Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

robr2

houdini1 said:

Robt, I bet you are a holy terror playing Trivia Pursuit. You ought to try out for Jeopardy. It's nice having you around as our in-house encyclopedia !!

My head is full of useless cocktail party talking points but ask me what last week's sales numbers were and I have to look it up.

I'm very much a curious sort and when somebody mentioned Lamborghini and Porsche tractors, I just did about 3 minutes of research and came up with what I posted. I am also one that likes to see the correct answer no matter who provides it - I dislike falsehoods.

driver100

robr2 said:

driver100 said:

All that liquid flushes the system out so they can see what they are doing with the camera. btw....if there are polyps they can remove them at that time. All polyps are cancerous, so can be potentially troublesome.

That's why colonoscopies are highly recommended.

No, no, no. Most colorectal polyps do not become cancerous but just about all colon and rectal cancers start from them.

Having them removed is the right thing to do because it's not easy to monitor them without regular exams and who really wants to do that?

100% correct....well stated. Thanks for the information.

driver100

graphicguy said:

robr2 said:

graphicguy said:

There is certainly a difference in philosophy when it comes to what U.S. engineers think, German engineers think, and Japanese engineers think. U.S. engineered Lincolns seem to be trying really, really hard to impress you with the look and touch, and seat time initial impressions. Over the long haul, not sure how well they hold up with the competition. They're in the hunt...TODAY. They should try to lead the pack in one way or the other, rather than just running with the pack. Kudos to their styling engineers. They're putting out some pretty cars.

German engineers seem to want to tell you what you should want, without actually finding out what we want. Not sure I like that. I think they're resting a bit on their laurels. Each succeeding 3 series was worse in some ways than the previous versions. In fairness, in some ways they're better too. Still........

Japanese (at least Acura) engineers seem to get everything engineered within an inch of their life. Everything works on them. They're built well. Their performance, while not class leading, as a whole, are as good as any, and at least competitive to all. Boy, do they need a lesson in styling, though.

Good review of the Lincoln GG. I agree with your analysis of American cars. They have come a long way and can match Europe and Asia as far as quality goes. Not too much innovation though, and still trying to copy what the others are doing.

I think BMW especially, but other German auto makers are appealing to the American masses more, and so they are losing a bit of their uniqueness. They design cars to make money, and the masses want more comfortable cars...and as they get more comfortable they lose their honest basic qualities that made them more fun to drive.

I can't think of too many Asian cars that have outstanding designs. My friend has a 2005 Acura that he says has been a great car. And, he will never go back to American cars. But, he doesn't understand why they have that big beak on the grill. And, even though their sales plummeted the year they introduced the beak, they continue to have it. If I bought one I would tear it off or paint it to match the car. My impression is Asian cars are the most reliable and cost efficient, and handling has improved immensly. But, styling lags.

I get the impression Asian manufacturers can copy Europeans really well, but, they just don't put the passion or the thrill of driving into their cars. It's like having a passion for what you do. You can tell when a cook makes a dish from a recipe, or if a cook loves food and has to get everything just right like his grandmother used to do. That's "ah what we calla dee passiona"
We are going to an Italian restaurant tomorrow night for a dinner like that.

driver100

robr2 said:

houdini1 said:

Robt, I bet you are a holy terror playing Trivia Pursuit. You ought to try out for Jeopardy. It's nice having you around as our in-house encyclopedia !!

My head is full of useless cocktail party talking points but ask me what last week's sales numbers were and I have to look it up.

I'm very much a curious sort and when somebody mentioned Lamborghini and Porsche tractors, I just did about 3 minutes of research and came up with what I posted. I am also one that likes to see the correct answer no matter who provides it - I dislike falsehoods.

I really appreciate your knowledge and what you bring to the group too. Be careful about thinking things people say are "falsehood". Often they are honest attempts to relate knowledge, but may be honest mistakes. It's easy to make an honest mistake, and not do it intentionally.

fezo

robr - thanks for the correction on the polyps. Saved me the trouble.

qbrozen

hell, I don't care enough about tractors to look it up.

But, its still called a Lambo tractor. Its like that recent discussion on appliances. Most are rebadged from another company, but you still say "I have a Kenmore" or whatever.

