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The Integra was an excellent commuter car, but I was hungry for a second project. The Miata was pretty much “done” and I wanted something to start over with. I started looking at Chevy Colorados. Isn’t it funny how no one ever calls a Chevy a “Chevrolet”? No one ever says, “I have Chevrolet Camaro.” It sounds so French! Anyway, Coloradofans.com was a great website and I was considering getting a Colorado and lowering it, like an old school mini truck. I test drove two of them, and before buying one my wife suggested that I consider some other vehicles that were in the same price range. The only other car that I was considering was that weird toaster thing that Scion had been making.
I took my wife’s advise and I test drove a Blue Onyx Pearl xB. The car was so easy to drive. It was more a toy than a car. Driving an xB feels like you are seven years old, sitting in huge cardboard box in your kitchen, and pretending to be driving a car. The Box actually makes you feel like a kid, It also is soooo Japanese. It’s so quirky, but everything makes sense. It’s very comfortable, easy to drive and manipulate through traffic or a parking spot. Zero blind spots and surprising huge inside. It was so practical. The complete opposite of the Miata.
I was sold so I traded in the Integra (I should have sold it) and drove home my new toaster. I jumped on Scionlife.com and Clubxb.com and quickly learned about the huge aftermarket for The Box. After about a month, I had it lowered on some Tein S-Techs, replaced the front end links and was riding on some 17’s. I bought some pre-cut window tint from eBay and tinted the driver’s side and passenger’s side windows. I installed an XM Radio antenna hooked up to the stock radio. I loved the stock radio in that car! For some extra power, I installed a K&N Cold Air Intake and a Stillen Axle Back Exhaust.
The crappy 17’s got old. The ride was rough, they didn’t hold up to a NJ winter very well. The stance thing was starting to happen and offset started to become a big thing. I got some One Ton Garage hub spacers for the rear of the car and 5mm spacers in the front. Even with all of the spacing, the 17’s had to go so I got some 15×8 XXR 501’s, like everyone else in the world. I stretched on some Falken 195/50/15’s and it was like a whole new car.
I was loving the xB. It was new, modern, fun to drive, easy to work on and reliable and economical at the fuel pump. On nice days, I started wanting to drive the xB over the Miata. That’s when I realized that a daily driver will always be a better option than a garage queen. My days with the Miata were numbered.
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