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2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
This one is connected to a movie linked to a few other prior shots:
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Glencoe looks like a fairly tony area, and not far from several other Hughes locations.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Also seen for some scenes in Groundhog Day:
Leaf, Rio (I think), Lexus ES and RX, Corolla, and a new Wrangler with only parking lights.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
As an extra bonus, it is below freezing here this morning (just, maybe 30F), so some roads are slathered with de-icer, in an over-compensation move as inaction during a snow event around 10 years ago proved disastrous for the tenure of a Seattle mayor. Humidity is quite low, so I suspect other than on select bridges and overpasses, this is completely needless, and just puts gunk on cars (and probably helps someone's brother in law who owns a chemical distribution company or similar) And sometimes does much worse
You guys don't get it - he who has the most toys when they die wins
No lights for tonight - Prius (surprise) and what I think was a mid 00s TL, it was at a distance.
Had I not, I think it might have been the first time I would have seriously nailed another driver's tail to the wall for such stupidity. In Alaska, in winter, there's just no excuse for that sort of crap.
I am thinking if I get another car next year, I will upgrade the cam to a current model, and maybe run the old one in the fintail - but I don't know if that car will reject it like a baboon heart transplant.
As for the Q7, I mostly like it. I'll like it a lot more after a few modifications to get it more like it was before the fix. It's not bad now, just not the car it used to be.
That ~5 year old/prior generation point can be a tough area in premium brand German car depreciation anyway, the diesel drama can't help. Will the other half drive it, or is it a sore spot?
The hanging wire is annoying but for as often as you drive it, probably not that bothersome.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Well, that's a funny thing... Vehicles are ALWAYS a sore spot for her! LOL
I originally expected that I would not have the car longer than a year (we brought it home first week of March 2017). In March of this year, after that year passed, she asked me when I was going to put it up for sale. I was dragging my feet a bit about it, so I told her "May" (the month, not "I *may* do it"). That month came and went, and then I said I was waiting until I did annual maintenance on it so that I could advertise it fresh. She was okay with that.
Late June, I did the maintenance, and I posted it in early July. At that point, she didn't have a car because of the "canoe incident," and she was driving it almost exclusively (I was biking and using my C20, or she was transporting me). I had a serious buyer in early August, and she was a little defensive about the idea of getting rid of it. The buyer fizzled, and, by mid-September, she finally has her car back.
At first, she wasn't all that keen on using her car again. It took about a week (and me just driving off with the Q7 one day) before she drove the Forester. Now, it's a mixed bag. She's back to ridiculing the Audi, yet every time we have the opportunity to ride as a family (or couple) and we take the Forester, she chastises me for not taking the Q7. The grief I got about not being able to take the Q7 to Anchorage to pick up a washer and dryer because they would not fit inside it? Classic. She ribbed me even more when I arrived home with BOTH inside the car, rather than one inside and one on the cargo tray as I originally assumed I would need to do. /sigh
My read? I think she's okay with the Q7 but afraid that it clashes with our general "salt of the earth" sort of demeanor (e.g., she's afraid of other peoples' opinions of her). She wants to enjoy the benefits of it, but doesn't want to get too comfortable with them so that she feels she "must have it."
However, I think the only car I've ever bought that she has not chided in one way or another is the 2013 Passat. While it really was fantastic, I suspect she liked that car so much only because she knew it was money in the bank. Hahhaha
Speaking of dashcams, last year I picked up a cheapo unit to run in the fintail, plugged into the lighter. Immediately after I plugged it in, it made a bad noise and was dead. I wasn't sure if it was just defective or if my car somehow toasted it, so I sent it back as defective and didn't dare try again. The wire would bug me, but as tjc mentioned, it might not be worth hardwiring in on a car I drive twice a month.
Day off today, went for a jog at sunrise and happened upon a fender bender - from what I can tell, a Leaf rear-ended a F150. Ford 1, Nissan 0. Then did some errands - got cut off twice, was one of maybe 3 total vehicles on the road using turn signals, saw endless amounts of "drivers" who want to do 41 mph on 405 for no reason or who think a normal following distance is either 6 inches or 50 yards, I'd love to see these people dumped on the roads of LA or Chicago and told to fend for themselves, how long would they last?
The last time I drove any of my "old" vehicles on the highway (e.g., between AK and WA) was in 1999 when I did the "meet the folks" trip with my now-wife in the '69 C20. It was only thirty years old then! We did a lot more than just AK-WA, though: 11,000 miles in 28 days from Anchorage to Pendleton, over to Erie (PA), and back to Fairbanks, with lots of stops/visits/etc. along the way.
We bounced out of the Seattle area quickly, but spent many hours traversing Chicago (twice, though the first go wasn't too bad as we arrived there at about 0300 some weekday morning) and a few days in Columbus (OH). Those glimpses convinced me that the primary cause of urban interstate jams is the drivers themselves: Their impatience and inconsideration breeds gridlock.
