed nothing wrong with the car. It also had only 55,000 miles on it. Through it all I've had the brakes replaced twice, a new starter motor, new fuel pump, 1 O2 sensor (actually 3, but I'll get to this later), new alternator, new oil gasket, and new exhaust pipe. I actually had 3 O2 sensors go out on me, but I didn't replace the last 2. The reason being was that I had decided on a new car during my trip to Sydney Australia in December 05 and during Feb 06 the check engine light came on. I needed two new O2 sensors, but I decided not to bother with it and went on a new car search right away. I was also 1200 miles overdue on an oil change as well, but I didn't want to spend any more money on the car than I had to. The car's engine light eventually turned off on its own but that's Carmax's problem. The car ended up with about 110,000 miles before I traded it in for $800. I was also sick of driving automatic transmissions, they are less fuel efficient and more prone to break downs too. So naturally I went on a search for a stick shift. I initially set out on a car that was reliable and fuel efficient, but being 6'(183cm) tall I didn't think a sub-compact would fit me (the Chevy Aveo was definitely not the choice to begin with, given it's pathetic fuel economy for a car its size and the poor reviews it was given) but a mid-size car would be too big (though I did set eyes out on the Ford Fusion). I looked at a lot of reviews of the Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, and Dodge Neon (the Dodge Caliber was not released yet). I wanted something practical and reliable. All the cars above seem practical. Notice that of the 6 major non-luxury automakers Nissan's Sentra did not make the list...for obvious reasons (piece a shit that is). Practical is a big plus for me, so I threw out the Mazda 3 and Dodge Neon. Reliability is another issue, so I threw out the Cobalt. I wanted something fuel efficient, so I threw out the Ford Focus. The Corolla's EPA was 32/41(manual) city/high and the all new redesigned Civic was 30/38 (manual) city/high, these two cars were way above their competitors. The closest competitor was the Ford Focus which came in at 26/34, which is about as much as a mid-size car gets. I initially wanted the Corolla. It was basic and reliable and from Toyota (*traditional Asian bow*). The reason being was that the base model (Toyota Corolla CE) had air conditioning with a decent stereo with four speakers. I'm not a car buff and I don't care about wasting money on horsepower. It also had manual mirrors and no keyless entry (which I never had before). But I questioned "Will I be happy with this car in the long run?" It is what I wanted and the best price for a 2006 Corolla CE Manual that I got was $12,500 (at that time, about $1700 under MSRP and around $600 under invoice) which is pretty good. The base model Honda Civic DX 2006 Manual came in at around $13,300, which is the invoice price. The only problem with the civic is that its base model has no stereo nor air-conditioning!!!! That's truly pathetic. But the dashboard design of the new Civic was truly amazing once you actually step in and drive the car (especially at night). If I upgraded to the mid-level Honda Civic LX Manual I would get much more: keyless entry with panic, 160-watt four speaker stereo with MP3/WMA player, speed-sensitive volume control, power doors-mirrors-locks, larger 16" wheels, in-glass antenna (no more metal sticking out), vehicle immobilizer, map lights, floor mats (though I can buy these from K-Mart for $18), vehicle colored door handles and mirrors (whoopie!), and air conditioning. I wanted the Sedan, but the coupe version gives you audio input jacks for your iPod or other MP3 players. If I wanted that for my sedan I would have to upgrade to the EX or wait one year since the 2007 Sedan has this feature but not the 2006 (this is the only change from the 06 to 07 models). To be fair the base model DX comes standard with 6 airbags, ABS (anti-lock braking system) and EBD (electronic brake distribution)...no other car in its class has these safety features as standard during the 2006 model year (as of now, no 2007 car other than the Civic has these as standard). If I wanted these features on my Corolla CE I would have to purchase them, which would run the car from 12,500 to maybe close to 14,000 if I remember correctly. At that time I was not too concerned about safety until I realized how my 96 Altima had slid in light rain and scraped an SUV since I pressed on the brakes too hard. So my choice was made and my decision was the mid-level 2006 Honda Civic LX Manual. Plus the new Civic was selling really well, and was Motor Trend's Car of the Year as it was a new generation Civic with a more powerful engine. The engine boasts 140 HP and 128 ft*lb of torque, but I would gladly exchange about 15 less horsepower for a more fuel efficient car (but it's still more fuel efficient than all the other cars save for the Corolla). Still though the next compact car to have more horsepower is the Dodge Caliber (though at the time I was buying, it was not released) at 148 standard...but suffers greatly from fuel economy. 