Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Leave it to the NYT to turn the Pope's message into a political hit piece.

Or, as I commented when I posted the article on Facebook,
"Just when you think you've read the most condescending and pretentious essay on driving, along comes David Brooks and raises the bar..."

fintail

I have a couple of fancy pants watches. One is pretty accurate, the other is about a minute fast per week.

Funny NYT piece - the Seattle dawdlers, fast LA tailgaters, and NYC area psychos seems spot-on. I don't know if kindness begets kindness though - around here, it creates more of a passive-aggressive heckhole where people are distracted idiots until you honk to wake them up at a light, then it's like you spat on their mother.

fezo said:

My $35 Timex doesn't lose more than two seconds either way between changing for Daylight Time.

On a complete;y different subject:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/how-would-jesus-drive.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

suydam

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

isellhondas said:

roadburner said:

isellhondas said:

I think you're on to something! Shame on me! How a BMW could tell that I had committed a mortal sin by buying a bulb at NAPA instead of at the dealer I'll never know! It took the car a few hours to figure out it had been violated!

I know that I’ve explained this before, but that issue has absolutely nothing to with whether the bulbs are OEM; the problem is the TYPE of bulb. European manufacturers use bulbs with a silver base instead of a brass base. BMW at that time had designed the bulb check system to monitor bulbs by sending a very low current to the bulbs to detect continuity. The copper bases corroded and or had too high of a resistance. BMW has yet to learn that US drivers never read the OM and will try to use the cheapest generic part whenever possible. 

Except, a person shouldn't HAVE to read an Owner's Manual to determine which light bulb to use so, yeah, I'm guilty! I didn't read my manual. Also, I didn't try to buy the "cheapest generic part" I could find! I decided not to drive ten miles to the BMW dealer and, (shame on me) I figured a quality light bulb from a NAPA store would work just fine as they have done in EVERY other car I have ever owned!I don't know if the NAPA bulb had a copper base or not but I DO know that one day of usage wouldn't have been enough time for it to corrode!

Face it, BMW's are wonderful cars in many ways but they are also fussy cars that love to drain wallets in ways other cars don't!

If you want to play you have to pay.

I understand it not being worth it to most people, but, sometimes there is a cost to getting something so superbly engineered, it won't work with generic off-brand pr0ducts. My smoke detectors insist on Eveready batteries.

I for one don't want to play that game. Sophistication can be taken too far. Let's hope it doesn't come to the design of toilets where you have to register your DNA to a successful flush. Believe it or not that can be done.

Too much engineering is not good engineering...it's just too much engineering.

jmonroe

jmonroe - I must confess that I do not always agree with your philosophy on various and sundry topics as I am sure you feel the same toward mine - but I completely agree with your assessment regarding extreme engineering.  It has become almost commonplace that almost every contact you have with a company or service over the phone results in dealing with an automated screening program - frequently frustrating, especially when the options provided by the voice automation do not apply to what you need.

In automobiles, the advanced computer technology has taken control of the operation of the car from emergency stops for pedestrians and cross traffic to self steering or self parking.

To be quite honest, I long for the days of a three speed manual transmission on the steering wheel and a clutch.  But those days are gone when you truly looked forward to driving your car.  This new car I have is a delight - but the technology is overwhelming and so difficult to manage.  Ride and handling are superb - but the fun is no longer there!

Speaking of over engineering.

As you know I've been dipping my toe back into the world of work and having not applied for a job in almost 3 decades it's been an eye opener. All computer applications with only one exception.

Applied to Hertz for a car transporter position and filling out the application was beyond my and even my IPad's capabilities. I had to get my son to produce a file on his computer which was compatible with Hertz's format. This was required even though the information in the file was already given elsewhere in the application.

Some of these companies use a one size fits all third party format which requires the same complexity whether you're applying for a job as janitor or CEO.

Some interesting cultural assumptions too. One company program insisted on more than one previous job listing even though that was from the 1980s.


Many online forms don’t work well with the iPad IOS format. You often have to switch to a laptop’s OS and then you’ll be fine.

driver100

Hi Fezo and Happy New Year. I liked the article and learned something from this:
.
Kindness breeds kindness. Aggression breeds aggression.

