I seriously think that the body on my CRX will disintegrate far before the powertrain gives. The motor, trans and brakes are as strong as ever but the body rust is getting worse every week. The a-pillar rust on the driver’s side is growing faster than ever. Just over 2 years in Chicago and the rust is popping up faster than a teenager’s zit. Damn! I love this car but I don’t know if I will be able to commit to the whole body overhaul…

Although chances of U.S. market getting one of these are pretty slim, here is the Japanese Mugen CR-Z.

As I was finishing up my oil change this afternoon, I wrote on the next service reminder tag, “next oil change due at: 291,000 miles.” And I was thinking to my self “wow, that’s a big number.” That’s 291,000 miles on the body of my CRX which means 191,000 miles for the D16A1 motor. And it still amazes me every time I get behind the wheel that I can still pull this thing as hard as I could for some adrenaline rush and still get to places day in and day out. My much newer 2005 Subaru experienced numerous hiccups and has cost me close to $3000 in maintenance and service in less than 5 years. I can always rely on my 23 year old CRX to be there when I need it. It always starts up right away no matter how cold, hot or how long it’s been sitting in the driveway. The Subaru however, hasn’t been that nice to me.

This 23 year old CRX of mine can put the new CR-Z to shame any day whether it be performance or frugality. It can occasionally hit 40+ mpg if driven gently. It has no problem hitting 37+ mpg even when I drive like I just robbed a bank. All this with 0-60 mph in 6 seconds flat. The 113 horsepower from a naturally aspirated dohc 1.6 really does wonders for this 1900 or so pound shell. All this with a trunk that can swallow 90% of the stuff you can buy at Ikea. How cool is that?

It was only a matter of time. After all, no Honda can escape the curse of the wheel arch rust. My CRX was no exception. Despite being rust-free for the past 20 years or so in California, my CRX has finally succumbed to the infamous plague after just two years of Chicago winter.

The rust has now grown too big for me to ignore it anymore. There are few minor rust spots forming on the sunroof panel and around the windshield as well. Well, there goes my summer. Damn you rust god!