Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

qbrozen

I don't pay attention to BSM. Learned how to safely change lanes long before such a feature existed and I don't see me changing my habits anytime soon. Even backup cameras, while useful, are only secondary for me. I look at the picture on the dash to make sure nothing is at my bumper, then do the ole arm over the passenger seat and head turned around maneuver.

stickguy

wait until you get old and that maneuver lays you up for 2 days!

I can turn my hard in the acura fine. and still have a blind spot big enough to hide a Miata back there. I am not giving up my camera.

I love the BSM though as a back up. Especially handy at night, and even more so if rainy.

fintail

If one visits Europe and observes the cars on the road, they might not know Lexus makes anything other than the RX, CT, and IS - and none of those are exactly common either. As expensive as the German competition but not as engaging, hard sell.

It's kind of related to dear leader complaining about others not buying American cars, not understanding that cars must suit the market to actually sell.

ab348 said:

Looks like Lexus has pulled the GS model from sale in Euroland:

http://www.autoverdict.com/toyota/lexus-toyota/report-lexus-gs-sales-stopped-in-europe/

It seems the Japanese brands are not as beloved there as they are here.

tbirdmarco

 Driver that’s good that Mrs. driver likes that quality in you very nice 

tbirdmarco

 I hear you Mike ha ha Ha 

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

Have you ever made a left turn when there are two lanes turning left, and you are on the 2nd lane over....and your blind spot monitor beeps because you are turning left and there is a car on your left side also going left? It took a few times to catch on to why the alrm was going off.....I know I am turning OK but am I turning into someone? Then I realize all it knows is I am going left but the cars in the next lane are beside me. I don't know how long it takes to figure that out and to decide what to do, but, probably at least 6 seconds.

Happens to me all the time - left turn or right turn.

The question is....the 1st time it happened, didn't you think you were doing something wrong? Or did you realize it was because there was a car beside you?

Yes, at first - when I had the 2016 E400 with all those gizmos on it.  I still get a bit startled when the chime warning goes off when turning

.

Me too, I don't panic when the warnings go....I think there is a logical reason for this to be happening. Now, when I am in two lanes turning, I am kind of expecting it to happen. It isn't uncommon in Florida to have 3 lanes turning....I guess if you are in the middle turning lane you could get warnings from both sides.

driver100

We have blind spot and rear camera in cars at home. The C250 doesn't have them.

It is probably good practice for me backing in and changing lanes without this aid....helps me maintain those skills, but, I do miss them. I don't rely on them 100%, but, they do provide an extra margin of safety.

bwia

Not again. Yes, it is snowing outside and coming down at a heavy clip. And current temperature is 32 F so it might snow for a while longer but I hope not to interfere with the Red Sox opening on Thursday.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

I don't pay attention to BSM. Learned how to safely change lanes long before such a feature existed and I don't see me changing my habits anytime soon. Even backup cameras, while useful, are only secondary for me. I look at the picture on the dash to make sure nothing is at my bumper, then do the ole arm over the passenger seat and head turned around maneuver.

Same here- and I prefer sensors(like BMW's PDC) to cameras; they give a better idea of your surroundings. If you adjust your mirrors properly BSM is unnecessary on most any passenger vehicle.

houdini1

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

Did we report another Tesla crashed while on auto drive....March 23rd?



Now, however, Tesla’s semiautonomous driving system is coming under new scrutiny after the company disclosed late on Friday that a fatal crash on March 23 in California occurred while Autopilot was engaged.

The company said the driver, Wei Huang, 38, a software engineer for Apple, had received several visual and audible warnings to put his hands back on the steering wheel but had failed to do so, even though his Model X S.U.V. had the modified version of the software. His hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds before his Model X slammed into a concrete divider near the junction of Highway 101 and 85 in Mountain View, and neither Mr. Huang nor the Autopilot activated the brakes before the crash.

On the TV news they said they were fixing the concrete barrier in the middle of the road after a previous crash, and the Tesla did not pick up the break in the wall.

FULL ARTICLE - ONE OF MANY PROBLEMS FACING TESLA

Good example of the shock absorbing collapsible front end !

Not good enough though....the guy died.

