Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

henryn

xwesx said:

Imid, the parking lot is set up like this:



Each of the posts are electric outlets at the top, so we can plug in as needed.

Back in the last millennium (or perhaps it was the last geologic era?), when I was a young man and such things as drive-in movies existed -- I remember, on a trip to the frozen northern wastelands, observing that there were electrical outlets on all of the posts in the drive-in movie. When I enquired, I was told the drive-in movie theater would rent you an electric heater to use in your car during the fall and spring. During the winter, of course, they were closed.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

Wheel ants. Quick lube joints should reproduce that ad in big poster form for their shop and upsell that service.

I'm sure this has appeared recently on a dealer repair order.

1. Change oil and filter
2. Replace brake shoes
3. Replace brake socks
4. Treat for wheel ants

TOTAL: $842. 40.

I see this was a generous establishment who chose to reuse the old brake laces to save the customer a few bucks.

ab348

I could stand to lose 20 lbs. Maybe I should go on a rice diet.

stickguy

Works on survivor.

Mr_Shiftright

"I done blown 1st gear clean off...."

xwesx

henryn said:

Back in the last millennium (or perhaps it was the last geologic era?), when I was a young man and such things as drive-in movies existed -- I remember, on a trip to the frozen northern wastelands, observing that there were electrical outlets on all of the posts in the drive-in movie. When I enquired, I was told the drive-in movie theater would rent you an electric heater to use in your car during the fall and spring. During the winter, of course, they were closed.

That was very thoughtful of them! A much better option than leaving the car running....

sda

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

I am enjoying a beautiful sun filled day and gave both cars much needed cleaning.  I think it looks pretty good for 5+ years and 85k.

You better wash it again, it looks pretty streaky to me.

jmonroe

What it needs is for you to wax it.

jmonroe1

sda said:

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

I am enjoying a beautiful sun filled day and gave both cars much needed cleaning.  I think it looks pretty good for 5+ years and 85k.

You better wash it again, it looks pretty streaky to me.

jmonroe

What it needs is for you to wax it.

Airfare money, please.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

Why you should always be careful on Craigslist.

https://wnyt.com/news/slingerlands-couple-accused-of-fraudulent-car-sales/5202690/

The names sounded familiar so I searched a little and found out this is a family tradition.

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/multi-agency-investigation-results-fraud-and-larceny-convictions-fraudulent-auto-sales

Mr_Shiftright

If I saw those two faces in the driveway as I was pulling up to look at the car, I'd just flick it in reverse and head on home.

imidazol97

xwesx said:

Imid, the parking lot is set up like this:



Each of the posts are electric outlets at the top, so we can plug in as needed.

Thanks for responding. That's a good picture. I am curious that it appears you backed into the
space meaning you needed a longer extension cable to reach the charger head. Since the
longer cable causes voltage drop, is there a reason not to pull in and use a shorter or no extension?

explorerx4

@imadazol97,
Regarding backing into the space with the power outlet, someone's always the contrarian.

Mr_Shiftright

No we're not.

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

If I saw those two faces in the driveway as I was pulling up to look at the car, I'd just flick it in reverse and head on home.

Those stories on odometer fraud got me thinking so I did a little more research. According to Steve Lehto, a lawyer who does YouTube videos on various legal subjects, just driving a car with a broken odometer can be illegal in some states.

This struck home because a few years ago when I sold my 95’ Lincoln MarkVIII it had a broken odometer. I sold it to someone I knew as TMU but was honest about how many miles I likely drove in the 6 months it was broken.

I’m not worried about this guy calling the cops but I always thought if you declared on the title that it was TMU you would be clear. As it was they didn’t make odometers for that car anymore and all the E-Bay junk yard stuff had mileages way higher than mine.

What would be the point of installing an inaccurate odometer only to still declare it TMU?

Mr_Shiftright

Well you could be a crook pretending to be honest.

xwesx

imidazol97 said:

Thanks for responding. That's a good picture. I am curious that it appears you backed into the
space meaning you needed a longer extension cable to reach the charger head. Since the
longer cable causes voltage drop, is there a reason not to pull in and use a shorter or no extension?

I would always use a 25' cord, as you never know how far you might need to stretch to get an operable outlet, so I guess it doesn't matter one lick whether I'm backed in or not. And, I always back in. It's just my thing. I would much rather pull out than back out, as I feel the conditions are more controlled while backing in than while backing out.

