"brakesnow" (brakesnow)
11/26/2013 at 00:02 • Filed to: None
2
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"brakesnow" (brakesnow)
11/26/2013 at 00:02 • Filed to: None | 2
| 11 |
Recently, a very important piece of my life passed away. My first car. My 2005 Honda Pilot, EX-L. While it may be hard to understand my affection for a barely-not-minivan SUV that has no real off-road ability and screams "SOCCER MOM!" try and see things my way for just a moment.
This car's 3.5L VTEC V6 was beautifully smooth, like most Honda engines. It made power EVERYWHERE and sounded incredible. It hauled thousands of pounds of band gear/vacation paraphernalia/college dorm furniture without the slightest complaint. Its forgiving, understeery nature with (dare I say it) communicative hydraulic steering taught me how to feel out a vehicle's limits for the first time. Its fully-defeatable VDC and stability control allowed me to perform ungodly drifts and donuts in snowy parking lots until the transmission started to overheat (which was a solid 20-30 minutes of banging off the rev limiter hoonage) I slept (alone and with company, giggity) in this car numerous times, it was driven all over the east coast and even across the country all the way to Wyoming! This car never ever broke down or even uttered so much as a minor complaint when it was taken thousands of miles past recommended service intervals and oil changes. Everything, from the heated seats and mirrors, to the DVD entertainment screen, just worked. Always. For 120 thousand abusive, hard fought miles, this car was a masterpiece of reliability.
Sadly, just last weekend it was traded in, in anticipation of the arrival of my next car, a Subaru Legacy 2.5GT. While my new car will be faster, have better handling, and satiate my desire for a manual transmission, I will definitely miss the cavernous space of the Pilot, the smooth and sonorous V6, and all the amazing memories that I created in that car.
To my long-time friend and companion, wherever you are now. Thank you.
Tyler's SVT Focus Hates Him
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 00:06 |
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Love our family's Pilot as well. Damn thing is at 160k and is only just now showing wear and tear, and that's after eight seasons of pulling a boat and dozens of cross-country road trips. That engine is glorious, though, sad to hear you guys traded it in. Sounds like it had a good life in your hands, and it sure rewarded you for it.
POD
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 00:11 |
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This article got elevated to awesome just buy its use of giggity.
Enjoy the new GT!
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brakesnow
> Tyler's SVT Focus Hates Him
11/26/2013 at 00:40 |
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Relieved to hear there is at least ONE other Pilot-loving opponaut! Sounds like yours has provided you with similar levels of awesome.
I may or may not have teared up a little writing this article.
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Tyler's SVT Focus Hates Him
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 00:59 |
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I believe you man. When cars go through a 100k+ miles they aren't cars anymore, they're a part of the family, and getting rid of it is a sad occasion. We've got a great set of memories about our Pilot, hell, the Pilot was my car for about six months while I was learning to drive. My best memory is piling 8 of my friends in the back with the seats down and driving 2 hours to an amusement park, and served as the de-facto troop transport for my friends group. Lol I'm smiling now, too. It may not drive all that well but it sure has heart, doesn't it.
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brakesnow
> Tyler's SVT Focus Hates Him
11/26/2013 at 01:04 |
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Ah yes, I also had some great road trips with the benefit of those surprisingly comfortable 3rd row seats... *sigh* You're definitely right, past 100k the car's emotional value outweighs its material value.
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brakesnow
> POD
11/26/2013 at 01:05 |
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Thanks! Next weekend's delivery can't come soon enough!
desertdog5051
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 01:08 |
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We all must deal with the passing of out first. Car, wife, child, house. They are all mourned.
Long Live the Longdoor
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 01:25 |
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And... So I start looking at Pilot specs/details/pricing despite having no need for one...
/mighthaveaproblem
Niquemarshall
> brakesnow
11/26/2013 at 01:42 |
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I can vouch.
Christ, those are GREAT cars. My mom had one, brand new she got in 2002. Love that car.
RyanFrew
> brakesnow
11/29/2013 at 00:30 |
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I'm driving my Mom's down to Florida (from Ohio) soon. We have had two Pilots in the fam. This one is at about 120,000 mi and it is invincible. My only accident happened in it. 17 Years old, doing about the speed limit (45) and not paying attention, had to swerve to avoid hitting a stopped car in the road. Jumped a ditch and did $10,000 worth of damage. All of the airbags deployed and everyone in the car got out without a scratch. Still the dumbest moment I've ever had behind the wheel of a car. I love that ugly thing.
Also...just for the record...what a f*cking EPIC turning radius on Honda Pilots
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brakesnow
> RyanFrew
11/29/2013 at 01:06 |
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Damn, glad to hear you made it out of that crash OK!
I actually had a good friend in high school who got his Pilot stuck on the train tracks during the winter.... and got hit by a train. Supposedly the car actually held up remarkably well I heard for being hit by a train and all, still a total loss though.