Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

dino001

driver100 said:

dino001 said:

I don't think this is going to be about mellowing out by Mike. This may be about hard reality of the next lease payment, as this one ends and there is no more rollup on equity, as none is left by now. Same S-class will cost him likely 50% more in payments. Add interest rate climbing and Genesis may start looking quite attractive.

Mike will have low miles on his S. Maybe he can re-lease it again. I did that with my 95 JEEP, leased for 30 months at $315, then leased for 2 years at $240.

This may still raise his payments, quite substantially. Now it's leasing a used car that may go out of warranty with higher payments. I don't think so.

What's up with this quote feature? Once you nest enough times, it just goes out of whack. Or perhaps it's unique to your browser (end of block quote is placed in).

abacomike

dino001 said:

driver100 said:

dino001 said:

Driver - bologna on the Genesis you might look at.  You are a stoic Mercedes owner, and you know it.As for you mellowing out - doubtful.

I don't think this is going to be about mellowing out by Mike. This may be about hard reality of the next lease payment, as this one ends and there is no more rollup on equity, as none is left by now. Same S-class will cost him likely 50% more in payments. Add interest rate climbing and Genesis may start looking quite attractive.

Mike will have low miles on his S. Maybe he can re-lease it again. I did that with my 95 JEEP, leased for 30 months at $315, then leased for 2 years at $240.

This may still raise his payments, quite substantially. Now it's leasing used car that may go out of warranty with higher payments. I don't think so.

What's up with this quote feature. Once you nest enough times, it just goes out of whack. Or perhaps it's unique to your browser (ned of block quote is placed too early, throwing the newer comments out of greyed areas).

I have until June, 2020, to worry about my next car. If I was ready to buy or lease a new car right now, I would probably get a 2018 E400 Sedan with an MSRP of around $68,000. I would probably lease it to keep my payment reasonable.

But to be quite honest, I love the car I have now. Yes, it will be a disappointment moving into something I can afford, but I'll worry about that in June of 2020.

driver100

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

I haven't heard how the Fusions that lift a wheel to avoid potholes are doing.....anyone know if that really works and why isn't everyone else copying?

I read it is better just to hit a pothole than to slow down...it does more harm to be braking and hitting them. I don;t agree or disagree....I just don't know why that would be.

Well, if you are loading the front tires with extra weight due to braking, it would make sense you are pushing them down into the hole further. I suppose if you drive fast enough, you don't give gravity and your suspension enough time to sink into a hole. I wouldn't advise trying this at home though.

That makes sense. I decided to look it up to make sure. Consensus seems to be:
Keep these seven tips in mind to help minimize vehicle damage:

1. Slow down
The faster you’re driving when you hit a pothole, the worse the damage is likely to be

2. Give some space
Should the car in front of you fail to avoid a pothole, you’ll give yourself the time to react and avoid the same fate if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver

3. Prepare for puddles
When you see a puddle in the middle of the road, it’s impossible to know how deep that crater will be, so be very cautious

4. Hold tight
Potholes can cause a violent jolt to your car, so it’s very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel. Otherwise, your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely

5. Don’t brake
You’ll want to avoid braking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage

6. Keep your tires full
Properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from potholes

7. Inspect new tires
Inspect the tire by looking at the DOT number, a four-digit number that stands for the week and year the tire was made

Not sure how you slow down #1 and don't brake #5. I assume you do as much slowing down - braking - as you can before actually hitting the pothole,.

driver100

Also....turn the car in and see Lease Busters....get a less expensive car with 2 years left on the lease.
Cross each bridge when you have to....and enjoy the moment for now.
OR
Win big at the casino!

dino001

If you guys want to read a real informative piece FIU bridge collapse, rather than those half-baked, half-true bits from the media, see the website below. The guy is clearly a trained engineer with some substantive experience, as he is able to discern noise and irrelevant data and call it as such. He is especially informative when it comes to debunk some of those early reports having "connection" with the collapse. I encourage anybody who wants to better understand what may and what may not be a contributing factor (and even get an idea about the degree) to this tragedy based on currently available information. Unlike lazy liberal arts educated main stream media reporters, he went into the records and dug out the proposal-stage plans (could have been changed) and showed what may be relevant and what is not.

http://happypontist.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collapse-of-fiu-sweetwater.html

I have to say I was fairly impressed with Marco Rubio's restraint and precision, when talking about this situation. Unlike FIU president, reporters, or other people, he spoke only on subjects he had some understanding and did not make any unnecessary leaps. He also was very quick to caution everybody from making those leaps themselves.