Irony, driver, irony.

jmonroe

roadburner said:

qbrozen said:

I don't pay attention to BSM. Learned how to safely change lanes long before such a feature existed and I don't see me changing my habits anytime soon. Even backup cameras, while useful, are only secondary for me. I look at the picture on the dash to make sure nothing is at my bumper, then do the ole arm over the passenger seat and head turned around maneuver.

Same here- and I prefer sensors(like BMW's PDC) to cameras; they give a better idea of your surroundings. If you adjust your mirrors properly BSM is unnecessary on most any passenger vehicle.

I have driven too long without the nannies that I don't even pay attention to them. BSM, yeah, I have it on the '15 Genny but I drive like it isn't even there. I don't trust it to help me, although anytime I have bothered to look at it, it does seem to be working the way it should. I just don't trust it to bail me out if I ever needed it. Call me paranoid.

The backup camera is useful if I can remind myself to use it. I'm getting better at it all the time but it takes some effort on my part. Where I feel the backup camera is the most useful to me is to find the rear line when I parallel park. It's nice to see that rear line so I can get centered better in the parking spot.

We have the backup camera on both Mrs. j's 2012 Legacy and my '15 Genny. I had it for the first time on my '09 Genny so I should be better at using it than I am but I'm working on it.

I told this story before but since we are on the subject, just a little repeat:

Mrs. j was not in favor of me getting the '09 Genny because I really didn't need a new car. I just wanted one. About a week after I had the car she gets into it in the garage and when I put it into reverse to back out she says, "what's that", as she points to the screen. I told her it was a backup camera and showed her how it works, explaining the various lines on the screen. Her response was, "oh yeah, everybody needs one of those". Fast forward to when we were looking to get her a car to replace the '05 XG 350 that blew an engine, she said "I don't really care what car we get (although she was leaning towards a Subie because a couple friends of hers had one), as long as it has one of those things that shows you where you are going when you back up".

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

If you adjust all the mirrors properly, you don't need BSM, in my opinion. Ditto 360 degree view. However, I'm a big fan of rear cameras.

carnaught

There are many nice things about having a 360 camera. One example is when pulling front first into a space up to a wall (with some covered parking facilities), and no parking block to safely stop you. You can tell when to stop, not when a loud bang stops you.

Mr_Shiftright

Front parking alerts seem much simpler to me.

28firefighter

As I've said before, I much prefer well adjusted mirrors to relying on tech for watching my blindspot. I basically use it as a sanity check, but I don't miss it when I drive my wife's car that doesn't have it.

I love rearview cameras only for expediting backing into parking spots. I don't rely on it when backing out of parking spaces, only using it there as a sanity check.

pensfan83

I went from a car that had BSM, backup cam, backup sensors, and rear cross traffic to one that only had backup cam and rear parking sensors. Now I'm back to a car with a full suite of safety tech. I lived without BSM for 3 years and could do it again if I needed to, it's merely a backup for using my mirrors and looking over my shoulder. The only safety nanny I heed without much second guessing are the front/rear sensors parking sensors since they are pretty accurate most times.

Mr_Shiftright

I guess it boils down to:

Useful Tech --thinks like, but not exclusively only----back up camera, front and rear parking sensors, smart cruise control

Useful Tech for Some--BSM, collision avoidance, lane-assist, 360 view, heads-up display

Useless Tech--stop/start, baffling gear shifters, Star Trek door handles, ten menu deep touch screens.

bwia

Mr_Shiftright said:

I guess it boils down to:

Useful Tech --thinks like, but not exclusively only----back up camera, front and rear parking sensors, smart cruise control

Useful Tech for Some--BSM, collision avoidance, lane-assist, 360 view, heads-up display

Useless Tech--stop/start, baffling gear shifters, Star Trek door handles, ten menu deep touch screens.

I'll add two more useful techs to your list TPMS--tire pressure monitoring system, digital headlight system

driver100

Doesn't someone like back up camera for centering the car when backing into a space with lines? The 2012 BMW had a passenger mirror that angled down for backing in....that worked. But, in most cases I can't see the lines when backing in.....I can do it by sight, but, much easier to just line up the center using the camera....you can also see if there is a block behind you, and how tall it is.

