my brother has an 03 protege (manual tranny) that he is uber proud of... i almost feel bad for the car though! yesterday was the first time i had been in it since he lives in connecticut and he doesn't come home too often. the sticker on his car was almost 19k, he paid about 16,500 (end of the model year and end of the model completely.) so for the features and all that he got he is somewhere between the accord and civic in price.

although i didn't drive it (i would have if i had worn my tennis shoes instead of sandals...), i can still say it made me very happy that i have an accord!! the protege's interior felt cheap-not as bad as most cars, but not up to a civic's standards, much less an accord! ;) he enjoys his loud engine, but to me it wasn't a nice purring engine, it was a loud grumbling pissed off one....

needless to say, he was a little bit upset at the lack of sound from mine! he pushed my car up around 5500 rpms a couple of times (i wouldn't let him go any higher-we were in a neighborhood with quite a few blind bends and he was driving like a maniac already....)

apparently my rough shift between 1st and 2nd can be completely erased with someone who has tons of stick experience. he hopped in the car without even moving my seat and took off. never felt any of his shifts at all. he did have one rough start at a stop sign, but that was it.

after his little drives though, i now understand how he has plowed over 3 deer in 5 years and has numerous speeding tickets...... :rolleyes: he's a maniac behind the wheel. remind me to never let him take my car unsupervised!!!!! :eek: