A Good "FIT"

I met up with an old friend for dinner the other night.  I'd heard she'd gotten a new car, and I was eager to see what she'd chosen.  When she pulled up in a sporty little Honda Fit with vanity plates, though, I was a bit surprised.  Of course, being a Honda-lover myself, I was pleased.

She gave me the grand tour, and I was impressed.  From the outside, the Fit looks quite compact, so I was expecting to see rather of a cramped interior.  I couldn't have been more wrong! There were miles and miles of space, and with the added luxury being able to fold down the backseat, I was having visions of all the cargo I could fit in.  I've been doing some home improvement projects lately, and a little mental math told me I could fit a LOT of boxes of drywall mud back there.  I was slightly green with envy.  

Naturally, I wanted to get behind the wheel.  Anything that calls itself a "sport"  makes my heart race a little.  It handled exactly the way I hoped: clean and tight.  I confess, I was expecting a little more responsive acceleration. I felt a little under-powered, but I don't actually see that as a drawback.  I expect it would be an excellent snow car because it doesn't go jack-rabbiting off as soon as you hit the gas.  I think that also makes it an excellent teenager car.  It feels cool and sporty, but it would hard to abuse the speed limit.

My friend uses her Fit as a commuter car and again, I was green with envy.  At a cool 33 city/41 highway miles per gallon, she's saving loads on gas every month. The interior is extremely comfortable (as someone with back pain, this is moving WAY up my list of must haves) and had all the blue-tooth bangs and whistles I expected in a new Honda.   I had been considering a CRV or another Accord when I finally trade Sugar in (shhhh... don't tell Sugar, but it's about time to send her off to be some 16-year old's first car!), but I'm really thinking that the Honda Fit might be the way to go.

To see more of the Fit's features for yourself, take a little tour of your own starting here! (Try not to drool on your keyboard.)

New (Cheaper) Odyssey Trim with Vacuum and Entertainment

As you know, the Honda Odyssey is getting a completely new look in 2017, but that doesn't mean you should over look getting a 2016 model.  To sweeten up the final year of the current Odyssey design, Honda is adding a new trim level, SE.

Current Honda trims are the LX (base model), EX, EX-L (with leather), EX-L RES (rear entertainment system), EX-L Navi, the Touring and Touring Elite. Want rear entertainment? You have to get a EX-L RES or higher. You love the vacuum?  That's in the Touring Elite.

But in the 2016 models, you can now get the vacuum (GUYS!  THE VACUUM!) and the rear entertainment system in the new SE, which falls in the Odyssey lineup between the EX and the EX-L.    Not only will the SE be a good bargain now, but it hold it's value because of these special additions.

Check out what Car and Driver had to say about the new trim and see the Car and Driver vacuum test.

Tips for taking a Road Trip with Kids

In April, during Spring Break, we loaded our 5 kids and headed first to the Grand Canyon and then to Zion's National Park.  It was an incredible amount of fun and over the years we've learned some fun things to do on road trips.

1. Preparation

Part of the fun of any trip is anticipation.  We put our trips on the calendar and tell them months in advance what we'll we doing.  As we have more info, we'll share it.  By the time we load our Honda Odyssey and back out of the driveway, our kids will have memorized what we're doing every single day of the trip.  This helps make the driving worthwhile AND helps us manage expectations. As our kids have gotten older, we listen for input on where they'd like to go and what they'd like to do.  On this trip, my kids were DYING to go to 4 Four Corners.  Even though it was waaaaay out of our way, we headed to 4 Corners first, then to a little city an hour drive from the Grand Canyon.

2. Something fun to do

Because we have several kids who are prone to carsickness, we discourage things like books and games which require a lot of looking down in the car while it's driving.  Instead we opt for fun music, audio presentations, and audio books. Having fallen in love with Barenaked Ladies Snack Time album on a road trip, we listen to it almost every vacation.

If your kids don't get carsick, Lindsey Redfern has great advice on carseat kits that are amazing. 

