Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

explorerx4

Always pulling for you Mike.

@JMonroe,
How about telling your wife if you got a new car, you'd drive it more.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Got a call from my gastroenterologist yesterday explaining to me that he wanted to extend taking the Epclusa I am on for Hep C for another 12 weeks. He said that since I had failed three other courses of drugs aimed at eliminating the virus, he wanted to be sure I took the drug for a long enough time to finally kill this bug.

So, I said OK. I am getting another 3 months worth of this drug, which must first be approved by my health insurance company and hopefully, I can get approval for copays to be paid by another foundation. God must be with me because not only did the health insurance provider approve another $75,000+ for the three months, but a new foundation approved picking up my copay for $7,200 for the three months.

I guess I'll just have to learn to live with this insomnia, weakness and tiredness another 12 weeks, which would end in October. I will continue to take blood tests every 4 weeks and, with God's grace, I can hopefully be rid of this horrible virus which caused my cancer and has played havoc with my immune system.

Well at least with the financial support you won't have to worry about the money end of it. Wishing you the best.

jmonroe

@abacomike

That is very good news Mike. It sounds like your doctor wants to give this a final walloping. I'm sure you'll trade a little less sleep for this final knock out punch.

I'd still like to bid for all those vials you're going to need but when you stick your arm out for the final blood draining you will know you beat this.

All you have to do right now is stay with us, we'll get you through this.

Good luck.

jmonroe

28firefighter

Hang in there @abacomike. We are with you. 

pensfan83

@abacomike all the best for a quick and speed recovery

graphicguy

pensfan83 said:

@abacomike all the best for a quick and speed recovery

+1

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I could live with a 2005+ GT of some sort. Just need to find some aftermarket or later model seats that don't kill my back.

Go for a 2011+ and get the extra 100hp. Find one with the 3:73 gears and the speed will make your eyes bleed.

Having said that I'd like to get a nice cheap 2005ish 6 cyl. Convertible version for sedate cruising that won't scare my wife.

Farmer.....you have to get a convertible that's loud and tire shredding.....otherwise.....what's the point.

Just got back from a July 4th afternoon cookout. Left early given it was in a part of town that's going to fill up very quickly, very shortly for fireworks. I love me some fireworks, but have seen probably 3 shows already the past 3 evenings. Don't need another and don't feel like fighting traffic.

So, taking the interstate home, for the first time I tried some of the "self driving features" of my Acura. I can report, they work, which is a good thing, otherwise I'd be picking up the TLX's body parts off the roadway.

Strange sensation, though. You let go of the steering wheel, set the cruise control, and it drives itself (well, for a bit...then it asks you to grab the wheel). Found if you just hold the steering wheel loosely, it will drive itself until you need to turn, or exit the interstate. Sweeping curves it negotiated without drama. Slowed down when it came upon traffic. Sped back up when the traffic cleared. Not sure I'm ready for such a car. Moreover, not sure they're "hack proof" either, which could cause plenty of carnage.

I guess that hacking a car would give new meaning to someone extracting revenge by keying a car, or putting sugar in a gas tank.

Although I've blasted the Acura in town, turns out it's a good highway car, too.

roadburner

That's what concerns me about autonomous cars, a worm like Stuxnet could cause all kinds of problems. For example, suppose it causes a car to operate at 70 mph even though the car "thinks" it is going 50 mph...

graphicguy

RB....I'm with you. If you have enough cars on the road with "self driving" capabilities, a hack could cause quite a bit of carnage. There has to be some sort of human interaction and over ride ability that's independent of the car's self driving.

abacomike

Thanks all for your kind thoughts.  Much appreciated.  It would be nice to be able to post about cars only - not Hep C, pills, infections, cancer, etc. 

abacomike

graphicguy said:

RB....I'm with you. If you have enough cars on the road with "self driving" capabilities, a hack could cause quite a bit of carnage. There has to be some sort of human interaction and over ride ability that's independent of the car's self driving.

There is a button on my steering wheel that sets and cancels the semi-autonomous self-driving feature for cruise and steering.  But, if someone hacks into my car's computer, they could easily program it to not respond to the "cancel" command.  