But, yes, OTOH, I believe the question was if those companies were in the tractor business. I suppose the answer is that they are... they just don't make them.

robr2

driver100 said:

I really appreciate your knowledge and what you bring to the group too. Be careful about thinking things people say are "falsehood". Often they are honest attempts to relate knowledge, but may be honest mistakes. It's easy to make an honest mistake, and not do it intentionally.

Falsehoods is a bad word choice. Errors or incorrect statements are what bugs me. I think all of us have fallen into using something we've heard in the past and accepted it as fact. It's the old "they said" so it must be true.

mako1a

Sorry to be talking tractors again, but polyps are something I try to stay away from.
The Kubota is not new any more. I pushed it to it's limits this afternoon. Debi wanted her "sitting rock" moved about 300 feet across the back yard. After carefully engineering the project in my mind I came up with a solution I thought may work if the tractor was strong enough. Slightly into the bucket with a chain around the 400 plus pound beast, the tractor actually lifted it and could still move. Quick about face and off I go on an ever increasing incline sideways. At one point I was tenths of inches from bailing out left as the tractor came dangerously close to falling over to the right. Last second push of the bucket control brought the danger to a safe conclusion as the weight was lowered from 10 inches above ground to zero in the nick of time. A short drag later and I was back in business going uphill instead of across the hill as my wife opened the fence putting me back on level ground. She didn't see me almost topple the brand new machine, but was happy enough to offer up steak for dinner as a reward for a job well done and no damaged machinery.
That rock and 3 others were put exactly where she wanted them resulting in "happy wife, happy life"

stickguy

My wife has no interest in sitting on a rock. Deck chairs are easy to move without power equipment.

Kirstie_H

stickguy said:

My wife has no interest in sitting on a rock. Deck chairs are easy to move without power equipment.

My SO would probably urge me to pick out a rock to sit on just so he'd have an excuse to buy some power equipment with which to move it.

ab348

Speaking of tractors (I have no idea why): I remember in the late '70s or early '80s seeing a shipment of "Belarus" tractors offloading from a ship at the port locally. I guess the Soviets decided to try to take on the Canadian market. No idea how well that worked out overall, but they are still in Canada:

www.belarus.ca

driver100

robr2 said:

driver100 said:

I really appreciate your knowledge and what you bring to the group too. Be careful about thinking things people say are "falsehood". Often they are honest attempts to relate knowledge, but may be honest mistakes. It's easy to make an honest mistake, and not do it intentionally.

Falsehoods is a bad word choice. Errors or incorrect statements are what bugs me. I think all of us have fallen into using something we've heard in the past and accepted it as fact. It's the old "they said" so it must be true.

Not only that, but somehow if you read it on the internet, most people think it must be true....and often, it just isn't.

If it seems illogical, I try to check it out on Snopes before passing on, but, not always possible.

Not too many decent people pass on misinformation knwingly...most people try their best.

fezo

I've been getting emails of late telling people - people who should know better - not to give to this charity because of the chief exec's salary (always reported falsely, often citing a dead person as the current CEO) and usually trying to direct you to give the money to the VFW, American Legion or Disabled American Veterans. Problem there is none of those a charities as defined as a 501c. Any donation is not tax deductible.

A sad thing was during ice bucket mania there was a mean one going around that ALS spent almost no money on research and victims and directing them elsewhere. Problem is it was all poppycock. Cost ALS millions more because of rumors. They did get a bundle of donations but this is a very underfunded disease in terms of research and treatment. That's because "only" 22,000 Americans have it.

Check snopes or truthorfiction.com on anything that sounds fishy.

houdini1

fezo said:

I've been getting emails of late telling people - people who should know better - not to give to this charity because of the chief exec's salary (always reported falsely, often citing a dead person as the current CEO) and usually trying to direct you to give the money to the VFW, American Legion or Disabled American Veterans. Problem there is none of those a charities as defined as a 501c. Any donation is not tax deductible.

A sad thing was during ice bucket mania there was a mean one going around that ALS spent almost no money on research and victims and directing them elsewhere. Problem is it was all poppycock. Cost ALS millions more because of rumors. They did get a bundle of donations but this is a very underfunded disease in terms of research and treatment. That's because "only" 22,000 Americans have it.

Check snopes or truthorfiction.com on anything that sounds fishy.

