Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

graphicguy

driver100 said:

I mentioned awhile ago I saw one of these coming the opposite way and I assumed it was a new Buick, but couldn't find a Buick quite like it (couldn't make out the name or see that crossbar on the grill).

I looked in my rear view mirror and saw it from the back end;

and I still couldn't couldn't figure it out. I thought it was some kind of Maserati or something.

Then, one passed me on I-75 last night, I caught up to him and saw the name...it was a Volvo. The first time I didn't see the distinctive bar on the grill.

It is a Volvo S90 and it has a really nice interior;


Edmunds gives it 4 out of 5 stars

pros
Comes standard with a wide array of convenience and safety features
some of the best seats in the class
impressive interior materials throughout the cabin
intuitive technology interface is one of the best systems available.
cons
Heavy steering leads to fatigue
rides roughly over poor road surfaces when equipped with largest-diameter wheels.

I think I will stick to what I know I like.

That’s a beautiful car!

fintail

They've been doing the airbag lowrider thing to MBs for some time, especially 60s-70s models. I don't agree with the aesthetics, but many of these cars might be rotting towards the scrapyard if a new generation wasn't customizing them, so as long as nothing rare is messed with, it's fine:






Even fintails:

fintail

Is this a Chinese market-style thing moving west, or is it actually designed for this market?

A 50K Lacrosse might be a hard sell, but I bet MSRP vs real world will be something else.

bwia said:

And I like it too - but the Avenir will MSRP in the $50k ballpark. By comparison, the Avenir sub-brand is doing well for the Enclave so Buick expects the Lacrosse to do equally as well in that genuine understated luxury space. Feast your eyes.

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

And easily be $600K next year. Don't forget that part.

If you look at historic real estate prices over a long, long period of time, what we've seen since the 1980s is a freak.

What is a "long long period of time" to you?

I'm of the opinion that the moden housing market started after WW2 with the various Levittowns that cropped up.

Last 100 years -- the average annual home price increase for the U.S. during the whole 1900 - 2012 period was 3.1%/year

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

There's so much foreign money (no vetting by the authoritarians, of course) pouring in here, and so many well-paid tech and telecom types, that a 1MM house here won't be 600K unless we get nuked. Seriously. Price may not carry on with recent growth rates, but a 40% correction? Nah. This isn't the south with ample idle land, nor are these subprime borrowers.

Mr_Shiftright said:

And easily be $600K next year. Don't forget that part.

If you look at historic real estate prices over a long, long period of time, what we've seen since the 1980s is a freak.

The bigger the balloon, the louder the pop. House prices increased by 57% between 1994 and 2006, so why can't they go down 57% in the next ten years? In 2008 San Diego took a hit of about 15% in a matter of months.

I'm not predicting any such thing--I'm just speculating that our worst disasters in life are usually from the blind-side.

fintail

Of course, but it really depends on market. I'll go out on a limb and say the market in Seattle has a stronger foundation than San Diego - for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

In this area, I suspect many areas have seen 400% appreciation in the past 25 years. It definitely can't go on forever, or even much longer at that rate, and there could even be a mild correction, but I think many even modestly desirable parts of area are now long past the era of affordability for normal working people or even above-average income single wage earners. It's Vancouver Part II, where a couple factors combined to somewhat destroy the market for normal people, or for other reasons, like a milder version of SF.

Of course, a natural disaster or act of war could turn things on their head, but it would do that for other areas too.

Mr_Shiftright said:

The bigger the balloon, the louder the pop. House prices increased by 57% between 1994 and 2006, so why can't they go down 57% in the next ten years? In 2008 San Diego took a hit of about 15% in a matter of months.

I'm not predicting any such thing--I'm just speculating that our worst disasters in life are usually from the blind-side.

tjc78

stickguy said:

just a bit of an upgrade over a base Elantra there. At probably 2-3X the price of course.

I tried to get the wife to get one instead of the Enclave, but the practicality of an SUV won out.

The dealer said that they aren’t leasing well at all and they weren’t selling.

stickguy

no way I could see going with a sedan instead with 2 little kids. Heck, we are now empty nesters (well, have 1 last trip to college to help the princess move out this spring) and I plan to always have one car in the family that can haul stuff (CUV or a wagon). Doesn't have to be huge, but do want a box when I need one!

stickguy

also, if they aren't selling, seems like a good time to slide a ton of quiet lease incentives onto them to get some units on the road.

bwia

stickguy said:

also, if they aren't selling, seems like a good time to slide a ton of quiet lease incentives onto them to get some units on the road.