Here are several buzzwords that you may have heard as "contributing" or even "causing" and having most likely very little relevance to the actual causes:

1. Accelerated bridge construction. That's just a method of putting things together first and then placing them into the location. It's not a thing to cause failure, it a thing that may create situations that could be dangerous, just like on-site conventional erection.
2. "Stress testing" - that is an utter nonsense. Now I can say there was no such thing, as stress testing of the bridge. Most likely FIU president heard the word "prestressing" in context of the bridge being "stressed" and with no education in this area he made a leap into something he could understand (of course completely wrong). Media keep running with this story and keep repeating this nonsense over and over.
3. Work over traffic. This is done all the time and there are multiple rules governing such activities. Guy walking across the bridge with a wrench is work over traffic. He could cause danger to the people below, as he could drop the wrench, but he wouldn't collapse the span. We have ruler governing such activities. However, if there was a specific work done that could temporarily weaken the structure, that would be highly relevant.
4. "Innovation". Every time we do something we haven't done, we can experience something we didn't anticipate. Does this mean we should stop doing new things?
5. Past safety violations. Perhaps, or perhaps not. Receiving a fine for a guy not wearing a hard hat years ago has very little to do with potential collapse. The only relevance would be if the contractor has done something without consulting anybody. I have no idea if they had.

houdini1

Dino, you obviously have a lot of expertise here, plus you have studied this particular failure to some extent. At this point would it be asking too much for you to give us your current opinion of what actually might have caused the collapse?

driver100

Well written and interesting Dino. He seems to say what he thinks did not cause the collapse, but doesn't want to say what he thinks caused the collapse. I know nothing about bridge construction, but I think it makes sense to use steel as well as concrete to reinforce the span, and to give it some real structure. But, what do I know?

jmonroe

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

I haven't heard how the Fusions that lift a wheel to avoid potholes are doing.....anyone know if that really works and why isn't everyone else copying?

I read it is better just to hit a pothole than to slow down...it does more harm to be braking and hitting them. I don;t agree or disagree....I just don't know why that would be.

Well, if you are loading the front tires with extra weight due to braking, it would make sense you are pushing them down into the hole further. I suppose if you drive fast enough, you don't give gravity and your suspension enough time to sink into a hole. I wouldn't advise trying this at home though.

That makes sense. I decided to look it up to make sure. Consensus seems to be:
Keep these seven tips in mind to help minimize vehicle damage:

1. Slow down
The faster you’re driving when you hit a pothole, the worse the damage is likely to be

2. Give some space
Should the car in front of you fail to avoid a pothole, you’ll give yourself the time to react and avoid the same fate if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver

3. Prepare for puddles
When you see a puddle in the middle of the road, it’s impossible to know how deep that crater will be, so be very cautious

4. Hold tight
Potholes can cause a violent jolt to your car, so it’s very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel. Otherwise, your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely

5. Don’t brake
You’ll want to avoid braking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage

6. Keep your tires full
Properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from potholes

7. Inspect new tires
Inspect the tire by looking at the DOT number, a four-digit number that stands for the week and year the tire was made

Not sure how you slow down #1 and don't brake #5. I assume you do as much slowing down - braking - as you can before actually hitting the pothole,.

I know I'm getting older everyday, like everybody else, but tips 2 and 3 sound very familiar to me. I swear I just heard something about this not too long ago in here. Does anyone else remember what I remember?

jmonroe

andres3

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

I haven't heard how the Fusions that lift a wheel to avoid potholes are doing.....anyone know if that really works and why isn't everyone else copying?

I read it is better just to hit a pothole than to slow down...it does more harm to be braking and hitting them. I don;t agree or disagree....I just don't know why that would be.

Well, if you are loading the front tires with extra weight due to braking, it would make sense you are pushing them down into the hole further. I suppose if you drive fast enough, you don't give gravity and your suspension enough time to sink into a hole. I wouldn't advise trying this at home though.

That makes sense. I decided to look it up to make sure. Consensus seems to be:
Keep these seven tips in mind to help minimize vehicle damage:

1. Slow down
The faster you’re driving when you hit a pothole, the worse the damage is likely to be

2. Give some space
Should the car in front of you fail to avoid a pothole, you’ll give yourself the time to react and avoid the same fate if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver

3. Prepare for puddles
When you see a puddle in the middle of the road, it’s impossible to know how deep that crater will be, so be very cautious

4. Hold tight
Potholes can cause a violent jolt to your car, so it’s very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel. Otherwise, your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely

5. Don’t brake
You’ll want to avoid braking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage

6. Keep your tires full
Properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from potholes

7. Inspect new tires
Inspect the tire by looking at the DOT number, a four-digit number that stands for the week and year the tire was made

Not sure how you slow down #1 and don't brake #5. I assume you do as much slowing down - braking - as you can before actually hitting the pothole,.

