HondaSUV and NEMC

My introduction to Honda CR-Vs began in 1998. I needed a new car to replace the 1989 Plymouth Acclaim my parents had lent me but which was now sporting a blown head gasket and broken master cylinder. I had my heart set on another Toyota Pickup or a Jeep Wrangler.

Since my mother was paying for the car initially while I was full time in college, she had a say in what my ride would be. The Wrangler got turned down every time. Craig (my then boyfriend, now husband) suggested the Honda CR-V. I looked at them and was not sold on it. We went up to Torrington Honda to test drive one. We came back from the test drive and signed. I got a black 1998 CRV LX with manual shift. I loved it!

I’ll skip over the long story of how I ended up with a 1999 CRV EX in Red auto, and then driving a Saab 9-3. So just keep reading up to 2002.

June 2002, the Saab was at the end of it’s lease and we knew we didn’t want to start paying for the expensive maintenance since we had already had several problems with it. Off to Fair Honda in Danbury to look at new cars. Craig needed a car, and I needed a car. We had been surviving on one car for a while, but now were going in completely different directions each day. I wanted to get another CR-V, and to add to it, HondaSUV which I had been an active member of since 1998 was having an Olympics meet in New Hampshire (my favorite place). I test drove a black 2002 CRV EX and loved it. I told the sales lady that I wanted to think about it. No impulse buying. I debated on color and decided to go with silver since keeping black clean was such a pain.

The rest was history! Ha! Well I got the 2002 Honda CRV EX in silver. It has 126,000 miles on it as of March 2008. The only major repair I’ve had to do was a catalytic converter, which I have a feeling was my own doing.

HondaSUV Meets Attended:

• August 2002 – 1st Olympics Lincoln, NH
• October 2002 – Fall Foliage Tour in Berkshires of Massachusetts (Host)
• December 2002 – Cooperstown, NY
• December 2002 – Snow Meet – New Milford, CT (Host)
• January 2003 – Snow Meet – Kent, CT (Host)
• April 2003 – NY Auto Show, New York City
• July 2003 – 2nd Annual NEMC BBQ
• July 2003 – Offroading in the Catskills with Bluemonster and Goonga Ron
• September 2003 – Mystic Connecticut Meet (Host)
• October 2003 – Fall Foliage Tour Catskills NY
• November 2003 – Holiday Trip – Berskhires, MA(Host)
• December 2003 – Snow Meet – New Milford/Kent, CT(Host)
• February 2004 – New England Auto Show Providence, RI
• June 2004 – 3rd Annual NEMC BBQ – FDR Park
• July 2004 – Mini Meet in Virginia with Jose
• July/August 2004 – 2nd Olympics Lincoln, NH
• October 2004 – 3rd Annual Fall Foliage Tour – Litchfield County, CT(Host)
• April 2005 – NY Auto Show
• May 2005 – Jones Beach Meet, Long Island (Host)
• July 2005 – 4th Annual NEMC BBQ @ FDR Park
• October 2005 – 4th Annual Fall Foliage Tour – Berkshires, MA (Host)
• November 2005 – Corning NY Meet
• June 2006 – 5th Annual NEMC BBQ at Kent Falls (Host)
• October 2006 – 5th Annual NEMC Fall Foliage Tour (Host)
• June 2007 – 6th Annual NEMC BBQ at Kent Falls (Host)
• October 2007 – 6th Annual Fall Foliage Tour – Southern Vermont Covered Bridge Tour (Host)
• June 2008 – 6th Annual Georgia Meet – Bar Harbor, ME

May 2004 – Road Trip

Total trip miles 3,586 miles (excluding sight seeing) – from Connecticut to the Ozarks of Arkansas, then to New Orleans, and then Pensacola, Florida and then back to Connecticut.

We stopped in Indiana and met some HondaSUV members who had a wonderful breakfast picnic for us. Later in the trip we again met some members in Florida who were incredibly hosts. Most people thought we were crazy to meet people who I had only talked to online. It’s a great community and we met wonderful people who I still keep in touch with.

States Visited:

• Connecticut
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Arkansas
• Tennessee
• Mississippi
• Lousiana
• Florida
• Alabama
• Georgia
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Virginia
• Maryland
• Delaware
• New Jersey

Itinerary

• Friday, May 7 – Depart to Arkansas
• Saturday, May 8 – Travel to Arkansas
• Sunday, May 9 – Arrival in Arkansas
• Monday, May 10 – Spend day in Arkansas, Depart and Arrive in New Orleans
• Tuesday, May 11 – Spend day in New Orleans
• Wednesday, May 12 – Depart New Orleans in late morning, Arrive in Florida
• Thursday, May 13 – Florida
• Friday, May 14 – Florida
• Saturday, May 15 – Depart Florida to Virginia
• Sunday, May 16 – Virginia to Connecticut

I’ve done a few addons:

• front tint to 15%
• Dueller AT Revo tires (off now)
• Thule rack and bike attachments
• ProClip for Treo
• Door Sill Guards
• Honda Australia Clear Bonnet Guard
• Rear Cargo Cover
• GPS
• CRV Sport Decals
• Painted Calipers
• Sidemarkers (self installed)
• Wolo Air Horns

It’s been an experience. I highly recommend the car to anyone. I personally would be ecstatic if Honda offered the CRV in a hybrid.