Kirby

This was the name of my first car: a silver Honda CR-V. I bought Kirby from Carr's Honda in Chicago, in February 1997. Car salesman said they just got 'em in that month. So it was first generation. My dad had read and heard good reviews about it, so figured it was worth a look. They had a blue one in the showroom, and when I sat in it, it felt... right. A safe and affordable car, where I can sit up a bit in traffic. A co-worker, after congratulating me on my buy, even xeroxed an article out of his car magazine (I think it was Car & Driver) about the Honda CR-V -- the article was titled "America's Sweetheart".

Now you KNOW you are one of the earliest owners of a CR-V, when you're driving down a street, pass another CR-V, and you & the other driver make eye contact and give each other the "nod". Hehehe. Plus the CR-V looked a whole lot cooler compared to the Toyota RAV4, in my opinion. Both Japanese cars, but MINE was made IN Japan. I know this because I had to wait a month for mine to roll off the line from Japan, and ship to me. Which is probably why I never had any problems with Kirby, knowing the tradition of Japanese quality.

Now CR-Vs are everywhere. In fact my sister and my cousin Mia each own later generation CR-Vs. And they're waaaayyyyy different from mine. The Honda CR-V had gone through a couple makeovers since 1997....

After 10 years of superior service, Kirby's battery finally gave out while it was parked out on the street waiting to be shipped to Mom back in Chicago. When AAA came to replace the battery so that we could drive it to the Honda Service Center for final maintenance prior to shipping, he marvelled at how long the original battery lasted!

So Kirby is now in (semi)retirement, with my mom. Zipping around at no more than 30 mph with mom at the wheel *hehehe*, which is definitely a change of pace for Kirby's legs. Kirby's successor is Coco, a 2007 Acura MDX. Now Coco has a bit more pep than Kirby and has, er, a few more amenities. Which is all well and good, especially for the longer road trips. Because Coco is still a Honda. Acura = Honda-With-A-Budget :)