To the mall, and beyond . . .
10-03-2003, 12:16 PM
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To the mall, and beyond . . .
After working a bit late yesterday, I stopped by a local mall to go to a bookstore. When I got into the mall, I noticed there were a number of cars on display and after visiting the bookstore and getting something to eat, I began strolling around looking at the cars. It’s not a very big mall so there wasn’t room for a lot of cars. Many makes were not on display, including Acura, and I found that for every car there seemed to be at least two trucks or SUVs. But there were a few sedans and I checked each one out.
There was a Saturn L300 (?) and it caught my eye because the MSRP was within a couple of grand of the TSX. All the cars were locked so I couldn’t get inside, but in checking it out, I wondered how this American entry might stack up in a performance comparison. I think it’s got a 182 hp V6 in it. But it was a couple of other cars that held my attention more.
There was a nice Mazda RX-8 sitting there, looking mighty fine with its black exterior and interior. But I found myself thinking I’d probably get tired of the “satin metallic” strip running down the entire length of the interior on both sides of a “console” that extended from the dash all the way to the back seat. And speaking of back seats, while I admired the work Mazda did to put a couple of seats in the back of this car, they looked really tiny to me and I wondered if they would actually be useable for any length of time? MSRP on the sticker: $33,100
The other sedan I checked out was a new BMW 325i. I thought the dash was quite nice, and I really liked the nearly all black, nice fat steering wheel (why, oh why did Acura saddle us with the relatively thin wheel we’ve got in our TSX?). It was an automatic, like my TSX, and appeared to be fully loaded although there was no navigation system. I also found myself thinking about how “bare” the center console area appeared with its exposed cup holders and all the open space under the armrest. Eventually, I looked at the sticker and I couldn’t tell if the Harmon-Kardon audio system had a multiple disc in dash system or not. But what I did notice was the bottom line. The sticker price on this model read $37,100!
By the time I left the mall dusk was settling in and the parking lot lights had just come on. As I approached my recently washed Navigation Black Pearl beauty, I realized once again just how much I like the way this car looks. As a left the mall and headed for the freeway, my timing was just right and there were no cars in front of me on the on-ramp and being in Sport Shift mode as I am much of the time, I quickly ran it up to about 80 and held it steady through the entire long left-hand sweeper that took me on to eastbound I-80. How wonderfully solid and direct the steering felt. I had to back off rather quickly once I got on the freeway because of the traffic.
Unlike many of you, I’ve never had anyone come up to me to ask about my car, but that changed last night. I pulled into a gas station for a quick fill up, and just as I got out of my car, a young man I judged to be in his early 20s walked up quickly to ask about my TSX. It turned out that, like me, he subscribes to several monthly car magazines and he was very familiar with the car although he said he’d never seen one in person. He graduated college this past spring, and he and his wife are looking to trade in their Toyota Corolla for something newer before the end of the year. He’s been seriously looking at the Subaru WRXsti because he thinks he’d enjoy all the power, but his wife thinks the interior looks rather cheap. I invited him to sit in the driver’s seat of my car (and then the back seat) and he couldn’t get over how awesome the interior is on the TSX. After talking a bit more he thanked me profusely for giving him a chance the sit in the car, and he said he was definitely going to go and test drive one with a 6MT.
It was almost dark by now, and as I drove the short distance home on surface streets, with the neat little blue lights highlighting the shifter, I looked back on what I’d just experienced within the past hour. As I drove along I thought about the wonderful car I was driving, for which I paid $26,400 with installed fog lamps included. I couldn’t help but smile to myself and think – TSeniorX, ya done good for yourself.
There was a Saturn L300 (?) and it caught my eye because the MSRP was within a couple of grand of the TSX. All the cars were locked so I couldn’t get inside, but in checking it out, I wondered how this American entry might stack up in a performance comparison. I think it’s got a 182 hp V6 in it. But it was a couple of other cars that held my attention more.
