2008 Honda Civic Si

I have an awesome Dad. He decided long ago that upon graduation of college he would buy me and my sisters cars so that we wouldn't have to start out with a car payment right out of college. He held good on his end of the deal last May when my sister, Lindsay graduated from ECU. I graduate from NC State in December so I was expecting to get a new car sometime around the new year but about a month ago Dad came up to me and said it would be better to go ahead and do it now. You see, the 2009 models all come out in September so you can usually get a better deal on the 2008 models in July and August.

I did a lot of research on what kind of car I wanted. My beautiful wife, Ashley drives a 2006 Honda Accord that her parents helped us get when she graduated from ECU back in December. We've really enjoyed her car, so getting a Honda was definitely in the forefront of my mind. I've had an SUV (see below) for the past 3 years and with the current gas prices, I was sure I wanted a car. I also knew that I wanted something with 4 doors because Ashley and I hope to have kids in the future. I also wanted something that was a little bit sporty though. I wanted to have fun while I drive. This led me to 3 cars: Lexus IS 350, Volkswagon GLI, and Honda Civic Si Sedan.

I've loved the Lexus IS for years but it was out of my price range. A lot out of my price range. So it was down to the GLI and the Civic Si. I test drove both. I read a ton of reviews and consumer reports. I decided to go with the Honda for several reasons. First, I heard a lot of people had problems with the GLI's engine, mainly that the fan makes too much noise and can cause problems. Second, I liked that the Civic was a manual transmission. My dad drives a Wrangler with a manual transmission and I always had fun driving his car. Finally, the Civic had a sportier look to it that I really fell in love with.

So I got the Civic Si. Here's a history of the car courtesy Wikipedia. I've really enjoyed it so far. It has racing style pedals and seats, 17" rims with low profile tires, navigation system (awesome!!!!), digital speedometer, "Si" detailing in the seats and on the grill, sunroof, and one of my favorite features: a digital input for my iPod. See below for the pics.

I would be remiss if I didn't pay tribute to my car for the past 3 years, the 2001 Jeep Cherokee, also known as "The Silver Bullet." What a great car! Although it guzzled gas similar to an elephant at a waterhole in the middle of Kenya, I had some really great times with that car. It was my mom's car when I was in high school. She took me to get my wisdom teeth out in that car. My parents used that car to help me move in and out of my dorm at UNC my freshman year. My parents picked me up from the airport when I came home from my mission in that car. I drove it to Greensboro countless times to hang out with my best friend, Greg and see him play basketball for UNCG. I took Ashley on our first date in that car. I also drove from Raleigh to Greenville and back to go see Ashley so many times it's unfathomable (half the time, I was probably half asleep and the Silver Bullet drove me itself). The best gift Ashley ever gave me was a sports rack for the top of the Cherokee. It brought home our first Christmas Tree. It's gotten me to and from the beach and the mountains. As a courier at my dad's law firm, it took me all over the Triangle for work. It never complained about the music I played, the jokes I made, or the prayers I've uttered while inside. For that, I'm forever in debt to you, Silver Bullet. I hope you find your new (well old actually, my dad took it back and plans to keep using it until it's last breath) home just as comforting, adventurous, and enjoyable as our past 3 years together have been.

Good NIght Sweet Prince!