Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

abacomike

venture said:

OK to post something about cars here? My daughter came home yesterday after work (in Delaware, back to NJ). Crappy drive on 95 for a bit and over the bridge. Anyway, she found out that the autonomous auto braking actually works in her Jetta. Traffic was jamming up (that annoying move, stop dead, move OK business). and at that time, the sun was setting behind her, so glaring off the car in front (some old bomber with likely marginal lighting).' anyway, at one point, he suddenly stopped (or slowed real quick) and before she processed it, the Jetta was already pressing the brake pedal for her. She said she would have been able to stop in time, but it certainly would have been a much more dramatic event. Nice when a safety feature, actually does the job it is supposed to.

Agreed. A few months ago someone crossed in front of me unannounced. The Legacy started to apply the brakes. When the offender cleared my path it let up. I could see that they would be out of the way, but the car only knew that something was there. Still - it worked well. The reverse automatic braking saved my bacon again yesterday (I think). I was backing out of a parking spot, looking in one direction at the time, when a lady came from the other direction right behind me at a good rate of speed. The car stopped. I would probably have hit her. I didn't like the reverse braking at first...too nanny-like, but this is the second time it saved me.

When I first got the S450 last November, I must admit that I was pretty overwhelmed with all the autonomous safety and driving features.  What blew me away was the adaptive cross wind feature.  When passing a semi in the left lane, the wind/vacuum affect would push the car left then right until I passed the truck.  With this feature, it automatically adjusts for cross wind gusts.  It also corrects steering if the car’s path is obstructed by heavy crosswinds.

The emergency vehicle “stop” feature, both front and rear, has prevented several collisions with pedestrians and cross traffic, especially in the rear.  The adaptive blind spot system does not allow me to steer into a lane where a car is in my blind spot.  It pulls the steering wheel to get me back into my lane then releases once safely out of harms way.

Even after almost a year, I am still learning things this car does autonomously.

driver100

stickguy said:

OK to post something about cars here?

anyway, at one point, he suddenly stopped (or slowed real quick) and before she processed it, the Jetta was already pressing the brake pedal for her. She said she would have been able to stop in time, but it certainly would have been a much more dramatic event. Nice when a safety feature, actually does the job it is supposed to.

We went to a plaza today and when i was backing out I heard a beeping sound......there was a guy walking from behind a big truck right across the path where I was backing into. There is a good chance I may have seen him, or that he would have stopped when he saw me....but, still, what amazing technology.

driver100

berri said:

That is a bit sensational with a pretty iffy correlation. You mean to tell me there are fewer drunk accidents or fewer distracted driver accidents? I don't think so. They are all a problem.

Not saying there are fewer distracted drivers or drunk drivers....there are more. But, this is adding to the total, and the odds of an innocent victim, such as me, are diminishing.
I listen to a radio station in the Toronto area....I would say a few years ago when they did a traffic report there was one and possibly two major accidents to report, these days there are about 10 to 20.

ab348

driver100 said:

It's kind of funny. Pot becomes legal, there are huge lineups outside authorized retail stores. Then they ran out after a few hours and people were angry.
These same buyers could have gone to their friendly 24 hour a day dealer, had the stuff delivered to their home, and paid a lot less.
WHEN it becomes legal in your area, private business should be running the retail business.

I totally agree. My former employer was designated as the retailer here by the government (I understand my former boss didn't want it and pushed back - he recently announced he is leaving before his contract is up, I suspect those are connected) and I think it was a huge mistake for bunch of reasons, not the least of it being the millions they spent on facilities, renovations, staff hiring and training, IT, you name it. None of that would have been needed if private businesses were the retailer and my old employer simply distributed it. If the government changes all of that might get thrown out the window as happened in Ontario recently, plus they are left with a couple of hundred new employees they cannot easily shed. Then of course you have the jarring image of a government employee selling you the stuff and advising how to use it.

We had those lineups and out of stock situations here this week. I don't know why except maybe all the cool kids want to buy it from the new retailer for the ability of saying they did. Those dealers are likely still in the same places they always were so I don't think it has anything to do with a lack of supply on their part.

henryn

graphicguy said:

he said quitting smoking was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He did it “cold turkey”. But, he also had several attempts made and back slid plenty until he was able to quit permanently. Back then, they didn’t have all the smoking cessation drugs as they do today.

