Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Mr_Shiftright

And let's not forget ROVER!

imidazol97

stickguy said:

VW was the fox. Porsche is the Bosxster. Ferrari was a nickname for the 512BB (because of the flat, or boxer, engine).

Hey, it is hard to find cars named after labradors or spaniels!

And many Ford vehicles were built on the Fox platform.

Mr_Shiftright

There was an British car called a Basset. Rather obscure, however.

fezo

roadburner said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

I have a 1986 Heuer 1000 Professional and a 2015 Tag Heuer Formula One McLaren Limited Edition- both gifts from my lovely bride.

Hey how's the election going? Better not go flashing any fancy watches lest your opponent start spreading dirt.

I still have two forums, a city council meeting and a debate- plus a two day spring festival in my hometown. I'm cautiously optimistic; every week she shoots herself in the foot and winds up alienating another group of voters.

Are you running again? I thought you were retired into the world of BMW Genius.

Still loving the Club Sport.

dino001

snakeweasel said:

Did VW have the Fox?

Yes, they did. It was my first car was, 1988 VW Fox, 1.8l (N.A.) engine, 4-speed manual transmission, bought it 10 years old in 1998 on foreign graduate student budget. Paid over 4 grand for it (plus taxes and fees) and I certainly got ripped off by this Nissan dealer by about 2 grand. I didn't know any better back then, just like many other students in Tallahassee. BTW, college town markets are absolute bonanzas for car dealers - lots of clueless kids left to their own devices, looking for a car every six months. I remember couple of years later, when I finally knew a little more about how car retail market worked in the US, I went shopping with a fresh foreign student to find a car for him. Then I really saw how bad the pricing and attitudes were.

I had lots of little problems with that car (hardware, rust, integrity), which cost me way too much vs. my graduate student budget, but the engine was pretty responsive and handling was quite good, just like any other German car. Fox was made in Brazil and it was clearly a poor man's Jetta, both in terms of design and features/equipment. It was old technology, when compared with its contemporary Jetta. I ended up ditching it for a 3-year-old Ford Escort, which was light years ahead in quality (it was much newer, so it was that - plus Ford did quite decent job with Escort, in my opinion, especially for the price). Kept that one well into my corporate engineering job, as the car was reliable enough to get me anywhere I needed. Then, once I got my "adult" working visa (as opposed to student/trainee status), I was finally able to buy my first dream car - new Subaru Impreza WRX. That one I truly loved.

xwesx

thebean said:

Today, Mrs Bean and I went on a tour of a shipbuilding plant in Sturgeon Bay, WI.  Really amazing to see these huge Great Lakes freighters.  This is the one day of the year they give tours and we came from Texas in part just for the tour.  The Great Lakes are fascinating to me.

Indeed!

In 2013 on our "transcontinental" trip, my family visited the locks that allow ships to bypass Niagara Falls. Fascinating history, and we watched the process of passing a large ship through a lock: A slow and precise process, yet very much worth the time to see it.

snakeweasel

You guys might enjoy this. We have an "electronic bulletin board" here at work where you can post things on the agencies intranet. One guy is selling his car and in the posting he writes:

"New tires, front breaks"

I guess my high school English teacher was right, spelling counts. 

28firefighter

I find that kind of thing absolutely grating in a professional environment, @snakeweasel

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

You guys were good to come up with those names..

AB well done:Well, there was the Whippet, and the Hillman Husky. Plus Greyhound buses of course.

Stick...pretty good - is that a Porsche Boxer? Ferrari boxer. And Datsun sounds like dachshund.


Snake, a fox is a bit of a stretch for dog names: Did VW have the Fox?

Well foxes are dogs, just not domesticated. BTW doesn't Ford have the Coyote engine?

And there is a Volkswagon Wolfsburg Edition Jetta;

driver100

xwesx said:

thebean said:

Today, Mrs Bean and I went on a tour of a shipbuilding plant in Sturgeon Bay, WI.  Really amazing to see these huge Great Lakes freighters.  This is the one day of the year they give tours and we came from Texas in part just for the tour.  The Great Lakes are fascinating to me.

Indeed!

In 2013 on our "transcontinental" trip, my family visited the locks that allow ships to bypass Niagara Falls. Fascinating history, and we watched the process of passing a large ship through a lock: A slow and precise process, yet very much worth the time to see it.

Welland Canal

driver100

snakeweasel said:

You guys might enjoy this. We have an "electronic bulletin board" here at work where you can post things on the agencies intranet. One guy is selling his car and in the posting he writes:

"New tires, front breaks"

I guess my high school English teacher was right, spelling counts. 