Apparently, buyers are looking for more luxury as 9 out of 10 Lacrosses sold are the premium trim level with all the options. That's why the Avenir makes sense. 

driver100

I can watch this Geiko ad over and over;
https://youtu.be/il-Ukx84Hu0

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

On these custom car shows I notice they always lower the cars for appearance sake. To me it doesn't look good, especially on older classic cars. I don't think they are doing it for handling and I can see these cars being undrivable in the real world (speed bumps, potholes).

Anyone else as puzzled as me?

I would bag my Coronet if I could afford to.

stickguy

those old barges have such lousy suspension and handling, it is probably a big improvement. even if you don't care to slam it down.

isellhondas

fintail said:

Looks like a comfortable house. It would easily be over a million in my area.

explorerx4 said:

On the real estate topic, if you like mid-century(literally), this is nice.
https://www.howardhanna.com/Property/Detail/22135-Cottonwood-Dr-Rocky-River-OH-44116/NorthernOH/3950944

Oh yeah, over a million for sure! Rocky River?

explorerx4

Rocky River Ohio. There are more places to live than just the Seattle area.

isellhondas

fintail said:

They've been doing the airbag lowrider thing to MBs for some time, especially 60s-70s models. I don't agree with the aesthetics, but many of these cars might be rotting towards the scrapyard if a new generation wasn't customizing them, so as long as nothing rare is messed with, it's fine:






Even fintails:

We used to lower a lot of cars mostly Chevys when I was growing up! We sure didn't use any wimpy airbags if they even had such things back then. There were two ways to lower a car. The "right" way if there was a right way was to have a couple of coils cut out of the back springs and install lowering blocks in the back if the car had leaf springs. The "cheap" way which many of us opted for was to have the muffler shop melt the springs with a torch. The would melt the rear leafs too and quickly bend them with a big prybar.

Oh, how those cars would bounce! Lower the car, install a split manifold and have an 18 inch glass muffler on one side and a straight pipe on the other! The cops just loved us!

isellhondas

Fintail, I can help you do it the cheap way of you would like. It would look so cool!

oldfarmer50

oldfarmer50 said:

On these custom car shows I notice they always lower the cars for appearance sake. To me it doesn't look good, especially on older classic cars. I don't think they are doing it for handling and I can see these cars being undrivable in the real world (speed bumps, potholes).

Anyone else as puzzled as me?

That picture was an extreme version of what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about bagged suspension since that can be adjusted . I'm talking about nearly as extreme lowering springs. It just doesn't look right.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

no way I could see going with a sedan instead with 2 little kids. Heck, we are now empty nesters (well, have 1 last trip to college to help the princess move out this spring) and I plan to always have one car in the family that can haul stuff (CUV or a wagon). Doesn't have to be huge, but do want a box when I need one!

Buy yourself a cargo van. It's like the biggest SUV on the road and with only two seats you don't have to transport anybody you don't like.

explorerx4

Fox body madness at the auction today!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

no way I could see going with a sedan instead with 2 little kids. Heck, we are now empty nesters (well, have 1 last trip to college to help the princess move out this spring) and I plan to always have one car in the family that can haul stuff (CUV or a wagon). Doesn't have to be huge, but do want a box when I need one!

Buy yourself a cargo van. It's like the biggest SUV on the road and with only two seats you don't have to transport anybody you don't like.

I have driven one of those...a Budget rental van. and it is like driving a sardine can on wheels. Very little structure, uncomfortable, terrible suspension, awful steering, little sound insulation. Sorry OF, I don't share your enthusiasm unless it is just for work and nothing else will do.

qbrozen

isellhondas said:

They've been doing the airbag lowrider thing to MBs for some time, especially 60s-70s models. I don't agree with the aesthetics, but many of these cars might be rotting towards the scrapyard if a new generation wasn't customizing them, so as long as nothing rare is messed with, it's fine: Even fintails:

We used to lower a lot of cars mostly Chevys when I was growing up! We sure didn't use any wimpy airbags if they even had such things back then. There were two ways to lower a car. The "right" way if there was a right way was to have a couple of coils cut out of the back springs and install lowering blocks in the back if the car had leaf springs. The "cheap" way which many of us opted for was to have the muffler shop melt the springs with a torch. The would melt the rear leafs too and quickly bend them with a big prybar. Oh, how those cars would bounce! Lower the car, install a split manifold and have an 18 inch glass muffler on one side and a straight pipe on the other! The cops just loved us!

Hahah. I'm sure you are joking, but just in case...

