I bought a new car last weekend. I’m very exciting. I went from a Honda Accord to a … that’s right, you guessed it, Honda Accord. I got one of the new ‘08 models that look really nice. Much better styling over the previous 03-07 models (Honda does 4 year cycles for their designs). IMO, the styling is heavily influenced by European (BMW, Mercedes, etc.) design.

It’s “Polished Metal” (dark grey) with tinted windows and all the goodies they throw into the EX-L package (moonroof, heated leather seats, dual climate control). It has a V-6 so I finally have some oomph when I get on the highway in my daily commute. I’m very eco-friendly so I debated long and hard about staying with a 4 cylinder or going with a hybrid. If I’d gone Toyota, I would have had a tough choice. Honda for some reason has put their electric engine on their V-6 rather than their inline 4, giving it too much power. The Camry smartly has it on the i4 to make a nice balance between power and fuel economy.

I’d pretty much narrowed it down to the Camry and the Accord. I’m glad to buy American and all, but the Big Three just do not put out quality like Japan does. As long as you follow the maintenance schedule for a Honda, you can drive that thing for years!

The handling and performance of the vehicle were incredibly smooth and comfortable. While Honda tends to lean towards performance (which the Accord’s not lacking in), they definitely factored a comfortable ride into the equation. With the new model moving a size up in class (into “Large Sedan” or something I think?), you really feel like you’re driving a luxury sedan without the price tag.

I was happy with the deal I got. It’s important these days to know the dealer invoice and the holdback amount (how much the manufacturer pays the dealer back at the year end if they sell the car) to know how much profit they’re really making. With the internet at your disposal it’s hard not to be prepared going in. Edmunds.com is a great place to read up on these numbers for any make and model.

Unfortunately it didn’t come in until today and won’t be ready til tomorrow afternoon. I’ve been driving a loaner from the dealership this week. The funny thing is the loaner is almost my car: same engine, color, etc. but not quite the feature package I wanted.