Maybe he really means it....the front end keeps breaking.

qbrozen

That would explain why it needed new tires

explorerx4

Soo Locks are a fun boat tour.

abacomike

Just spoke with my brother.  He just took delivery of a 2018 MB GLC 300 SUV in Selenite Gray with beige interior.  MSRP was $55,045 - pretty well loaded.  We were talking on FaceTime so he was able to show me the new vehicle parked on his driveway.  Nice looking vehicle.  Same GLC 300 his SO bought, but her’s is white.  These SUV’s are built in Germany which surprised me - I thought they were building them here in the USA like they do the C Class.  I guess I got it confused with BMW who builds their SUV’s here.

abacomike

abacomike

The image above is what it looks like - couldn’t find one in Selenite Gray.

The image below is a breakdown of how it’s equipped

abacomike

stickguy

$15,000 just in options. Gotta love the Euro makers. They have chutzpah..

xwesx

driver100 said:

Welland Canal

Yes; that's it! Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention.

We also visited the hydro station there. Beck, I think it was?

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U7h7w6EW4Mo

Mr_Shiftright

Not surprised. It's way overpriced for what they build into it.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x52WW59GAw4

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XFS84dRzI6k

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XFS84dRzI6k

jmonroe

snakeweasel said:

You guys might enjoy this. We have an "electronic bulletin board" here at work where you can post things on the agencies intranet. One guy is selling his car and in the posting he writes:

"New tires, front breaks"

I guess my high school English teacher was right, spelling counts. 

High School? I learned how to spell those words in 5th grade...second time through.

jmonroe

explorerx4

Spring was delayed this year, but now it's in full bloom.
Mowed the lawn last Friday and Saturday and it needed mowing again today.
I think the fertilizer guy gave me the good stuff this year,
plus the weather has been alternating between sun and rain.

qbrozen

I wonder how many people even know the Levante exists. 

abacomike

Got an email from my son - my grandson pitched a 1-hitter last Friday evening for his High School team.  He’s raised his batting average to .335 and when he’s not pitching a game, he plays 1st base and bats 6th in the order.  The coach said he hasn’t seen a 17 year old kid pitch, bat and field at the level my grandson does and throws a fast ball over 90 mph.

Their team (Palm Desert High School) is 22-4 on the season.  The Playoffs begin tomorrow and they have a good chance to play at Dodger Stadium for the finals for the State Championship - like they did last year - and the team is stronger than they were last year.

If they play at Dodger Stadium, i’m Going to fly out there for the game.  Very exciting!

tbirdmarco

 Mike very nice on your brothers new car purchase and also on the news about your grandson like seeing these postings that you post one of my favorites 

fintail

Nice option load on that, some of those are must-haves for me.

GLA and GLC are built in Germany, the latter also in Finland now I think.

abacomike said:

The image above is what it looks like - couldn’t find one in Selenite Gray.

The image below is a breakdown of how it’s equipped

abacomike

fintail said:

Nice option load on that, some of those are must-haves for me. GLA and GLC are built in Germany, the latter also in Finland now I think.

The image above is what it looks like - couldn’t find one in Selenite Gray.

The image below is a breakdown of how it’s equipped

Remember, next to the new GLC SUV in his garage, he has his “real” car - a 2017 S 550 Coupe in Selenite Gray.  I drove it and found it too snug for me - very tight inside.  But definitely great power and torque.

From what he tells me, he got the GLC so he isn’t always putting miles on the S Coupe.  Must be nice?

My S 450 just turned 6 months old and has 4500 miles on the odometer.  Still rides and drives like a true DREAM!

abacomike

Going up to see my brother - have tickets to the Players Championship at TPC SAWGRASS in Ponte Vedra Beach - about 3 miles from where my brother lives, for the Saturday and Sunday final rounds.  Praying for good weather.

driver100

xwesx said:

driver100 said:

Welland Canal

Yes; that's it! Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention.

We also visited the hydro station there. Beck, I think it was?

Sir Adam Beck....I didn't even know they had tours of the electric generating station (You knew it was hydro...that isn't used in USA I found out here recently)

driver100

abacomike said:

fintail said:

Nice option load on that, some of those are must-haves for me.

GLA and GLC are built in Germany, the latter also in Finland now I think.

The image above is what it looks like - couldn’t find one in Selenite Gray.