Most of these devices have little downside, but they could do some good....why go without if offered?

driver100

360 view is a good one. Really nice for knowing where the curb is when leaving a parking space sometimes (could prevent embarrassing forgetting there was a curb and driving over it and very embarrassing if your car gets hung up on the curb which I have seen).

Mr_Shiftright

I'm ambivalent about TPMS--people get a fair amount of false readings, and Schrader conducted a test and found that 42% of the people they tested couldn't even recognize the "low pressure" symbol on their dashboards! And of the 48% who did see it, 20% of those people didn't do anything about it except "look at the tire".

Of course, TPMS isn't optional after---what?---2008? , so I'm not going to rip it out or anything.

Good lighting is great but I do worry about the cost to replace some of these new headlight modules. They are PRICEY!

driver100

42% of the people driving don't know what a flat tire looks like? Those people should be in self driving cars.

andres3

xwesx said:

abacomike said:

When I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania in 1999, there were many stretches of road that were void of traffic.  I remember mostly Utah, Nebraska and Iowa.  Speed limits were 70 mph - but frequently I’d run the Lexus at 85 mph for quite sometime.  That was one of the reasons I was able to make the trip with just 2 stops - just west of Denver and Joliet, Illinois.  I was in a hurry!

While that sounds like a lot of fun, I habitually drive within about five of the limit. At least, I do now in the post-55-everywhere era. In general, I find that the posted limits are fairly reasonable for most areas (at least, to avoid Andres noting the non-sensical zoning in his area, most areas where I am unfamiliar and only passing through once in a great while). Even in places like Montana, where you might see another vehicle on some back road two laner once an hour or so, roads are posted at 70 mph.

I do make a few exceptions, such as the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37 in British Columbia), where much of it is posted at 80 kph (~45 mph). I tend to run 60-65 mph on that one unless I'm passing through a village.

I admit that I am often tempted to go faster on these seemingly deserted stretches, but most times that I seriously ponder it, I soon see an animal strike or a trooper/mounty and it reminds me that I am not as "alone" as I might like to believe....

On two lane roads, in particular, 65-75 mph strikes a good balance between trip time, fuel economy, and enjoyment.

My Audi's have killed a Blue Jay bird, and a rabbit. Both were at-fault in their own deaths. The bird, for flying too low, and the rabbit, for having bad timing. I feel worse for the rabbit, as if I hadn't of done a 1/4 lane change avoidance maneuver, there is a slight chance they'd of missed hitting the tires and somehow surviving. The maneuver managed to make a direct hit with the front right tire (at least it was quick).

Thankfully, I haven't hit bigger roadkill. I wonder if louder exhaust helps scare away animals and critters. Now that I mention it, the last deer strike I heard about was with a guy on a Harley doing Highway 33. Somehow he managed to keep it upright. Good rider I guess.

andres3

xwesx said:

abacomike said:

When I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania in 1999, there were many stretches of road that were void of traffic.  I remember mostly Utah, Nebraska and Iowa.  Speed limits were 70 mph - but frequently I’d run the Lexus at 85 mph for quite sometime.  That was one of the reasons I was able to make the trip with just 2 stops - just west of Denver and Joliet, Illinois.  I was in a hurry!

While that sounds like a lot of fun, I habitually drive within about five of the limit. At least, I do now in the post-55-everywhere era. In general, I find that the posted limits are fairly reasonable for most areas (at least, to avoid Andres noting the non-sensical zoning in his area, most areas where I am unfamiliar and only passing through once in a great while). Even in places like Montana, where you might see another vehicle on some back road two laner once an hour or so, roads are posted at 70 mph.

I do make a few exceptions, such as the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37 in British Columbia), where much of it is posted at 80 kph (~45 mph). I tend to run 60-65 mph on that one unless I'm passing through a village.

I admit that I am often tempted to go faster on these seemingly deserted stretches, but most times that I seriously ponder it, I soon see an animal strike or a trooper/mounty and it reminds me that I am not as "alone" as I might like to believe....

On two lane roads, in particular, 65-75 mph strikes a good balance between trip time, fuel economy, and enjoyment.