We all know that driving cultures vary widely from city to city. My impression is that people in Seattle dawdle, people in Los Angeles get right up on your tail but are pretty skilled about it, and those of us from the New York/New Jersey area treat driving as if it were foreplay to genocide.

Studies have been done, of course. According to Allstate, the most accident-prone drivers live in Boston; Baltimore; Worcester, Mass.; Washington, D.C.; and Springfield, Mass. (Way to go, Massachusetts!) The safest drivers live in Kansas City, Kan.; Brownsville, Tex.; Madison, Wis.; and Huntsville, Ala.

But I am surprised there are worse places to drive than in Florida.....this is bad enough!

driver100

So what point were you trying to make?

I still maintain that, "Too much engineering is not good engineering...it's just too much engineering".

jmonroe

The point is....if you don't appreciate extra engineering then don't buy it......but, if others like their cars engineered to the max then buy what you want, and we will buy what we want. It may be over engineered to your tastes, but not to everyone's taste. Is Mikes car overengineered....he isn't complaining?

driver100

stickguy said:

expensive watches are not that because they keep better time. they are jewelry, or bling.

Even clocks in cars are more accurate these days, and some change automatically....but, that would be over engineering for JMonroe. That would be good for me because it saves me looking up how to change the clock for Daylight Savings Time every year.

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

driver100 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

fintail said:

Germans like complexity for the sake of complexity. It even impacted some of their WW2 vehicles. Sometimes that will impact your wallet

The problem with the Germans is that they don't do their homework sometimes, releasing cars with defects that really should have been caught in testing. The Japanese seem better at post-engineering shake-down.

As the president of GM once said to his executives when GM was by far #1, If you don't make enough mistakes you aren't trying enough things". It is true in business in general, unless you try something new, and make a few mistakes, you don't find the things that do work.

German brands usually introduce the new technology, then the others jump in once it has been used and perfected. Asian car makers are good at imitating....I think the last invention they introduced was the coin holder.

Well, now, let's be kind and not the compact pickup truck, the AWD station wagon (early 1970s I think),

(Nissan) and the modern engine balancing shaft! (Mitubishi--licensed to Saab, Fiat and (gasp) Porsche.

But you're right, the Japanese are very good at reverse-engineering. They even re-made an entire Mercedes S Class and called it a Lexus. Did it handle and brake as well? No. Did it have the Benz driving dynamics? No.

? No.

In piston engine engineering, a balance shaft is an eccentric weighted shaft that offsets vibrations in engine designs that are not inherently balanced. The balance shaft was invented and patented by British engineer Frederick W. Lanchester in 1904.pioneered electronic variable valve timing

Yes to Nissan, pioneering electronic variable valve timing but still, very few actual inventions.

oldfarmer50

.

driver100

RE Snowtires on a Mustang.

Roadburner is way more knowledgeable than I am in this area, all I can tell you is my rear wheel drive 2008 bmw 328 hardtop/convertible would not move in snow that was more than 2 inches deep. I had to have 4 snow tires put on every year.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

.

Short, sweet and to the point OF!

houdini1

fezo said:

Thank you. And you have four more days (the 10th) to congratulate me for my skill at remaining 66.

You da man Fezo !

oldfarmer50

ka_edmunds said:

Convertible - Mustang or not to Mustang that's the question.

Hello everyone, first time posting on Edmunds. I am looking for a convertible. Drove a couple of them - Mustang (Ecoboost and GT), an Audi as well. I feel going the Mustang way because I liked the ride, GT's engine sound was awesome but also like the EcoBoost. I am not a muscle car or a big power car guy, and also never driven a rear wheel drive. Have heard about rear wheel cars being prone to skidding/slipping. I live in Georgia so may get occasional snow and definitely rain a few times a year.
I want a fun car but not going to take it to track or anything like that. I know the 2015+ models of Mustangs have traction control. Would like to get some input from the car enthusiasts and knowledgeable people on the forum to help me understand if I drive moderately (not too fast but not too slow either), is the Mustang safe and fun at the same time?

Thank you.