28/32 city/high is the EPA estimate. While the Civic's manual gets an EPA of 30/38, it's automatic gets 30/40 at 140hp...which is pretty good. I was gearing towards an automatic because of the EPA estimates, but after reading reviews of the manual vs. automatics, some consumers got 22mpg combined on their autos...yet not one complaint of gas mileage on the manuals. So while I could get more, potentially at least, if I went with the auto...I went with the stick. I wanted the black color for my Honda Civic LX 2006 Manual, but gosh...even the manual is hard to find in any color. Of the 60 or so Civics that I saw, 3 of them were Manuals...2 of them were manuals for the EX model and 1 of them was EXACTLY the car that I wanted: Black Honda Civic LX 2006 Manual. Problem is that the Honda dealer at College Park was trying to jip me. I was hesitant to purchase, but knew I could find a better deal elsewhere. They offered $18,100...which was over the MSRP of $16,700. I left the place...but they had literally left me 30 calls within the next two months on my answering machine asking me to reconsider. Selling cars is a pretty cut-throat business, but I shouldn't be the one to bail them out. What's funny is that they advertised 0% interest...which I would have bought at $18,100...but instead they gave me 12.66%...which is was nuts and false advertising extrordinaire. I even had the sales paper in my hand to show them. But they said I had only a 2 year credit history, making $15000/year and a full-time college student...so what the fuck? The ad never said "For well-qualified buyers." God that place is so ghetto. Never buy a car from a ghetto place...especially like that of College Park Honda. Finally I got a really good offer, $15,100 was the asking price...invoice price at Jim Coleman Honda. The best price they could offer, and the best price in town. I had to wait about 6 weeks because they had a lot of automatics on the lot, but not the stick shift that I wanted. Finally on March 28th, 2006 I got my car...but in a galaxy-gray (it's really a beige color) not a black color that I wanted. Review Initialy reaction of the car was "Wow!" It was so cool to have keyless entry. I was no longer the poor college student who pathetically used a key to get in, but a snobby college student who uses a button to get in. But anyways I'm sure most of you who buy Civics are highly interested in fuel economy. My first couple of fill-ups gave me around 33.7mpg combined. The clutch was a bit stiff (it still is btw) but the shifts were very smooth. During really cold days, like below freezing, the car revs at high RPMs initially to warm the car up. My old car did not do this and took like 5 minutes to really get my heat going. Initially the car stays at an idle state of 700 rpms, but on cold days I've seen it at 2000 rpms idle. While this does use a little more gas, it's not too discernable. What I noticed is that this car is really affected by driving habits, but luckily not by A/C usage. If I drive hard (like pushing 6800 rpms - the red line) the car really takes a plunge into gas mileage, at around 28mpg. If I shift early and accelerate slowly I get about 36.5mpg. But I haven't had much highway driving though. The time I did have highway driving I had the AC on and went 90mph on the fourth gear approaching 5500 rpms. I still ended up with 34.5mpg oddly enough. The car itself is really aerodynamic, but the wind can rock it a bit. Right now I would say I get 33mpg in the winter time with no A/C usage...I actually get higher numbers in the summer time with A/C usage. But oh well. The tank holds 13.2 gallons of gas and it usually approaches the "E" once 8.5-9 gallons are used. That's my usual fill-up, 8.5-9 gallons with an average of $20 per fill up. This is all combined mileage mind you and I would say it's 75%/25% city/highway. The interior of the car isn't too roomy, but it's not shabby either. I'm 6' tall (183cm) and I like the manually-adjusted driver's seat. I can sit high or low, but the problem with this is that when you want to sit high the seat moves forward a bit. So even when you have your driver's seat pushed back, it still inches forward a bit when you raise the height. A lot of people complain about the parking brake position, but I've never come close to having this problem about it poking my right knee. The car can fit 5 full-size adults (5'8"-6'3") comfortably. The trunk space is surprisingly roomy, even without pushing down the rear seats. There is also a hidden floor compartment in the trunk that has a spare tire with all the tools you need to change it. Head room is pretty good too, even with the driver's seat pushed up. The windshield itself is raked in at a pretty low angle...meaning you'll need some really long arms to reach the end of your windshield (we're talking at least 42" long arms...the average person has 32" long arms), but it's not like you'll ever need to anyways...except when you need to display your parking permit in one of those parking garages. The exterior is really where the car attracts attention. On the back of the car there are no longer emblems that tells you which model the driver is driving. You'll have to discern that information by knowing which set of wheels (steel or alloy) goes with which model. The nose of the car is pretty short, but it's still hard to see in front of it when you're trying to park and not bump into the car in front of you. Additionally the back of the car is really where it looks kinda ugly. It's not the lights themselves, but the shape of the entire rear of the car. It seems like this was a rehash of the previous year's model. The coupe is a MUCH better looking car, but it has a lot less leg room in the rear. My car has 16" steel wheels running on P205 55 R16 89H tires, which is above average for cars in its class. These wheels are actually bigger than my previous car, 1996 Nissan Altima GXE - which was a mid-size car. The ammenities that the car has is pretty solid. The car's stereo system sounds really great, it's probably the best standard stereo in its class. 