3. Snacks

If your road trip is like ours, you may go significant distances between towns and services.  It's important to have great age appropriate snacks. In a Baby Center road trip article, they pointed out food the traveled well and food that didn't. "Favorite treats that travel well: string cheese, rice cakes, pretzels, bagels, sandwiches, apple slices, bananas, granola bars, cookies, raisins, cereal-Os, and puffed corn snacks. What doesn't work: most fruit (too messy for younger kids), yogurt (ditto), and juice boxes (one squeeze and they spill all over the car seat."

4. Be relaxed about the schedule

On our trip we started almost 2 hours later than we meant to because of minor medical emergency.  Everything was running behind.  But a slow start isn't the only problem you'll face on a road trip.  Traffic or road construction and can mean you're running behind, too.  (Or taking the wrong turn.  In days before GPS my family was traveling to see Mt Rushmore.  Thinking we were almost there we suddenly saw a Welcome to Wyoming sign.  It's life.  Stuff happens.) 

Your schedule should be flexible enough that you can stop for lunch for cities sooner than planned. 


And maybe even take a fun detour that is story worthy for years. 

Beat the Heat

With summer in full swing and temperatures rising (and rising!), we here at Ken Garff Honda want to take a moment to remind you about summer car safety.  It can very tempting to leave road-weary children or energetic pets in the car for "just a minute" while you run into that one last store.  However, as a local police department recently proved, it doesn't take long for your car and its passengers to overheat.   

In a recent safety demonstration carried out by the West Valley, UT police department, officers tested just how long it takes for car interiors to heat up.  

"We'll see how long it takes to get hot," said Officer Dana Pugmire as he got into an SUV parked in the blazing sun.

Pugmire has responded to calls with children locked in hot cars, but Thursday, he was the one feeling the heat. Outside it was 100 degrees.

"It builds quick, quicker than I thought it would," he said. "It's been about three minutes. The dash has gone from 105 (degrees) to 113."

After a few minutes, Officer Pugmire started to feel dramatic physical changes. 

"It's been about five minutes," he said from inside the SUV. "I'm starting to sweat all over the place."

After 10 minutes, beads of sweat were visible on his face. The paramedics called that a good sign he wasn't experiencing heat stroke — yet.  Remember, children don't show signs of heat distress as quickly as adults because their bodies don't regulate the way they react to heat the same way adults do.  That doesn't mean, however, that they aren't rapidly overheating.  

After 13 minutes, the temperature inside exceeded 130 degrees.   And everyone knows you can't get in and out of your favorite big box store in any less than 20-25 minutes.  And that's on a good day! 

According to research by KidsandCars.org, a national safety organization, an average of thirty seven children die each year in heat-related deaths in cars. Eight have died so far this year. Twenty years ago, when people had fewer distractions like cellphones, the problem was far less severe, with an average of a half-dozen fatalities each year. Ten children died in hot cars in Utah between 1990 and 2010, according to KidsandCars.

Remember:

• If you see a child or a pet locked in a hot car, call 911.
• The 911 dispatcher can help you decide whether you need to break the window before help arrives.
• Once the child is out, get them in the shade, loosen their clothes and cool them down with a cold towel on the neck and hands. 
• Give the child a cold drink. But, make sure they drink slowly, so their body can handle it.

For Honda Civic Lovers

My 9-year-old broke her leg.  After more than 6 weeks immobilized in a long-leg cast, she was given a prescription to physical therapy to increase her range of motion in her knee and ankle.  As we stopped by the physical therapists office earlier this month, I tossed my car keys onto my daughters assigned bench and headed with her to the stationary bike to warm up.

After her warm-up, one of the physical therapist's assistants said, "It looks like you drive a Honda."

"All Honda's all the time," I asserted.  The assistant pulled out his keys to show me that he drives a Honda too.  And then the gushing began.

"I drive a Civic," he began and then launched into his favorite features on his not-particularly-new vehicle.  It made me smile. There are few people who are as dedicated to their cars as Civic lovers. Car and Driver must know this two because they put together a 37 picture montage honoring the Honda Civic.