Get the Ecoboost. Mustang is fine in all weather but snow. On snowy days take Uber. Ultimately handling depends as much on your skills as it does on the car. Having grown up in the north I have no problem driving a RWD (with no safety nannies) in snow.

I guarantee that if you do get snow, taking your RWD car to an empty parking lot can be a lot of fun.

oldfarmer50

suydam said:

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

isellhondas said:

roadburner said:

isellhondas said:

I think you're on to something! Shame on me! How a BMW could tell that I had committed a mortal sin by buying a bulb at NAPA instead of at the dealer I'll never know! It took the car a few hours to figure out it had been violated!

I know that I’ve explained this before, but that issue has absolutely nothing to with whether the bulbs are OEM; the problem is the TYPE of bulb. European manufacturers use bulbs with a silver base instead of a brass base. BMW at that time had designed the bulb check system to monitor bulbs by sending a very low current to the bulbs to detect continuity. The copper bases corroded and or had too high of a resistance. BMW has yet to learn that US drivers never read the OM and will try to use the cheapest generic part whenever possible. 

Except, a person shouldn't HAVE to read an Owner's Manual to determine which light bulb to use so, yeah, I'm guilty! I didn't read my manual. Also, I didn't try to buy the "cheapest generic part" I could find! I decided not to drive ten miles to the BMW dealer and, (shame on me) I figured a quality light bulb from a NAPA store would work just fine as they have done in EVERY other car I have ever owned!I don't know if the NAPA bulb had a copper base or not but I DO know that one day of usage wouldn't have been enough time for it to corrode!

Face it, BMW's are wonderful cars in many ways but they are also fussy cars that love to drain wallets in ways other cars don't!

If you want to play you have to pay.

I understand it not being worth it to most people, but, sometimes there is a cost to getting something so superbly engineered, it won't work with generic off-brand pr0ducts. My smoke detectors insist on Eveready batteries.

I for one don't want to play that game. Sophistication can be taken too far. Let's hope it doesn't come to the design of toilets where you have to register your DNA to a successful flush. Believe it or not that can be done.

Too much engineering is not good engineering...it's just too much engineering.

jmonroe

jmonroe - I must confess that I do not always agree with your philosophy on various and sundry topics as I am sure you feel the same toward mine - but I completely agree with your assessment regarding extreme engineering.  It has become almost commonplace that almost every contact you have with a company or service over the phone results in dealing with an automated screening program - frequently frustrating, especially when the options provided by the voice automation do not apply to what you need.

In automobiles, the advanced computer technology has taken control of the operation of the car from emergency stops for pedestrians and cross traffic to self steering or self parking.

To be quite honest, I long for the days of a three speed manual transmission on the steering wheel and a clutch.  But those days are gone when you truly looked forward to driving your car.  This new car I have is a delight - but the technology is overwhelming and so difficult to manage.  Ride and handling are superb - but the fun is no longer there!

Speaking of over engineering.

As you know I've been dipping my toe back into the world of work and having not applied for a job in almost 3 decades it's been an eye opener. All computer applications with only one exception.

Applied to Hertz for a car transporter position and filling out the application was beyond my and even my IPad's capabilities. I had to get my son to produce a file on his computer which was compatible with Hertz's format. This was required even though the information in the file was already given elsewhere in the application.

Some of these companies use a one size fits all third party format which requires the same complexity whether you're applying for a job as janitor or CEO.

Some interesting cultural assumptions too. One company program insisted on more than one previous job listing even though that was from the 1980s.


Many online forms don’t work well with the iPad IOS format. You often have to switch to a laptop’s OS and then you’ll be fine.




Exactly. My son has a PC.

Funny how a company would use a system thst makes it impossible for all Apple users to apply for jobs. Unless that is some sort of test for problem solving ability. If so they didn't realize they were dealing with an old farmer who is use to fixing broken tractors with a hickory switch. I can think out of the box and into the field.

cdnpinhead

Could be they just want to weed out the Apple weenies (yeah, I know, redundant).

driver100

I knew that Target wouldn't survive in Canada because of all the mistakes they were making. I tried to get an interview to tell them what they were doing wrong, but, they said I had to do an online resume. My answers wouldn't fit the format so I couldn't advance on the form. They lost $5.4 Billion and I could have saved them.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

Could be they just want to weed out the Apple weenies (yeah, I know, redundant).

