I’m a car person. Or at least I aspire to be. I usually get a new-to-me car/mobile office every couple of years, mostly by necessity. In my mind, I make practical car-buying decisions – like never buying new. That practicality, of course, balances out my tendency to want to “look good” in my car. I justify my choices by telling myself that I need to feel comfortable in my car because I spend so much time in it – upwards of 50,000 miles a year between work and play. My car is quite literally my mobile office in many respects, and it also needs to make a good first impression (note to self: maybe I should remember that and try to keep my interiors more orderly).
In my short professional life, I’ve driven a very nice limited edition Ford Explorer, some sort of sporty Lincoln 4-door, a mommy wagon for the baby years, and now a sporty Volvo SUV.
In my opinion, however, it’s definitely getting time for an upgrade… it’s been over three years, after all.
When thinking about a new(er) car/mobile office upgrade, there are a lot of features that are out there now that would make our life soooooo much better/easier/more convenient/efficient. All of which lead to an improved bottom line and happier, more sane business partners/married people/parents (in our case since we do all of that together).
Here are a few of the features I have in mind:
1. Extra “power” outlets for our various equipment, so that we can practice the standard traveler’s motto: ABC – always be charging.
2. Audio input for iPod/MP3 player.
3. Fuel efficiency. At 50K miles a year, a couple of miles per gallon improvement in fuel efficiency means a lot.
4. Handsfree Bluetooth phone capability – the safety and convenience of this feature multiplies itself with the miles, in my opinion.
Enter Patty Peck Honda. We got an e-mail back in March from Bob Aubrey (@bobaubrey1) over at Patty Peck Honda (@pattypeckhonda) 
wanting to setup an initial consultation with us through HALO Business Advisors (our business marketing consulting business that specializes in new media/social media marketing). Through a series of consequent conversations, we ended up on a Spring Break test drive of the Honda Pilot (fantastic, but more on that later).
When we returned and gave our feedback, Bob Aubrey, the GM at Patty Peck Honda, recommended that we try out the new Honda Accord Crosstour for a while. It was a car he had been driving for a few days, and he asked us to drive it and give him some feedback.
Bob, here’s your feedback. (And I think Andy will be supplementing with his own feedback shortly.)
To be honest, I was slow to the party. I loved the Pilot – and I like an SUV for kiddie-hauling. But more than that, I’m a skeptic by nature, so I was looking for all of the problems in this new model – sure that its newness would surface problems, mistakes, functionality flaws, etc.
After two months in this car, I can’t imagine a better long-term solution for the mobile-office folks out there, or for me. I have claimed the car as my own, and relegate Andy to the old car.
This car has everything that I mentioned above as important features for the mobile office/car. It has great fuel efficiency, it’s amazingly roomy, it has power outlets everywhere and the hands free phone and voice command features keep my eyes on the road. Even more, it’s sporty, nimble, stable and fun to drive. It makes a great first impression. The cargo space looks big, and it functions even bigger – it’s got a LOT OF ROOM BACK THERE! It’s got the best seats ever placed in a Honda – although I definitely recommend the leather on the Crosstour. It’s a supportive, luxurious seat that passes muster, even on long trips, even with my very sensitive back issues. Bonus: the reverse view camera, warning sounds and mirrors that adjust to help me not back into anything while moving in reverse are the answer to all of Andy’s prayers for me to never hit anything while backing up ever again.
If you’re looking for something different – yet reliable – take a look at the Honda Crosstour for your mobile office, commuter car or SUV alternative. Yep, I said it: it’s an SUV alternative. With a backseat big enough to hold two car seats and a third happy camper – or three adults comfortably, this car is a winner all around. And since it’s based on the Accord, you know it’ll be reliable for a LONG time…
Thanks to Patty Peck Honda for believing in their product enough to wait for me to come around – that’s the stuff real relationships are built upon. And thanks to Honda for building vehicles that are immensely practical – and fun – for the workshifters, digital nomads and mobile office mavens of the world. We also just happen to be a pretty savvy group of influencers on social media that can share your products with lots of other people, too. I’m so glad I was encouraged to try a vehicle I never would have before – makes it easy to talk about it.
Disclaimer: Make sure you also say thanks to Patty Peck Honda for sponsoring the Results Revolution, which makes all of this great information available to you.
Another disclaimer: While I like frequent car upgrades, Andy drove the same 1992 Honda Accord until February of this year when we finally sold it to someone who asked to buy it basically once a month for three months. So, here’s to wishful thinking that I’ll ever get a new car………
