Love, American Style

By James Pynn

Buying a new car is like managing to score a date with the woman of your dreams -- you never think past the first date. The short term is where we live in this great nation and don't you forget it. Or at least try not to. There are many reasons why we Americans can't see the forest for the trees and when it comes to cars we blind ourselves with egoistic bravado. Purchasing a reliable car that lasts decades isn't as popular of an idea as logic would dictate. From new cars to used cars, buying a vehicle is tantamount to marriage.

It's a series of shots from some cult classic car movie. The first glance from across the parking lot. The tenuous approach that demands the sunglasses get pulled off. Then, gloved hands on polished leather and that new-car smell. Freeze-frame and a crisis point: should you stay or should you go? Mick Jones, where are you now?

Few relationships have lasted as long as the one between my '95 champagne Accord and me. Anything that lasts that long is bound to have its ups and downs -- and we've had our fair share. It's a game: I neglect her and she sticks around. Oil changes? Oops. New spark plugs? Forget it. A tune up? Dream on. But when push comes to shove and she threatens to conk out on me -- I make it up to her. A radiator flush and wax buff and we're all sunshine and roses again.

Hey, I love this car, but I'm only human. Sure my head is on a swivel, especially when a newer, sleeker model zooms passed. But I love my car and I'm good. There will be no secret test-drives, no underhanded lease agreements. Consistency is completely underrated these days. Going A to B at forty to seventy miles an hour on a daily basis, to and back, seven days a week, for fifteen years is an incredible track record.

This car of mine is like a wife that does all the little things that makes life so wonderful. She's a durable investment, despite my short-sited infatuation all those years ago. Every time I roll her into the car wash I get propositioned with the tired old, "How much do you want for it?" Forget about it. We always remember where we first met the love of our lives and where I met my partner in crime was at a used Honda dealership. You never know how something great will happen in your life but you definitely know it when it happens. - 21393

About the Author:

Before you go falling head-over-heels for a new beauty, make sure you stop and take a moment to look into some used Honda deals. Think of the long-term and treat yourself to very best used Honda deals available anywhere.