I have put a deposit down for a HCH to be delivered after January 1, 2006. I emailed six dealers with three responding.

One wanted a $1,000 non-refundable deposit and would not guarantee they would sell at list. Little hard to commit to someone with no guarantee they won't gouge me in the end. So no go on them.

Another wanted me to take a 2005. After explaining the 2006 tax credit and not being able to take dellivery till 1/1/2006 - he still didn't understand said I would have to take delivery now on a 2005. So no go on them.

The one I'm buying from took a $200 refundable deposit and I'm allegedly on the top of the list. He hadn't heard of this tax credit for 2006 but had no problem waiting. My only requirement is dark interior with Navi. They will sell at MSRP with no bs fees.

I currently have an Acura MDX and get 20 - 21 mpg. I'm gonna keep it b/c a move to a small car is a bit scary and I do have small kids. So I figure if the Civic isn't for me, I can sell it near break even after consideration of the tax break.

 

Congrats on getting a good dealer to work with you.

I have to comment on your statement that "moving to a small car is scary and I have young kids" though.

You know, that "being safer" thing is more based on emotion than fact. Look at these stats:

Quote:
SUVs are more likely to rollover in an accident - 79 percent of fatalities in a single-SUV crash involve a rollover compared to only 45 percent for passenger vehicles.

The estimated risk of rollover in an SUV is 30 percent compared to only 16-percent risk of rollover in alight vehicle.

Rollover crashes kill more than 10,000 people each year in the United States

SUV rollover accidents accounted for just 3 percent of all U.S. auto accidents in 2001, but caused nearly a third of all vehicle-occupant fatalities.

It is more than three times likely an SUV occupant will die as a result of a rollover than an occupant of a passenger car.

Fatalities in single vehicle rollovers increased 22.3 percent from 2000 to 2001.

62 percent of all SUV deaths occur in rollovers - and only 22 percent of passenger-vehicle deaths occur in rollovers.

A Ford Explorer is 16 times as likely as the typical family car to kill occupants of another vehicle in a crash.
And from the Union of Concerned Scientists:
Quote:
"Families deserve to know that they can get a better SUV," said David Friedman, research director for the UCS Clean Vehicles Program. "The problem is not SUV owners. The problem is that people think SUVs are safer than cars. They're not. In fact SUVs don't even have to meet the same safety and fuel standards as cars, and automakers have fought to keep it that way."
A lot of that "up higher" stuff is just emotional too - I have never had a problem in a small car "seeing" anyting I need to see as a driver.

And from NHTSA:
Some alarming SUV FACTS from the NHTSA include:

• Ejections account for 63 percent of all fatalities in rollover crashes and often result in costly and debilitating head injuries. <<
• More than 90 percent of passenger vehicle rollover crashes are single-vehicle crashes, and more than 80 percent of occupant deaths in rollover crashes occurred in single-vehicle crashes. <<
• More than half of the single-vehicle crash deaths resulted from rollovers - compared with 11 percent in multiple-vehicle crashes. <<
• Almost 25% of all highway deaths were due to rollover accidents in 2001; <<
• More than 50 percent of all SUV-related deaths were attributed to SUV rollovers. <<

There is some relevance to the Physics of "a large car in a headon crash with a smaller car will fair better" but there are just NOT a lot of evidence that in REAL WORLD crashes, SUVs are "safer" than small cars, either in number of crashes or in survivability of those crashes.

There was a story a few weeks ago in the PHoenix paper about a young 10 year old boy who lost his lower arm and how he was recovering and trying to raise money for a prosthetic arm. You know how he lost his arm? His mom rolled her SUV and he was not belted in and his arm went out a window and got crushed in the rollover. That could easily have been his whole body.

The most important thing about kids' safety in cars is to have them PROPERLY restrained and in the back seat.

The 2006 Civic Hybrid will be one of the safest cars on the road at ANY weight. Here are the safety specs:

Advanced safety systems include Honda-exclusive Advanced Compatibility Engineering(TM) (ACE)(TM) Body Structure for vehicle-to-vehicle crash compatibility and collision energy management, and a long list of standard safety equipment including side curtain airbags, driver's and front passenger's side airbags, and anti-lock braking.