And it's my wife's iPad. I truly am a weenie when it comes to tech.

I didn't even apply to jobs that required you to own a smart phone.

houdini1

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

oldfarmer50

houdini1 said:

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

A

My wife is dead set against me going back to work. She wants me to hang around the house and wait on her.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

A

My wife is dead set against me going back to work. She wants me to hang around the house and wait on her.

I told you to actually read the marriage contract.

houdini1

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

A

My wife is dead set against me going back to work. She wants me to hang around the house and wait on her.

That is why golf is so popular with us old guys. Serves the same purpose as a part time job, getting out of the house, and is a lot more fun than working.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

A

My wife is dead set against me going back to work. She wants me to hang around the house and wait on her.

That is unusual...most wives love to see their husbands get out of the house and go back to work. You must be doing something right oldfarmer.

fintail

After retirement, my grandpa went back to work, and had the dream job, shuttling rental cars back and forth. It kept him active, out of my grandma's hair, and gave him spending money. I don't remember how many hours he worked, but I don't think he needed the money, as he had a decent pension, and was a child of the depression saver. He kept it up until he was 74 or 75, not bad.

stickguy

Sounds like Sandy's gig. I could see myself doing that for a bit if I retire on the earlier side, and need a little extra cash.

bwia

driver100 said:

Hi Fezo and Happy New Year. I liked the article and learned something from this:
.
Kindness breeds kindness. Aggression breeds aggression.

We all know that driving cultures vary widely from city to city. My impression is that people in Seattle dawdle, people in Los Angeles get right up on your tail but are pretty skilled about it, and those of us from the New York/New Jersey area treat driving as if it were foreplay to genocide.

Studies have been done, of course. According to Allstate, the most accident-prone drivers live in Boston; Baltimore; Worcester, Mass.; Washington, D.C.; and Springfield, Mass. (Way to go, Massachusetts!) The safest drivers live in Kansas City, Kan.; Brownsville, Tex.; Madison, Wis.; and Huntsville, Ala.

But I am surprised there are worse places to drive than in Florida.....this is bad enough!

Massachusetts motorists may be bad drivers but through no fault of their own though. Blame that on poor road designs. Most of Boston's streets are former Indian (Native American) trails and cow paths. No one had the foresight to envision a horse-less carriage, and when they arrived it was too expensive to redesign and change the layouts of the streets. On top of that mess are bike paths and traffic circles that defy even the most sophisticated GPS systems. And in the end, we all pay for that in form higher premiums.

oldfarmer50

. This may be a stupid question but what are Potentiometers on a Volvo and how much do they cost?

ab348

bwia said:

Massachusetts motorists may be bad drivers but through no fault of their own though. Blame that on poor road designs. Most of Boston's streets are former Indian (Native American) trails and cow paths. No one had the foresight to envision a horse-less carriage, and when they arrived it was too expensive to redesign and change the layouts of the streets. On top of that mess are bike paths and traffic circles that defy even the most sophisticated GPS systems. And in the end, we all pay for that in form higher premiums.

Pretty much the same story in Halifax except the cart paths were laid out by the original British colonial settlers in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Now we have been descended upon by the new urbanists who want to eliminate all cars in favor of bike paths and sidewalk patios that take away parking. Funny thing, the last few weeks with polar vortex temps I don't see many bikes, nor people sipping lattes outside.

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

fezo said:

My $35 Timex doesn't lose more than two seconds either way between changing for Daylight Time.

On a complete;y different subject:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/how-would-jesus-drive.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

Leave it to the NYT to turn the Pope's message into a political hit piece.

Or, as I commented when I posted the article on Facebook,
"Just when you think you've read the most condescending and pretentious essay on driving, along comes David Brooks and raises the bar..."



Selfrighteousness personified. LOL

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

fezo said:

My $35 Timex doesn't lose more than two seconds either way between changing for Daylight Time.

