Hi John, well I forgot it AGAIN this evening even though I had it in my hands this afternoon to bring it home.
As for the parking brake, you can still lift it but it will lift the cooler/armrest in the process. If you are like me you "might not" use the parking brake while going down the road (I save that for tailgaters
) I have a manual (all Citrus Insights are manual - gee whiz info) In all honesty, I haven't used the cooler in the Insight because I bought one of the very last Husco armrests. I called them after they closed and they answered the phone and I talked them into getting me one.
As far as keeping the Insight and getting rid of the Civic, it was because of $$$$. The Civic was a little too much money since I am going to be debt free in four years according to my master plan. The Insight I spent a very long time looking for. Citrus Insights are as rare as hen's teeth and I stumbled on mine one day so I got it. Also I needed a roomier car and the Matrix fit the bill, not quite a SUV, not quite a minivan but still very roomy AND is able to achieve 35MPG - maybe more if I take my time and lay off the A/C.