In the BMW, I can override the self-steering system by fighting the steering wheel which puts manual steering back in charge of steering.  But it does take quite a bit of effort which some older drivers as well as weaker drivers may not be able to effect.

Interesting take on hacking and cars.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

graphicguy said:

RB....I'm with you. If you have enough cars on the road with "self driving" capabilities, a hack could cause quite a bit of carnage. There has to be some sort of human interaction and over ride ability that's independent of the car's self driving.

There is a button on my steering wheel that sets and cancels the semi-autonomous self-driving feature for cruise and steering.  But, if someone hacks into my car's computer, they could easily program it to not respond to the "cancel" command.  

In the BMW, I can override the self-steering system by fighting the steering wheel which puts manual steering back in charge of steering.  But it does take quite a bit of effort which some older drivers as well as weaker drivers may not be able to effect.

Interesting take on hacking and cars.

Having driven many older marginal cars with various non operational systems I'd be terrified of driving an old worn out version of an autonomous vehicle where time and road salt has done it's work.

How bad would it be to rely on adaptive cruise or collision avoidance only to have the system fail at the worst posdible time. It's frustrating to have your AC go out on the hottest day of the year but it could be fatal when you rear end a car because the collision avoidance radar rusted off.

I wonder if in the future cars will become scrap when the total repairs required of these nannies exceed their value long before the mechanical systems die.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

graphicguy said:

RB....I'm with you. If you have enough cars on the road with "self driving" capabilities, a hack could cause quite a bit of carnage. There has to be some sort of human interaction and over ride ability that's independent of the car's self driving.

There is a button on my steering wheel that sets and cancels the semi-autonomous self-driving feature for cruise and steering.  But, if someone hacks into my car's computer, they could easily program it to not respond to the "cancel" command.  

In the BMW, I can override the self-steering system by fighting the steering wheel which puts manual steering back in charge of steering.  But it does take quite a bit of effort which some older drivers as well as weaker drivers may not be able to effect.

Interesting take on hacking and cars.

Mike, anytime something is turned over to a computer, somebody or some thing can take control. I don't like them taking over for driving cars either but as long as we are in the driver's seat, literally, hopefully we can take over if need be.

I don't want to bore anybody but I have a little story about the new fangled ways of doing things today.

About 4 months before I retired I got a call from a young engineer (about 2 years out of school) whose company had been buying instruments from us dating back to the late 60's. He wanted to know why we couldn't supply an instrument that could be calibrated remotely through a dedicated system to replace the ones that we supplied, like the one he bought for another application? He goes on to tell me how much time that would save.

I asked him if this other instrument was being used in an application that was critical to plant safety and operation? I knew it couldn't have been but I asked anyway. The young guy said no. So I said there is a very good reason why we can't do that. I told him that there was too much risk that neither we or his plant could afford to take because of unauthorized people or things getting control of one of the plant's safety systems. I went into several scenarios that he had not thought of before to get my point across. He said, "when I spoke to one of the old timers around here about that he said pretty much the same thing but he didn't get into that much in the way of details like you did so he suggested that I call you to get your latest thoughts about this". I told him our philosophy had not changed and now he could understand why. He then said he was going to put Sam on the line so we could have a good laugh about his question. We chuckled alright but it was more about safety reinforcement than anything else.

This young guy was pretty damn sharp but since he grew up with computers he thought they should do everything.

jmonroe

driver100

Mike, hoping for the best....you always come through!

Thought this was a good idea:

stickguy

well, if the nannies fail, can still use the car as long as they are off.

and if people would just drive manual trans cars still, driver would still have final control!

bwia

Happy Canada Day and 
Happy Independence Day.

So what is taking you Canadian guys so long to join the Union, could it be Quebec? You guys are more American than Americans. 

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

Happy Canada Day and 
Happy Independence Day.

So what is taking you Canadian guys so long to join the Union, could it be Quebec? You guys are more American than Americans. 

Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult.

bwia

tjc78 said:

@abacomike
Hang in there!! Hoping that this last round does the trick and the side effects are marginal!! 

Ditto

driver100

bwia said:

Happy Canada Day and 
Happy Independence Day.

So what is taking you Canadian guys so long to join the Union, could it be Quebec? You guys are more American than Americans. 

I admire and have the greatest respect for your great country....but, there are certain advantages to remaining as Canadians. Health care is probably the big one, higher taxes and costs of goods, not so much.

ab348

It may happen sooner than you think, @bwia . A sizable number of Quebecois have always wanted independence but those attempts have always been defeated in the past. Now though the natives are restless and are demanding that all govt land be turned over to them, that trillions in compensation for past wrongs be paid, and that they be allowed to govern themselves autonomously, among other things. Many people seem to think this is OK. If that happens, it is likely Quebec will start down the same path and the rest of the country will have to figure out what to do with the pieces that are left.

imidazol97

I thought of Mike and his trunk's self-opening while sipping my coffee mix at UDF this morning. An older man, over 40, put gas into his Malibu LTZ. He had temp plates on the car so it is likely a recent purchase. He opened the trunk, got out a large microfiber cloth, and wiped off the entire rear of the car with it. I'd worry about the dry dirt scratching the paint, but he didn't...

Closed the trunk and walked into store to pay for gas. Went back to his car. Fiddled with the key fob as though he's new to that layout on the fob. His trunk slowly opened, but he proceeded to get into the car. After a minute he started to drive away. His trunk was at full alert! I watched to see how long the warning bells, lights, and vibrating seat would take for him to notice the trunk. Halfway out of the parking lot he stopped. Did not get out of the car. I suspect he was trying to figure out the meaning of the warnings being given. LOL.

Eventually, he got out, closed the trunk and drove off.

In another minute or so a frequent morning lady parked he CTS-V at the same row of pumps. Dressed for work, she started the fueling, opened HER trunk. She got out a handheld mop with dirty looking loops of yarn (California duster?). She went over her entire car with it. Car is black and beautiful. It was too funny to watch. A lady in her early 50s, in a sausage dress with horizontal black and red stripes, standing on solid wooden heel shoes mopping her car. Then she carried the mop into the store to pay! The appearance of it all...

fintail

Swaths of Ontario and Prairies/Alberta are already pretty American, they just won't admit it. Same in BC, where in Vancouver people put on amusing airs about being just like cultured Europeans, but are really just Seattlites with less risk of medical bankruptcy and more of a money laundering-controlled real estate market. And once you get out into the valley or beyond, it is more amusing.

bwia said:

Happy Canada Day and 
Happy Independence Day.

So what is taking you Canadian guys so long to join the Union, could it be Quebec? You guys are more American than Americans. 

fintail

I don't know if I want many "drivers" to have final control, people here can barely navigate a Prius around a corner at more than 6 mph. We've been implicitly told that to be more fair and just, driving standards need to be dumbed down a notch or 50.

stickguy said:

well, if the nannies fail, can still use the car as long as they are off.

and if people would just drive manual trans cars still, driver would still have final control!

fintail

Malibu driver sounds iffy, like he doesn't use his rear view mirror. I only mop my car in the garage, and those dusters can cause fine swirl marks on a black car, maybe better to use a clean microfiber with a spray detailer.

imidazol97 said:

I thought of Mike and his trunk's self-opening while sipping my coffee mix at UDF this morning. An older man, over 40, put gas into his Malibu LTZ. He had temp plates on the car so it is likely a recent purchase. He opened the trunk, got out a large microfiber cloth, and wiped off the entire rear of the car with it. I'd worry about the dry dirt scratching the paint, but he didn't...
shoes mopping her car. Then she carried the mop into the store to pay! The appearance of it all...

tjc78

I wouldn't touch a black car with those duster things.   Someone bought me one years ago and I used it on a burgundy car and it put swirls in the paint. 

imidazol97

I found it ironic that two people in a row cleaned off their cars at the gas pumps. Maybe because of the city's fireworks last night putting ash into the air around this immediate area. The lady with the knit dress that was alternating black and red stripes wiggling as the used the duster was one of the funniest things I've seen.

tjc78

I can imagine that being funny.  The first thing I thought of was my wife.  