Fezo, you are probably referring to the Red Cross, as I remember seeing some of those emails. It is true that they had some problems in the past with a very high salaried CEO. However, donations to the VFW, The American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans are tax deductible. There may be a very few isolated posts that have had their tax exempt status revoked because of not making proper filings, but they are very few. Always check, etc.

I am not sure where you got that info., but the I.R.S. is a much better place to check than Snopes.

Mr_Shiftright

Disabled American Veterans, VFW etc are considered Social Welfare Organizations under section 501(c)(4). So not tax-deductible. I didn't know that either. (edit: often not tax-deductible on local or state levels----national organizations seem to have special tax status not accorded other 501(c)(4)s.

houdini1

Mr_Shiftright said:

Disabled American Veterans, VFW etc are considered Social Welfare Organizations under section 501(c)(4). So not tax-deductible. I didn't know that either.

I say donations to these org. are tax deductible. Looks like it is time for our resident expert, Robt to step in and clear this up !

driver100

houdini1 said:

fezo said:

I've been getting emails of late telling people - people who should know better - not to give to this charity because of the chief exec's salary (always reported falsely, often citing a dead person as the current CEO) and usually trying to direct you to give the money to the VFW, American Legion or Disabled American Veterans. Problem there is none of those a charities as defined as a 501c. Any donation is not tax deductible.

A sad thing was during ice bucket mania there was a mean one going around that ALS spent almost no money on research and victims and directing them elsewhere. Problem is it was all poppycock. Cost ALS millions more because of rumors. They did get a bundle of donations but this is a very underfunded disease in terms of research and treatment. That's because "only" 22,000 Americans have it.

Check snopes or truthorfiction.com on anything that sounds fishy.

Fezo, you are probably referring to the Red Cross, as I remember seeing some of those emails. It is true that they had some problems in the past with a very high salaried CEO. However, donations to the VFW, The American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans are tax deductible. There may be a very few isolated posts that have had their tax exempt status revoked because of not making proper filings, but they are very few. Always check, etc.

I am not sure where you got that info., but the I.R.S. is a much better place to check that Snopes.

I'll let you guys sort out what is tax deductable or not.

I did hear a guy who ran a company that raised money for a good charity. People complained that he charged $100K to do fund raising work for the charity. (I don't remember exact numbers, just putting in numbers as an example).

His answer, before they hired him the charity raised $250K. Though they paid him $100K he raised over $2 million for the charity.

Conclusion: Sometimes those big bucks spent are actually well spent.

graphicguy

fezo said:

I've been getting emails of late telling people - people who should know better - not to give to this charity because of the chief exec's salary (always reported falsely, often citing a dead person as the current CEO) and usually trying to direct you to give the money to the VFW, American Legion or Disabled American Veterans. Problem there is none of those a charities as defined as a 501c. Any donation is not tax deductibl

A sad thing was during ice bucket mania there was a mean one going around that ALS spent almost no money on research and victims and directing them elsewhere. Problem is it was all poppycock. Cost ALS millions more because of rumors. They did get a bundle of donations but this is a very underfunded disease in terms of research and treatment. That's because "only" 22,000 Americans have it.

Check snopes or truthorfiction.com on anything that sounds fishy.

Several weeks ago, TV was swamped with "Wounded Warrior" charity. Doing some digging, very, very, VERY little of the donations sent to them ended up in veterans' hands. Those who administor the charity get paid quite well, though.

nyccarguy

@graphicguy‌

My Aunt & Uncle were getting ready to trade in their 3rd (perfectly good 30,000 mile) Lexus ES. They got the same invitation as you. Test drive a Lincoln MKZ for a weekend, leave us your car to thoroughly detail, & we'll give you a $100 gift card. My Aunt & Uncle shared many of your sentiments. They absolutely LOVED the MKZ, until they returned it to the dealership & saw the (close to) $50K sticker price. So not only did the Lincoln have a higher sticker price than the ES, but my Uncle questioned its resale value as well. "How much more is the Lexus going to be worth?"

Same goes for this Lincoln MKC. Compare it to a similarly equipped RDX & the loaded MKC you drove.

robr2

houdini1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Disabled American Veterans, VFW etc are considered Social Welfare Organizations under section 501(c)(4). So not tax-deductible. I didn't know that either.