On a complete;y different subject:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/how-would-jesus-drive.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

Leave it to the NYT to turn the Pope's message into a political hit piece.

explorerx4

I like to say our roads were designed by the pilgrims cows.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

bwia said:

Massachusetts motorists may be bad drivers but through no fault of their own though. Blame that on poor road designs. Most of Boston's streets are former Indian (Native American) trails and cow paths. No one had the foresight to envision a horse-less carriage, and when they arrived it was too expensive to redesign and change the layouts of the streets. On top of that mess are bike paths and traffic circles that defy even the most sophisticated GPS systems. And in the end, we all pay for that in form higher premiums.

Pretty much the same story in Halifax except the cart paths were laid out by the original British colonial settlers in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Now we have been descended upon by the new urbanists who want to eliminate all cars in favor of bike paths and sidewalk patios that take away parking. Funny thing, the last few weeks with polar vortex temps I don't see many bikes, nor people sipping lattes outside.

nor people in convertibles with the top down---everyone suffers winter in his own way.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

. This may be a stupid question but what are Potentiometers on a Volvo and how much do they cost?

A potentiometer is a 3-terminal resistor, and it divides voltage. If it's a 2-terminal type, then it varies resistance, and is called a rheostat. One example would be your Throttle Positioning Sensor; another, your Pedal Positioning sensor.

So we'd need to know which "pot" you're referring to on the Volvo to figure out the $$$.

For a modern Volvo, I'd guess at least $150 bucks.

abacomike

One of my neighbors bought a 2018 Toyota Camry XLE yesterday - he parks right next to me. It's a gray/silver color with black interior. I saw him this morning before I took off for my daily walk and to fill up with gas, and I congratulated him on his new car. He opened the door and I sat in the front seat. Impressive, both inside and outside. Toyota has finally built a car that "I" like. The front end is a bit questionable for my taste, but acceptable. But the rest of the car is beautiful. Body fit is excellent. He got the car loaded with GPS, HD upgraded radio, blind spot monitors and lane departure warning, upgrade interior. I didn't have time to take it for a spin with him but he promised he would do so the next time we bumped into each other.

The car MSRP'd for $37,862 - this is the 6 cylinder model with leather interior. He told me he paid $35,000 cash for the car which, according to my research, is a great price. This car is definitely worth a second look - luxurious, sufficient power and torque curve (301 hp). at a reasonable price.

explorerx4

Need to go to the carwash once it warms up.

fintail

Best part, many of those "urbanists" won't give up a private car for themselves.

That NYT article proved accurate on a morning walk this morning - Prius stopped in the middle of the road to apparently fiddle with a phone or similar, Porsche Macan speeding wildly around with no signals, BMW 4er coupe of course had no signals (time for progressive fines? nah, we don't even have enforcement) - stereotypes fulfill themselves.

ab348 said:

Pretty much the same story in Halifax except the cart paths were laid out by the original British colonial settlers in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Now we have been descended upon by the new urbanists who want to eliminate all cars in favor of bike paths and sidewalk patios that take away parking. Funny thing, the last few weeks with polar vortex temps I don't see many bikes, nor people sipping lattes outside.

ab348

abacomike said:

The car MSRP'd for $37,862 - this is the 6 cylinder model with leather interior. He told me he paid $35,000 cash for the car which, according to my research, is a great price. This car is definitely worth a second look - luxurious, sufficient power and torque curve (301 hp). at a reasonable price.

I just built that exact car on Toyota Canada's website. Here it is quoted at $49K Cdn including sales taxes and fees.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Need to go to the carwash once it warms up.

You don't say.

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

Need to go to the carwash once it warms up.

That thing is UGLY.

My Genny stays in the garage in the Winter because of that. Mrs. j's Legacy gets all the work until Spring. It needs washed too but since it is Silver it doesn't look as bad as your UGLY truck and that is a compliment.

jmonroe

graphicguy

RB...agree...key to BMW trouble free ownership is meticulous maintenance. Easy enough when BMW is picking up the tab, which they seem to be backing away from a BIT. I never had any issues that BMW didn’t PROMPTLY and totally resolved! Those were few and far between.