That's how I treat speed bumps and dips in the roadway, brake just before, let go of brakes while going over.

andres3

Another self-driving car death:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/uber-self-driving-vehicle-hits-171141094.html

Apparently, AZ is more lax than CA, and probably why this death was spared in CA but not in AZ:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/21/uber-cancels-self-driving-car-trial-san-francisco-california

cdnpinhead

My money's on improper pre-stressing of the various members. Sounds like each web in the truss as well as the upper and lower horizontal members are all supposed to be pre-stressed. Done correctly, the span would be self-supporting and, according to the article, capable of carrying pedestrians as well. Second choice is weak concrete, such that the pre-stressing forces get released when the concrete fails in local areas.

Time will tell, maybe. We still don't have a straight story on what went on in Vegas, so if sufficiently powerful and/or corrupt entities are involved, we may never know.

28firefighter

For those keeping track at home, we had to have all of our bids revised due to city code requiring a minimum 5 foot setback from the property line. Instead of a traditional compressor, we need to use a low profile compressor that sits along the side of the house in order to meet the property setback requirements. More money of course.

However, this also brought the bids (with one outlier) into line. A Carrier 14 SEER 3 ton unit is $7200, a Bryant 14 SEER 3 ton unit is $7900, and a Trane 16 SEER 3 ton unit is $7000. The installer for the Trane unit is also my preferred installer and has done a ton of legwork to get me to this point.

Inclined to go with the Trane bid, but still weighing it all out.

imidazol97

I'm still stuck on the idea that the Fusion is so smart it knows a wheel will drop into a pothole and proactively lifts that wheel to prevent any drop.

dino001

houdini1 said:

Dino, you obviously have a lot of expertise here, plus you have studied this particular failure to some extent. At this point would it be asking too much for you to give us your current opinion of what actually might have caused the collapse?

It is too early to say it without knowing the facts. I had a benefit to see proposal stage plans, but not the final plans, which may have been changed. It appears that my first guesses were wrong already. It appears that the intent of the design was for the span to fully bear loads without help of the pylon and stays, which (from the latest releases) look like decorative pieces. This is important, as it essentially debunks first reports suggesting accelerated construction as a major contributing factor - it seems now least relevant piece of data.

From the footage, I can describe to you the mode of span failure as a catastrophic "shear type", which I described here before (think of an overhanging rock falling from a cliff in sudden fashion without warning, as opposed to say timber beam breaking after it deflected first enough so you have enough time to escape or even support it). The initiation point appears to be in the diagonal pieces in the first panel from the future pylon in the upper cord node. The cause of such behavior is most likely something didn't work as intended. I would not take even a guess whether it was wrong execution on part of design (e.g. design details not reflecting their mathematical models), or construction (e.g. poorly executed work). Not enough information to say it aloud (I don't want to guess publicly even if I have one). I may be able to say something more if I saw the actual bridge plans. Also, the work done immediately prior the failure may be either decisive factor (or even the direct cause), or may be completely unrelated, depending what that work actually was. IF that work caused the structure to be temporarily outside of assumed (modeled) response parameters (like alteration of the post-tensioning), this might as well be the direct cause. But if a guy was passing buy with a bucket of cement or some poor soul was attaching a railing, then no relevance whatsoever. I'm sure the parties lawyered up at this point so we won't know that until they talk to the authorities and a report is released. We can expect drips of information from the media that will likely not be helpful.

Then, besides direct causes, there are contributing factors to usually indirectly related to the failure in various degrees. From type of design structure, to type of work, to even legal framework of the project, or human pressures. The only responsible thing is to say we should give NTSB time and space to work it out and give us a report. They are also quite good in enumerating those factors, too. I will hope they can create a report similar to those after space shuttle disasters, when they showed what were the direct causes, but also what was the larger framework that help those failures to appear.

dino001

cdnpinhead said:

My money's on improper pre-stressing of the various members. Sounds like each web in the truss as well as the upper and lower horizontal members are all supposed to be pre-stressed. Done correctly, the span would be self-supporting and, according to the article, capable of carrying pedestrians as well. Second choice is weak concrete, such that the pre-stressing forces get released when the concrete fails in local areas.

Time will tell, maybe. We still don't have a straight story on what went on in Vegas, so if sufficiently powerful and/or corrupt entities are involved, we may never know.

Let's hope not. NTSB has an excellent reputation so far.

jmonroe

imidazol97 said:

I'm still stuck on the idea that the Fusion is so smart it knows a wheel will drop into a pothole and proactively lifts that wheel to prevent any drop.