I say donations to these org. are tax deductible. Looks like it is time for our resident expert, Robt to step in and clear this up !

OK - five minutes of research:

The VFW National Headquarters is a charity per the IRS but local posts may not. The locals have to keep up with their paperwork.

The DAV is also a charity per the IRS but they have a poor record. One article I found shows they paid leadership $55 million out of $107 million collected in donations.

The American Legion National Organization is a charity per the IRS and the local posts are covered under their exemption as long as the local has an employer ID number. Again, it's up to the local to keep up with their paperwork.

driver100

Excellent research rob. Seems you have to do a lot of research before giving money to a charity.

houdini1

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

fezo said:

I've been getting emails of late telling people - people who should know better - not to give to this charity because of the chief exec's salary (always reported falsely, often citing a dead person as the current CEO) and usually trying to direct you to give the money to the VFW, American Legion or Disabled American Veterans. Problem there is none of those a charities as defined as a 501c. Any donation is not tax deductible.

A sad thing was during ice bucket mania there was a mean one going around that ALS spent almost no money on research and victims and directing them elsewhere. Problem is it was all poppycock. Cost ALS millions more because of rumors. They did get a bundle of donations but this is a very underfunded disease in terms of research and treatment. That's because "only" 22,000 Americans have it.

Check snopes or truthorfiction.com on anything that sounds fishy.

Fezo, you are probably referring to the Red Cross, as I remember seeing some of those emails. It is true that they had some problems in the past with a very high salaried CEO. However, donations to the VFW, The American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans are tax deductible. There may be a very few isolated posts that have had their tax exempt status revoked because of not making proper filings, but they are very few. Always check, etc.

I am not sure where you got that info., but the I.R.S. is a much better place to check that Snopes.

I'll let you guys sort out what is tax deductable or not.

I did hear a guy who ran a company that raised money for a good charity. People complained that he charged $100K to do fund raising work for the charity. (I don't remember exact numbers, just putting in numbers as an example).

His answer, before they hired him the charity raised $250K. Though they paid him $100K he raised over $2 million for the charity.

Conclusion: Sometimes those big bucks spent are actually well spent.

Now that sounds like money well spent !!

houdini1

robr2 said:

houdini1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Disabled American Veterans, VFW etc are considered Social Welfare Organizations under section 501(c)(4). So not tax-deductible. I didn't know that either.

I say donations to these org. are tax deductible. Looks like it is time for our resident expert, Robt to step in and clear this up !

OK - five minutes of research:

The VFW National Headquarters is a charity per the IRS but local posts may not. The locals have to keep up with their paperwork.

The DAV is also a charity per the IRS but they have a poor record. One article I found shows they paid leadership $55 million out of $107 million collected in donations.

The American Legion National Organization is a charity per the IRS and the local posts are covered under their exemption as long as the local has an employer ID number. Again, it's up to the local to keep up with their paperwork.

Thanks Rob. The results of your research pretty much mirrors mine...and admittedly it is somewhat confusing.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

@graphicguy‌

My Aunt & Uncle were getting ready to trade in their 3rd (perfectly good 30,000 mile) Lexus ES. They got the same invitation as you. Test drive a Lincoln MKZ for a weekend, leave us your car to thoroughly detail, & we'll give you a $100 gift card. My Aunt & Uncle shared many of your sentiments. They absolutely LOVED the MKZ, until they returned it to the dealership & saw the (close to) $50K sticker price. So not only did the Lincoln have a higher sticker price than the ES, but my Uncle questioned its resale value as well. "How much more is the Lexus going to be worth?"

Same goes for this Lincoln MKC. Compare it to a similarly equipped RDX & the loaded MKC you drove.

Bradd....I received a follow up survey asking my opinion of the car(s), the dealership experience, whether my personal car was detailed while I was test driving theirs, etc.

I gave them poor marks on the dealership, and middling to good marks about the car.

I guess I would have been more active in my personal followup if I were interested in their cars, or if they hadn't actually PAID ME to drive one. Would have been nice to get a detail on my TL. But again, they paid me, so no harm, no foul.

