OT: got my new car last night!
They had to get one from out of state (Indiana), but they got it faster than expected, so I already have my new car! I just love it! I love the color (I'm so glad I held out for a red one), and the sound system, acceleration, and handling are all awesome. The backup and blind spot cameras are kind of fun, as is the proximity entry (no searching my purse for my keys) and push button starter. I didn't notice it on the black one I test drove, but the tires on this baby are REALLY wide, even compared to the ones that were on my Prelude!
I sold the Prelude to one of men at work that I am very close to (who has always wanted one), so he is happy to get it, and I am happy that the new owner will care for it like I did and that I got a fair price for it instead of getting only a pittance for it by trading it in. I got "hit" hard enough on the trade-in on my Civic 
I knew the trade in would be lower because the leather on the front passenger seat had a 3-inch "almost-tear" in the leather from Khan's toenails when he was a puppy and there was some mystery white stuff on one of the wheels so it was going to have to be polished or replaced, but it only had 26K miles on it (but was 4 years old), and I only got half the purchase price out of it. (Apparently Civics do not hold their value the way Accords and Preludes do (I checked the KBB info on it to be sure I wasn't getting REALLY screwed on it).
Anyway, here are some pics of my belated 50th birthday present to myself. I think I am going to love this car as much as I loved the Prelude (and may keep it just as long... unless I win the lottery). Everything about this car is "me". The only thing missing is a convertible top, LOL, but PhDs are quite expensive so I cannot afford $40K+ for a BMW or Infiniti hard top convertible!
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
I bought it from the original dealer. Once I insisted that I wanted a red one (and reminded him that the "evil" dealer had one on the lot), the salesman got off his butt and did a 4-state search for a red one with manual transmission. He found one Monday morning in northern Indiana, they got it here early yesterday afternoon, and I was able to pick it up last night.
Even the salesman admitted that it was a sharp looking car in red yesterday. Apparently NONE of the V6 coupes they have had were red ones because he had not seen one!
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Thanks! I have only seen two of them on the road here, one in black and one in a metallic gray, but none in red (and this dealer apparently has not had any in red all year because the salesman commented on how nice it looked in red). You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting an Accord or Camry sedan, or a Civic of some kind, so this one will definitely stand out.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
