Yay for Richard!

Today I met a laid back salesman,Richard, at John Hine Pontiac. He was so cool...I didn't feel intimidated at all. He didn't have that sleazy thing going on either. He just showed me the cars and let me test drive two of them. I was wondering why he kept holding on to the handle the entire time though. Seriously, I was on my best driving behavior!! He seemed like he might be the nervous type. hehe

Anyway, the two cars I drove were the 2006 Pontiac G6 (I didn't realize it was an 06 until afterwards) (6 cylinder) and the 2005 Mazda 6 (four cylinder). I'll drive others such as the Prius, a Toyota and a Honda, yet to be chosen, on my next day off. I originally went in to check out the G6 and was pleasantly surprised to see the Mazda's in their lot as well.

Here's some pics of the G6 I borrowed from Pontiac. I hope they dont mind...after all, I am leaning towards buying their car and am promoting their business to others:

The ride was SWEET! The car was nice and roomy, very comfortable. My first impression when I got in was "yeah!" Ok so maybe that was my first thought. The pedals move at the touch of a button, enabling long or short legged people to drive without having to change the seat location. I liked the additional features that seem to come standards on modern cars (I'm so out of date), such as automatically locking, expandable visors, the radio turning off only when I open my door, automatic headlights...well let's just say automatic everything! The panoramic sunroof was definitely a bonus. It's a bit larger than the normal sunroof, giving a faux convertible feel. The cool thing about it that isn't mentioned on their site is the dial going from 0 - 4. Each number represents a pane, meaning you can control exactly how many are open. Nice. I was also impressed with the ride. I don't recall hearing any road noise or anything that bothered me at all. There was one bad thing and two things that could be improved upon.

Bad thing: The cover for the vanity mirror was broken. It fell off in my hand. Not a good sign.

Improve please: The trunk was large, but the opening seemed a little tight. Not enough to make me not buy this car, but not quite as wide as other cars. The second thing, which I think is standard to four doors, is the B Column. This is the area where the first and second doors meet, creating a blind spot. I'm not used to this, having driven a two door car all this time. Apparently, two door cars have a longer door which increase visibility. Again, it appears this is something I'll have to learn to use properly.

While I didn't get to drive this car on the freeway for long, I did get the chance to accelerate to a good speed. The car could really move if you let it! I could definitely get used to this car.

The second car I drove was the Mazda 6.

Sorry, Mazda didn't have any exciting photos on their site for me to borrow.

My first thought when I got in the Mazda was..."oh." I really wanted to like this car, I did. I really wanted to appreciate the zoom zoom. But seriously, I am not a small girl. And this car is obviously made for Japanese people. After I realized the seat was elevated as high as it could go and I lowered it, I felt a bit better. I didn't feel like I was looking at the top of Richard's head anymore. But, it was still a tiny bit cramped. Because this car can really hug a turn, apparently due to its tight suspension (did I get the lingo right??), you could feel every bump in the road. It was as if I was back in my own car again. It drove nicely and yeah, the zoom zoom was there! But my passenger in the back seat couldn't even buckle his seat belt because it wouldn't go that far. And seriously...he's the size of a normal bouncer. I have high expectations here, Security should be able to fit in my car!! So, the hard ride and the sardine like quality (though it had so many nice features) sort of put this car on my "I Don't Think So" list.

Even though the Pontiac broke in my hand, I'm leaning towards it. I'm going to look at a minimum of three more models and hopefully make my decision by the end of the month, or whenever my car dies. Whichever comes sooner.

On a side note, after driving these new cars around, I got into my car and freaked out a bit due to that "loud noise!" I soon remembered it was the normal sound my car makes. How quickly I had forgotten about the road noise and how you have to yell to hear each other talk. I did like shifting though. I do love driving a manual. These other cars are automatics. Not quite as fun. :(

So, while I was anticipating my car salesman experience would be an awful one, it was actually very nice. In fact, everyone at the dealership was very pleasant. If you're in the market for a car that this dealership might have, I recommend visiting them. Ask for Richard.