1: she has never and will never pump her own gas 

2: she has never and will never have any part of washing or wiping down a car. 

pensfan83

I always cringe when I am gassing up at a station with a tunnel wash and see people go through the wash and then finish drying the car with cotton towels. I can't imagine the swirls/scratches from the car wash and the towel

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

It may happen sooner than you think, @bwia . A sizable number of Quebecois have always wanted independence but those attempts have always been defeated in the past. Now though the natives are restless and are demanding that all govt land be turned over to them, that trillions in compensation for past wrongs be paid, and that they be allowed to govern themselves autonomously, among other things. Many people seem to think this is OK. If that happens, it is likely Quebec will start down the same path and the rest of the country will have to figure out what to do with the pieces that are left.

I would love to unite Canada, CA, OR, WA and NY into a great People's Republic of Canadastan. Our main exports would be movies, robots, weed, water, lumber, wheat and attitude.

stickguy

Throw in Vermont too

Mr_Shiftright

I dunno...we're into power players here. Maybe later we can let the little guys in.

fintail

Not to mention most things computer or internet-related. There could even be cars.

It's a fun thing, as people are probably as much or more geographically fractured now than at any time in the past 150 years. Not without surprise, I have more in common with someone 100 miles to the north than 2500 miles to the southeast.

Mr_Shiftright said:

I would love to unite Canada, CA, OR, WA and NY into a great People's Republic of Canadastan. Our main exports would be movies, robots, weed, water, lumber, wheat and attitude.

ab348

Doesn't do much for us poor unfortunates over here on the east coast of Canada.

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, tourism! Forgot that. Need to drive those new Google cars somewhere!

abacomike

Just read an article about some major changes coming to the Volvo Fleet. Starting in 2018-2019, Volvo will be producing ONLY hybrids or fully electric vehicles. No more fully internal combustion engine powered cars - just those needed in the hybrids.

Now that is a very interesting and major change in the direction of manufacturing automobiles for Volvo. Tesla gets away with it because that's all they produce - Electric Powered Vehicles. With the overabundance of oil reserves as well as inventories of gasoline, worldwide, I wonder if that's a wise corporate decision. It is obviously a wise decision for ecology-minded individuals and corporations, but is it a wise decision for the brand? Volvo is owned by Chinese interests and we already know that China is not ecologically sensitive based upon its major contributions to air pollution.

In North America, will buyers welcome the change to hybrid/electric or will they look elsewhere for vehicles that come with internal combustion engines? It is my opinion that it will limit sales of the Volvo brand, at least in the short-run.

bwia

tjc78 said:

I wouldn't touch a black car with those duster things.   Someone bought me one years ago and I used it on a burgundy car and it put swirls in the paint. 

Perhaps an ostrich feather duster might do the trick. Ford and high end automakers use ostrich feathers to clean their cars just before painting. The feathers from mature female ostrich birds are especially great at attracting dust but I am not sure if they are as equally as effective in home applications.

qbrozen

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/05/535596277/all-new-volvo-models-will-be-electric-or-hybrid-starting-in-2019

thebean

abacomike said:

Just read an article about some major changes coming to the Volvo Fleet. Starting in 2018-2019, Volvo will be producing ONLY hybrids or fully electric vehicles. No more fully internal combustion engine powered cars - just those needed in the hybrids.

Now that is a very interesting and major change in the direction of manufacturing automobiles for Volvo. Tesla gets away with it because that's all they produce - Electric Powered Vehicles. With the overabundance of oil reserves as well as inventories of gasoline, worldwide, I wonder if that's a wise corporate decision. It is obviously a wise decision for ecology-minded individuals and corporations, but is it a wise decision for the brand? Volvo is owned by Chinese interests and we already know that China is not ecologically sensitive based upon its major contributions to air pollution.

