On Sunday I sold the Dirty Little Box, my vehicular conveyance for the past almost six years. It was a sad day indeed. I've had so many adventures in that car, and it will be sorely missed. Trips all over the right coast, from Michigan to Florida and all spaces in between. Trips shared with so many different people going so many different places.I didn't have to sell it, but it has been the plan for a couple years. If the right person came along with the right amount of money I wanted to replace it with a Honda Fit. Back when I got the Element it was easy schmeasy to get four guys together for a mountain trip almost once a month. Now with commitments, family, jobs, old age, and whatnot, it is much harder to fill the car with human cargo, and its spacious interior is often left vacuous as I blow through a tank of gas to get my mountain experience.
I am now carless for the moment, something I haven't experienced since 1998. I guess I'm not totally carless as The Pie still has the 2002 Corolla that she plans on driving into the ground, but I have no personal wheels with which to shuttle myself and my bike hilly nilly over the land.
I'm also going to be losing the ability to run a four bike mount Raxter since I will no longer have a 2" receiver. I will be able to run a three bike Thorax, and I think I'm gonna pick up a one bike Stinger that I'll leave on most of the time for my weekly'esque solo rides. As long as I can carry my bike around without shoving it in the back and screwing up the pink shag carpeting I plan on installing once I get my new Fit.
This is not as painful as when I sold my Suzuki Samurai, although it had just been more of a toy than actual transportation.
Yes, lame post.I know.
I figured I made some people's heads hurt over the last two days, and it was time for a palate cleanser. Too many people hung up trying to figure out the whole Sander VS Headset post from yesterday.
It is the rabbit.
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16 comments:
Now i'm no PI but the coincidence seems to great so i'll assume based on Namrita's post that the O'Dea's are the proud new owners of the dirty little box. At least you can sleep easy knowing it will continue to aid others in making great bike race
Yeah, they were looking for something new to replace a dead vehicle while I happened to be looking to sell. Serendipity intervened and two dogs are playing in the mountains today while I find out how difficult it can be to find a particular car in Charlotte.
They will put it to good use.
it is funny how we get attached to material things... I miss my toyota land cruiser... well... only sometimes
Good call on the Fit. The cool thing is, you can fit a bike inside if you need to... Hope the stock is better now. When I bought mine in '07, had to wait for a two months because they were only built in Japan.
Did you keep all of the stickers you had on The Dirty Little Box? I want to see video of you peeling them off.
BTW, my uncle has a Honda FIT. He loves it, but he doesn't haul mountain bikes around in it.
Thorax is pretty sweet. I've got a post to do on it this week. It'll get a seal of semi-approval from you.
Be sure to video the build. It could be amusing. Sad my camera had to die during mine.
With two mtb'ers bikes and gear I was lucky to get 20mpg with a Fit! Thought if I was going to get that bad a gas mileage I might as well entertain myself, so I got a speed 3 from Mazda. Never got less than 25mpg and always over 30 on trips to the mountains.
For what it's worth, I have an 09' Outback wagon that gets 27 mpg on the highway with my bike on a Thule T2. I put a 2" receiver hitch on it as well. Bike can also go in the back with the front wheel off and the seats folded down.
I am not a car guy.
They have always been a way to get from one place to another.
That being said, I love my element.
I Love my blue honda toaster.
It has been from new england to florida, and all over in between.
I got it right when they came out in 2004 and while I'm close to 170,000 miles, I believe I'll be moving on to a fit this fall myself.
great cars the elements are, I gotta be honest, if honda was continuing to make them, I would be hard pressed to not just re-up.
best to you.
not a bad post at all buddy. Give yourself some credit.
respect
fm
I'm getting 36mph with 3 bikes, people, 84lbs dog and gear on the highway in my Toyota Matrix. Lots of room.
My Mazda 3 got 32mph and was fun to drive, but the Matrix beats it in interior space and cargo. Plus it comes ready for a hitch, something the Mazda didn't.
But the Mazda had much more zoom.
WV: slusse
Can I get dibs on the 4 bike Raxter?
Advocat
Does the Matrix convert in to a boat? Seems it might be useful.
my 'station wagon' gets 25-27mpg with a bike and cargo box on the roof cruising down the highway at 75mph.
Strip the roof of all gear and put a bike on the trunk mount carrier and that goes up to 30+mpg.
you want a wagon
wv: ockpewhore
@bentcrank: no but the seller threw in a set of water wings.
VW Golf TDI wagon, 42 hwy...
No over loosing the Granny Wagon. At least you had options. Hope the Fit fits your fits. 8^)
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