Hey gang!

I've done a couple of posts, but figured I'd just do a quick intro. I've been lurking on several auto forums for the past few months as I've been car shopping (I'm active on a few others), including this one, to learn all I could about the cars I was looking at. I finally decided on a 2012 TSX SE, Milano Red, with 6MT, and picked it up last Monday, 4/31 with 183 miles on it (dealer trade). Got it from Lehigh Valley Acura. I do 18-20K/yr, mostly highway (work commute), and I wanted something that was a little more luxurious to spend so much time in, but I didn't want to lose the sporty flavor, and I didn't want to pay a ton. I checked out several other cars, and was close on pulling the trigger on a GTI, but the clutch and shifter really put me off on that car. In the end, I decided on the TSX, and I'm enjoying it. Great commuter for me, and gives me a ton of features that I've not had before (I'm replacing a 2004 Mazda3 hatch that I've driven for 8+ years and 167K). My only real plans for the car are a clear bra; being a daily driver, I don't need to modify anything, and I'm looking forward to the much touted Honda reliability, as I'll probably be driving this thing for a decade or so. I bought this car to satisfy my ego and super-ego, with occasional catering to my id; when my id really wants to take over, I just grab the keys to one of my other toys in the garage

Anyway, I've found a lot of useful info here while I was lurking, so I wanted to give a collective thanks to all of you. If you see a bright red TSX cruising around the Lehigh Valley, often with an awesome pit bull hanging her nose out the rear window, give a wave, because that's me!

 

Welcome to the jungle! Your TSX is the same flavor as mine! Good choice.

 

welcome

 

we will need pics to confirm you really bought this car and are not trolling the forums.

and we will also need pics of your other cars so we can be jelly of your other purchases.

and you will need to find and sleep with ed's mom as that is also a prerequisite to these forums.

 

Apparently, I can't post them yet.

Same, pics. So, close your eyes, imagine a black sports car with a red and black interior, 2 seats, and 411 RWHP propelling you forward, and you're there. Or, imagine something that's black and red (notice a theme here?), much less HP, but also half the wheel count, and less than 400lbs, that sounds like an angry hornets' nest, and you're also there.

How do you think I found the forums in the first place?

 

^^

just post the pics on imgur or photobucket and link it over here using the "insert image"

 

hahahaha this guys a winner, i like him. put your pics up on photobucket or something then post up the IMG code. PS: im assuming you're a psych? or atleast a freudian fan haha

 

Welcome, and nice sense of humor!

 

The TSX:



The other toys:



The dog protesting the Acura dealer's discrimination:



My rescued pit and I:

 

 

I get that a lot. Even more so when I shave.

 

welcome bro, nice rides. I love the red SE, such a great looking car. Also, I think you should move out of lehigh valley, my wife went to lehigh for a year, what a depressing place...

 

congrats on the new car. yeah the manual transmission is an extremely nice drive.

 

Been here all my life. I've been to at least 27 states and 9 countries, and I still really enjoy calling this home. It's not unicorns farting rainbows and Skittles falling from the sky, but I certainly wouldn't call it depressing, either. Detroit. Detroit is depressing. Seattle is depressing; its welcome kit consists of an umbrella and Prozac (I've spent much time there). The Lehigh Valley... not so depressing. Not non-stop excitement, but I'm good with that. I love the seasons, the abundance of things to do outside (I run, mountain bike, and snowboard), have enough room to go play with the cars, don't have a million people living on top of me and, if I want big city fun, I'm right in between Philly and NYC. Plus, it's cheap, relative to those places. I'm also kind of a big deal here. People know me. I'm very important. I have many leather bound books, and my house smells of rich mahogany.

That said, if the opportunity presented itself, I'd move to Germany in a heartbeat. Love that country. I'll be spending time there again this September, making my 3rd trek to Nurburgring.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone!

 

lol, I yield I yield! It was more of a joke. I've only ever been to lehigh (the university) twice, and both times it was dreary and overcast. plus the abandoned steel mill doesn't do wonders for the scenery. I'm sure where you live is lovely

edit: apparently it's now a casino?, that's pretty cool!

 

Yeah man, not an abandoned mess anymore.

When I was a kid, it was still in full swing. My grandfather worked there. Everybody's grandfather worked there. The blast furnaces used to lull me to sleep at night and light up the sky.

When it shut down, the south side of Bethlehem went to pot. It got run down, crime shot up, and it was the part of town you avoided.