In North America, will buyers welcome the change to hybrid/electric or will they look elsewhere for vehicles that come with internal combustion engines? It is my opinion that it will limit sales of the Volvo brand, at least in the short-run.

My thought is that this will further limit the sales of Volvo autos. As if they haven't done enough damage by taking the brand so far upscale (I can never see them competing successfully with MB, Audi, BMW), now they limit their products to electric/hybrid. I can see them vanishing in 20 years.

Mr_Shiftright

Well you never know. Volvo sort of built its reputation on making cars for people who hated cars, so maybe once again they are going to leap frog right over the enthusiast's market and into the appliance end of things, or subsidized toys for the affluent urban dweller. If the wind is indeed blowing towards an even greater gap in wealth between rich and poor, then Volvo might be leaning the right way.

It will also be interesting to see if we get more pushback from the oil industry to cut hybrid/EV subsidies--perhaps not, because most EVs are fossil-fuel powered anyway. So maybe the oil industry will just pushback on subsidies for wind and solar power.

Big question is, is the EV market ready to scale up, or will everyone who wanted an EV finally get one in the next few years?

fintail

Looking at who owns Volvo, that wealth gap idea might just be it - they know all about it.

I think some of this Volvo stuff is just dramatic reporting. A very mild/pointless hybrid could be made which fits the description and would ease bleeding heart buyers, but not be significant in terms of tech (or fuel consumption). MB and BMW launched mild hybrid variants of normal cars that very few people actually bought. Maybe Geely bought a battery factory and needs to put it to work. No worries about environmental issues.

I'd think all taxpayers would at least want an MSRP cap on these toys, but few mention it, as few likely know (or they have just fallen for trickle down babble). IMO, until we get 500 mile range OR a 10 minute recharge or battery swap with locations in every town, and multiple locations in towns of import, there still won't be mass appeal.

Mr_Shiftright said:

If the wind is indeed blowing towards an even greater gap in wealth between rich and poor, then Volvo might be leaning the right way.

Big question is, is the EV market ready to scale up, or will everyone who wanted an EV finally get one in the next few years?

stickguy

Should not hurt. I'm fine with a mild hybrid. As long as it still runs on gas, I'll take the better MPG. Besides, most owners probably wont know anyway. Plus the hot rod models already are hybrids.

qbrozen

thebean said:

Just read an article about some major changes coming to the Volvo Fleet. Starting in 2018-2019, Volvo will be producing ONLY hybrids or fully electric vehicles. No more fully internal combustion engine powered cars - just those needed in the hybrids.

Now that is a very interesting and major change in the direction of manufacturing automobiles for Volvo. Tesla gets away with it because that's all they produce - Electric Powered Vehicles. With the overabundance of oil reserves as well as inventories of gasoline, worldwide, I wonder if that's a wise corporate decision. It is obviously a wise decision for ecology-minded individuals and corporations, but is it a wise decision for the brand? Volvo is owned by Chinese interests and we already know that China is not ecologically sensitive based upon its major contributions to air pollution.

In North America, will buyers welcome the change to hybrid/electric or will they look elsewhere for vehicles that come with internal combustion engines? It is my opinion that it will limit sales of the Volvo brand, at least in the short-run.

My thought is that this will further limit the sales of Volvo autos. As if they haven't done enough damage by taking the brand so far upscale (I can never see them competing successfully with MB, Audi, BMW), now they limit their products to electric/hybrid. I can see them vanishing in 20 years.

Considering they just had their biggest year ever, it would seem they have done no damage to the brand.

fintail

Does anyone know (or believe) that Volvo is actually running in the black right now? Lots of impressive new products that must have cost quite a bit to develop and build.

dino001

fintail said:

Does anyone know (or believe) that Volvo is actually running in the black right now? Lots of impressive new products that must have cost quite a bit to develop and build.

I think it's in black operationally. Not sure if the investment paid off so quickly. I talked to couple of Volvo salesmen when shopping for my 430i (ran it against V60 R-Design) and they were quite enthusiastic about the Chinese ownership. Totally opposite to Ford's, which starved them for money for product development. Looking at recent new models, like the S90/V90, I think there is a lot to be optimistic about. S60/V60 does not measure up quite yet, but if they follow the suit in same direction as their bigger brother, it's going to be a real competitor in no time.

