It was surprisingly not too hard to say goodbye. I was about to turn and just walk away, but something compelled me to stop, pause and at least give her a reassuring tap and some soft-spoken words: “Thanks, old girl.”
The gal I’m referring to is, of course, my 2009 Honda Civic with 213,000 miles that I recently parted ways with. In her place now is a 2023 Honda Civic Sport in Rallye Red, a feast for the eyes on the outside and a sensory overload inside.
I put over $2,000 of repairs into the old Civic last year. Then, during a recent visit to Take 5 Oil Change, I was told it was leaking oil but the problem was so minor, they didn’t advise me to do anything just yet. Still, it seemed a sign that perhaps our romance was fading and I needed a new partner.
Whereas my old Civic had no advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to speak of, I am now firmly in the ADAS world. After getting about three-quarters of the way into the new Civic’s owner’s manual, I felt like I should get some sort of computer engineering certificate of achievement. Bill Gates has nothing on me now. I looked in the mirror, half expecting to see a pasty white, pencil-necked geek looking back at me with taped up glasses and a tight-fitting white button down with a pocket full of pens.
One of the first things I did was disable the idle-stop system. According to Honda, the system is designed to maximize fuel economy and will automatically stop the vehicle’s engine in certain circumstances when the vehicle comes to a stop. When it first happened and the car trembled, I thought, “Good Lord, my car is brand-new and someone just tapped me in the rear!” The second day, it was driving me nuts, so I found the switch to disable it. Note to self: Press the switch every time you start the car since you cannot permanently disable the system.
The Honda Sensing suite of ADAS systems includes Collision Mitigation Braking System, Road Departure Mitigation System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assist System, Traffic Sign Recognition and more. I’ve written, read and edited a lot of articles on ADAS but never had it in my car. Now, I’ll be getting first-hand experience with it. I hope my old gal don’t get offended that I dumped her for a computer, but c’est la vie!
