Hello and Welcome

Hello and welcome to our car blog. Being the automotive enthusiast I am, I have decided to start this endeavor with a few friends for fun, giggles, and maybe even some education. And if you enjoy our musings, awesome.

My name is Gregson and to give you a brief overview of what you will see while you are here, you can expect articles talking about cars; the cars we drive, the cars we’ve driven, cars we love, cars we hate, cars that should be built, cars we wish we could own, and any other car topic we can possibly imagine. If you’re looking for a new arugula and goat cheese salad recipe or how to knit an adorable kitty sweater, please leave this site immediately. You will find none of that nonsense here. Now let’s get down to business. When I graduated college in 2006, I was driving a 1999 green Ford Taurus that I can only describe to you as a legitimate contender to win the “Most Effective Chick Repellant” category at any car award show ever held.

Just look at it. Have you ever seen anything so magnificently ugly? From the “I want to be a 2000s Mercedes” headlights to the plastic hubcaps, this car says, “I’m a man and I don’t care how I look in public.” Thankfully, I was 10 years younger when I started to drive it and I didn’t much care what I looked like. Also, it was free. I had a car and a car meant freedom. Looking at this car now, I’m sincerely perplexed as to why it does not make the annual “ugliest cars ever made” lists. The round rear window is especially hideous. It looks as if the car has a constant thought bubble. It’s reminiscent of a 1970s design, in my opinion. The interior is more of the same high-quality design. Low-grade plastics littered the entire cabin along with matching putrid-green upholstery. Truly, this car was made for people who know nothing about cars and simply want to get from point-A to point-B.

With all of its obviously visual shortcomings, to be quite honest, this car was great to me. It is actually still running and in my family; my uncle is driving it around. It is on its last legs and my uncle rarely drives, but for a 14-year-old car that was once owned by a sales rep and a teenager, it’s in incredible condition. The air conditioning doesn’t work and that’s only broken this once and the front suspension joints cracked when I first got it, I’m imagining due to my spirited teenage driving, and that’s it. Those are the only major problems the car has ever had other than routine maintenance. Would I recommend buying a ’99 Taurus right now? Absolutely not. However, I can say that if you do have one and are planning on running it into the ground, be prepared for a lengthy stay in hotel Ford.

Thankfully, when I graduated I was given the generous gift of half a car paid for by my parents. I would be entering the world of business and I would be entering into the “daily-commuter” category we all know and love. My father and I started shopping and came to the conclusion we’d like something reliable, relatively sporty (since I wasn’t about to drive another family sedan), and good on gas. Our choices narrowed down to a Mazda 6, Ford Fusion (since we had brand loyalty), Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry. This was back in 2006, as I said, and the front-runners were the 6 and the Accord. The Accord (grey pictured below) ended up winning out since it was a 2-door and handled better than any of the other options. The gas consumption was pretty equal across the board.

Ahhhhhhh. That’s much better. This is what I still drive today. I am currently looking to replace this car, but this car has been outstanding. It handles like a top, has decent power for its size (4-cyl, 166hp), and the gas consumption is the little cherry on top. On the highway, during a long trip, I can EASILY average 33 MPG doing 75 mph. If I drop it to 70, I can get 35mpg. It’s magnificent on long trips and with a 17.1 gallon tank, I can range over 500 miles before filling up. That’s the same range as a Toyota Prius. The Prius only has a 10.9 gallon tank, but that’s not important.

Apart from it being a quality car, as Honda’s almost always are, it’s quite good looking as well. Using a nice blend of function and sportiness, I don’t think the looks have faded much in the 7 years of ownership. In fact, I even like the Accord 2-door that is a generation older than this one. The car is not going to win any beauty pageants when you compare it to most sports- or super-cars, but in it’s class, one can even argue that it’s one of the best looking mid-size coupes of the 2000s. The interior is plain, but again, functional and not ugly. If I were to change one thing about it though, it would have to be the back quarter-panels on which the navy could easily land small aircraft.

Both cars I’ve owned have had automatic gearboxes and comparing the two would be like comparing a switchboard operator from the 1950s to a computer. The Honda is just so much smoother and much more efficient. Having the Ford shift was like getting kicked in the back and then the stomach every time you put your foot down.

So you may be saying in your mind, “What qualifies you to write your own car blog when you have never owned a manual car?” Well I’ve been watching racing since before I could speak, my family has racing bloodlines (my grandfather raced minis in the UK), I love cars more than most people I know, and most of my independent reading is devoted to cars; although, I’m not really here to impress you about car knowledge. I’m here to enjoy writing about cars. In the coming months I will be purchasing a new car and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all. Until then, drive safe.