The image below is a breakdown of how it’s equipped

Remember, next to the new GLC SUV in his garage, he has his “real” car - a 2017 S 550 Coupe in Selenite Gray.  I drove it and found it too snug for me - very tight inside.  But definitely great power and torque.

From what he tells me, he got the GLC so he isn’t always putting miles on the S Coupe.  Must be nice?

My S 450 just turned 6 months old and has 4500 miles on the odometer.  Still rides and drives like a true DREAM!

Mike, your brother bought a beater so he could save his real car....good idea.

Personally, I would rather have the GLC.....I think it would be a lot more comfortable. Congratulations on your grandson, nice to see his career progressing.

driver100

qbrozen said:

I wonder how many people even know the Levante exists. 

Not I (speaking about grammar)

sda

dino001 said:

snakeweasel said:

Did VW have the Fox?

Yes, they did. It was my first car was, 1988 VW Fox, 1.8l (N.A.) engine, 4-speed manual transmission, bought it 10 years old in 1998 on foreign graduate student budget. Paid over 4 grand for it (plus taxes and fees) and I certainly got ripped off by this Nissan dealer by about 2 grand. I didn't know any better back then, just like many other students in Tallahassee. BTW, college town markets are absolute bonanzas for car dealers - lots of clueless kids left to their own devices, looking for a car every six months. I remember couple of years later, when I finally knew a little more about how car retail market worked in the US, I went shopping with a fresh foreign student to find a car for him. Then I really saw how bad the pricing and attitudes were.

I had lots of little problems with that car (hardware, rust, integrity), which cost me way too much vs. my graduate student budget, but the engine was pretty responsive and handling was quite good, just like any other German car. Fox was made in Brazil and it was clearly a poor man's Jetta, both in terms of design and features/equipment. It was old technology, when compared with its contemporary Jetta. I ended up ditching it for a 3-year-old Ford Escort, which was light years ahead in quality (it was much newer, so it was that - plus Ford did quite decent job with Escort, in my opinion, especially for the price). Kept that one well into my corporate engineering job, as the car was reliable enough to get me anywhere I needed. Then, once I got my "adult" working visa (as opposed to student/trainee status), I was finally able to buy my first dream car - new Subaru Impreza WRX. That one I truly loved.

My first new car was a silver '88 Fox GL sedan with a/c, $8165. I thought it was a good car at the time, drove well, was fairly quiet, had some pep and was economical. I traded it after a year for a triple white Wolfsburg Edition Cabriolet. Prior to the Fox I bought a used '85 Renault Alliance DL 1.7 convertible in '86. It was a 5 speed, loaded with 20k. When I traded it for the Fox it had 42k and was becoming very unreliable. I do like convertibles!

stickguy

I test drove a Fox when they first came out. I recall it feeling like a beat old car, brand new. Did not drive well at all.

same as the early days Hyundai my grandmother bought. Strippo, stick. Also drove like crap brand new.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

I have a 1986 Heuer 1000 Professional and a 2015 Tag Heuer Formula One McLaren Limited Edition- both gifts from my lovely bride.

Hey how's the election going? Better not go flashing any fancy watches lest your opponent start spreading dirt.

I have two forums, a city council meeting and a debate- plus a two day spring festival in my hometown.

fezo said:

roadburner said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

I have a 1986 Heuer 1000 Professional and a 2015 Tag Heuer Formula One McLaren Limited Edition- both gifts from my lovely bride.

Hey how's the election going? Better not go flashing any fancy watches lest your opponent start spreading dirt.

I still have two forums, a city council meeting and a debate- plus a two day spring festival in my hometown. I'm cautiously optimistic; every week she shoots herself in the foot and winds up alienating another group of voters.

Are you running again? I thought you were retired into the world of BMW Genius.

Still loving the Club Sport.

I was offered the job of City Attorney in December. Not as much fun as working at BMW, but extremely flexible hours, no weekends/holidays and better pay- then I was coaxed into running for Commonwealth's Attorney...

roadburner

Today I received a letter informing me that my Club Sport was accepted for the Keeneland Concours. As I noted elsewhere I'll be in full-tilt detailing mode from late June on. It should be fun.

fintail

Is he keeping the coupe forever? Longterm depreciation on those is immense - might as well drive it.

Must be nice indeed, yeah, you're really slumming it in that S450

abacomike said:

Remember, next to the new GLC SUV in his garage, he has his “real” car - a 2017 S 550 Coupe in Selenite Gray.  I drove it and found it too snug for me - very tight inside.  But definitely great power and torque.

From what he tells me, he got the GLC so he isn’t always putting miles on the S Coupe.  Must be nice?