For and MKZ, $50K would be a tough sell. It is a pretty car, that's well designed, handles well enough, has upscale features and materials. But, after jumping back into my TL, and driving home, I realized my Acura was a much better car. I have over 20K miles on it, had it for a couple of years, and it's still as tight as the day I drove it off the lot. It handles better, is faster, is built as well as anything I've ever owned (which covers some pretty nice vehicles). And, it's $5K less expensive than the MKZ (according to the MSRP). Granted, if I did a little GG research, and got down to a skinny deal on the MKZ, that pricing delta might close quite a bit. Still, Lincoln has a ways to go to play with the Germans and Japanese on the lux front.

Even Cadillac, with all of their good products recently, are finding it tough sledding this year.

Your Aunt/Uncle are right, given how I've read Lexus treats their customers, it would take a whole lot more than just a competitive vehicle to woo them away. If you can't compete on product, or price, you damned well better compete on service. Lincoln isn't doing any of that right now.

houdini1

We have driven Lexus's for the past few years. The cars have been great with zero problems, but IMO they need to step up their game a little. The main reason we have stuck with them is the dealership experience. Somehow I just can't see myself dickering it out with Audi, BMW, or Mercedes based on my previous experience with them here locally.

fezo

rob - thanks for some clarity. I'm largely concerned with the good, highly effective and highly rated charities getting slimed in these wacky Emails. The rule of thumb goes something like if administration and overhead is below 20% with 80% going to the actual cause the charity claims as its purpose that's a good charity. If you can't find the percentages beware.

fezo

Looks like my daughter blew a headgasket on the Accord. Her boyfriend picked her and the car up and is replacing it today. If there's a crack in the engine block then it's toast. He owns an auto body shop and can do almost anything mechanical and always has cars that he buys on the cheap, fixes them up to be good, solid cars and sells them for a nice profit. He has one for my daughter but it's an unfinished project. I imagine he'll put her in a finished project that will have an automatic that she won't like (she's my daughter after all) but knows that would only be a temporary situation until the Subaru is done.

He's way older than her but he also understands her and really communicates with her. In theory I was wary but having met him and watch them interact I'm on board for whatever they want. It's not like they know what they want yet but it's good to see her without one sort of bum or another.

ab348

Well, I finally heard something about the lease ending on the Regal, though not in the way I expected.

I received a voice mail yesterday from GM Financial in Ontario. I originally leased the car through the dealer who wrote it through a company called FinancialLynx, which somewhere along the way became GM Financial. I guess they are now GM Canada's in-house finance arm, the replacement for GMAC. I don't know what the equivalent is in the US.

The voice mail was rather odd. In a quite demanding-sounding tone, the lady said I needed to call her IMMEDIATELY to tell them whether I was buying the car or turning it in. She then left a bunch of phone, extension and file #s and again said I must call them at once. I was rather taken aback.

While I suspect I will buy the car, I was expecting to hear something from the dealer about my options, what they might be able to entice me with to move to a new car, etc. Instead, this.

I am tempted to call her back and tell her that I don't know what I want to do and until the dealer contacts me to show that they are interested in keeping me as a customer I will not make any decision. This just seems to get more and more bizarre.

roadburner

fezo said:

rob - thanks for some clarity. I'm largely concerned with the good, highly effective and highly rated charities getting slimed in these wacky Emails. The rule of thumb goes something like if administration and overhead is below 20% with 80% going to the actual cause the charity claims as its purpose that's a good charity. If you can't find the percentages beware.

Charity Navigator is a useful resource which can help you evaluate whether a charity makes effective use of the donations it receives.

Mr_Shiftright

Charity Navigator is great! Also, the IRS website lets you check whether state or local VETS groups are tax-deductible or not. Vets groups are a special category in tax exemption and there are very complex rules about them. I'm a vet and always double-check with Charity Navigator---some groups are *very* disappointing in their record.

roadburner said:

fezo said:

rob - thanks for some clarity. I'm largely concerned with the good, highly effective and highly rated charities getting slimed in these wacky Emails. The rule of thumb goes something like if administration and overhead is below 20% with 80% going to the actual cause the charity claims as its purpose that's a good charity. If you can't find the percentages beware.

Charity Navigator is a useful resource which can help you evaluate whether a charity makes effective use of the donations it receives.

driver100

ab348 said:

Well, I finally heard something about the lease ending on the Regal, though not in the way I expected.