Your whole fleet is SUV's and trucks though. You'd get bored driving 70 MPH in a brand new RS5 sportback. 2.9L Bi-Turbo. 0-60 in 4 seconds.

andres3

isellhondas said:

ab348 said:

Sales of the new model Honda Accord are so soft that Honda is taking 2 weeks worth of production out of Marysville. I wonder if they have ever done that before?

http://www.autoverdict.com/honda/honda-halting-accord-production-for-two-weeks/

I talked to my former Sales Manager a couple of weeks ago and he said that the 2018 Accords are blowing people away and selling well. He also said that there are zero programs on right now. It seems the car manufacturers have created a nightmare my constantly offering low interest rates and subvented leases. shoppers are now spoiled and may be pushing back. Like being on withdrawal sometimes.

I know I would be much happier buying or leasing a car that I like than one I would just settle for because of some interest rate but that's me. I guess time will tell. Personally,I hope Honda doesn't blink!

My parents love Toyota's 0% financing. They are addicted to it. Lexus does it too.

An Audi salesman explained it very well to them, that they are simply paying for the financing up front in the car price, but that swayed them little. At 1.49 for my current loan, 0% isn't really worth all that much.

andres3

imidazol97 said:

ab348 said:

I knew a guy who committed suicide by automobile. Got in his vehicle, got on a 2-lane with a 60mph limit, and drove head-on into a tractor-trailer. Sad as he was well-respected in his field and left a lovely young wife and small child. I found out later he had fought mental illness for years.

We've had a handful of those in this area in the last 2 or 3 years. Usually they drive wrong way on the interstate and the pick an on-coming semi for a head on impact.

Here in CA it seems they just drive off a cliff into the Ocean.

andres3

qbrozen said:

I may have mentioned this before, but several years ago, a man stopped his car on the highway and proceeded to run towards an oncoming semi being driven by an employee of my father's. The driver attempted to avoid him but the running man adjusted his direction to stay in the path. Needless to say, the man succeeded in killing himself, but the emotional damage he caused that poor driver is irreversible and unforgivable. Doing that with a vehicle is atrocious. Why would you try to take an innocent strager out with you? 

Even more incomprehensible, these nut-jobs that take out their family/spouse and children prior to offing themselves. Murder-suicides.

driver100

andres3 said:

xwesx said:

abacomike said:

When I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania in 1999, there were many stretches of road that were void of traffic.  I remember mostly Utah, Nebraska and Iowa.  Speed limits were 70 mph - but frequently I’d run the Lexus at 85 mph for quite sometime.  That was one of the reasons I was able to make the trip with just 2 stops - just west of Denver and Joliet, Illinois.  I was in a hurry!

While that sounds like a lot of fun, I habitually drive within about five of the limit. At least, I do now in the post-55-everywhere era. In general, I find that the posted limits are fairly reasonable for most areas (at least, to avoid Andres noting the non-sensical zoning in his area, most areas where I am unfamiliar and only passing through once in a great while). Even in places like Montana, where you might see another vehicle on some back road two laner once an hour or so, roads are posted at 70 mph.

I do make a few exceptions, such as the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37 in British Columbia), where much of it is posted at 80 kph (~45 mph). I tend to run 60-65 mph on that one unless I'm passing through a village.

I admit that I am often tempted to go faster on these seemingly deserted stretches, but most times that I seriously ponder it, I soon see an animal strike or a trooper/mounty and it reminds me that I am not as "alone" as I might like to believe....

On two lane roads, in particular, 65-75 mph strikes a good balance between trip time, fuel economy, and enjoyment.

My Audi's have killed a Blue Jay bird, and a rabbit. Both were at-fault in their own deaths. The bird, for flying too low, and the rabbit, for having bad timing. .

Bad timing is right! If you had been going 5 mph faster they would both probably be alive today.

iluvmysephia1

I guess it boils down to:

Useful Tech --thinks like, but not exclusively only----back up camera, front and rear parking sensors, smart cruise control

Useful Tech for Some--BSM, collision avoidance, lane-assist, 360 view, heads-up display

Useless Tech--stop/start, baffling gear shifters, Star Trek door handles, ten menu deep touch screens.

Our '11 Kia Soul has none of these. The only one I'd like ta have would be a backup camera. After that, if picking just one, I'd choose the front and rear parking sensors, but not if they'd add cost to my car purchase.

iluvmysephia1

If I bought a 2019 Toyota Corolla hatch, it would come with a pallet of safety nannies. It would take an afternoon of reading and clicking around in the cabin just to learn them, if not longer. I wonder if I'd eventually dig having 4 or 5 of 'em, in time.