I can testify. I quit, cold turkey, in 1997 after smoking for 27 years. And I frequently tell people that it was the hardest thing I ever did. Not that I suffered through the things your uncle did, no way.

driver100

Ab, they interviewed one guy who - not to be judgmental, but looked like he was an expert on smoking pot, and they asked him if he would be ordering his pot online from the government. He said after trying the retail store, and because he doesn't have a credit card....he'll just go back to his usual dealer friend.

ab348

driver100 said:

Ab, they interviewed one guy who - not to be judgmental, but looked like he was an expert on smoking pot, and they asked him if he would be ordering his pot online from the government. He said after trying the retail store, and because he doesn't have a credit card....he'll just go back to his usual dealer friend.

The CBC here interviewed the first retail customer on Wednesday when he came out. The reporter and I interact on Twitter and I asked him if they got this guy from Central Casting. He would neither confirm nor deny.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

Ab, they interviewed one guy who - not to be judgmental, but looked like he was an expert on smoking pot, and they asked him if he would be ordering his pot online from the government. He said after trying the retail store, and because he doesn't have a credit card....he'll just go back to his usual dealer friend.

I read an article not long after Colorado legalized pot that it really wasn't hurting the illegal trade as much as they thought. It seems that due to regulations and taxes it was often cheaper and easier to get it through illegal sellers.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

Ab, they interviewed one guy who - not to be judgmental, but looked like he was an expert on smoking pot, and they asked him if he would be ordering his pot online from the government. He said after trying the retail store, and because he doesn't have a credit card....he'll just go back to his usual dealer friend.

I read an article not long after Colorado legalized pot that it really wasn't hurting the illegal trade as much as they thought. It seems that due to regulations and taxes it was often cheaper and easier to get it through illegal sellers.

100% true, and judging by many of the fans....they get a lot more choice of products available......and less mark up, less taxes, open 24 hours a day, bring it to an alley near where you live, etc.

tjc78

I was talking cars the other day and someone asked me what car I owed and wish I had back. 

For me the easy answer was my 89 Town Car.   I’m sure everyone here has one they would like back, so chime in! 

I grew up with various 70/80s barges and will always be fond of them.  

Here is a picture with it’s more modern brother (98 Signature Touring) parked in front.  That was my Grandfathers. 

ab348

While my '85 MR2 was the most fun car to drive that I had back in the day, the one that I am most fond of looking back was my '90 GTI. Fun to drive but also very practical and comfortable.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

I was taking cars the other day and someone asked me what car I owed and wish I had back. 

For me the easy answer was my 89 Town Car.   I’m sure everyone here has one they would like back, so chime in! 

I grew up with various 70/80s barges and will always be fond of them.  

If you were really "taking" cars I guess it wouldn't be too hard to get anyone you wanted, right?

jmonroe

tjc78

Ha already fixed that typo when I added the picture! 

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

I was talking cars the other day and someone asked me what car I owed and wish I had back. 

For me the easy answer was my 89 Town Car.   I’m sure everyone here has one they would like back, so chime in! 

I grew up with various 70/80s barges and will always be fond of them.  

Here is a picture with it’s more modern brother (98 Signature Touring) parked in front.  That was my Grandfathers. 

For me it was a different Lincoln, my 95 Mark VIII. I only wish it was the LSC version instead of the more mild cruiser. I also loved my 2008 Eclipse but I can't say anything in case the Mustang is listening.

Mr_Shiftright

My Triumph TR 250 and my BMW R67 motorcycle (note straight forks, exposed driveshaft, "plunger" rear suspension).

ab348

I guess you didn't want to wear bell-bottoms when driving that R67.

Mr_Shiftright

No kidding. Or a scarf. But man, it looks so good when that shaft is all shined up and spinning in the sunlight. People noticed that all the time.