While I suspect I will buy the car, I was expecting to hear something from the dealer about my options, what they might be able to entice me with to move to a new car, etc. Instead, this.

When i turned in my last Jeep the dealer took the attitude that the Jeep lease was really out of their hands, it was between me and Chrysler. You would think dealers would pick up on the possibility of selling to a repeat customer, but, I think if the dealer isn't very aggressive you just fall through the cracks.

There's almost some tension between the dealer and corporate.

I'd be interested in knowing how this plays out. You can always wonder into the dealer and see what the deal would be on a new one.

robr2

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

Well, I finally heard something about the lease ending on the Regal, though not in the way I expected.

While I suspect I will buy the car, I was expecting to hear something from the dealer about my options, what they might be able to entice me with to move to a new car, etc. Instead, this.

When i turned in my last Jeep the dealer took the attitude that the Jeep lease was really out of their hands, it was between me and Chrysler. You would think dealers would pick up on the possibility of selling to a repeat customer, but, I think if the dealer isn't very aggressive you just fall through the cracks.

There's almost some tension between the dealer and corporate.

I'd be interested in knowing how this plays out. You can always wonder into the dealer and see what the deal would be on a new one.

Whoever underwrote the lease is the one that owns the car and are the ones to deal with you on the disposition. Now a good selling dealer would keep track of whoever they leased a vehicle to and reach out to them about 60-90 days for follow up. It makes good business sense to know when your customers will need to get a car again.

ab348

robr2 said:

Whoever underwrote the lease is the one that owns the car and are the ones to deal with you on the disposition. Now a good selling dealer would keep track of whoever they leased a vehicle to and reach out to them about 60-90 days for follow up. It makes good business sense to know when your customers will need to get a car again.

Yes, I know that if I buy the car I will be buying it from GM Financial. I am more surprised by the last point you made, which is the seeming disinterest from the dealer in selling me something else.

houdini1

ab348 said:

robr2 said:

Whoever underwrote the lease is the one that owns the car and are the ones to deal with you on the disposition. Now a good selling dealer would keep track of whoever they leased a vehicle to and reach out to them about 60-90 days for follow up. It makes good business sense to know when your customers will need to get a car again.

Yes, I know that if I buy the car I will be buying it from GM Financial. I am more surprised by the last point you made, which is the seeming disinterest from the dealer in selling me something else.

I wonder if the dealership has changed hands, or maybe just had a lot of employee turnover ? Maybe they just suffer from poor record keeping. Certainly does seem odd.

abacomike

I just spoke with my son because he had an MRI Tuesday to determine if the current radiation treatments are being effective in reducing the size of the brain tumor.  Unfortunately, the tumor has not reduced in size sufficiently to satisfy his oncologist. So they are going to increase the intensity of each bi-weekly double treatment.  I don't think he will be able to handle double treatments with the higher intensity so he may have to go each week.

He will have another MRI in 4 weeks with the hope that the malignant tumor has reduced in size.  The side effects of the radiation are severe and quite debilitating. His head is numb, sores in his mouth and on his head.

I wish I could trade places with him and take his suffering so he won't have to deal with the painful headaches.

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

fezo

Indeed. Charity Navigator is great. That's where I found out about all the misinformation. Started out with snopes and they said "this is where we get our information." It's a really helpful site.

I usually believe snopes right off but checking their source is always good.

fezo

So in about 10 days the clutch on the Mazda gets replaced. You can feel it going and I'd rather get it done before winter sets in.

You guys that are always buying new every few years (or in Mike's case every few months) miss all this fun.

isellhondas

abacomike said:

I just spoke with my son because he had an MRI Tuesday to determine if the current radiation treatments are being effective in reducing the size of the brain tumor.  Unfortunately, the tumor has not reduced in size sufficiently to satisfy his oncologist. So they are going to increase the intensity of each bi-weekly double treatment.  I don't think he will be able to handle double treatments with the higher intensity so he may have to go each week.

He will have another MRI in 4 weeks with the hope that the malignant tumor has reduced in size.  The side effects of the radiation are severe and quite debilitating. His head is numb, sores in his mouth and on his head.

I wish I could trade places with him and take his suffering so he won't have to deal with the painful headaches.

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

You go right ahead and vent. We are pulling for you and your son!

