My red TSX 6MT is the best car I've had in 33 years. It reminds me, in size and economy and sheer fun of the four cylinder BMW 2002 I bought for $4000 in 1970. It, the TSX, is hands down the best car overall I have had. I bought an RX 8 in July after ordering it in January. It was fun to drive but difficult to get into and out of. Moreover, it got about 16 miles to the gallon and only about 220 miles per tank. I went the buyback route: Mazda bought it back at cost. Now, I'm perfectly happy with the TSX.

 

Wow, the 2002!!! The memories...... (Actually we still sometimes see them.)

Way back in '76, I was out to replace my Chevy Nova (there's one for ya), and decided on the BMW 2002. Except it was being discontinued, being replaced by the 320i, so I got that. And I'd have to say, that was the best car I ever had. Except, it didn't run most of the time -- well, a lot of the time -- and forget about it in the snow.

So I guess that makes the TSX the best car I've ever had.

P.S. Welcome to the site.

 

My 2002 lasted for about six years. Engine blew finally. TSX is so much more refined. Technology has advanced. Yeah, I still see a 2002 now ands then. BMW should have stayed with that car or another iteration of it. It was a winner. Sporty and fairly inexpensive.

 

larch, the Nova is one indeed! I've still got one! It's my "other" car.

After going through a couple Mazda 626s and three Jeeps, I can definitely agree that the TSX is the best (daily driver) car I've ever had too.

I do a good mix of city and hwy driving... and It reminds me how much I like it every time I fill up and get 28+ mpg.

 

WOW!

I don't imagine it's as "vintage" as mine was ('69). What year, what color, how many miles, how is it?

As if it were any of my business.

 

I love talking the talk when it comes to Novas!

Mine isn't quite as vintage...I've got the '72. Same generation of body style though. I've got about 57K miles on it. The color is "Midnight Bronze."



What happend to that "My other car" thread? I looked and couldn't find it.

 

Thanks for the post, fing! Mine was "Frost Green," which I picked because I thought it was the color that looked the best with snow and ice on it. (I'm serious.)

BTW -- How does your '72 have such low mileage?

 

Funny.. someone else was just talking about trading an RX-8 for a TSX. Glad to see you liked the switch.

 

It was my wife's grandfather's original car. He never left town and usually only drove on the weekends. It had some pretty nasty rot on it when I bought it from him in '96 with 54K miles... but nothing that a few years of bodywork couldn't take care of .

Took a little more than 5 years to get it to the point of "reliable road machine with monsterous cahones." In the last two years I've just been enjoying it and doing some minor adjustments.

I'm a proud poppa with the two of them in the garage (they get along well).

 

When it comes to old cars, I know we can be overly sentimental if not totally delusional. But:

I'm not saying I'd give up my TSX for that old Nova, but it did have some amazing characteristics. Incredible power, very decent handling -- and even surprisingly quiet. I remember that when I'd be driving along and people were walking on the road in front of me, very often they wouldn't even hear me coming.

P.S. All of those people survived the encounter.

 

hehe. That's good to know!

Some of the same things that I enjoy in the TSX are there in the Nova too (I'm bound and determined to convince onlookers this wasn't a thread hijacking). Like martin pointed out in his original post, "in size and economy and sheer fun" the Nova delivers too.

Ok...maybe not so much in economy, but the TSX does deliver there.

 

That is a helluva compliment for the TSX.

 

mods/admins:

Wouldn't this thread go better under "Car Talk"?

 

Very cool car. Nice job taking care of it. My first car was a 86 Mustang 5.0 LX w/ 5sp. Charcoal Gray. It too, was a car that had qualities of fun and personality that I can see in the TSX too. I see what you are saying, and it is hard to describe, but I know I will have a hard time giving up the TSX when it reaches antiquity.

 

Hmmmm, blasts from the past, the 2002, 320i...

...without the inevitable BMW rust aound the shock towers, I hope.