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

Autonomous cars haven't been test-driven for even a remotely adequate number of miles for anyone to determine if they are "safe" or not. If anything, given how few miles they've been test-driven, and the accidents they've had in relation to those number of miles, one could conclude that they are anything but safe---compared to deaths per million miles driven for regular cars.

It's amazing how many people have drunk the marketing Kool-Aid for Autonomous cars though! there are a lot of people out there that think they've already proven themselves safer than human drivers.

Lots of problems with this:

1. First, not enough miles driven (sample size too small)
   
2. Also, the miles driven are not representative of real-world conditions because they are pre-selected zones chosen because they are "easy" to drive. I also have a feeling they don't test in inclement weather much.
   
3. They ignore not at-fault collision rates, which I've read reports of results as high as 500%. This indicates they are terrible at avoiding bad human drivers. 500% against an average human driver, which we all agree is a low bar and standard.
   
4. Do you really want to trust your life to a computer that can't out-drive Lewis Hamilton around a track yet?
   

Then again, maybe the pro-autonomous car technology online posters are just bots and spies.

andres3

qbrozen said:

Couple of thoughts on the autonomous accidents.

1. There are fatal crashes every day. I think focusing on those that may have involved autodrive systems is sesationalistic reporting at its best.
2. Folks who are putting their lives completely in the hands of these half-baked systems are already overdue to be removed from the gene pool anyway.

The reason I find it to be news-worthy is that we've allowed these systems to be tested in the real-world with live people at stake. While some of these accidents are just Darwin at work, it is highly probable at some point these accidents will start to claim other outside victims (besides the AZ pedestrian, who was clearly partially at fault, but arguably not fully at-fault).

I'm concerned about the safety of innocent victims.

andres3

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

xwesx said:

abacomike said:

When I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania in 1999, there were many stretches of road that were void of traffic.  I remember mostly Utah, Nebraska and Iowa.  Speed limits were 70 mph - but frequently I’d run the Lexus at 85 mph for quite sometime.  That was one of the reasons I was able to make the trip with just 2 stops - just west of Denver and Joliet, Illinois.  I was in a hurry!

While that sounds like a lot of fun, I habitually drive within about five of the limit. At least, I do now in the post-55-everywhere era. In general, I find that the posted limits are fairly reasonable for most areas (at least, to avoid Andres noting the non-sensical zoning in his area, most areas where I am unfamiliar and only passing through once in a great while). Even in places like Montana, where you might see another vehicle on some back road two laner once an hour or so, roads are posted at 70 mph.

I do make a few exceptions, such as the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37 in British Columbia), where much of it is posted at 80 kph (~45 mph). I tend to run 60-65 mph on that one unless I'm passing through a village.

I admit that I am often tempted to go faster on these seemingly deserted stretches, but most times that I seriously ponder it, I soon see an animal strike or a trooper/mounty and it reminds me that I am not as "alone" as I might like to believe....

On two lane roads, in particular, 65-75 mph strikes a good balance between trip time, fuel economy, and enjoyment.

My Audi's have killed a Blue Jay bird, and a rabbit. Both were at-fault in their own deaths. The bird, for flying too low, and the rabbit, for having bad timing. .

Bad timing is right! If you had been going 5 mph faster they would both probably be alive today.

Yes, likely. Of course, you'll upset @snakeweasel if you don't also state that going 5 MPH slower also would have probably spared the critters' lives.

andres3

One more post:

Doesn't anyone subscribe to the philosophy of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!?"

That's how I feel about BSM and other nannies.

If you haven't wrecked in over 20 years of driving due to an unsafe lane change, what do you need BSM for?

I would be annoyed by red lights, seat vibrations, or other audible warnings from nannies. I'd be distracted by them too. A radar detector on the other hand, now that's a safety feature!

stickguy

I condsider smart cruise control useless. If you can back up and change lanes without assistance, you should be able to drive straight ahead too without running into traffic.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

I condsider smart cruise control useless. If you can back up and change lanes without assistance, you should be able to drive straight ahead too without running into traffic.