It's a pretty incredible visual history featuring some amazing and beautiful old photographs.

And some interesting history including the CVCC, Natural Gas Vehicles and more.

It's first Car and Drive 10Best list in 1988.

Right up to today.

Whether you love the Honda Civic coupe, the Civic sedan or the Civic hybrid, you'll find something in the history that you'll love.

Thanks to the Dads

If you'll permit me, I'm going to wax a little personal and perhaps even sentimental.  Over Father's Day weekend, my family swapped a lot of "Dad" stories.  I had to laugh at the number that involved the misadventures of teaching three teenage daughters to drive. 

My dad took each of my older siblings to a local church parking lot with for driving lessons and brought me along a little moral support.  (I'm the youngest, and apparently the most reckless.) I generously tasked myself with inventing with the best "real world" driving scenarios!  Hey! Let's pretend there's a cow in the road... What should you do?  Whiplash and hollering ensued, but my dad stayed as calm as any father of a 16-year old standing on the breaks of a 1984 Buick Century could. Apparently, lesson unlearned, I accompanied sister number two on her parking lot lessons.  There, I kindly invented a scenario in which backing up alllll the way around the building was necessary.  As we sped toward the building... up over the curb and on to the grass.... and narrowly missed an oncoming tree, my dad very calmly said, "Brake.... brake... brake....BRAKE!"  It's a wonder he didn't have a heart attack on the spot.  (I was later banned from further ride-alongs.)   And I well remember flying off the road and sliding past a chain link fence before coming to a stop as my dad calmly said, "Turn here... Yes, here... You have to TURN!!!"  My dad never really got mad at our youthful incompetence, but he sure took the wheel in a hurry when danger was immanent.   

I can't imagine the dread he must have felt turning each of his daughters loose behind the wheel of a car.  But, to his credit, we were always well prepared with the necessary road skills.  He's a Wyoming-bred boy, so we learned the ins and outs of proper snow driving (some of us more successfully than others...), we were taught to be handy with a jack, but we were also armed with phone numbers for towing services, and we learned to check our own oil and how to identify leaked car fluids.  My dad was determined to raise car-capable daughters and he succeeded.  (I've even had to teach a boyfriend or two some basic car maintenance.) But maybe the best thing my dad ever taught us was that no matter what happened, he'd always be there for us.  My sisters and I have totaled our fair share of teenage junkers, wrapped his pride and joy red pick-up truck around a pole, and STILL not mastered the art of driving out of a spin on the ice (I'm red-faced here!), but on that inevitable call home, we could always bank on my dad coming to the rescue.   

So here's to all the dads who taught their kids to drive, changed a host of tires, brought gas cans to the sides of roads in the middle of the night, and pretended the dent just wasn't that big of a deal.   Your kids salute you and Ken Garff Honda of Orem does, too.  

2016 Honda HRV Test Drive

As we climbed into the new Honda HRV between errands, my 14-year-old son asserted, "This is my new favorite Honda."

Although he's had his eye on the Civic for years, HRV--Honda's crossover--turned his head. And it's turning other heads, too. Car and Driver noted, "The HR-V mixes angles and curves in an attractive design that lends it a sporty look while hiding its budget-friendly roots."

The HRV has seating for 5 and a dumbfounding 3 different interior configurations.  It has tons of cargo space and that's before you fold down the seats for cargo space that blows out any small SUV or sedan.

I got to drive the high-end model, the EXL Navi.  It had HondaLink, blue tooth connectivity, backup camera (standard on every 2016 Honda), blind spot camera, moon roof and leather interior.  It was fun to drive and very sporty without feeling like I'm sitting on the pavement.

It comes with an automatic transmission, but it also has a "Sport" setting that allows you shift up and down manually with buttons on the steering wheel.

I can't really explain why, but I'm absolutely in love with the rear door handle.  Seriously!  It almost looks like a coup, but with the functionality of a sedan.  There is just something about that I find so attractive!  It's turning my head, too!