My S 450 just turned 6 months old and has 4500 miles on the odometer.  Still rides and drives like a true DREAM!

dino001

stickguy said:

I test drove a Fox when they first came out. I recall it feeling like a beat old car, brand new. Did not drive well at all.

same as the early days Hyundai my grandmother bought. Strippo, stick. Also drove like crap brand new.

Probably a matter of expectations. I was raised on my dad’s 1974 Polish Fiat 125 with 1.5l carburated engine and later 1992 FSO Polonez (almost the same mechanicals), underpowered rear wheel drive midsize sedans with rear sespensions made of leaf springs. Essentially, Italien technology from mid 1960s licensed by Polish communist party in 1970 and sold for the next 25 years with declining quality until the transformation.

fintail

I was out in the fintail last weekend, and stopped at a yard sale. The woman running the sale asked about the car, and told me about her Cabrio - original owner of a red on white 1987 model. She's probably in her 60s, and said she doesn't drive it anymore - afraid of the lack of safety equipment. Pretty funny how things change.

sda said:

My first new car was a silver '88 Fox GL sedan with a/c, $8165. I thought it was a good car at the time, drove well, was fairly quiet, had some pep and was economical. I traded it after a year for a triple white Wolfsburg Edition Cabriolet. Prior to the Fox I bought a used '85 Renault Alliance DL 1.7 convertible in '86. It was a 5 speed, loaded with 20k. When I traded it for the Fox it had 42k and was becoming very unreliable. I do like convertibles!

qbrozen

roadburner said:

Today I received a letter informing me that my Club Sport was accepted for the Keeneland Concours. As I noted elsewhere I'll be in full-tilt detailing mode from late June on. It should be fun.

Congrats

oldfarmer50

I had my first chick-fil-a yesterday. Pretty good. Waffle fries too. Yum.

It pays to travel out of state. The only one in my area is locked behind TSA security at the airport.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

I had my first chick-fil-a yesterday. Pretty good. Waffle fries too. Yum. It pays to travel out of state. The only one in my area is locked behind TSA security at the airport.

Once you eaten at Chick-Fil-A, it’s hard to go back to any other chicken outlet.  I’ve never had a bad chicken strip or chicken sandwich there and their fries are outstanding.

qbrozen

I still prefer boston market

tbirdmarco

 Enjoyed reading all above 

driver100

Want to know the top 10 deadliest cars? Number 1 will probably surprise you. I will tell you what it is in case you don't watch the 4 minute video, it is a Corvette. Not because the car isn't that safe, mostly because of the idiots driving it. It goes to show what I say, people who are over confident about their driving ability are a worse menace than people who know their limits.

https://youtu.be/RShTH71mdRE

3 out of 10 are GMs, but, who is counting?

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

xwesx said:

driver100 said:

Welland Canal

Yes; that's it! Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention.

We also visited the hydro station there. Beck, I think it was?

Sir Adam Beck....I didn't even know they had tours of the electric generating station (You knew it was hydro...that isn't used in USA I found out here recently)

If you guys are into power plants and canals you could tour that little city near me where I posted a picture of the waterfall. They use it to generate hydropower from a plant almost as old as the original at Niagara. The old Erie Canal runs nearby.



These locks are about a mile from my house.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I had my first chick-fil-a yesterday. Pretty good. Waffle fries too. Yum. It pays to travel out of state. The only one in my area is locked behind TSA security at the airport.

Once you eaten at Chick-Fil-A, it’s hard to go back to any other chicken outlet.  I’ve never had a bad chicken strip or chicken sandwich there and their fries are outstanding.

Their Chicken sandwiches are good but Portillos are better.  

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

Welland Canal

Yes; that's it! Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention. We also visited the hydro station there. Beck, I think it was?

Sir Adam Beck....I didn't even know they had tours of the electric generating station (You knew it was hydro...that isn't used in USA I found out here recently)

If you guys are into power plants and canals you could tour that little city near me where I posted a picture of the waterfall. They use it to generate hydropower from a plant almost as old as the original at Niagara. The old Erie Canal runs nearby. These locks are about a mile from my house.

There are a few old canals in the Northern Illinois area, one a few miles from my house. Mostly they still have water running through them but a few locks are dry. There is one canal about an hour away from me called the Hennipine Canal that developed innovative building technology that is still being used today. Many of the people who designed and built it went on to build the Panama Canal. It is the only canal that uses Marshall Gates in some of the locks, these gates drop down sort of like the door on a mail box.