I definitely wouldn't say it is useless. Like any of the technology we've been talking about, it should be used as a tool to help you. It SHOULD NOT be used to supplement common sense (which nowadays isn't all that common). I'll admit that I always check my mirrors and over my shoulder when backing up before I check out the backup camera, but with my Infiniti and my wife's Pilot what is the point? The blind spots make it impossible for me to see behind me. I always R2D2 turn my head when changing lanes and rely on my mirrors. The Pilot's LANE WATCH camera is just reassurance for me. I like the radar cruise control, A LOT.

stickguy

I find it somewhat amusing that a lot of people here that are rabidly against passive helpers like BSM and cameras, and also autonomous driving cars, also seem to be in love with active cruise, which is just a real basic self driving car!

Mr_Shiftright

Well I'm taking the point of view of "usefulness", as in "how hard it is to use vs. how often do I use it" AND "can I do this just as easily and effectively with what's at hand?"

So active cruise control can be fatigue-reducing, especially, primarily, in soul-sucking traffic, and I don't have to do any more to set it than "normal" cruise control. But I'm still steering the car. It's just my feet taking a break and a stretch.

In a way, it's "alternative cruise control" because for most of us in our everyday commutes, "normal" cruise control isn't very practical at all. My cruise control button may rust at any moment.

So these "aides" are to be judged, I think, by matter of degree, by each individual.

I don't want to pay for things I would rarely use.

graphicguy

pensfan83 said:

I went from a car that had BSM, backup cam, backup sensors, and rear cross traffic to one that only had backup cam and rear parking sensors. Now I'm back to a car with a full suite of safety tech. I lived without BSM for 3 years and could do it again if I needed to, it's merely a backup for using my mirrors and looking over my shoulder. The only safety nanny I heed without much second guessing are the front/rear sensors parking sensors since they are pretty accurate most times.

Didn't think I needed the whole suite of Acura features. But, I find myself using them more and more.

I even used the brake hold feature. I've become so accustomed to taking my foot off the brake when the car comes to a stop, and the car staying stopped, I did the same thing in a rental last week and almost rear ended someone.

The active drive assists are helpful. Was on my way to Indy to visit my sister for Easter yesterday, and regularly just let go of the wheel to open a vitamin water, grab something from the glove box or reach into the back seat.

Crazy!

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2hjaBcf9ql4

oldfarmer50

I had to drive down to Allentown PA today and I must say I'm disappointed with you NJ drivers. Traveling down 287 to 78 I saw two types of drivers in the snow. One was going 45 in a 65 in the middle lane, the other was driving 80 in a RWD Bimmer. The multiple spun out cars and ripped off bumper covers littering the shoulders attested to the folly of those strategies. Please up your game.

I shouldn't be too hard on NJ since you and PA kept the snow all to yourselves and gave my hometown sunny skies and singing birds.

qbrozen

I have no issue with 45/65 in the middle lane in the snow. What would you prefer that driver been doing?

FYI, anytime I see an awful driver on dry roads here in NJ, they have PA plates 9/10 times. My kids have even gotten in the game of looking at the plate of a visibly bad driver and saying, "yup, from pennsylvania." 

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

I have no issue with 45/65 in the middle lane in the snow. What would you prefer that driver been doing?

FYI, anytime I see an awful driver on dry roads here in NJ, they have PA plates 9/10 times. My kids have even gotten in the game of looking at the plate of a visibly bad driver and saying, "yup, from pennsylvania." 

After spending 3 days driving all over Philly, I was reminded of why I drive the way I do. Man are they terrible. I'm convinced drivers are awful everywhere, just in their own way.

andres3

It just takes 1 bad apple to ruin a driving experience. I didn't encounter any particularly rude and inconsiderate drivers on my Sunday drive yesterday, except for 1! A pickup pulling a trailer decided on a bridge where after the bridge the I8 West goes to 3 lanes, to cut me off in a manner where I had to hit the brakes to avoid being side-swiped by their trailer, and then proceed to impede me at a speed much lower than the speed I was going before braking, all the while the right lane was completely open immediately thereafter. Why they chose to pass on the left when they did beats me. They could have passed on the right, given they had to cut me off and impede traffic to pass on the left. If he could have started his pass a couple seconds sooner no harm no foul, but his timing was impeccable, and like I said, the right lane was opening up, so there was no need for his illegal and unsafe lane change, maneuver, and slow speed.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

I have no issue with 45/65 in the middle lane in the snow. What would you prefer that driver been doing?

