Take my advice, please!
By Gina Spadafori
February 17, 2007
My family, it should be noted, rarely follows my advice when it comes to pets. I suspect in my parents’ case that’s because it’s hard to respect the advice of anyone you’ve changed diapers on. In my brothers’ case, I suppose it’s just sibling rivalry: “I know more about pets than YOU do, nyah nyah nyah!” “No you don’t!” “Yes, I do!” “MOM, Gina’s holding her superior knowledge of pets over us again!” “I’m not going to referee! Work it out on your own!”
Whoa … flashback. I’d bet most professional advice columnists are only or oldest children. We’re born bossy, see?
Anyway …
Although it’s common these days for readers — if not family — to follow my advice on pets, today may mark the first time anyone has followed my advice on car-buying. One of my dedicated dogmobile readers went out and bought herself a Honda Element (that’s her new ride, above), based in large part on my advice.
Good job, Terry, and let us know how you and the dogs like it!
Aside: On a discussion on the Showdog e-mail list, this awesome tip. The Element’s handling can reportedly be improved by changing out the stock tires for larger ones. Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas (235/70/16s) were recommended.
Hey, that’s my new car! :)
I read all of your dogmobile reviews faithfully and kept coming back to the Honda Element. Others that appealed were the Toyota RAV4, the Nissan XTerra, and the Dodge Nitro. Overall though I don’t think you can beat the Element for price, and for convenience. It is fun to drive and will be easy to clean after taking the dogs out to the lake or field.
A super dogmobile all around. I’m proud to see it blogged!
Comment by Terry — February 17, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
I’ve had my Element for nearly 4 years (close to 60k miles) now, and I love it. I am noticing, however, that the fabric on the front seats is showing signs of failure. One seat is splitting near some seams and the other has some cracks in the fabric. This part is a little disappointing. The car runs well and protected me well when I was rear-ended last summer (fortunately my dogs were not with me at the time).
Comment by kabbage — February 19, 2007 @ 10:35 am
I’ve had my Element for 3 years and over 75k miles. My 2 dogs (german shepard and border collie) love it! It’s ugly as can be but it truely is the ultimate dogmobile and that’s all I care about! The seats are showing wear as well but it runs great and the dogs love it. What else do I need?
Comment by Adelyn — April 8, 2007 @ 8:27 pm