160-watt stereo CD/MP3/WMA player with four speakers (the EX comes with 6)? By comparison the 2007 Dodge Caliber offers a 4 speaker stereo busting out 66 watts. Of course you can upgrade, but still...the fact that I get this type of stereo as standard makes listening to my music even more enjoyable. Heck, I love my music much more in this car than at home. The speed sensitive volume control isn't that sensitive at all...even at the highest setting. It seems to respond to what gear you are in as opposed to what speed you're in. But of course as your car gets faster the ambient noise gets louder and the volume adjusts so it only sounds the "same". I was expecting the stereo to be booming going at 90mph, but it doesn't...but it's not too shabby either. But when you're revving at low RPMs and you're in the higher gears the volume becomes noticably louder despite your speed not being too great. SVC (speed-sensitive volume control) wasn't that high on my priority list so I can say it's a nice luxury to have. The AM/FM radio is your standard variety. When you play the stereo...please use high quality audio files...when you turn the music up you can tell the difference between 128kbps and CD quality. I was really surprised how much "oomph" the stereo had. Aside from the amazing standard stereo (remember, it's STANDARD), other interior ammenities include floor mats (which are cloth), sliding center console that's big enough to store a medium sized laptop, and a few other mini-compartments for coins and other stuff. The cup-holders are really nice. They're not the cheap ones you put your up into either. The cup-holder has a sliding cover with spring handles to hold onto your drinks! That means that the cup-holders can store anything from a small sample cup to one of those 7-Eleven big-gulps...basically a one-size fits all kind of deal. A/C is your standard affair with one exception: the Max-AC button. At first I thought that this was a button used to save you on gas by not blasting the AC so high, but what it really does is make the fans spin harder as well as blasting the AC through the rear and front of the car. Maybe this uses more A/C power or something that I'm not aware of, but I've never used it...it works with the heat as well. There are two trip meters to let you know how long each trip takes, but one neat feature is the conversion of mph to kph with a touch of a button. This way you can drive your car into Canada while still using your digitial display instead of following cars and hoping you don't pass the speed limit. This converts everything else too, from the total distance to your trip meters. Driving the car is pretty fun. It has a nice kick to the car and is pretty fast considering its size and power. You'll have the most fun in the 2nd and 3rd gears since that's where it seems most of the car's handling ability kicks in. The user guide recommends shifting at 15, 27, 39, and 53mph...or basically at 3000 rpms (the user's guide should have told you that instead of making you memorize all those numbers). The car itself has a built in rev-limiter, so the car kind of cuts in and out once you hit over 6800 rpm (the red line). Don't be alarmed though, the car doesn't stop moving or turn itself off...it just indicates that you need to slow down or shift to a higher gear. My main concern is the passing power of the car. It's actually pretty good...when you shift down TWO gears. Yes, I said TWO gears. There isn't much of a difference between the 4th and 5th gears of the car it seems...other than the fact that the 4th gear just revs higher. I was on the highway going 65mph and traffic moves at about 75mph, I wanted to pass and down shifted to 4th...but the car still didn't have that "oomph" to it. It was only when I down shifted to the 3rd gear that my car really kicked in. Of course this comes at a price of going close to 6000 rpm. I've put in 6100 miles on the car within the past 9 months and the clutch still feels a bit stiff, but I've been use to it for a while. A lot of people say the car tends to roll a bit when making exits on high ways...it does, but only on the higher gears. While the car isn't roll-free (it's a Civic for crying out loud) if you down-shift (especially into the third gear) during the exit ramp loop the car is very easy to control. Most cars don't behave this way on stick shifts, but the 2006 Civic does...and that's a really good thing when you need more control for your wheels. Noise and comfort on the car is pretty top notch. The suspension rides great and cushions the pot-holes and speed bumps well for its class and noise is usually not a problem, not even 70mph on the highway. If you're a good stick shift driver with a good feel for the clutch, the car is surprisingly smooth. It feels like a luxury car to me without the luxury price tag. Maintence-minder system in the car can be a life-saver. It tells you the oil life, when you need to change the coolant, transmission fluid (mostly for automatic drivers but also for those with power steering), etc. The tune up interval is about 100,000 miles or more, which is great considering my old car usually had a tune up interval of every 10,000 miles it seems. Tune-ups were a major hassle...Tires Plus "Tune-Up" really just replaces the spark-plugs...which is NOT a tune-up...hell, I could do that. So it's great not to worry about it. That's Honda for you...reliability for up to 100,000 miles or more. Heck, 150,000 is what I'm gunning for before