Me too.

jmonroe

driver100

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

I haven't heard how the Fusions that lift a wheel to avoid potholes are doing.....anyone know if that really works and why isn't everyone else copying?

I read it is better just to hit a pothole than to slow down...it does more harm to be braking and hitting them. I don;t agree or disagree....I just don't know why that would be.

Well, if you are loading the front tires with extra weight due to braking, it would make sense you are pushing them down into the hole further. I suppose if you drive fast enough, you don't give gravity and your suspension enough time to sink into a hole. I wouldn't advise trying this at home though.

That makes sense. I decided to look it up to make sure. Consensus seems to be:
Keep these seven tips in mind to help minimize vehicle damage:

1. Slow down
The faster you’re driving when you hit a pothole, the worse the damage is likely to be

2. Give some space
Should the car in front of you fail to avoid a pothole, you’ll give yourself the time to react and avoid the same fate if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver

3. Prepare for puddles
When you see a puddle in the middle of the road, it’s impossible to know how deep that crater will be, so be very cautious

4. Hold tight
Potholes can cause a violent jolt to your car, so it’s very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel. Otherwise, your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely

5. Don’t brake
You’ll want to avoid braking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage

6. Keep your tires full
Properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from potholes

7. Inspect new tires
Inspect the tire by looking at the DOT number, a four-digit number that stands for the week and year the tire was made

Not sure how you slow down #1 and don't brake #5. I assume you do as much slowing down - braking - as you can before actually hitting the pothole,.

I know I'm getting older everyday, like everybody else, but tips 2 and 3 sound very familiar to me. I swear I just heard something about this not too long ago in here. Does anyone else remember what I remember?

jmonroe

Yeh, we remember......and now we will probably never be able to forget - as we are reminded every week about the time JMonroe taught us how to save our cars going over potholes.

driver100

I guess the Uber car that struck and killed a woman will set self driving cars back a bit. They say she wasn't in the crosswalk, but I haven't seen how the car didn't stop. You would think even the automatic braking feature would have picked that up. If it can't spot a pedestrian what good is it?

(Mike, sorry if I said the same thing 5 different ways........tired, hard games of tennis today)

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

I haven't heard how the Fusions that lift a wheel to avoid potholes are doing.....anyone know if that really works and why isn't everyone else copying?

I read it is better just to hit a pothole than to slow down...it does more harm to be braking and hitting them. I don;t agree or disagree....I just don't know why that would be.

Well, if you are loading the front tires with extra weight due to braking, it would make sense you are pushing them down into the hole further. I suppose if you drive fast enough, you don't give gravity and your suspension enough time to sink into a hole. I wouldn't advise trying this at home though.

That makes sense. I decided to look it up to make sure. Consensus seems to be:
Keep these seven tips in mind to help minimize vehicle damage:

1. Slow down
The faster you’re driving when you hit a pothole, the worse the damage is likely to be

2. Give some space
Should the car in front of you fail to avoid a pothole, you’ll give yourself the time to react and avoid the same fate if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver

3. Prepare for puddles
When you see a puddle in the middle of the road, it’s impossible to know how deep that crater will be, so be very cautious

4. Hold tight
Potholes can cause a violent jolt to your car, so it’s very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel. Otherwise, your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely

5. Don’t brake
You’ll want to avoid braking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage

6. Keep your tires full
Properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from potholes

7. Inspect new tires
Inspect the tire by looking at the DOT number, a four-digit number that stands for the week and year the tire was made

Not sure how you slow down #1 and don't brake #5. I assume you do as much slowing down - braking - as you can before actually hitting the pothole,.

I know I'm getting older everyday, like everybody else, but tips 2 and 3 sound very familiar to me. I swear I just heard something about this not too long ago in here. Does anyone else remember what I remember?

jmonroe

Yeh, we remember......and now we will probably never be able to forget - as we are reminded every week about the time JMonroe taught us how to save our cars going over potholes.

Another left-handed compliment but as usual, I'll take it.

Some of us provide tips earlier than others. But as long as the lesson is learned, that's the important thing.

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

Those are the sturdiest ping pong balls I ever saw.

jmonroe

explorerx4

Not every Fusion has that suspension, on only the Sport model.
My wife's MKC also has it.
There are video's showing it in action. I'm pretty sure I posted one here a couple of years ago.

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

Not every Fusion has that suspension, on only the Sport model.
My wife's MKC also has it.
There are video's showing it in action. I'm pretty sure I posted one here a couple of years ago.