Not a fast bike, but dead reliable. For a '53 bike, it was completely dependable. I rode it for years in the Colorado mountains. Comfy, too. A "gentleman's motorcycle". Whisper quiet, too. I would actually scare people in crosswalks.

fintail

I sometimes miss my old W126 and E55 AMG, but neither of these are impossible to find yet, so if I really wanted them back, I could buy excellent examples of them both for the price of an ordinary new car.

driver100

tjc78 said:

I was talking cars the other day and someone asked me what car I owed and wish I had back. 

For me the easy answer was my 89 Town Car.   I’m sure everyone here has one they would like back, so chime in! 

I grew up with various 70/80s barges and will always be fond of them.  

Here is a picture with it’s more modern brother (98 Signature Touring) parked in front.  That was my Grandfathers. 

I like those 89 Town Cars........nice and square looking. Who has the newer Town Car parked in front or did you have a limo service?
My 2017 E400 is the ultimate car for me......I don't really want anything else. The comfort is incredible, it has lots of power, it has a smooth ride, I like the digital instrument panel....everything is made right. But, there are two cars I wish I could have kept. A 92 Saab 9000 manual.........

unique and fun to drive, and a great design, lots of room with huge windows, and a 1999 C250 Kompressor that could really move;

roadburner

My 1988 M6; with a Dinan tune and no cat it made close to 300 hp.

roadburner

My wife really likes the X3 loaner; I think an X3 M40i or X3M is in my future.

roadburner

Speaking of the X3, I checked and it also has ducting from the front fascia that directs air at the front brakes- and that's in addition to the ducting for the air curtain.

stickguy

at the BMW dealer today, we sat in a really nice X3 in the showroom. I could live with that. Other than the pesky $53K sticker price. It was a 30i. They did have a black M40i outside, but I did not see it up close. I am sure it cost a whole boatload more than that.

pensfan83

roadburner said:

My wife really likes the X3 loaner; I think an X3 M40i or X3M is in my future.

What happened on the Wrangler front?

roadburner

The Wrangler JK comes first. The X3 would replace the 2er.

abacomike

tjc78 said:

I was talking cars the other day and someone asked me what car I owed and wish I had back. 

For me the easy answer was my 89 Town Car.   I’m sure everyone here has one they would like back, so chime in! 

I grew up with various 70/80s barges and will always be fond of them.  

Here is a picture with it’s more modern brother (98 Signature Touring) parked in front.  That was my Grandfathers. 

I owned a 1988 brown Lincoln Town Car with brown cloth interior and a brown coach roof.  I drove it from Chicago to North Miami Beach in the winter of 1989.  At the time, I thought it was a beautiful car, however it handled like a cruise ship - bulky and cushy, especially on turns and when cornering.

It was a comfortable car, especially on that North Miami Beach run.  By today’s standards of sporty handling luxury vehicles, it would never be a car I would buy.  But back then, it was a true pleasure to drive on the interstates.

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

My Triumph TR 250 and my BMW R67 motorcycle (note straight forks, exposed driveshaft, "plunger" rear suspension).

I had a 1974 TR-6 in Royal Blue and red-line tires.  I loved that car.  But the oil leaks and rust build-up was disappointing, to say the least.  In the winter, I never drove it in the snow or ice or when it was below 20 degrees out.  I kept it in the garage most of the time during December through March.  Definitely was not a cold weather car.

abacomike

Edit

abacomike

Photo I tried to post might have been private

bwia

As we Silver-haired Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble with our computers.

Yesterday, I had a problem with mine, so I called Georgie, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over and help me out.

Georgie clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem straight away. As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was the problem?

He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'

I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'

Georgie grinned...'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?

'No,' I replied.

Well 'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'

So I wrote down:

ID10T

I used to like Georgie. That little brat.

berri

That's funny

Mr_Shiftright

I drove British sports cars in the dead of winter in New York City but I don't recommend it. I've heard you can install a heater box from a Bedford truck into an old MG, and that makes them fairly toasty inside.

imidazol97

I attended a festival car show. The show is on honor of Myron Scott. I'm sure the performance car guys here know he's the person who named the Corvette. He's from Camden OH, near Miami University!

driver100

abacomike said:

Photo I tried to post might have been private

That is OK, you're amongst friends.

driver100

i

midazol97
I attended a festival car show. The show is on honor of Myron Scott. I'm sure the performance car guys here know he's the person who named the Corvette. He's from Camden OH, near Miami University!