No mechanical issues with the C20, but lots of fun stories about my prior three trips with the '69 Econoline. However, some of the best car/trip memories of my life! I wouldn't trade them now, but I wasn't so fond of them at the time.
My dad had old cars when I was a kid, and he was similar in being carefree. He maintained them, so he'd hop in one of them, the 68 Fairlane (this was in the mid 90s) especially, and do a 300 mile trip in a day without hesitation. I remember 200+ mile trips in the 60 Ford, too.
In 2013, I took five weeks off work so we could do our "transcontinental" trip in the 2010 Forester. At the time, it was only four years old and had something like 54,000 miles on it. It barely used any oil at all, requiring maybe one quart added in a year of driving (10-15K a year). I changed the oil in July, as always, so it had about 1,500 miles on it before we left in late August. Oil was full, we were good! I always take a tote of supplies, like flares, tools, oil, bulbs, etc., so I threw in a gallon of my normal oil "just in case." All was well for the first 6,000 miles and two weeks. We drove from Fairbanks to Montreal over nine days, then down to Massachusetts, over to Niagara Falls and into the Erie area for several days, and then started making our way south to Athens, Ohio.
While driving that day, I thought I smelled a little "burned oil" (something one learns quickly owning Subaru!). When I stopped for fuel, I checked the dipstick (I usually check every other fill, another habit learned by driving old vehicles!)... it was at the add mark! The previous check it was a little under 50% to add, so that seemed rather dramatic. I added a quart, and off we went. In Athens, I noted a small oil spot on the ground under our car the next morning after visiting friends. I looked it over, and found a small leak looked to have developed at the front of the engine (I assumed crankshaft based on location).
We continued on, and I found that I was a half-quart low at the next fill. Well, by the time we made it another 2,000 miles (nearly to Oregon, our next stop) and were around Missoula, MT, I had used that whole gallon and needed more supply! I bought a few quarts of Mobil1 from an auto place there, and we continued to Oregon. By the time we made it there, it was dripping out nearly a quart per tank (~350 miles). We decided to see if we could get it inspected while we were stationary for a few days with dealers in the area. I called all the places, and explained our situation and the need for a fast service visit, and they all brushed me off.... Except for McCurley in Pasco! They said they would squeeze it in for inspection, but couldn't guarantee the timing if it needed repairs. Well, it turns out that the problem was quite serious (failed oil pump seal) and could have become catastrophic (e.g., blown engine or left us on the side of the road) at any time, so they pulled the stops and fixed it that day!
Amazing service! Our schedule altered while we were there, but we were back on the road as planned and made it home with no issues at all. I think we had something like 67,000 on the clock when we arrived in Fairbanks.
At the time I had a brand new Solara V6 but more often than not I drove the Lincoln.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
My son graduated HS the following June, and I drove that Subaru 1100 miles from Denver to LA to gift it to him. Didn't really do much to prepare (I'm sure there are posts on one of these threads about it), and got 30 MPG on the drive.
Sadly, the car didn't last long - he bought himself a late 90's Mustang a year or so later and gave the Subaru to a friend of his, who totaled it not long after.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Out early again today, saw the most stereotypical move in a stereotypical local car (Sienna with the pseudo-aggressive sport trim). It pulled into a right turn lane at a red light, changed mind, backed up, got in the straight only lane. Then at green, it turned left. Welcome to any PNW metro area.
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/53565/general/x/inconsiderate-drivers-ii-share-your-stories-etc#latest
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At around 0630 I loaded up the car, got in, pressed the button - and received a flicker of lights and every system warning alert. I doubted everything broke at once, so that means one thing: battery. I called MB roadside assistance, and within 30 minutes someone was there to take a look. Battery was at 9 volts. They jumped it, and I took it to the dealer where it sat for over an hour as while they checked the electrical system. No faults noted, battery charged back up, and I continued with my journey. Not sure what happened, I drove the car Saturday and it was fine. The tech thought it might be because I often just drive on a short commute and park, but I do drive longer on road trips or weekends.
The trip itself was OK, no jams, a few dopes, a few enforcers, almost hit 43 mpg at roughly 10 over.
Either way, nice to hear that the solution was fairly painless, even if somewhat time consuming.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
AAA even replaced a couple of batteries under warranty for him. I used to irritate him because I told him the car spent more time hooked to his rolling charger/jump start unit then it did on the road. I'd go by and the car would be hooked up to the extension cord charging the battery.
A dead lead acid battery should be at 11.80 Volts. AGM battery would be 10.50 volts. Your battery must have still be online and something was drawing it down.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I've had the car for 2.5 years without a peep of any kind til now. I will chalk it up to a quirk unless it happens again. Something like an E500 would be a different animal, assuming it is a mid 00s car, those were not the zenith of MB quality, and can be a maintenance chore. MB has long had hoods that open wide, too, even the fintail can do it. I think it would open even a little more, but was close to the ceiling.
Drive back to the rat race wasn't as nice as the way down - awful traffic in Tacoma where I think some parts of I5 have been under construction for more than 20 years. Quite a few LLCs as well, and I think I saw only one cop in 3 hours.