It's waaay too late to try to take credit for that now. :@

jmonroe

ab348

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

Those are the sturdiest ping pong balls I ever saw.

jmonroe

Agreed. They should have used eggs, preferably not hard-boiled ones.

explorerx4

I'm sure that suspension is relatively costly, so not worth putting most the trims.
It is also adjustable(soft, normal, sport).
Doesn't stop you from picking up nails, though.

roadburner

dino001 said:

If you guys want to read a real informative piece FIU bridge collapse, rather than those half-baked, half-true bits from the media, see the website below. The guy is clearly a trained engineer with some substantive experience, as he is able to discern noise and irrelevant data and call it as such. He is especially informative when it comes to debunk some of those early reports having "connection" with the collapse. I encourage anybody who wants to better understand what may and what may not be a contributing factor (and even get an idea about the degree) to this tragedy based on currently available information. Unlike lazy liberal arts educated main stream media reporters, he went into the records and dug out the proposal-stage plans (could have been changed) and showed what may be relevant and what is not.

http://happypontist.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collapse-of-fiu-sweetwater.html

I have to say I was fairly impressed with Marco Rubio's restraint and precision, when talking about this situation. Unlike FIU president, reporters, or other people, he spoke only on subjects he had some understanding and did not make any unnecessary leaps. He also was very quick to caution everybody from making those leaps themselves.

Here are several buzzwords that you may have heard as "contributing" or even "causing" and having most likely very little relevance to the actual causes:

1. Accelerated bridge construction. That's just a method of putting things together first and then placing them into the location. It's not a thing to cause failure, it a thing that may create situations that could be dangerous, just like on-site conventional erection.
2. "Stress testing" - that is an utter nonsense. Now I can say there was no such thing, as stress testing of the bridge. Most likely FIU president heard the word "prestressing" in context of the bridge being "stressed" and with no education in this area he made a leap into something he could understand (of course completely wrong). Media keep running with this story and keep repeating this nonsense over and over.
3. Work over traffic. This is done all the time and there are multiple rules governing such activities. Guy walking across the bridge with a wrench is work over traffic. He could cause danger to the people below, as he could drop the wrench, but he wouldn't collapse the span. We have ruler governing such activities. However, if there was a specific work done that could temporarily weaken the structure, that would be highly relevant.
4. "Innovation". Every time we do something we haven't done, we can experience something we didn't anticipate. Does this mean we should stop doing new things?
5. Past safety violations. Perhaps, or perhaps not. Receiving a fine for a guy not wearing a hard hat years ago has very little to do with potential collapse. The only relevance would be if the contractor has done something without consulting anybody. I have no idea if they had.

I appreciate your insight; having dealt with the media since 1985, I can state without hesitation that the mission statement for 99% of journalists is:
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

Those are the sturdiest ping pong balls I ever saw.

jmonroe

Another comprehension problem! We are checking out the cars ability to avoid damage by going over a pothole....not, the strength of ping pong balls.

driver100

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

Those are the sturdiest ping pong balls I ever saw.

jmonroe

Agreed. They should have used eggs, preferably not hard-boiled ones.

That would have been way more impressive.

Some car company could actually use that in an ad, theirs just goes over ping ball balls, ours goes over soft boiled eggs.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

I'm sure that suspension is relatively costly, so not worth putting most the trims.
It is also adjustable(soft, normal, sport).
Doesn't stop you from picking up nails, though.

It would if they were at the bottom of the pothole.

explorerx4

Jmonroe thinks they are large marbles disguised to look like ping pong balls.

tbirdmarco

 Crazy what discounts to give on those trucks it’s a big market Mike said above for the big three more than anyone else. $10,000 off brand new model that’s not even on dealer lot yet find it hard to believe maybe six months into it of them being out and people buying them then the discounts will start but you never know but also stated above 

ab348

roadburner said:

I appreciate your insight; having dealt with the media since 1985, I can state without hesitation that the mission statement for 99% of journalists is:
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

When I was working, the last few years I was responsible for our Corporation's communication and media relations function. Thankfully I didn't have to be the one appearing in media or taking their calls. What I did learn from that experience was that the media got every story about us wrong about 98% of the time regardless of what we told them or how we tried to explain it. It was really eye-opening.

dino001

roadburner said:

I appreciate your insight; having dealt with the media since 1985, I can state without hesitation that the mission statement for 99% of journalists is:
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