I am glad he didn't call it a Myron.

btw...I saw a guy driving a Corvette yesterday, speeding and weaving his way through traffic and I thought to myself.........and people think BMW drivers are obnoxious!

One other thought, I had a car in front of me today...it was a Honda, Accord it said on the left side of the trunk and on the right it said SPORT....isn't that an oxymoron?

imidazol97

abacomike said:

Photo I tried to post might have been private

Try using a right click and save photo to your hard drive.
Then when uploading go to that file on your hard drive to select the file for upload.

snakeweasel

Just picked up a new tablet, was easy peasy signing on. I know some here have had issues signing on but was pretty easy to get to the sign in page.

Well anyway I have a new Samsung tablet. 

driver100

snakeweasel a Certified Edmunds Poster.

How did you get certified?

Just picked up a new tablet,

Didn't know you were a kleptomaniac!

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel a Certified Edmunds Poster.

  How did you get certified?

Just picked up a new tablet,

Didn't know you were a kleptomaniac!

As for the question, don't ask it's a long drawn out process that starts out with another certified poster nominating you. It's actually  easier to become the pope.

As for kleptomania I don't have that. What I have is very rare, it's called maniaklepto, that's where you walk into places and leave things. Santa Claus has maniaklepto. 

tjc78

Anyone can be certified !

tjc78

@driver100
The silver Town Car in front of mine was my Grandfather’s 98 Signature Touring. That’s actually a pretty rare car. Essentially Lincoln took all the Crown Vic police suspension bits and put them on the Town Car. 3.55 rear and dual exhaust and it actually was one of the quickest Panthers save the 03-04 Marauder. Handling was a notch above any Town Car to date.

fintail

Certifiable might be more accurate around here

abacomike

imidazol97 said:

Photo I tried to post might have been private

Try using a right click and save photo to your hard drive. Then when uploading go to that file on your hard drive to select the file for upload.

I was using my iPhone - that was the problem!

abacomike

That Detroit vs Miami game was awful - but the food and drink was outstanding.  Shrimp, ribs, hamburgers, brisket bbq, fries, beer, scotch, bourbon, cognac, etc., made the misery of the loss more tolerable.  I’ve never been in a skybox before at a football game - but I highly recommend it!  DELICIOUS!  INTOXICATING!  They had servers filling your plate throughout the game.  Thank goodness I was not driving home! 

berri

How did you swing that buddy???

abacomike

berri said:

How did you swing that buddy???

I assume you are asking me that question.  I was given 2 skybox tickets to today’s game at the HardRock stadium.  They came from a huge sponsor of the Dolphins and the stadium - can’t divulge the sponsor per my agreement with a friend of mine.  There were 10 guests in total in the skybox - 40 yard line position.  It was phenomenal!

Mr_Shiftright

Well it was only an 11 point spread. Imagine having to watch the 49ers get pummeled by 29 points.

driver100

tjc78 said:

@driver100
The silver Town Car in front of mine was my Grandfather’s 98 Signature Touring. That’s actually a pretty rare car. Essentially Lincoln took all the Crown Vic police suspension bits and put them on the Town Car. 3.55 rear and dual exhaust and it actually was one of the quickest Panthers save the 03-04 Marauder. Handling was a notch above any Town Car to date.

That is cool...what a thrill that would be to drive....probably handles like a tank though!

dino001

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

Michaell

dino001 said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

Pretty cool!

I've been watching F1 the past couple of years, as my company is a partner with one of the teams.

My big issue is the lack of parity and a lack of passing.

You have the top three teams, then 7 teams who fill out the grid. Plus drivers who pilot the cars based on the size of their checkbook, not necessarily their skill level.

About the only excitement you see is when one of the 6 top drivers starts, or ends up (like Vettel today) at the back of the grid, and charges to the front.

That said, I've been spending more time on Sunday watching both F1 and NASCAR than NFL games.