Learning to Drive the Bitty, Bad, Honda | Blogger Contest 1st Runner Up

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It was a sunny afternoon in late June. I was around 16 and scared to drive. I didn't pass my drivers exam in high school and put off trying again for years. But my determined older brother took me to a local grocery store and decided he was going to teach me to drive whether I liked it or not. At the time he drove an old Honda Civic with over 130,000 miles and a stick shift (eeek!). I was beyond terrified to drive it to say the least.

After buying a few items we headed back out to the car of all cars. Instead of hopping into the driver seat, my brother got into the passenger seat. And looked at me expectantly. I almost immediately broke into tears. I was so scared to get into that Honda and test my skills (or lack thereof). After what felt like a billion years I was coerced into the driver seat. I can still remember the smell of the leather steering wheel as I gripped it with deathlike force.

I took a deep breath, put one foot on the brake and one foot on the clutch while easing that bitty, bad Honda Civic into first gear. I eased my foot off the clutch as I pushed down on the gas and I was off! I stopped for a red light and all bets were off. As the light turned green I slowly moved into the intersection. The Honda stalled. I'm pretty sure I said a few choice words, restarted the trusty Honda and put both feet on the correct pedals. Cars honked and went around me, and a few people even swore at me as they passed by.

I put the Civic in first gear again, and eased my foot off the clutch. And stalled the car again! Then the green light turned yellow and then back to red. All the while I was in the middle of the intersection listening to my brother tell me what to do and trying my hardest not to completely lose it. I slowly lurched a few feet forward during the next two lights. That's right; I was in the middle of the intersection for three entire lights!

Finally, I was able to squeak out of the intersection and go to the side of the road. After I caught my breath, I got out of the car and quickly switched places with my brother. I was DONE driving for the day. Mostly I was just thankful that I wasn't dead and that my brothers sacred Honda Civic was still intact.

The next time I got behind the wheel of that car was a much better memory. I had no issues at all. For whatever reason, the horror of that first lurching drive had given me the battle scars I needed to be able to handle a stick shift for life. And it was all because of a bitty, bad Honda Civic.

*****

Hi! I'm Jacki and I blog at www.mamasonadime.com. I am a mom to three little munchkins and love being involved in my community. I also love all things frugal, but I'm not willing to sacrifice quality in the process. Which means I'm all about getting more for less!

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5 Reasons You Should NEVER Drive a Honda Odyssey | Winning Entry

When our good ol’ pickup bit the dust 4 years ago, my husband and I went looking for the best family-friendly, used vehicle we could afford. It seemed like a no-brainer to go with the 2002 Honda Odyssey. After all, it has an average customer rating of 4.5/5 stars on edmunds.com and is ranked first in it’s segment by CarandDriver.com. But it didn’t take us long after signing the paperwork to discover the Odyssey’s awful secrets.

1. Heated Seats

Listen, Honda, I live in Utah for a reason—the average temperature in the winter is 32 degrees. It’s my choice to drive in a frozen tundra, it should be my choice whether or not I want my buns toasty warm. Granted, I can turn the heat off, but once it’s on I’m too warm to reach over and push the button, basically removing my agency.

2. Seating for 7

Who, in their right mind, would want to drive with six other people? Not me! I like riding solo as much as possible. But when Honda puts all those extra cushy seats in the Odyssey, people assume you want to haul them around. Listen kids, just because there’s room in the van, doesn’t mean I need to drive you to school.

3. Folding Backseat

Granted, this could be an advantage if you don’t want to drive people around (see reason 2), but it’s a great disadvantage when your husband shops at Home Depot. Do you realize how much paint and wood can fit in a van when the backseat folds down into the floor? Take my word for it. It’s a lot. Just to return the favor, I might see how many Nordstrom bags can fit in the same space.

4. V-6 Engine

I live in a small town with small vehicles. It’s bad for my image to sit at a stoplight next to Joan Schmo and have her know by the sound of my powerful engine I could take her in a drag race. Not that I would go zero to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds. That’s just pretentious.

5. Automatic Sliding Doors

Honda is contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic one automatic sliding door at a time. Gone are the days of building your biceps by opening and closing heavy van doors. Now I push a button on the remote and they open without any exertion on my part. With as flabby as my arms are getting, a gym membership should have been included the Odyssey’s purchase price.   

Jill Swensen blogs at Being Spiffy where she tells the tales of her people. Said people include her husband and three children. When not blogging, you can find Jill carting her family around the thoroughfares of Utah, searching for adventures and the perfect fountain Dr Pepper.

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Emily Hill From Is This Really My Life Compares the Honda Pilot to the Odyssey

I adore the 2013 Honda Pilot with its sleek, square design, secret USB port, triple-view backup camera, Bluetooth cell phone capabilities, hard drive for storing music and too many other nifty bells to name. I’m kind of hoping it will be Nathan’s next car because I’m adamant (whenever possible) about our second car fitting the entire family just in case the Odyssey breaks down.

Who am I kidding? Hondas never break down.

Because someone out there might be trying to decide between the Honda Pilot and the Honda Odyssey, my review focused on the difference between the two.

*****

You have to read Emily's full review and see her videos, which may or may not include goldfish cracker crumbs and an incident with a Diet Coke. 

After you read Emily's post, you probably want to like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, too.