Also, I use a 14-gauge cord, which is actually over-sized for the draw, and the inherently low temperatures in which it is used means it has higher potential conductivity. So, I guess it is a win all around.

imidazol97

Someone asked about what mixture of water and antifreeze was used in those -40 below climates. Water and antifreeze are an azeotropic mixture. The combination has a lower freezing point than either of them in pure form. Putting in 100% antifreeze does not help a cooling system survive in cold temps. 65% antifreeze gives maximum freeze protection.

I have not checked on ethyl alcohol and water mixed--I recall in the dorm in college those of us who had cars on campus and had them out in the dorm on a really cold night worried about freezing up with the mixture in the cars (BSU, Central Indiana). Some of the guys went to the local liquor store and got vodka and mixed it in the radiator. Of course as soon as the car was heated up to full temp, the ethyl alcohol was boiling off. That was the era of permanent antifreeze and a short term antifreeze that could be bought. I can't recall how the temporary antifreeze was properly named. I just recall there were certain brand labels that were temporary and used in tractors and so on that were out of service during the winter. So they weren't going to be run. Those temporary antifreeze brands were cheaper by a lot.

imidazol97

xwesx said:

I would always use a 25' cord, as you never know how far you might need to stretch to get an operable outlet, so I guess it doesn't matter one lick whether I'm backed in or not. And, I always back in. It's just my thing. I would much rather pull out than back out, as I feel the conditions are more controlled while backing in than while backing out.

Also, I use a 14-gauge cord, which is actually over-sized for the draw, and the inherently low temperatures in which it is used means it has higher potential conductivity. So, I guess it is a win all around.

Makes sense to me. If it snows during the time you're parked it's easier just to start moving forward and out rather than backing up into heavy snow and change from reverse to forward.

driver100

xwesx said:

imidazol97 said:

Thanks for responding. That's a good picture. I am curious that it appears you backed into the
space meaning you needed a longer extension cable to reach the charger head. Since the
longer cable causes voltage drop, is there a reason not to pull in and use a shorter or no extension?

I would always use a 25' cord, as you never know how far you might need to stretch to get an operable outlet, so I guess it doesn't matter one lick whether I'm backed in or not. And, I always back in. It's just my thing. I would much rather pull out than back out, as I feel the conditions are more controlled while backing in than while backing out.

Also, I use a 14-gauge cord, which is actually over-sized for the draw, and the inherently low temperatures in which it is used means it has higher potential conductivity. So, I guess it is a win all around.

Another good reason to back in....just in case you do need a boost!

ronsteve

driver100 said:

One vehicle that was on the list of cars that are likely to reach 200k+ miles was a Chrysler Pacifica and I saw one yesterday, though it looked like it was near the last of it's life...pretty rough condition. I was never crazy about them, looked like an oversize station wagon.

Hasn't the Outback essentially become that?

ronsteve

driver100 said:

I got this email about some ads from the olden days:
This would make a nice addition to any car:

And then you wonder why your transmission is shot...

houdini2

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

I got this email about some ads from the olden days:

This would make a nice addition to any car:

Ever worry about dreaded wheel ants:

How about using that shotgun on those wheel ants? That’ll learn ‘em.

On the oil disposal idea, I’ve driven cars that did the same thing a drop at a time.

Our older friend who died a few years ago used to dump his motor oil on his property....did it for about 50 years. My wife was executor and in order to sell their home it cost about $30000 to get all the contaminated oil off their property.
Here is one more I liked, I think these were like feather things you attached to your exhaust pipe to give it that real flaring look.

You should get a set of those for your Florida car. It would scare off all those crazy drivers who upset you so much. They won’t dare mess with a flame breathing dragon.

Actually, a great idea. No one would come near someone with those things attached to your car.

Teach those tail pipe sniffers a lesson !

houdini2

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

I got this email about some ads from the olden days:
This would make a nice addition to any car:

Now I know where the saying, "shooting yourself in the foot" came from.

jmonroe

Just imagine a trigger happy cop walking up to your window.....

bwia

xwesx said:

imidazol97 said:

Thanks for responding. That's a good picture. I am curious that it appears you backed into the
space meaning you needed a longer extension cable to reach the charger head. Since the
longer cable causes voltage drop, is there a reason not to pull in and use a shorter or no extension?

