Observations of a New E Owner

I’m a big fan of this message board. I read it before I bought my E, and I still read it. I’ve never posted, but I thought I’d put my 2 cents in, so here goes. I’ve had my 2WD EX since June, my car is at about 3000 miles now. We have a Subaru AWD, so didn’t think we needed another AWD car. I live in New Mexico. The dealers here weren’t dealin’ too much, but I managed to haggle a little bit. My accessories are mudflaps and seat covers. I plan on keeping the car a long time, and noticed on my last car that the driver seat showed wear from 12 years of going in and out of the car, so that’s why I wanted seat covers. We call our car The Elefent – the color is silver, close enough to gray for us, so it looks like an elephant. I love my car, it’s everything I hoped it would be – functional, good gas mileage, and built to last. I used to have a VW microbus (1957), and I think the E has a lot in common with that classic auto, including lots of people don’t care for the looks but I don’t give a hoot ‘cause I like it! It’s the only new car I’ve ever bought. I keep my mountain bike in it often, and go riding after work. It’s good to know my bike is secure inside the car all day long. I fold up the rear seats and bungee cord the bike to the side of the car, very easy way to go. I’ve taken it on two trips, very happy with the MPG of 29 on the hwy, with A/C on. I did notice the wind blowing me around a bit, and the car didn’t perform too well going up mountains, but that’s what I expected. Happy with city MPG also, 24, with A/C on also. I’ve taken the rear seats out and hauled a bunch of junk to the dump – I think of the car as a truck with a roof. I’ve folded the seats down and taken a snooze, I thought it was comfortable for a snooze. I’ve noticed that the car doesn’t heat up as much as other cars on hot days sitting in a parking lot, I think my silver color helps. Also, I think that because it is a boxy car, the windows are relatively straight up and down, so not as much sun light comes in to heat up the dash and other parts of the car. The sound system is great, I think the lack of carpeting really aids the sound system. My gripes are two. One, as mentioned on the board, I’m not keen on the lack of protection on the doors from other cars’ doors in parking lots. I can envision lots of dings. Two, I wish I parted my hair on the left, and not on the right, because when I roll the window down there is a great amount of wind that comes in and messes up my hair. That’s ok on weekends, but when I’m going to work I have to remember to keep that in mind. I think it’s because of the placement of the side windows, they’re relatively forward compared to most cars – that’s only a guess, I haven’t studied this phenomenon. I have not rattles, no chipped windshields, no scratches, or any of the other problems some E drivers have had, knock on wood. Anyhoo, that’s what I have to say. Oh, and one more thing, every single time I have seen another E on the road, without fail, the other driver and I have waved and smiled to each other. Cool. Out.