Same can be said for my Acura and Honda ownership experiences. Issues were few and far between with them, too.

MUSTANGS....personally, I believe they should only sell them one way....with a V8 and manual trans. Any other configuration? Get a sporty sedan.

Mike....Haven’t seen the new Camry in the flesh, but every review I’ve read rates the Accord better, in every way, across the board.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

Need to go to the carwash once it warms up.

You don't say.

You have no room to brag either. :@

jmonroe

ab348

graphicguy said:

Mike....Haven’t seen the new Camry in the flesh, but every review I’ve read rates the Accord better, in every way, across the board.

Auto journos are all Honda fanbois though. And Toyota is becoming the next GM for many of them, the company they love to hate.

driver100

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:

Need to go to the carwash once it warms up.

That thing is UGLY.

My Genny stays in the garage in the Winter because of that. Mrs. j's Legacy gets all the work until Spring. It needs washed too but since it is Silver it doesn't look as bad as your UGLY truck and that is a compliment.

jmonroe

When he wants to get into a line of traffic no one is going to argue with him.

Looks good if you want to have a "Bad Boy" image.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

isellhondas said:

I think you're on to something! Shame on me! How a BMW could tell that I had committed a mortal sin by buying a bulb at NAPA instead of at the dealer I'll never know! It took the car a few hours to figure out it had been violated!

I know that I’ve explained this before, but that issue has absolutely nothing to with whether the bulbs are OEM; the problem is the TYPE of bulb. European manufacturers use bulbs with a silver base instead of a brass base. BMW at that time had designed the bulb check system to monitor bulbs by sending a very low current to the bulbs to detect continuity. The copper bases corroded and or had too high of a resistance. BMW has yet to learn that US drivers never read the OM and will try to use the cheapest generic part whenever possible. 

Silver? Why not gold? It's an excellent conductor!

There is not being practical.....and then there is being ridiculous.

Actually gold is not as good a conductor as copper, but has the advantage that it doesn't tarnish. So that would be the only advantage in a car. Silver is a better conductor than either but corrodes, as does copper. So really, gold plated BMW bulbs are not that far-fetched as a solution to a problem--and think of the marketing potential!

is corrosion on the bulb really that much of a problem? I really can't think of a time when I had a bulb stop working due to corrosion. 

The bulbs still illuminated; the corrosion was enough to block the trickle of current the car sent to the bulb to verify continuity, so the system reported a burned out bulb.

To me it seems like BMW was just engineering a vehicle that needs to have officially sanctioned BMW parts to run. 

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

I was coming home from food shopping this morning, using the road that totally encircles my community. I had to stop three times to avoid running over several iguanas. There were three of them, about 2 blocks apart, stretched out on the road - looking dead as far as I could determine. One of the workers was walking over to one of the corpses so I dropped the passenger side window and told him there were two others about 2-3 blocks behind me on the same road. He told me he would drive his cart over to them once he loaded the one in front of me onto the back of his cart. I asked him whey they were dying like this and he responded, "...they aren't dead. They are in a coma-like status because of the shock of the cold weather on their bodies.

I think you have something there iguana soeed bumps.

Naw people would just run them over, better use porcupines. 

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

Cold-blooded creatures. Sort of nature's equivalent of an air-cooled engine.

I learned all this from my Iguanas for Dummies book. As many of you may have surmised, I'm part reptile myself. I love hot weather. 100-105 is nothing to me. My seat heaters are always turned up to 11.

Oh so those tails of lizard alien overlords that the tin foil hat brigade have been warning us about is true. 

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

isellhondas said:

I think you're on to something! Shame on me! How a BMW could tell that I had committed a mortal sin by buying a bulb at NAPA instead of at the dealer I'll never know! It took the car a few hours to figure out it had been violated!

I know that I’ve explained this before, but that issue has absolutely nothing to with whether the bulbs are OEM; the problem is the TYPE of bulb. European manufacturers use bulbs with a silver base instead of a brass base. BMW at that time had designed the bulb check system to monitor bulbs by sending a very low current to the bulbs to detect continuity. The copper bases corroded and or had too high of a resistance. BMW has yet to learn that US drivers never read the OM and will try to use the cheapest generic part whenever possible. 