Don't I know it myself... About twenty years ago my professor called in a journalism department at the university to make a PR piece about me. I received an international scholarship that allowed me to add some pocket money to my studies in the US. It also involved a ten-day or so trip from DC to NYC, to Toronto, to Minneapolis, to see HQs of companies that founded that scholarship, meet their people and get familiar with their work. These were couple of DOTs, World Bank, a lobbying group, several engineering and consulting firms, couple of large manufacturers of roadside safety or construction equipment. Great presentations, we really felt special, being just twenty-something graduate students. Since it was only 15 or so worldwide, my professor thought it would be a good one to run the story in the local newspaper. The lady calls me, we talk, I describe to her who I was, what this scholarship was about, etc. Then the article shows up - ALL MADE UP stuff. The only true item was my name and my country of origin. I guess my story was not good enough. I was just a graduate student on a nice scholarship, she made me a distinguished (and accomplished) professional coming to study Florida bridges (and in implication - rescue them). Absolutely disgusting. I was embarrassed, as some people thought I told her that stuff about myself. Of course I couldn't show the article to anybody and only prayed for fewest people to see it. Unfortunately, couple of professors did and I had to beg them to believe me I didn't tell that stuff.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

That Fusion pothole feature is really smart. This 45 second video explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/a880GXUjz50

Ford doesn't advertise this feature much, I guess it isn't a deal maker and not a glamorous feature to emphasize, but, it sure is neat.

Those are the sturdiest ping pong balls I ever saw.

jmonroe

Agreed. They should have used eggs, preferably not hard-boiled ones.

That would have been way more impressive.

Some car company could actually use that in an ad, theirs just goes over ping ball balls, ours goes over soft boiled eggs.

It would have been way more impressive if it was William C. Ford Jr's head.

snakeweasel

dino001 said:

roadburner said:

I appreciate your insight; having dealt with the media since 1985, I can state without hesitation that the mission statement for 99% of journalists is:
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

Don't I know it myself... About twenty years ago my professor called in a journalism department at the university to make a PR piece about me. I received an international scholarship that allowed me to add some pocket money to my studies in the US. It also involved a ten-day or so trip from DC to NYC, to Toronto, to Minneapolis, to see HQs of companies that founded that scholarship, meet their people and get familiar with their work. These were couple of DOTs, World Bank, a lobbying group, several engineering and consulting firms, couple of large manufacturers of roadside safety or construction equipment. Great presentations, we really felt special, being just twenty-something graduate students. Since it was only 15 or so worldwide, my professor thought it would be a good one to run the story in the local newspaper. The lady calls me, we talk, I describe to her who I was, what this scholarship was about, etc. Then the article shows up - ALL MADE UP stuff. The only true item was my name and my country of origin. I guess my story was not good enough. I was just a graduate student on a nice scholarship, she made me a distinguished (and accomplished) professional coming to study Florida bridges (and in implication - rescue them). Absolutely disgusting. I was embarrassed, as some people thought I told her that stuff about myself. Of course I couldn't show the article to anybody and only prayed for fewest people to see it. Unfortunately, couple of professors did and I had to beg them to believe me I didn't tell that stuff.

It's like the story of the guy who went to the zoo and saw a kid fall into the lions enclosure. He jumps in hits the lion over its head grabs the kid and gets out saving the kid. The reporter interviews the guy and at the end asks what he does and the man says he is in the Marines.

The next day the headline read "Marine beats up African immigrant and steals his lunch".

oldfarmer50

murphydog said:

Question for the current and former sales pros here. Now that I have a truck I have been following a Ram Forum, and as you would expect there is a small but enthusiastic crowd that is ordering the all new 2019 RAM that was just announced. Lots of cool new tech and what not - my likely next truck when needed.

Anyway, here is my observation - When I bough my truck it was $13K off MSRP, not surprising, late in the model run, and lots of competition. However I would expect that the all new 2019 have little or no discounts on them, at least for a few month...right? Yet people are posting copies of their purchase agreement with Dennis Dillon CDJR in Idaho showing $10K+ discounts on the brand new truck that was ordered? I never thought this would happen on an all new model that hasn't even hit the dealer lots yet?

I assume this is very uncommon? Maybe truck economics are different as the big 3 sell so dang many of them every year?

Any thoughts?

Just came back from driving a 2017 Ram extra cab 3 hours into Vermont and it drove very car-like. Even on some heavily frost heaved roads it was stable and secure. I can't see you going wrong with any pick up these days as they are all isolated from road bumps and noise. Unless the 2019 has some amazing advances in engine or tech I don't see the advantage.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lewGjszykgI

abacomike

dino001 said:

If you guys want to read a real informative piece FIU bridge collapse, rather than those half-baked, half-true bits from the media, see the website below. The guy is clearly a trained engineer with some substantive experience, as he is able to discern noise and irrelevant data and call it as such. He is especially informative when it comes to debunk some of those early reports having "connection" with the collapse. I encourage anybody who wants to better understand what may and what may not be a contributing factor (and even get an idea about the degree) to this tragedy based on currently available information. Unlike lazy liberal arts educated main stream media reporters, he went into the records and dug out the proposal-stage plans (could have been changed) and showed what may be relevant and what is not. http://happypontist.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collapse-of-fiu-sweetwater.html I have to say I was fairly impressed with Marco Rubio's restraint and precision, when talking about this situation. Unlike FIU president, reporters, or other people, he spoke only on subjects he had some understanding and did not make any unnecessary leaps. He also was very quick to caution everybody from making those leaps themselves. Here are several buzzwords that you may have heard as "contributing" or even "causing" and having most likely very little relevance to the actual causes: 1. Accelerated bridge construction. That's just a method of putting things together first and then placing them into the location. It's not a thing to cause failure, it a thing that may create situations that could be dangerous, just like on-site conventional erection. 2. "Stress testing" - that is an utter nonsense. Now I can say there was no such thing, as stress testing of the bridge. Most likely FIU president heard the word "prestressing" in context of the bridge being "stressed" and with no education in this area he made a leap into something he could understand (of course completely wrong). Media keep running with this story and keep repeating this nonsense over and over. 3. Work over traffic. This is done all the time and there are multiple rules governing such activities. Guy walking across the bridge with a wrench is work over traffic. He could cause danger to the people below, as he could drop the wrench, but he wouldn't collapse the span. We have ruler governing such activities. However, if there was a specific work done that could temporarily weaken the structure, that would be highly relevant. 4. "Innovation". Every time we do something we haven't done, we can experience something we didn't anticipate. Does this mean we should stop doing new things? 5. Past safety violations. Perhaps, or perhaps not. Receiving a fine for a guy not wearing a hard hat years ago has very little to do with potential collapse. The only relevance would be if the contractor has done something without consulting anybody. I have no idea if they had.

Excellent presentation, Dino.  I read the article as well that was suggested.  I have a much better perspective on the possible causes of the collapse.  Thanks for , what obviously is, a great and professional offering as regards the design and manufacture of the pedestrian bridge.

@cdnpinhead:

I read with interest your professional opinions as regards the bridge.  I was especially intrigued by one of your thoughts as to the possible cause of the collapse being the concrete (poor quality or poor mixture, etc.).  I tend to lean that way before we actually know the reason(s) for the collapse only because I have found, through historic evidence of concrete structure failures, that the concrete did not meet specs that the design teams developed.

In 2012, a concrete garage structure for the Miami-Dade College campus collapsed as it was under construction and the cause was the lack of the concrete meeting minimal specifications.

I hope the investigation comes to a quick conclusion that is based on sound data and videos of the actual collapse.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

What I did learn from that experience was that the media got every story about us wrong about 98% of the time regardless of what we told them or how we tried to explain it. It was really eye-opening.

You were operating under the mistaken idea that the media were average intelligence and higher. For decades here in Ohio we've been told how much better nonpublic schools are. And one TV station employed a high percentage of graduates from same. The mistakes in speling on many of the labels put on the scren and on the scrolin letters would make an elementary teacher's skin crawl. My wife would go mad about how many mistakes were made that even her 3rd or 5th graders would have done correctly. (The mistakes in my earlier sentence were intentional to demonstrate types of errors.)

explorerx4

oldfarm50 is always bragging about those letters his wife gets to try to get her trade in her very valuable and in demand PT Cruiser.
Probably coincidental, but last Saturday, I brought in my wife's 2016 MKC for service.
The SA remarked how nice it looked as we walked to set up the paperwork.
I told her I can't take any credit, my wife cleaned it up herself and as a matter of fact she loves it and never lets me drive it. Last time I drive it was the last time I brought it in for service.

Today she gets a letter. We will give you 29765** for your 2016 MKC. Plus with this invitation, an additional 9049**. Plus I will give you and additional 10,500* and make your first payment.
Also a $10 Target gift card for showing up on Saturday.

Top that!

dino001

abacomike said:

I tend to lean that way before we actually know the reason(s) for the collapse only because I have found, through historic evidence of concrete structure failures, that the concrete did not meet specs that the design teams developed.

In 2012, a concrete garage structure for the Miami-Dade College campus collapsed as it was under construction and the cause was the lack of the concrete meeting minimal specifications.

I hope the investigation comes to a quick conclusion that is based on sound data and videos of the actual collapse.

Mike, the cause of that collapse was not concrete quality, but not completing the procedure of setting precast members by placing grout under a column to finish properly support the precast components on the base floor (see report link below, last chapter). In the nutshell, crtitical pieces of concrete were actually missing altogether. Instead of sitting nice and flat on the base, the column was sitting on steel rods as only contact points and the load was increasing with each new floor. Lower nominal strength concrete was reportedly used in the precast components, but did not cause the collapse (elements were adequte even with lower nominal strength). Their actual strength wax close to the originally specified.