There was a nice Mazda RX-8 sitting there, looking mighty fine with its black exterior and interior. But I found myself thinking I’d probably get tired of the “satin metallic” strip running down the entire length of the interior on both sides of a “console” that extended from the dash all the way to the back seat. And speaking of back seats, while I admired the work Mazda did to put a couple of seats in the back of this car, they looked really tiny to me and I wondered if they would actually be useable for any length of time? MSRP on the sticker: $33,100
The other sedan I checked out was a new BMW 325i. I thought the dash was quite nice, and I really liked the nearly all black, nice fat steering wheel (why, oh why did Acura saddle us with the relatively thin wheel we’ve got in our TSX?). It was an automatic, like my TSX, and appeared to be fully loaded although there was no navigation system. I also found myself thinking about how “bare” the center console area appeared with its exposed cup holders and all the open space under the armrest. Eventually, I looked at the sticker and I couldn’t tell if the Harmon-Kardon audio system had a multiple disc in dash system or not. But what I did notice was the bottom line. The sticker price on this model read $37,100!
By the time I left the mall dusk was settling in and the parking lot lights had just come on. As I approached my recently washed Navigation Black Pearl beauty, I realized once again just how much I like the way this car looks. As a left the mall and headed for the freeway, my timing was just right and there were no cars in front of me on the on-ramp and being in Sport Shift mode as I am much of the time, I quickly ran it up to about 80 and held it steady through the entire long left-hand sweeper that took me on to eastbound I-80. How wonderfully solid and direct the steering felt. I had to back off rather quickly once I got on the freeway because of the traffic.
Unlike many of you, I’ve never had anyone come up to me to ask about my car, but that changed last night. I pulled into a gas station for a quick fill up, and just as I got out of my car, a young man I judged to be in his early 20s walked up quickly to ask about my TSX. It turned out that, like me, he subscribes to several monthly car magazines and he was very familiar with the car although he said he’d never seen one in person. He graduated college this past spring, and he and his wife are looking to trade in their Toyota Corolla for something newer before the end of the year. He’s been seriously looking at the Subaru WRXsti because he thinks he’d enjoy all the power, but his wife thinks the interior looks rather cheap. I invited him to sit in the driver’s seat of my car (and then the back seat) and he couldn’t get over how awesome the interior is on the TSX. After talking a bit more he thanked me profusely for giving him a chance the sit in the car, and he said he was definitely going to go and test drive one with a 6MT.
It was almost dark by now, and as I drove the short distance home on surface streets, with the neat little blue lights highlighting the shifter, I looked back on what I’d just experienced within the past hour. As I drove along I thought about the wonderful car I was driving, for which I paid $26,400 with installed fog lamps included. I couldn’t help but smile to myself and think – TSeniorX, ya done good for yourself.
10-03-2003, 02:02 PM
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NBP/Parchment/5AT/Non-Navi
his sig says he doesnt have navigation.
however he did call his car navigation black pearl??? haha did he mistake the navigation for nighthawk??
his sig says he doesnt have navigation.
however he did call his car navigation black pearl??? haha did he mistake the navigation for nighthawk??
10-03-2003, 02:02 PM
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Accolades
I to recieved my first "Hey! Nice Car"
I was leaving a local Best Buy when two Lovely Ladies stop by to take a look inside.
My previous car was a Voltic Blue Integra Which I still have and Love
And Just like all the Other TSX Drivers I love My Car and the attention it gets.
I was leaving a local Best Buy when two Lovely Ladies stop by to take a look inside.
My previous car was a Voltic Blue Integra Which I still have and Love
And Just like all the Other TSX Drivers I love My Car and the attention it gets.
10-03-2003, 02:46 PM
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Hey, there's a "senior" in my handle for a reason - I'm entitled to moments like these!
To set the record straight, I do not have a navigation system, and the exterior color is Nighthawk Black Pearl.
I need to take a nap.
To set the record straight, I do not have a navigation system, and the exterior color is Nighthawk Black Pearl.
I need to take a nap.
10-03-2003, 07:25 PM
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Re: To the mall, and beyond . . .
Originally posted by TSeniorX
Eventually, I looked at the sticker and I couldn’t tell if the Harmon-Kardon audio system had a multiple disc in dash system or not.
Eventually, I looked at the sticker and I couldn’t tell if the Harmon-Kardon audio system had a multiple disc in dash system or not.
Nope....unfortunately bmw 3-series have no in-dash 6-disc cd changers. for some odd reason, germans have been slow on the uptake in cd//navi.
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10-03-2003, 07:39 PM
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Originally posted by TSeniorX
Hey, there's a "senior" in my handle
I need to take a nap.
Hey, there's a "senior" in my handle
I need to take a nap.
I enjoyed the read very much! The same goes over on this end of I-80, cars in malls on display, you check 'em out, leave and realize that it was one heck of a good choice you made when you see your TSX!!
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