Except, a person shouldn't HAVE to read an Owner's Manual to determine which light bulb to use so, yeah, I'm guilty! I didn't read my manual. Also, I didn't try to buy the "cheapest generic part" I could find! I decided not to drive ten miles to the BMW dealer and, (shame on me) I figured a quality light bulb from a NAPA store would work just fine as they have done in EVERY other car I have ever owned!I don't know if the NAPA bulb had a copper base or not but I DO know that one day of usage wouldn't have been enough time for it to corrode! Face it, BMW's are wonderful cars in many ways but they are also fussy cars that love to drain wallets in ways other cars don't!

If you want to play you have to pay. I understand it not being worth it to most people, but, sometimes there is a cost to getting something so superbly engineered, it won't work with generic off-brand pr0ducts. My smoke detectors insist on Eveready batteries.

Yeah but if Ford or GM did that people would be complaining about it. 

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

As long as the finely engineered watch also keeps the right time. People who pay a lot of money for something that doesn't work get really ticked off.

The problem with finely engineered watch's is that they are mechanical in nature. mechanical watch movements have to be balanced and if it's not in a position it's balance for it will not run accurately. Most wrist watches are balanced for only five positions. 

for this reason quartz watches are far more accurate. 

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

expensive watches are not that because they keep better time. they are jewelry, or bling.

Even clocks in cars are more accurate these days, and some change automatically....but, that would be over engineering for JMonroe. That would be good for me because it saves me looking up how to change the clock for Daylight Savings Time every year.

The Sebring has an analog click in the dash and a digital clock in the radio. I have the analog clock set to daylight saving time and the digital clock set to standard time. 

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like your plan is working. Just tell your wife it is impossible for an old man to find a job in this day and age but a woman might have better luck !

A My wife is dead set against me going back to work. She wants me to hang around the house and wait on her.

I told you to actually read the marriage contract.

If men actually read the marriage contract no one would ever get married. 

snakeweasel

bwia said:

Hi Fezo and Happy New Year. I liked the article and learned something from this: . Kindness breeds kindness. Aggression breeds aggression. We all know that driving cultures vary widely from city to city. My impression is that people in Seattle dawdle, people in Los Angeles get right up on your tail but are pretty skilled about it, and those of us from the New York/New Jersey area treat driving as if it were foreplay to genocide. Studies have been done, of course. According to Allstate, the most accident-prone drivers live in Boston; Baltimore; Worcester, Mass.; Washington, D.C.; and Springfield, Mass. (Way to go, Massachusetts!) The safest drivers live in Kansas City, Kan.; Brownsville, Tex.; Madison, Wis.; and Huntsville, Ala. But I am surprised there are worse places to drive than in Florida.....this is bad enough!

Massachusetts motorists may be bad drivers but through no fault of their own though. Blame that on poor road designs. Most of Boston's streets are former Indian (Native American) trails and cow paths. No one had the foresight to envision a horse-less carriage, and when they arrived it was too expensive to redesign and change the layouts of the streets. On top of that mess are bike paths and traffic circles that defy even the most sophisticated GPS systems. And in the end, we all pay for that in form higher premiums.

If that is true of Massachusetts shouldn't most Europeans be bad drivers?

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

Massachusetts motorists may be bad drivers but through no fault of their own though. Blame that on poor road designs. Most of Boston's streets are former Indian (Native American) trails and cow paths. No one had the foresight to envision a horse-less carriage, and when they arrived it was too expensive to redesign and change the layouts of the streets. On top of that mess are bike paths and traffic circles that defy even the most sophisticated GPS systems. And in the end, we all pay for that in form higher premiums.

Pretty much the same story in Halifax except the cart paths were laid out by the original British colonial settlers in the late 1700s/early 1800s. Now we have been descended upon by the new urbanists who want to eliminate all cars in favor of bike paths and sidewalk patios that take away parking. Funny thing, the last few weeks with polar vortex temps I don't see many bikes, nor people sipping lattes outside.

nor people in convertibles with the top down---everyone suffers winter in his own way.

Speaking from experience you can always put a convertibles top up.