 Cutting the springs is NEVER the right way.  Guess they didn't have much in the way of aftermarket lowering springs, huh?

bags are far from wimpy. If they are good enough for big rigs...

fintail

Thanks but no thanks. I don't think the look suits the car

Also, it doesn't have leaf springs, it has (along with the pictured cars) 4 wheel independent suspension, swing axle at rear. A few MBs of the era actually had factory air suspension, which fails from time to time, and the cars squat like the ones in the pic.

isellhondas said:

Fintail, I can help you do it the cheap way of you would like. It would look so cool!

stickguy

I have driven a bunch of cargo vans in the last few years. Old school GMC, a Ram from u Haul (the newer style), and a Ford Transit (the big one). The Ford was far and away the best of the bunch. The GMC was archaic. And the Ram just did not drive nicely. The Ford was nice though.

A guy down the street from me has a Transit connect now (cargo window style). I keep forgetting to ask what the heck he does with it. But that would actually be a really handy spare car, though a window/passenger version (even if you take out the middle seats) would be even better.

28firefighter

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

isellhondas said:

fintail said:

They've been doing the airbag lowrider thing to MBs for some time, especially 60s-70s models. I don't agree with the aesthetics, but many of these cars might be rotting towards the scrapyard if a new generation wasn't customizing them, so as long as nothing rare is messed with, it's fine:






Even fintails:

We used to lower a lot of cars mostly Chevys when I was growing up! We sure didn't use any wimpy airbags if they even had such things back then. There were two ways to lower a car. The "right" way if there was a right way was to have a couple of coils cut out of the back springs and install lowering blocks in the back if the car had leaf springs. The "cheap" way which many of us opted for was to have the muffler shop melt the springs with a torch. The would melt the rear leafs too and quickly bend them with a big prybar.

Oh, how those cars would bounce! Lower the car, install a split manifold and have an 18 inch glass muffler on one side and a straight pipe on the other! The cops just loved us!

Hahah. I'm sure you are joking, but just in case...

 Cutting the springs is NEVER the right way.  Guess they didn't have much in the way of aftermarket lowering springs, huh?

bags are far from wimpy. If they are good enough for big rigs...

The school busses I drove had bags in the rear. Didn't do much for the ride but I guess they helped a little. On cars air suspension doesn't last as long as springs and is expensive to repair. I switched my Lincoln over to regular suspension for half of what it would have cost to repair the air ride.

jmonroe

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

no way I could see going with a sedan instead with 2 little kids. Heck, we are now empty nesters (well, have 1 last trip to college to help the princess move out this spring) and I plan to always have one car in the family that can haul stuff (CUV or a wagon). Doesn't have to be huge, but do want a box when I need one!

Buy yourself a cargo van. It's like the biggest SUV on the road and with only two seats you don't have to transport anybody you don't like.

I have driven one of those...a Budget rental van. and it is like driving a sardine can on wheels. Very little structure, uncomfortable, terrible suspension, awful steering, little sound insulation. Sorry OF, I don't share your enthusiasm unless it is just for work and nothing else will do.

Certainly can't compare with fine German engineering but I'm very happy with my van. Rides nice, handles reasonably well for a top heavy vehicle, comfortable seats, very basic with no nannies. It's become my primary winter transportation while the Ford is hiding in the garage. Horrible gas milage (15) but it does weigh a lot.

I suppose if I had paid $50k plus for it I'd be more critical but I didn't so if it starts when it's -10 it's all good.

28firefighter

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

Buzzkill.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I have driven a bunch of cargo vans in the last few years. Old school GMC, a Ram from u Haul (the newer style), and a Ford Transit (the big one). The Ford was far and away the best of the bunch. The GMC was archaic. And the Ram just did not drive nicely. The Ford was nice though.

A guy down the street from me has a Transit connect now (cargo window style). I keep forgetting to ask what the heck he does with it. But that would actually be a really handy spare car, though a window/passenger version (even if you take out the middle seats) would be even better.

The GMC is like my 2004 Chevy, pretty basic and not too different from my 1988 GMC. I think it was the same design from 1986-2016 so by the end of it's run a rental version must have seemed like an antique. All things are relative and compared to some of the hoopties I've driven not bad.

If they ever get done checking my background I should be able to give a comparison of whatever Enterprise runs.

jmonroe

28firefighter said:

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

Buzzkill.

I didn't mean to rain on your parade but let's face it, there are 32 teams in the NFL...31 play football, the Patriots are playing a game none of the others have figured out yet.

jmonroe

tjc78

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

What a game!!! 

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that. jmonroe

Buzzkill.