28firefighter

dino001 said:

fintail said:

Does anyone know (or believe) that Volvo is actually running in the black right now? Lots of impressive new products that must have cost quite a bit to develop and build.

I think it's in black operationally. Not sure if the investment paid off so quickly. I talked to couple of Volvo salesmen when shopping for my 430i (ran it against V60 R-Design) and they were quite enthusiastic about the Chinese ownership. Totally opposite to Ford's, which starved them for money for product development. Looking at recent new models, like the S90/V90, I think there is a lot to be optimistic about. S60/V60 does not measure up quite yet, but if they follow the suit in same direction as their bigger brother, it's going to be a real competitor in no time.

I tend to agree with this. I would also point out that Volvo was really big on small-cylinder turbo engines before that was really a popular thing to do - arguably way too far ahead of their time. This could be that mentality all over again.

explorerx4

I took the Volvo strategy to mean 'New' models, not what they have already introduced.
Those can go on for quite a long while.

28firefighter

In case anyone was wondering why I've been so quiet, I've been fighting off some kind of virus for the better part of a week now - 101 to 102 fevers all day, barely breaking with tylenol/advil. Docs seem to be confused as to what's wrong and I'm finally going to force them to run a blood panel on me whether they like it or not.

Sam started with similar last night and earned his first ER visit (though he is doing fine today and seems to be on the mend). Hoping it doesn't last as long...

One heck of a first week in my new job. I've been working through it the whole time and it has not been fun.

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well you never know. Volvo sort of built its reputation on making cars for people who hated cars, so maybe once again they are going to leap frog right over the enthusiast's market and into the appliance end of things, or subsidized toys for the affluent urban dweller. If the wind is indeed blowing towards an even greater gap in wealth between rich and poor, then Volvo might be leaning the right way.

It will also be interesting to see if we get more pushback from the oil industry to cut hybrid/EV subsidies--perhaps not, because most EVs are fossil-fuel powered anyway. So maybe the oil industry will just pushback on subsidies for wind and solar power.

Big question is, is the EV market ready to scale up, or will everyone who wanted an EV finally get one in the next few years?

I'm just not ready for a Hybrid, Shifty, and probably will never be ready for an all-electric vehicle. I have no way of charging an all EV where I live. As for a hybrid, perhaps I'm just too "set in my ways", so to speak. I'm an old fart (going to be 73 in October). I've had enough problems adapting to the overwhelming new technology in cars. Now they are asking me to give up smelling those wonderful fumes from the gas tank as I fill up at the gas station.

As for Volvo, this should be very interesting. I would think the North American market is going to be less likely to shell out for a hybrid or EV than the European or Asian markets where gasoline is much more expensive. Who knows, maybe the execs at Volvo know more than we so - or maybe they have a CEO who happens to have a second asset - ESP!

fintail

Exactly, that's what I was getting at, and I would hope that operationally, they are turning a profit - I see plenty of pricey new XC90s on the road here. If you can't turn a profit at those prices without including engineering and product development costs, you are doing it wrong, even with the costs of developed/first world labor.

With the product development costs, however, I am skeptical. Of course, Geely can afford it, and this may just be a loss leader time to give it a foothold, kind of what Toyota did in the early days of Lexus.

dino001 said:

I think it's in black operationally. Not sure if the investment paid off so quickly. I talked to couple of Volvo salesmen when shopping for my 430i (ran it against V60 R-Design) and they were quite enthusiastic about the Chinese ownership. Totally opposite to Ford's, which starved them for money for product development. Looking at recent new models, like the S90/V90, I think there is a lot to be optimistic about. S60/V60 does not measure up quite yet, but if they follow the suit in same direction as their bigger brother, it's going to be a real competitor in no time.

stickguy

remember, geely most likely is looking at other markets too, including Europe and China, for volume (and probably going to leverage Volvo for other brands) so the relatively small US market is maybe just "along for the ride"