Although I have a reasonable car right now. I miss the old Honda prelude I bought when I moved out here almost eight years ago. Even then the car was eight years old.

My first car actually was kind of neat. It was small, and lighter than my current ride. And although it didn't have as much power, there was a bit more urgency to the way it drove. The gears seemed to slide into each other, now my current ride has a somewhat positive 'click' which isn't bad, just different.

Yet that car was the source of many stories, and a bit of heartache, and I could never tell if it was going to completely die on me.
It's amazing how many things can be wrong with a car and it still run.

If the engine starts
- and there could be a host of things that are wrong with the engine and it still starts
- and the brakes are mostly functional,
- and the tires have air in them
The car will go.

For a while that car had a bad battery, a finicky starter, plenty of rust, primer spots and unmatched body panels. It had dings in the paint and needed new shocks/struts.

Thus I'm now in possession of one rather beat up 15 year old Honda Accord.

Summary of the cars I've owned.

Maxima
187.7" long 69.7" wide 106.3" wheelbase
3010 lbs 190 hp 205 lb-ft torque

Translation - It's big, it's got plenty of power, it's smooth on the road, it's got plenty of space. However with the way I drive it gets 21 miles a gallon if I'm lucky, and 19 if I'm really lead footed.

Accord (The beater)
184.8" long 67.9" wide 107.1" wheelbase
2923 lbs, 130 hp, 142 lb-ft torque

According to the stats, Inside the Honda accord should be almost as big as the maxima, even though it's five inches shorter. I'm not too sure what's going on with that. However since it's a four cylinder engine, and geared pretty tall, with a good tune up it'll probably do about 26 miles a gallon, if not better. Hmm... Okay so I still don't know what the "Sport" mode on the transmission is for, it's an automatic.

Prelude
177" long 67.3" wide 101.0" wheelbase
2566 lbs, 130 hp, 127 lb-ft torque

I hadn't realized just how light the car really was. It was quick, had a good turning circle, and was easy to get in and out of my parking space. Plus being a good foot shorter than my current ride. Man with a stiff suspension and a good set of anti-sway bars to stiffen the chassis. Oh well I guess I could reminisce, or... buy a Celica GTS, or a Civic SI. Anyhow the current accord is a lot closer in feel to the old prelude than the current maxima is and ever will be. Could be that the steering feels about the same on both cars.