We were hoping for Eagles v Jags. BUT, if the Pats play like they did last night (barely pulling off the win against a clearly inferior team) and the Eagles play like they did (unstoppable against a team with the best defense in the league), we have a good shot.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

isellhondas said:

They've been doing the airbag lowrider thing to MBs for some time, especially 60s-70s models. I don't agree with the aesthetics, but many of these cars might be rotting towards the scrapyard if a new generation wasn't customizing them, so as long as nothing rare is messed with, it's fine: Even fintails:

We used to lower a lot of cars mostly Chevys when I was growing up! We sure didn't use any wimpy airbags if they even had such things back then. There were two ways to lower a car. The "right" way if there was a right way was to have a couple of coils cut out of the back springs and install lowering blocks in the back if the car had leaf springs. The "cheap" way which many of us opted for was to have the muffler shop melt the springs with a torch. The would melt the rear leafs too and quickly bend them with a big prybar. Oh, how those cars would bounce! Lower the car, install a split manifold and have an 18 inch glass muffler on one side and a straight pipe on the other! The cops just loved us!

Hahah. I'm sure you are joking, but just in case...

 Cutting the springs is NEVER the right way.  Guess they didn't have much in the way of aftermarket lowering springs, huh?

bags are far from wimpy. If they are good enough for big rigs...

The school busses I drove had bags in the rear. Didn't do much for the ride but I guess they helped a little. On cars air suspension doesn't last as long as springs and is expensive to repair. I switched my Lincoln over to regular suspension for half of what it would have cost to repair the air ride.

Oh sure. Switching to convential suspension is a good and reaonable fix when dealing with factory air suspension. Can't say for sure, but my guess is the aftermarket equipment used in hot rods is more robust, plus you can have nearly infinite adjustability from within the cockpit, which is a nice feature, I would think.

nyccarguy

jmonroe said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that. jmonroe

Buzzkill.

I didn't mean to rain on your parade but let's face it, there are 32 teams in the NFL...31 play football, the Patriots are playing a game none of the others have figured out yet. jmonroe

Except for #10 ELI MANNING & The New York Football Giants!

I'm really torn about who to root for in the SB.  On the 1 hand, you have the Eagles who are a bitterly hated division rival.  They've got a dedicated, very passionate fan base who deserves a title.  They suffered through some horrible years.

On the other hand there are the Patriots.  I'm a NY fan, so naturally I should root against the New England team (especially since the refs at my son's Pee Wee hockey game in New Hampshire like the Pats...).  Brady is an immortal.  If the Pats win again, it just makes #10 Eli Manning look THAT much better.

pensfan83

Go Eagl....sorry I gagged a bit there. Go Pennsylvania!!!!!

cdnpinhead

driver100 said:

I can watch this Geiko ad over and over

That's good, because you're going to have to, as are the rest of us, DVRs notwithstanding.

stickguy

nyccarguy said:

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

Buzzkill.

I didn't mean to rain on your parade but let's face it, there are 32 teams in the NFL...31 play football, the Patriots are playing a game none of the others have figured out yet.

jmonroe

Except for #10 ELI MANNING & The New York Football Giants!

I'm really torn about who to root for in the SB.  On the 1 hand, you have the Eagles who are a bitterly hated division rival.  They've got a dedicated, very passionate fan base who deserves a title.  They suffered through some horrible years.

On the other hand there are the Patriots.  I'm a NY fan, so naturally I should root against the New England team (especially since the refs at my son's Pee Wee hockey game in New Hampshire like the Pats...).  Brady is an immortal.  If the Pats win again, it just makes #10 Eli Manning look THAT much better.

As a giants fan living in the philly market, I’ll just pass on watching!

nyccarguy

Today marks a month of owning our 2017 Pilot.  It did good by us on a 700 mile weekend road trip to New Hampshire for Hockey & Skiing.

houdini1

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

That is why the Chiefs drive me crazy. During the regular season they beat the Patriots and the Eagles, then went out in the first round of the playoffs. Trying to run the clock out the entire second half does not work Andy !!

28firefighter

houdini1 said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that. jmonroe

That is why the Chiefs drive me crazy. During the regular season they beat the Patriots and the Eagles, then went out in the first round of the playoffs. Trying to run the clock out the entire second half does not work Andy !!

Ah yes. The Andy Reid school of clock management. Philly fans are quite familiar. 

qbrozen

My son is a Giants fan, as I believe I have explained, but he is willing to help me root for the Eagles. Anything but another Pats win, please!

houdini1

28firefighter said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

28firefighter said:

EAGLES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

So are the Patriots. Good luck with that.

jmonroe

That is why the Chiefs drive me crazy. During the regular season they beat the Patriots and the Eagles, then went out in the first round of the playoffs. Trying to run the clock out the entire second half does not work Andy !!

