The trick is to find a dealer who will sell you one without trying to improve on Shakespeare. About a year ago, everyone I knew was buying an Accord sedan, and the moment I got inside of one, I understood why. What's funny is, I'm even more in love after a year and a half.

After exhaustive research online concerning size, options, and every other specification we could think of, my husband and I (we're both engineers) had compiled a list of must-haves, and the 1999 Accord fit the bill on every one: anti-lock brakes, air bags, room interior, big trunk, power steering, cruise, decent mileage, great safety record, nice ride, excellent repair record, and most of all, comfort, as we live 500+ miles away from family and the car would be pressed into service on very long road trips. We'd whittled our list down to two, the Accord and the Toyota Camry, with the Accord having an edge over the Camry in that it's larger, and we needed the space (with a baby on the way). We never did make it to test-drive a Camry; one test-drive in the Accord and I was hooked.

The ride is smooth but not floating; the power even in the 4-speed automatic is quite good; it handles securely and beautifully; and the braking power is amazing (in fact, you need to be careful about that-- two of my friends got rear-ended in their new Accords, since they were able to stop in time and the folks behind them couldn't). Controls are intuitive and refined, and there are cup holders, change holders, a sunglasses holder, door panel bins, armrest bins... even I haven't filled them all. Seats are comfortable, providing good lower back support even on 10- hour drives. And what I particularly appreciate is, even on very cold days the car warms up almost immediately, so that the heater's putting out warm air within just a couple minutes. The front seats are incredibly roomy, and even my 6'-1" football-player-sized husband is tolerably comfortable in the back seat-- *with* the baby's car seat in the middle, next to him. (If you do put a baby seat in the Accord, when it comes time to face the seat forward, remember to go to your dealership to get the rear window anchor kit, it will make your baby's seat that much safer.)

We went with the 4-cylinder EX, since we were insisting on the ABS, and paid about $20,000, which was the United Buying Service price at the time, and a real bargain. At the time we felt a little guilty about forking over the extra cash for all those decadent extras: the sunroof, the CD player, and the like. But at least for us, it was more than worth the extra money, as with that package you get the 4-wheel disc brakes in addition to the ABS, a safety plus; the alarm system, also a plus in that Accords are the most stolen car in America; and most of all, the remote keyless entry, a real lifesaver if you're juggling a baby and groceries.

(We were originally intending to buy a used Accord, but the prices were amazingly high compared to the new models, which is good in that your new car keeps its value better than just about any other car on the market, but bad in that it makes it pretty much not worth it to buy used, even though it would be a good candidate for a used car, given its great repair record and warranty.)

It was a real pain in the neck actually GETTING the car; the UBS dealer put us on a waiting list (because we weren't going to buy the leather interior V-6 with $3500 of extras we didn't want), where we languished for weeks before getting fed up and finding a large dealership who was in the practice of selling the cars with just factory options (no pinstripes, no worthless undercoating, etc.) and was willing to honor the UBS price. IMHO, Honda needs to make it a little easier for people to buy the car you want, when you want it; at least according to the dealerships we talked to in Maryland, you can't order the car you want, and neither can they, they just get cars from the factory by some sort of weird quota system (unless of course they were lying through their teeth). So, it pays to be flexible in your choice of color, and forget about trying to get a manual transmission in the EX; they might exist, but they're probably being driven by the Sasquatch. Also, as soon as the cars get onto the lot, the dealerships plaster thousands of dollars' worth of worthless junk all over them and mark up accordingly; the car as shipped from the factory is all you need, and what you should insist on, unless you really want to pay another $400 for a plastic stripe on your car. (The one dealership option it's probably worth getting is the wheel locks, if you get the alloy wheels. At least in the area where we live, Accords have been known to end up on blocks overnight with no wheel locks.)

In addition, the Honda floor mats are great, but don't buy the floor mats at the time you buy the car; they'll charge you $125 more than if you take the keys, turn right around and go to the parts department and buy your floormats at the counter. Save the money and go out to dinner instead, to celebrate the best car you'll ever own.

We haven't had any repair troubles in the last year-plus, save one: a flat tire (no fault of the tire; it was a Grand Canyon of a pothole). The downside: $160, $60 for the alignment check and $100 for the tire (and yes, we price shopped). So, stay away from potholes, and you'll love your car, I gar-un-teee.