OK, this is kinda spooky but the TSX immediately reminded ME of the old Saabs like the 99E (remember them?) and the original 900 except without the family of poltergeists living in the electrical system and that acrid smell of melting wire insulation. Those cars had a whole NATION of poltergeists living in the electrical system!

Anyway, I felt immediately "at home" in the TSX. It's "just" the right size and moves "just right".

 

Does my memory serve me correctly that the Nova's chassis was the basis of the original Camaro?

duugk: That's a beautiful Nova!!! I recall just a few years ago on Oahu driving by the North Shore area and seeing a Nova Meet--there must have been a couple dozen very well maintained Novas, which is quite a feat for the salty rust-inducing marine air of Hawaii.

 

Actually that was phingerz's Nova, but I'm sure duugk won't mind it being mistaken for his.

About the chassis, I was gonna say I doubt it --- but I googled it, and looks like you're absolutely right:

http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/rear_ends.htm

At the time, most of what I knew was just that the Nova was the cheapest Chevy, and, if you can believe it, the smallest (today it looks HUGE). The Camaro, I thought of as the coolest and sharpest. I thought of the cars as being many miles apart, and I never imagined they had anything in common except "Chevy." I would've loved to know this connection at the time.

 

It's the same trick Ford used for their "hot" pony car, the Mustang. The Mustang was built on the lowly Ford Falcon platform. Absolutely. Later Mustangs got worse: the mid-Seventies Mustangs were built on the Ford Pinto platform. After that disaster, the renewed Mustang was built on the very pedestrian Ford Fairmont (precursor to the Taurus) platform--for nearly 20 years--or is it still on the same platfrom? Remember the uglier than ugly Fairmont with its half vinyl roofs?

It's interesting and telling that neither the Mustang nor the Camaro were built on sports car chassis. Straight-line accelleration is what sold these cars. These cars are not known for superb handling. I remember driving a friend's Trans Am Firebird (Pontiac's version of the Camaro), and I thought I was driving an Oldsmobile sedan! It was fast and gulped gas, but had no road feel.

 

Get outta here!
No way!
Get outta here!
Great info, Brad. About them souping up the Camaro and enhancing the power, I don't know how much they needed to soup up the Nova's power. I mean, it was a V8 (I'm pretty sure), and the car weighed about 6 pounds -- so as you might guess it took off pretty good.

 

I might have to. I was reading about someone's virginity last night, saw fdl's picture of his MT shifter in a following reply, and got carried away with a possible solution. Ooooooooops. Phfew!

That's what made the Nova a relatively great platform for the Camaro.

The Falcon chassis sired not only the Mustang, but the Comet and Maverick as well. Trivia: The Comet was originally going to be the second product line for Edsel, but since the Edsel line was dropped, Ford reassigned the already-developed Comet to Mercury dealers. The original Comets had no Mercury labels on them.

And with optional reclining seats, there's no telling how many people lost their virginity in them.

 

Yeah, and look at all the derivations that came from the Honda Accord platform.

 

Ja, both gens of TLs, USDM Accord 4 door, USDM Accord 2-door, JDM Accord, European Market Accord 4 door (and Tourer??), and OF COURSE the TSX.

What else is there? Are the Odessey minivan and the MDX and Pilot also built on the Honda global mid-size platform too?

 

I propose that by acclamation we pronounce Brad the Official Car Historian of a-tsx.com.

All in favor? Aye!

So ordered, by unanimous assent!

 

You ARE the Mayor of this here town... and I'm sure "Official Car Historian" is an appointed position. It's all you larch!

I do have to say that the Nova is NO lightweight though. While many of the classics aren't bogged down by non-essentials (insulation, carpeting, a/c, environmental, ...), they make up for it in sheet metal. The TSX and Nova weigh about the same (3241 - 3166 = 75 lb difference).

Congrats Brad...what's the stipend for a position like that?

 

Gosh shucks. I just arrived at work and had only one sip of tea. I'm speechless. Geeeeze.

I do love cars, though.

To that end, I guess my favorite line is, "I'm just looking for facts, not statistics!"