So I would not fret one second about the safety of a move to a smaller car. I put my 6 and 9 year olds in my Civic every day and feel 100% safe in it !!!

 

Now you just have me plain scared! JK, but my verbage of 'scared' wasn't meant on the fact that the car is smaller than the SUV - it was more about travelling with the kids, having space for the luggage, etc. I may have the best of both worlds if I keep both in the long run. Thanks Larss.

 

Hi Advance the Man:

___I think once you get into the new 06, your MDX will become but a weekend use only - go to the woods - toy given your current FE. Just be prepared to step down on the lux end of the equation a bit because the 06 HCH will not have nearly the amenities that your Touring w/ NAVI (and possibly RES?) has currently. I really enjoy driving the MDX because of its large size, very comfortable seating, and appointments even when compared to my Accord EX-L w/ NAVI although the Accord has some amenities the X doesn’t have either. Anyway, I just want you to be prepared for the drop in lux and feel. Once over that, your FE will have at least doubled if not tripled!

___Now let us talk about that FE … Since you are ~ 10% below EPA highway in the X, you shouldn’t expect but maybe 10% below EPA highway in the 06 HCH. In other words, after a few thousand miles, you should see ~ 45 mpg or so given your present driving habits … I say this knowing what your MDX is really worth when driven as a hypermiler would. If you can get that behemoths average up into the mid to high 20’s range, you have a real good shot at 60 + in the 06 HCH. Believe me, there are not that many tricks and the MDX is actually harder to hypermile then any of the hybrid’s. The X has the FCD in the LCD screen of the non-NAVI’s and the TC screen of your NAVI. Start using it so you are up to speed by the time your new 06 arrives and you will be good to go. You and the 06 HCH will make some beautiful music together right off the lot if you learn the techniques before the car arrives and then learn her own special secrets once you are behind the windscreen.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I have begun my training, I must unlearn what I have learned! On my latest MDX fill-up 60 or so miles ago I begun. So far, two days of home to work travel I am averaging 28.6 mpg! Yes I have RES and Navi with the MDX. I will have to retrofit the Civic with a RES. I haven't take a looksee/search here or other Civic forum sites, but I'm sure it has been done extensively. My first goal for FE with the MDX is to average 24 mpg overall for a full tank of gas. Thanks Wayne.

 

Hi Advance the Man:

___28.6 mpg in the behemoth, now you are talking!!!

___I left some pretty good “how to’s” over at AcuraMDX.org a year or two ago that may help? The latest in techniques can really put your MDX over the top. When you hit your first 30 mpg segment, post a pic over there and watch the sparks fly. I had some doozeys last year and the whole experience kind of turned me off … And it was a site I really enjoyed too!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

As a previously active acuramdx.org forum member, I remember the thread of yours - in fact I just reviewed it again. You sir are addicted to mpg's! You must be a stats teacher! I'll try for that 30 mpg, but honestly you are the king of mpg - I simply want a big improvement. I'm not willing to turn off the a/c all the time here in Florida!

btw, on another note - called my brother to tell him of the 2006 Civic Hybrid, we hung up and 10 minutes later he calls me back. He is now 2nd on the list for the same vehicle!

 

Hey Advance-
Just to let you know- I moved to the HCH when my old explorer died. I had that truck for 13 years and I did everything with it- but I don't miss it at all. (well- maybe when I'm getting junk at home cheapo) I've got 2 middleschool age kids and they like the HCH better than dad's jeep for trips- more comfortable. we've done several weekend trips to grandma's (5 hrs+) and the trunk holds our stuff just fine.
wait till you start getting 45-50mpg, you won't want to drive anything else. dad wants an HCH now!
Kate

 

Will there be XM or Sirius option?

 

Hi Advance The Man:

___XM is in the NAVI and I am sure you pre-ordered the HCH-II with that option, right?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net