I sell this car. It looks like I'll have decades to go before that happens (unless I start driving more or something). What's great about the car, or not so great depending on how you look at it, is that the car will remind you consistently when you need service. A yellow wrench appears (meaning routine service is needed, not major repair) to tell you when you need an oil change or a tune up. Honda says that their cars, with a specific oil, lasts 6000 miles. I took mines in after 5700 miles. Overall the car is worth it. I got it for $15,100 (with splash guards) and $550 shipping...so $15600 is what I paid (the dealer took $50 off since the guard had 43 miles on it). I got a 5.64 interest rate and after $2000 down, I'm looking at $278/mo for 66 months. This car is worth every penny. The Canadian version of the LX gets more though: heated door mirrors, 16" alloy wheels, exterior thermometer, and variable intermittent wipers...the LX is still a great value. Actually...I'm kinda jealous...heated door mirrors? That's a feature normally found in luxury cars here in the US. But oh well. On a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the best, I would give the car a 90/100. 
From a fellow Australian to another, I hope you get better. I just joined Bonnie McKee's forums. My God, it is slow as crap. She barely has 600 members as of this post and she uses an infopop forum(free). So yeah, not being a mainstream star will do that to you. The forum, obviously, is full of perverts that are like "OMG, will you marry me?!!" I doubt any of them even know the name to half her songs. Oh well. I'm a huge fan of Bonnie McKee, I hope she hits it off one day and I can boldly say "See, I was one of her first fans and knew she would make it big." Oh well. If you haven't purchased her CD(Trouble), it's on Amazon.com or Overstock.com. I had trouble(no pun intended) finding her CD in stores since sales weren't very high, so you'll have to get it through online means. I also joined Toby Lightman's forums. My God...another infopop board. But eh, they have a better life than I do anyways. Toby's forums have just over 1100 members, most of them never come back to the forums anyways. Toby is currently doing a few tours at some bars and pubs in Texas, but she was on the Conan O'Brien show a few months ago. Her song "Devils and Angels" was on Smallville and it was played on the radio as well. Her CD can be found in a few stores that I went to, but you'll have better luck getting it online. I hope these 2 do a song together, they are just _SO_ talented. With Ashlee Simpson's debacles, it's a shame these 2 artists are overlooked. Lastly, this page _WILL_NOT_ be my journal. I just type some stuff here so it makes it look like I care about my homepage and because LJ is currently down. The reason why I keep my journal friends only is to keep unwanted eyes out, not because I think I'm special or anything. If you want to be my friend, just add me and I'll do the same for you. Even if we never talk again, you'll still be able to see my ultra-neat journal! Go to http://www.apple.com/ipod/ before reading my parody. It'll give you a sense of what to expect. http://www.geocities.com/dingojellybean2/bushpod.html Yes, I did create that. So don't profit from it, take credit for it, or alter it. Now laugh your ass off. :) Okay, since I don't want to anger some of my sensitive friends on my LJ list, I'll display my anger here. Many of you anime nerds have noticed that major Bit-Torrent sites have closed down since they were raided. Good riddance. No, it's not because I don't give a damn about anime. It's because it's illegal. I'm shocked that no one on the forums I go to or anyone of my LJ friends has the least bit of sympathy for the authors of illegally downloaded content. No, piracy will never stop. And yes, I realize that many of you reading this don't have the money(or the non-laziness to get a job) to buy these products that you illegally download. That doesn't make it right. I know I sound like the pot calling the kettle black, because I use to do this. But I deleted all my illegal files and will never download crap like that again. I can't believe how spoiled we've become and what criminals we've become. When Napster started offering unlimited downloads for $1/month a couple of years ago, people were outraged. ONE FUCKING DOLLAR A MONTH. You call that outrageous? How about people in Guatemala hardly making one dollar a day working 14 hours a day? That's outrageous. Some of you anime nerds need to quit masturbating and get a fucking life and find a job. And no, that girl/guy you talk to on IM everyday isn't your true lover, it's really a 40 year old FBI agent tracking down people like you. I've made quite a few changes to this webpage. No longer will this site have any of my old FAQ information. I've deleted old archives of my index files, so those of you who wish to read what I wrote last week, last month, last year, years prior will now have to sulk in misery for the rest of your life. Anyways, like I mentioned earlier, just go to my Livejournal since I update it more often than this webpage. I also added a new iPod section to this website. Check it out. There's a contact page on the bottom left corner of the screen, so check that out too. I want to note again, that I don't take gaming questions anymore. I don't play games nor do I have interest in them. Honestly, I don't go on AIM much anymore. I don't care for it since I can't keep up a decent conversation. Anyways, I hope you enjoy browsing through this webpage. | |||||||||||||
