[Hambone]

Well, the time has unfortunately come for me to have to say goodbye to my beloved little Silver Racepod, 2000my #1203. Its finally gotten to the point that with a young child and the inability for the whole family to pile in my car, that I have to look to part ways with my little gas miser and get something a bit more practical in terms of space, seats, cargo room, etc. I think in the course of the next couple of weeks I'll be trading or selling, with hopes that the Racepod's new home will be a good one. I've never felt about a car like I do this one, I almost want to interview potential owners to make sure they'll take good care of her after she's gone from me!

I surely can't complain, and its only because I can't afford to keep the Insight AND get something else that I have to make this tough decision. I honestly thought this day would never come, at least not when I bought her back in June of 2000. 79,000 fun miles, 53.5 mpg lifetime, 4 days of dazzling skeptics at the autocross track, no end to the shear joy of having one of the few cars in the affordable price range that even almost 5 years after buying people still stop to ask about.

People would probably laugh and think me a kook for droning on about a car, but I think about my little Racepod almost as an animate being. Kinda like Herbie the Love Bug. Whatever I get (probably a Mazda 3s 5-door, that's what I'm going to look at this weekend), I hope I enjoy. But I know I wont love it like I loved my Insight. Maybe I'll hit the lottery this weekend and be able to hold on to the Pod and get four of five more cars just because!

So, this will probably be one of my toughest automotive decisions, but all good things do come to an end, eh?

For the rest of you Insighters, I'll tip my hat and give you a wave whence I pass your way, remembering too the days when I was a Hybrid Pioneer with my little Silver Racepod!

 

[JeffKinTN]

We, alas, are facing that same situation come August.....

 

[stevenvillatoro]

I like my Insight for its good gas mileage... but I LOVED every Mazda I owned for many other reasons. The 3 is a great car, and my prediction is that you'll find plenty of good qualities ito help you make your transition joyous. The Mazda is a driver's car, and will definitely put a grin on your face. Congrats, and happy motoring!

 

[No. 166]

Hey, hambone !
I understand your "feelings" for the car very well. Maybe, to make things easier for you once she's gone, you should keep a piece of/off her.

-the owners manual ?
-the gear-knob (have it fit in the new car maybe) ?
....
:wink:

 

[stevenvillatoro]

Funny you should mention that... I always used to keep a key to every car I owned, and would have an extra made to complete the set for the new owners. It always gave me the psychological security that I could take back the car any time I wanted to! (Don't turn me in, I never did it.)

 

[Hambone]

That's a great idea No.166! Not sure what it will be, as I probably don't want to scavenge anything too obvious, yet I'll want to easily identify what it is and probably hang it somewhere at home. I've actually done that before now that I think about it. My first car was an '85 Subaru GL, and when I traded it in, I peeled off the Subaru logo bar that was in the middle of the steering wheel and kept that. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[figgy]

Take the battery and use it as the kitchen table?

Seriously, don't take anything that makes the car less special to the new owner. You yourself want to remember, but not to give the other person any less reason to love than you had yourself!

 

[Madeline]

When I finally moved on from the Volvo station wagon that practically raised me, I was lucky enough that it had a sort of totemic thing already... Ever since I'd been the driver, I'd had a feather hanging from the rearview mirror. So I kept that. And the gas log book. Should've kept the jack, too... I suppose I still have the keys... And the parking tickets from the guy I sold it to, who never registered it under his own name...

Anyway, moral of the story is to put a little doodad in your car that will pick up a bit of its soul, that you can move out if ever the time comes you have to leave the car.

Sorry that you have to part with the Silver Racepod, Hambone.

 

[johnc]

When I got my Insight I swapped out the gear-shift knob with the one from my trusty old friend who never let me down (except when it was me who left the lights on). So if I ever need to keep a souvenir from my Insight I'll have to take that, and something else... Don't want to think about that day yet.

 

[No. 166]

Thanks for the suggestion!

Absolutely no problem.
To be honest I have been thinking for myself, what to keep from the car when the day arrives.......
But still, somehow, I really don't want to hope that this day will come. I mean, I've NEVER had such a "bond" with a car......how the door squeaks, the car behaves during a recal. How I saw for the first time the 3,.. litre figure on the fcd-display......

What a car !

 

[Yves M.]

Sad for you and the Racepod. But life does go on.

I feel I am luckier than most. My car being 5 years old (read here almost payed for) and the resale value being low, I do not intend to sell it at any point.
I'll keep it for future "electric" conversion and will simply buy a second car. Read here that any other car will be the second car in my mind. The Insight is just too much to be called the second car. It will always be the first.

 

[Hambone]

Yes, life does indeed go on, with Zoom-Zoom for me. I bought the Mazda 3s 5-door on Saturday, and the car is an absolute joy to drive.

And I did keep a couple of things from my Insight, but nothing anyone else would probably notice. I kept the valet key (I mean, who really needs a valet key in a hatchback, right?), and the original stereo/tape deck from the car, as I traded it in with the aftermarket cd player still in it.

I already miss my Racepod tons, but the 3s makes it easier to get over it!

 

[ElectricTroy]

Its finally gotten to the point that with a young child and the inability for the whole family to pile in my car, that I have to look to part ways with my little gas miser and get something a bit more practical in terms of space, seats, cargo room, etc.

I hear this story a lot, and I don't understand it. Why not use your wife's care for family trips? Keep the insight.

troy

 

[Hambone]

We had been using my wife's car for "family" travel, but even just around town it became a real pain to have to go all the way home to get her car before going to pick up our son, etc. Also, if her car is in the shop or something like, we'd have been screwed or would have had to pay to rent a car. I would have kept the Insight and bought a third car if I could have afforded it, but right now I can only afford one car for me, one car for her so the Insight had to go.

The practicality issues plus the uncertainty about the longterm reliability/cost for keeping the Insight on the road became too much of a risk for me to continue to take (the car was approaching 80K miles, and recalibrated often leading me to believe that within the near future an IMA battery change would be required, and not covered by warranty).

Plus, my wife never really felt safe with me taking my son anywhere in the car, given its diminutive size, even with the airbag deactivation switch I had installed to allow me to put his car seat in the passenger seat of the Insight. Add all these unrelated factors together and at least to my mind, I had to make the decision I made.

All that said, I've only been without my Racepod less than a week, and I do miss it. The new car helps out with that though, its a blast to drive.

 

[stevenvillatoro]

Regarding your new Mazda 3... I TOLD YA' SO! They are awesome cars, and you will grow to love it more and more. Once again, congrats. I miss my Mazda more than any car I ever made the mistake of selling!

 

[Hambone]

The 3s is a sweet car, from the comfort level to the performance, even to the way the engine note has that raspy sound when I step off the throttle!

You were definitely right SteveO! Like I said, I miss my Insight, I wish I could afford to have kept it AND gotten the 3s. But, I'm not at that point in my financial life where I can essentially afford an "extra" car, so we make the choices we make.