New Econobox? Er... no. '06 CTS-V
 

Well, I've decided to retire the Civic HX. I miss my old Corvette but need something with a bit more practicality. My first thought was a new turbo Camaro, but my wife and kid vetoed that due to insufficient rear seat space. GTO was my second choice, but I got talked out of that too since it is a PITA to get my 7 year old son in and out of the back. Third choice is the first gen CTS-V.

So, I found one with low miles for a good price and snapped it up. It's even my favorite color of the available choices.

Pics from the ad:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-da...-img951586.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-da...-img951584.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-da...-img951580.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-da...-img951587.jpg

Drove it back 150 miles and averaged 23mpg just cruising down the freeway, with no effort put into hypermiling. And note the tire pressures... I didn't even have a chance to air them up before I left. Not too shabby for a 400hp monster.

Son's happy. (Daughter's indifferent, but she's a teen so that's expected) Wife's happy. I'm happy. Wallet is a bit peeved, but oh well. I guess I'll revisit the Camaro in 8 years or so when the kid starts driving on his own.

Watch the classified section for my Civic... It'll be up for sale soon.

Well, gas is cheap.

Congrats on the new wheels. How soon until it gets a boat tail? :)

Good God, a boat tailed CTS-V! 200mph, anyone?

This. I don't expect it to rise sharply any time soon either, unless we start getting some more regulations and red-tape around fracking, but ~$0.50-0.75 per year doesn't seem unreasonable if nothing changes. $4 at some point in 2020 (3-3.5 years) is my guess.

Thanks. Boat tail is... highly unlikely. :)

Haha, I figured. Do you have any mods planned?

Not really. I'll up the tire pressure... but not to where I'd normally put it. Apparently the TPMS goes nuts over 45psi and has an annoying, repeating chime. I'll probably put them at 40psi cold.

First order of business (well, when I get my garage cleaned out enough I can work in there....) is to address some deferred maintenance items. While it's in good shape overall, there are some things that need attention. Fortunately, I bought it for 25% less than the next cheapest comparable car out there so I can afford to put some money into it.

Known issues that I need to fix:

• Clogged tubes in the sunroof.
• Differential bushing is trashed
• Oil pressure sending unit is giving erroneous readout (always showing 130psi, even with the engine off)
• Radiator leaking.
• No spare tire/jack (actually had one for a different car that doesn't fit)

Hah, yeah thats the phase I'm at with the Insight too. Fix it!

But I'm sure a grill block will come along quickly as its starting to cool off.

Nice car! GTO is a pain to get in and out of the back, but I had a couple passengers comment that they thought the back seats were more comfortable than the front. I kind of wish I'd gotten a CTS-V instead, it would have been easier to justify keeping a 4 door car. Then I remember the MPG's it (didn't) get and the other costs associated with a performance car. :( On-ramps sure were fun.

How\'s the belly? I\'m with you on not doing any obvious mods, but an air dam and/or belly pan would be discrete.