Over the past decade, that's all changed. The south side of Bethlehem has been revitalized and undergone gentrification, and it's now the hotspot of Bethlehem. Condos, restaurants, my gym, the Sands casino and hotel, a movie theater, brew house, and various other venues have filled in the dilapidated remnants of the old Bethlehem Steel, and it's a very nice area now. Ever see Transformers 2? The opening sequence, "Shanghai", was shot here; what you see as Shanghai is actually Bethlehem Steel. I actually got to meet a bunch of the cast and crew, including Michael Bay. Sadly, not Megan Fox. But, I digress; that stuff was shot before everything was completed and all the stuff opened up, so it's even nicer now. Not sure what time of year you were here, but you'll have to take up your weather lament with Mother Nature; can't blame the area for that. Fall is typically cloudy, windy, and crisp... and I love it. That is, by far, my favorite season. Awesome time to be running or biking.

 

You are welcome, haha.
Mr.NC was in Germany this year, but to short that we could meet. If you are in Germany in September, maybe we can make a meet if you are not to far away from my home and time is no Problem?
Greetings from Neu-Ulm, Bavaria.LOL

 

Thanks!

I'll actually only be there for 3 days or so, specifically heading to Nurburgring again. The exact agenda is still up in the air, but it looks like I'm flying to the UK to meet up with him, and then we'll head down around September 15th or 16th for a few days, then head back to the UK. I'll be over for 2 weeks, but I'll only be in Germany for a couple of days this time around. Last time, I was there for 3 weeks, and I stayed at Rammstein Air Force Base. I've also previously stayed in Russelheim for a while for work.

Our 'Ring trip will be part of a local (to the UK) car club, so the more, the merrier. If you're interested, I can provide you with more details as they get ironed out (my friend is in the Air Force, and currently deployed in Afghanistan, so communication is a little sparse).

Prost!

 

Waiting for details, if I have time, I would try to come to the Nordschleife! It is about 400 km ride and I want to go there since years, but my wife dont let me go! Not with our DailyDriver! LOL
I know a guy who build Turbos http://www.b-ht.de/ and he testdrive the cars almost once a month on the Ring. He is 40km from my home, maybe we could come together. Here is a Vid of a ride with his Civic Turbo ( think 400hp at the moment) on the Nordschleife!
Enjoy

 

^ holy crap that guy has amazing driving skills. He's FLYING by people all over the place...

 

That looks so scary and awesome!!

And sweet profile pic opboarding!

 

LOl wow how did i miss being made fun of in this thread

sweet ride though, and awesome dog, i love dogs

 

Welcome to the forums where your brain will melt & all reason...will not be reasonable & the only thing constant is....ed's mom

 

Nice! My friend that I'm going with will be there in his Neon SRT4, which has quite a bit of work to it, and makes enough power to make me nervous (and that's coming from a guy who drives a 411 RWHP Vette). Not sure if you guys got those cars over seas, but it's a Neon with a factory turbo on it, and was pretty impressive in terms of performance... even more so when upgraded. He's got coilovers on it, as well as a stage 4 million turbo upgrade. IIRC, he's making 330+ hp at the front wheels. I'll have to link to his youtube vid of his fastest 'Ring lap time; he got pretty darn good on it.

I'll definitely keep you updated on the plans, though!

Ed: I love sweet rides and dogs, too... but, amazingly enough, this isn't going to be a joke about your mom

I rescued my pup just over a year ago. She came into the shelter a year prior to that as a stray, and weighing only about 30lbs. They did a good job taking care of her, and she's now at a very healthy and happy 57lbs. I've been able to piece together her past based on her actions and her scars, and I'm certain she was used as bait for other dogs to attack since a) she's terrified of other dogs, and 2) her teeth are deliberately filed down so she wouldn't be able to defend herself (this is common for people to do to bait dogs in the cruel world of dog fighting). She's got some scars and battle wounds, but she's an awesome pup, and she loves people. I've even worked with her to the point that I got her certified as a therapy dog, and we can work with the elderly and kids if we want to. It's amazing to see how loving a creature that's been through so much crap can be, and it reaffirms my belief that dogs are way more human than some people are. I take her all over the place with me, and she melts hearts everywhere, especially when people hear of her story. Most people are intimidated at first since she's a pit bull but, without fail, she'll have them on the ground in minutes giving them kisses and talking (woofing) to them. She's my 3rd dog, and I've never seen so many people flock around one dog in all of my life. Seriously, everywhere we go, people are just naturally drawn to her. She's awesome.

Thanks again!