In fact, material quality issues are extremely rare in public projects. The inspectors are empowered to reject batches and order removal of inadequate concrete parts. Majority of concrete, especially in precast yards ends up 15-25 percent stronger than specified. Concrete plant discovered long ago it simply doesn’t pay off to skimp on admixtures, as marginal cost difference of say 6000 psi concrete vs. 5000 psi is next to nothing. The problems are much more frequent with proper placement and compaction. So-called honeycomb (porous texture) could sometimes be an issue. Most of the time it’s superficiial, aesthetic only, easly fixable, but if more critical area is affected, it could spell trouble.

https://www.osha.gov/doc/engineering/2013_r_02.html#15

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

oldfarm50 is always bragging about those letters his wife gets to try to get her trade in her very valuable and in demand PT Cruiser. Probably coincidental, but last Saturday, I brought in my wife's 2016 MKC for service. The SA remarked how nice it looked as we walked to set up the paperwork. I told her I can't take any credit, my wife cleaned it up herself and as a matter of fact she loves it and never lets me drive it. Last time I drive it was the last time I brought it in for service. Today she gets a letter. We will give you 29765** for your 2016 MKC. Plus with this invitation, an additional 9049**. Plus I will give you and additional 10,500* and make your first payment. Also a $10 Target gift card for showing up on Saturday. Top that!

Even Dodge couldn’t top that.  It looks like they will give you $45,000 if you buy  $40,000 car.  Nope, can’t beat that!

oldfarmer50

Hey New England posters.

I just watch the latest weather report and here comes another storm. 4th this month. It's going to miss us but the transporters at work are already begging the boss to go north or west to avoid driving into it. Looks like CT is going to get hammered again. Hope you all stay safe....and sane. I've just about had it with winter.

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

oldfarm50 is always bragging about those letters his wife gets to try to get her trade in her very valuable and in demand PT Cruiser. Probably coincidental, but last Saturday, I brought in my wife's 2016 MKC for service. The SA remarked how nice it looked as we walked to set up the paperwork. I told her I can't take any credit, my wife cleaned it up herself and as a matter of fact she loves it and never lets me drive it. Last time I drive it was the last time I brought it in for service. Today she gets a letter. We will give you 29765** for your 2016 MKC. Plus with this invitation, an additional 9049**. Plus I will give you and additional 10,500* and make your first payment. Also a $10 Target gift card for showing up on Saturday. Top that!

I implore you, for the sake of our entertainment, walk in with that letter and tell them you'll take them up on the offer. Oh, make sure you have a couple of extra copies in case one or two disappear in the "manager's office."

fordfool

sandman_6472 said:

Neighbors just put their house up for sale, same size as ours but has a pool. The Sandman

In the North, a pool detracts from a home's value because parents perceive it as a danger to their children.
Does an in-ground pool add value in the South?

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
I'll try to talk her into looking at a Continental, but I don't think she'll go for it.
One of the kids is going to be home this weekend, so I don't think she cares about looking at a new car.
She still hasn't been in my new truck since the test drive about a month ago.

fintail

I look at pools as a detraction - it is just something else to maintain, and I would rarely use it.

When I was a kid, an aunt and uncle had a lovely house with a very nicely situated in-ground pool, it was always a treat to visit them. They moved out of the house around 20 years ago, the next owners filled in the pool, still surprises me.

driver100

fordfool said:

sandman_6472 said:

Neighbors just put their house up for sale, same size as ours but has a pool. The Sandman

In the North, a pool detracts from a home's value because parents perceive it as a danger to their children.
Does an in-ground pool add value in the South?

IMHO, in the North pools detract from a homes value. Appeals to a small number of people, and they are costly to heat and maintain.....and not used for 7 months.

In the South a pool is a must for most people....cheap to heat, can use almost all year, keeps your kids around home. Homes are often centered around a pool....that is you can watch them and they are screened in.

driver100

Dino, excellent comments about construction. I would have assumed it was the quality of the cement too, but you explained why it isn't in a way even I - who know nothing about this - can grasp it. Could it have been mixed wrong? I still don't like the fact they didn't use steel as well.

snakeweasel

fordfool said:

sandman_6472 said:

Neighbors just put their house up for sale, same size as ours but has a pool. The Sandman

In the North, a pool detracts from a home's value because parents perceive it as a danger to their children.
Does an in-ground pool add value in the South?

Pools up north are seen as something that's expensive to get and maintain and are only useable for a few months out of the year.