In 2019 the Honda Civic Still Reigns →

We still wish Apple CarPlay were offered on the base Civic and better headlights were available on more trims. Take a big-picture look at this classic matchup, though, and it's a knockout. The Civic provides a more rewarding driving experience, important even if you don't care about driving. It's also more spacious, has a bigger trunk, looks better, feels more upscale inside, and is a car we'd consider buying for ourselves. Although it's not without faults, the Honda Civic remains the compact car to beat.

I mean seriously Toyota, you’ve had over 3-4 years to fully digest and breakdown the Civic Sedan and Hatchback, and still no answer. I still can’t believe that these two beast spec’d out are just right around $30,000! As Cleantechnica has clearly put it, you can own a Tesla Model 3, which is a far superior automotive, vehicle for less! Don’t forget to use my referral code “elijah2489” for 1000 free supercharging miles!

A $27,000 Civic? It's Getting Absurd

Just my opinion, but at that price, for around $27,000 for the 2016 Honda Civic Touring Edition, you can grab yourself a Certified Pre-Owned Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus or for that matter, a hopped up Toyorta Camry or save a few thousand and go with a Corolla or the Honda Fit.

Motortrend's Frist Test Review proved pretty awesome, but the vehicle that they used was the top of the line Civic Touring Edition, which by the way, did I mention, is $27,000!!! It's powered by an awesome brand new turbo engine but paired with an automatic CVT, I'm leaning more and more towards the no. How much is the Si or even the rumored Type-R going to be? Abusrd.

The Search for the Commuter Car (cont.)

A few months ago, I wrote about VW's awesome performing TDI Sportswagen Wagon along with my aspirations to buy one. With the 2016s around the corner, I called up a few dealerships last Friday about deals on the 2015s. Not surprisingly, I got a response to start with that they'd be discounting them around $2k.

That was last week. Of course, we have all come to find out that VW has been duping the EPA by programming their TDI vehicles to hide the truth; that they were emmiting up to 40% of the standard requirements. All this while still producing an amazing 50+ mpg! The NYTimes and other various news outlets have created an infographic on exactly how they were able to hide the pullutants which is quite ingenious as we've come to find out that other car manufacurers have been trying to game the system for quite a while .

So what now? Looks like Honda's new 2016 Civic, their Fit (which was in the running for Motortrend's Car of the Year, losing to VW's Golf) or Toyota's new Prius might have to be the key to "saving" me money on my weekly commute to Long Beach. Although, driving up to 28,000 a mile measured at 3x a week (most unlikely), maybe a more comfortable car with autopilot would fit the bill much better. =)

I'll be updating my "search" for a while. Right now, with my current 1999 BMW Wagon, I'm at ~ $0.14 a mile where the VW would have been $0.05. The Honda Fit and Toyota Prius would respectively cost $0.08 and $0.06. These calculations do NOT include the monthly payments or maintenance fees or tax, title and insurance. But that's where I'm at right now. All the new calculations show that over time, the Fit would be the way to go. If you want to peep my Google Sheet, check it out here.

Saying Goodbye!

After a good 23 years of family ownership, the 1985 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo Diesel has left the Nicolas family. When it really came down to it, I actually couldn't part with it and made the new owner a deal that I would get a chance to see it again after he converted it to run alternative fuel, fix the rear damage and upgrade the upholstery. I'm excited to see how Turbo will look, but I grew up in that car. Backstory: I post it on craigslist just under 24 hours ago, and boom, it's gone. I basically inherited the car when I was in high school, and drove here in between the civics and c-classes that I went through, but Turbo always just had a special place in my heart and mind.  She was the ultimate surfer's beach mobile and that is what I used her for.  It was something to always kick back in and enjoy the San Diego weather!  She always proved to just drive when I wanted her to drive and now, I might be trying to find another W123 body style to replace her.

She'll be missed!