I think I can speak for all of us that our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time!

nyccarguy

Vent away Mike! That's what we are here for! We are all pulling for you and your son.

driver100

abacomike said:

I just spoke with my son because he had an MRI Tuesday to determine if the current radiation treatments are being effective in reducing the size of the brain tumor.  Unfortunately, the tumor has not reduced in size sufficiently to satisfy his oncologist. So they are going to increase the intensity of each bi-weekly double treatment.  I don't think he will be able to handle double treatments with the higher intensity so he may have to go each week.

He will have another MRI in 4 weeks with the hope that the malignant tumor has reduced in size.  The side effects of the radiation are severe and quite debilitating. His head is numb, sores in his mouth and on his head.

I wish I could trade places with him and take his suffering so he won't have to deal with the painful headaches.

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

Sorry to hear that news Mike. I can only share in isells comment;
"I think I can speak for all of us that our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time!"

driver100

I read a review in my weekly paper about the 2014 Camaro bumblebee. It was headlined could use more sting. The reviewer was underwhelmed, said the Mustang and Challenger were nicer inside. The comments about the front and side vision struck a chord.

Inside, form dictates function. If you wanted to look good in your bowtie muscle car, then that base is covered; if you wanted to see well, um, not so much. Forward visibility is akin to the M4 Sherman tanks that were once tested at GM’s Milford proving grounds, and this convertible version has large three-quarter blindspots. The rear seats will do for smaller children, but headroom up front is relatively tight. Oh, and the trunk is usable for smaller items, but might present a challenge to weekend getaway luggage.

What’s more, the Camaro’s interior now lags behind the refreshed Challenger and all-new Mustang introduced this year.





Complete review:
National Post - Driving

[Deleted User]

I wound up going out of town this week and didn't have much time to drive the new Subie, but I did snap a few shots.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User]

This shot shows how the paint sparkles in the sun. I love that

Oh, these pics were taken after the clear bra was installed and the paint coating applied.

driver100

Also, interesting article on buyers remorse. In Ontario Canada a survey stated 1/2 of car buyers will be buying another make next time. And 1/3 of new car buyers surveyed were not thrilled with their purchase.

Lots to consider and look at before commiting to a new car. Keep all this in mind oldfarmer.

I was surprised at those statistics.
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Note to Fezo RE: You guys that are always buying new every few years (or in Mike's case every few months) miss all this fun.

I have experienced all that fun for many years. I probably spent 1/4 of my younger days trying to get cars repaired. That's why I really don't want to have to do it again,

driver100

tyguy said:

Looks great ty in white and that sparkly affect is really nice too.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Driver! Have you made it back to Florida for the winter? The temperatures are cooling down in Colorado and the leaves dropping, so I was thinking you'd be getting close to your trek south. My parents just started their drive from California to Florida with their diesel pusher RV with plans to spend a few months on the road.

stickguy

i would absolutely prefer being able to just keep refreshing with a new car and never deal with repairs again. Sadly, the lack of funds is going to prevent that option!

ab348

houdini1 said:

I wonder if the dealership has changed hands, or maybe just had a lot of employee turnover ? Maybe they just suffer from poor record keeping. Certainly does seem odd.

They have not changed hands, and in fact are growing like mad. Although there is something I think is relevant in all that.

This ownership started with a single Chevy dealership - the place I use - in the early 1980s. For a long time that was the cornerstone of their business. Then they started branching out into other brands. Now they have dealerships for Toyota, Nissan, Lexus, M-B, BMW, Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, VW, and Infiniti, plus a huge used-car operation. Still only the one GM operation. And in my dealings, I get the distinct impression that the relationship isn't all that great with GM. They did pick up Buick and GMC in 2010 when another dealer for those brands closed locally, but don't sell many Buicks. I just think that at this stage of their business, they are not devoting much to the GM side.

The sales guy I used is no longer there, and I don't know any of the others who may be working there, so I don't know anyone I would call. I will return the GM Financial call next week and tell the lady there that I don't know what I want to do as I haven't heard anything from my dealer. Maybe that will light a fire under them.

ab348

driver100 said:

Looks great ty in white and that sparkly affect is really nice too.

I like those metallic pearl whites a lot. Funny because the newer metallic blacks that have become popular recently leave me cold - even freshly waxed, they always look like they are dusty.