Just got it! I wasn't even considering a HCH let alone a hybrid one week ago but now i have one in my garage (sorry for thosee who have been waiting .. ). I went to a special event where they had the HCH and the Prius available for test drives this week and was hooked, i was convinced that my next car would be a hybrid. After a few days deliberating I settled on the HCH due to its superior driving dynamics and fresher styling. The prius would be nice and has a ton of features Honda in its wisdom chooses not to implement but the Civic just drove and handled better. I did some research on edmunds and sent out some inquires in the hot bay area market and got the usual responses - we don't have any and if we did we mark them up $XXXX so give us your money and get in line. I found a dealer who didnt do markup's but said it would be 2-4 months for delivery and put down a deposit. Luckily one dealer close to me had just recieved several and was busily affixing $3500 'Market Adjustment' stickers to them when i walked in. After a test drive of the only remaing one that wasn't sold i came back the next day and offered MSRP only and drove away with a brand new Alabaster Silver Metallic which was the color i wanted. So far i'm thrilled and am going thru all the manuals trying to figure out how this thing works - to some extend i feel like i'm learning how to drive all over again - i hope to contribute to this forum and i'll be posting my mileage after my first tank which hopefully will be some time from now !

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/p_oh/a...r=1815&.src=ph

 

Congradulations. I have the exact same model and color. Wait until you start using the voice activated command center.

 

Paul;

Congrats on your New HCH II. I have the exact same car on order.

Nice pics.

Terry

 

Excellent! Congrats on the HCH II...it is beautiful in silver and I love the blue interior.

 

Congrats! I have the same color. I didn't think I was going to like the color since white was my 1st choice. I am very happy the color and especially the blue interior.
Rick

 

Sweet Pictures. I just bought a Silver HCH with Navi too. 41 MPG so far with mixed City/Highway driving. I paid $1000 below MSRP. The demand in NJ is not as great as Ca. A friend of mine in Ca, paid 2K over MSRP for his HCH.


I think we should start an HCH Silver nation!

-CFB

 

Congratulations! Such a pretty, shiny new car. I like your pictures, too!

Mine is blue with a gray interior, so it's a bit like an inverted version of yours (although it's last year's model). The dealer I went to had silver ones on the lot and I could have driven home in it on the same day as you did, but I thought I'd wait the two weeks so I could have a blue one, and I'm happy that I did. Still, the demand/availability in IL is different than it is for you in the Bay Area, I'm sure. My college roommate is at Berkeley now (going back to grad school) where I see you bought your car, and she says she notices hybrids on the roads all the time, but here, it's still kind of a rarity so I get a kick out of pulling up next to one in traffic.

Enjoy your new car! You're going to love it!

 

CONGRATS!

Your car is a beauty... same as mine...

 

Thanks all for the comments. I drove locally for the last 2 days and was averaging anywhere from 37-42 mpg putting around my neighborhood. Today was the first real test as i did my 35 mile commute each way to work using the freeway and i did 55.7 in the morning with very light traffic and a light foot and 46.7 on the way back with moderate traffic and a heavier foot (more acceleration & less coasting, more uphills) to see if there was a big difference in mileage. If i can keep these numbers up i would be thrilled - I only have 100 miles on the car so i'm justing breaking it in. I did draft behind a semi over the Dumbarton bridge for a few miles which may have helped , we should create a term for a truck that we hybrid owners draft behind - maybe a helperfish?

 

Congrats!

I too test drove the HCH 06 model and decided that would be the next car i would get. I found the acceleration in the city and highway more than adequate for my needs. The car felt great, i can safely say it's definately on the sporty side in terms of drivability and looks compared to a toyota prius; although the prius clearly is the faster and more fuel efficient car according to various car review mags like edmunds. But i felt the performance (in terms of acceleration and Fuel efficiency) of the HCH for it's price is an excellent bargain especially here in canada where i live the prius costs $31,000 for the base model plus tax and pdi and freight; and the HCH costs $25800 + freight and PDI and taxes. I signed the papers for a sparkle grey pearl at $1000 off the mrsp price and will be expecting shipment on march 6.

BTW, i know the 06 HCH shuts off it's engine during stops at intersections, is it possible to let the car roll/creep forward smoothly after the engine shuts off at let's say when i'm at an intersection making a left turn?

best regards