With the decision NOT to use the '98 WS6 as a winter car, I was stuck with a situation of having 2 cars stored for the winter, and no winter transportation! Also, the prospect of having another "good" car for the winter seemed a lot less appetizing to me after my experience with the Acura Integra.

So what else to do but go back with Old Reliable - the Honda Civic 4-door. After looking at a bunch of over-priced out-of-shape contenders, I settled on this nice highway-driven 1985 Civic. While it's far from totally free of rust, it's in worlds better shape than my old '84 ever was, and there's still the chance of doing some body work on it to slow down the decay. I've got the fiberglass all fired up and ready for the next good weather day.

With consistent 35 mpg tankfuls, it's worth the upkeep. There are some much needed repairs in the works - clutch replacement, CV joint replacement (at least one, if not both), rear brake work, radio repairs (only one out of 2 speakers work), and the aforementioned rust repairs. But with only 135000 km on it, it's bound to stick around the household for at least another 100000km. And I'll try to make sure I don't wait 40000 km between oil changes! ;-)