FYI, anytime I see an awful driver on dry roads here in NJ, they have PA plates 9/10 times. My kids have even gotten in the game of looking at the plate of a visibly bad driver and saying, "yup, from pennsylvania." 

I would prefer that the pokes get in the right lane so I didn't have to joust with the racers in the third lane.

As to the bad drivers all being from PA, I didn't want to hurt jmonroe's feelings so I didn't mention that.

qbrozen

in the snow, I can understand camping in the middle lane. It usually has the least snow coverage, and changing lanes is usually very precarious due to the snow buildup between lanes, so staying middle rather than staying right and constantly changing lanes to avoid those entering the highway is the safest bet.

snakeweasel

Michaell said:

snakeweasel said:

Michaell said:

cdnpinhead said:

Romans didn't have to explain why they used too much material and/or manpower.

Yeah, conquer another land, find some more free labor.

I would also like to know how many of those surviving roman bridges have dozens of 14 ton trucks running over them on an hourly basis.

How much does an elephant weigh?

:laughing:

But, not hourly, for sure.

Not sure they had to many elephants in Rome.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

snakeweasel said:

cdnpinhead said:

The 2019 Forester not only loses the turbo, but also the manual transmission.

Crap -- my wife's Forester has been pleasant enough that I've had in the back of my mind getting one of my own with a manual transmission. Oh well. . .

Regarding speed limits. Not that anyone gives a s***, but I run with traffic plus a few miles per hour most of the time. That said, where I live, out in the sometimes wide-open West, my rule is that if you can't see any other traffic ahead or behind (in Nevada, that covers a lot of territory), all bets are off. Setting a cruise control at 90 or 110 isn't something that many people have the opportunity to do. I have, and it was great. This goes a ways toward explaining why I think run-flat tires are no substitute for a spare. The towns out there may be able to patch a tire, but that's about it.

When I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania in 1999, there were many stretches of road that were void of traffic.  I remember mostly Utah, Nebraska and Iowa.  Speed limits were 70 mph - but frequently I’d run the Lexus at 85 mph for quite sometime.  That was one of the reasons I was able to make the trip with just 2 stops - just west of Denver and Joliet, Illinois.  I was in a hurry!

If you made that trip with just those two stops you must have had one large gas tank and/or you got a lot of miles out of a gallon of gas.

Obviously I stopped for gas and food too! 

I should have said “stopped at motels” twice.

Yeah, I have a sister just outside Denver and I live just north east of Joliet and that's a long all day drive. Nebraska is the worst.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

If one visits Europe and observes the cars on the road, they might not know Lexus makes anything other than the RX, CT, and IS - and none of those are exactly common either. As expensive as the German competition but not as engaging, hard sell.

It's kind of related to dear leader complaining about others not buying American cars, not understanding that cars must suit the market to actually sell.

ab348 said:

Looks like Lexus has pulled the GS model from sale in Euroland:

http://www.autoverdict.com/toyota/lexus-toyota/report-lexus-gs-sales-stopped-in-europe/

It seems the Japanese brands are not as beloved there as they are here.

Last year when we were in France it seemed like the most common non european cars cars were Fords, didn't see to many Japanses cars. Tons of French cars though. Did see one Corvette and my brother in law says he saw one Camero.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

in the snow, I can understand camping in the middle lane. It usually has the least snow coverage, and changing lanes is usually very precarious due to the snow buildup between lanes, so staying middle rather than staying right and constantly changing lanes to avoid those entering the highway is the safest bet.

That reminds me, coming from a state where spreading salt is an art form I was amused by the way NJ does it. Basically, they drive a dump truck down the highway with the box at full tilt and dump piles of salt. The only time I risked losing control was when I hit a big mound in the middle of the lane. I finally came up on a truck with a spreader and was glad I was driving a rental car as huge salt chunks were flung against the side of my vehicle along with what looked like rocks.

As I got on 78 west I noticed that the road crew had neglected to even plow the third lane forcing all the cars to jostle in with the multitude of trucks. It reminded me of the snow removal protocol followed by upstate Albany NY....wait until spring.