Ah yes. The Andy Reid school of clock management. Philly fans are quite familiar. 

LOL, yes, you would be. I always root for the Eagles too. Darren Sproles is a good friend of mine. His dad, Larry, has been my neighbor and golf buddy for 12 years. They are both extremely good guys.

Michaell

My son in CA is an avid Eagles fan, so he's pretty stoked this morning.

I'm a subscriber to the "anyone but New England" school of Super Bowl champions.

But, eventually Father Time catches up to all of us. Both Brady and Belichek will eventually retire, and ideally NE will then become just another team.

bwia

Michaell said:

My son in CA is an avid Eagles fan, so he's pretty stoked this morning.

I'm a subscriber to the "anyone but New England" school of Super Bowl champions.

But, eventually Father Time catches up to all of us. Both Brady and Belichek will eventually retire, and ideally NE will then become just another team.

Look guys -- what is the Patriots to do? Brady, the 15th. highest player in the NFL beat the Jaguars with one hand. Gronkowski was knocked out in the first half yet the Pats came back to humiliate the Jags.

If it will make you guys feel any better an airline ticket from Boston to MPLS is over $1,000 and we are not even complaining. GO PATS!

houdini1

Bwia, I have nothing but respect for Brady and the Patriots and love to watch them play. No doubt Brady is the best QB who ever played. Hell, he is almost super human with what he and the Pats have accomplished.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Today marks a month of owning our 2017 Pilot.  It did good by us on a 700 mile weekend road trip to New Hampshire for Hockey & Skiing.

Glad you're happy with it. How does it compare to the previous one?

BTW, where's the license plate on that buggy? How are we expected to look up your address on the internet and come down and stalk you?

I was at the market alone today (usually go with my wife) and the clerk asked if I wanted to sign up for some rewards program. I declined and joked that I didn't want the CIA tracking my purchases. The clerk got real quiet which prompted me to explain I was joking. Without my wife there to roll her eyes the poor woman thought I was serious.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

Today marks a month of owning our 2017 Pilot.  It did good by us on a 700 mile weekend road trip to New Hampshire for Hockey & Skiing.

Glad you're happy with it. How does it compare to the previous one?

BTW, where's the license plate on that buggy? How are we expected to look up your address on the internet and come down and stalk you?

I was at the market alone today (usually go with my wife) and the clerk asked if I wanted to sign up for some rewards program. I declined and joke that I didn't want the CIA tracking my purchases. The clerk got real quiet which prompted me to explain I was joking. Without my wife there to roll her eyes the poor woman thought I was serious.

If I was in the market for a passenger van, I would most definitely choose the Honda. Not just because it looks good, but because it is made well and designed with the family in mind. It is obvious that Bradd has once again fallen in love with one of his vehicles - and deservedly so!

bwia

Speaking of Tesla, my son-in-law bought a Model X in mid November. My daughter is fuming about it but that is one of his few indulgences. I rode along with him on several day/night trips but alas he would not let me drive it. My impressions:

- The Model X (85 kWh battery) is a very heavy vehicle.
- It is not quiet. Wind, tire and electric motor noises are pronounced.
- Outward visibility is quite good, but the back-up camera has no grid lines to judge distances
- LED Headlights are outstanding. Even I could see very clearly.
- Fit and finish is average
- Acceleration is neck-snappingly quick
- Very smooth ride at any speed
- The auto pilot was anything but. IMHO a waste of money for that feature
- Real world driving range about 185 miles, not practical for a DC to Boston long distance trip.

- Overall, a very nice all electric vehicle for a GenXer. For the size (too big) and the price (too expensive) it is not a vehicle I would choose to enter the electric car market.

nyccarguy

So far so good @oldfarmer50.

I purchased it in NY, so I got temporary tags until the state of CT gets all the information in their system. I was able to transfer my old plates. I think FEDEX should be delivering the documentation today.

We are happy with the purchase. The 2017 Pilot is wider, longer, & smoother than the 2011 we traded in. Close to the 2,000 miles we've put on this one would peg us at about 104,000 on the 2011 which is about 1,000 miles away from some very expensive maintenance. It rides smoother (even with the 20" wheels) and is much quieter than the 2011. I went for the TOURING model this time around and got all of the tech goodies: Navigation, Rear Blu Ray Player, & Honda Sensing. I love the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Watch.