I would always use a 25' cord, as you never know how far you might need to stretch to get an operable outlet, so I guess it doesn't matter one lick whether I'm backed in or not. And, I always back in. It's just my thing. I would much rather pull out than back out, as I feel the conditions are more controlled while backing in than while backing out.

Also, I use a 14-gauge cord, which is actually over-sized for the draw, and the inherently low temperatures in which it is used means it has higher potential conductivity. So, I guess it is a win all around.

Pardon my ignorance, but I thought that during the winter months there was little sunlight in Alaska. Perhaps this picture was taken like 1:00 PM or so. By the way, I just checked the temperature in Fairbanks. It is -9F, must feel like a heat wave today.

houdini2

xwesx said:

imidazol97 said:

Thanks for responding. That's a good picture. I am curious that it appears you backed into the
space meaning you needed a longer extension cable to reach the charger head. Since the
longer cable causes voltage drop, is there a reason not to pull in and use a shorter or no extension?

I would always use a 25' cord, as you never know how far you might need to stretch to get an operable outlet, so I guess it doesn't matter one lick whether I'm backed in or not. And, I always back in. It's just my thing. I would much rather pull out than back out, as I feel the conditions are more controlled while backing in than while backing out.

Also, I use a 14-gauge cord, which is actually over-sized for the draw, and the inherently low temperatures in which it is used means it has higher potential conductivity. So, I guess it is a win all around.

I usually just pull forward thru when possible. With all the big trucks, it is impossible to see in a parking lot when backing out.

stickguy

That’s why rear cross path detection is such a nice feature.

snakeweasel

bwia said:
Pardon my ignorance, but I thought that during the winter months there was little sunlight in Alaska. Perhaps this picture was taken like 1:00 PM or so. By the way, I just checked the temperature in Fairbanks. It is -9F, must feel like a heat wave today.

It depends on where you are in Alaska and even way up north where you dont have a sunrise you will get twilight.

Now just for grits and shins I looked up where I used to live in Alaska, Kodiak, and its +36 degrees. 

venture

stickguy said:

That’s why rear cross path detection is such a nice feature.

I agree with that statement. I would almost rather back out than pull out in a busy parking lot. With all the giant trucks and SUVs you have to take a chance to pull out without getting honked at...at best.

Where's Mike?

driver100

This was another great idea that never really caught on:

ab348

venture said:

I agree with that statement. I would almost rather back out than pull out in a busy parking lot. With all the giant trucks and SUVs you have to take a chance to pull out without getting honked at...at best.

Don't forget minivans.

venture said:

Where's Mike?

Hmmmm... good question. Paging @abacomike !

xwesx

bwia said:

Pardon my ignorance, but I thought that during the winter months there was little sunlight in Alaska. Perhaps this picture was taken like 1:00 PM or so. By the way, I just checked the temperature in Fairbanks. It is -9F, must feel like a heat wave today.

It sure does feel warm today! Supposed to dip cold again by Friday, but not for long. We used to get weeks on end, typically during January, of -30F and colder with no let up. Those days are long gone. We still enjoy complaining about the cold when it happens, but it is always a fleeting thing before warmer conditions prevail.

Little light? Yes, probably about four to five hours now. But, light intensity is rather abysmal compared to what you have. It is sort of a two hour sunrise, maybe an hour with the sun fully in the sky (but very low on the horizon), and then a two hour sunset.

I don't recall exactly when I took the parking lot photo; it was about five minutes before I posted yesterday morning.

xwesx

snakeweasel said:

bwia said:
Pardon my ignorance, but I thought that during the winter months there was little sunlight in Alaska. Perhaps this picture was taken like 1:00 PM or so. By the way, I just checked the temperature in Fairbanks. It is -9F, must feel like a heat wave today.

It depends on where you are in Alaska and even way up north where you dont have a sunrise you will get twilight.

Now just for grits and shins I looked up where I used to live in Alaska, Kodiak, and its +36 degrees. 

Yeah, Kodiak is way farther south - about 58 degrees north versus 65 degrees north here. Much of southern Alaska also benefits (in the winter, at least) from the maritime climate to moderate temperatures.

The "twilight" no-sun zone is above the arctic circle, which is 66 degrees north. Even there, the sun still skitters across the southern sky, so there is light, it just isn't considered "daylight" because you don't get a full sun in the sky. On the northern coast, like in Prudhoe Bay (70 degrees) and Utqiagvik (71 degrees), there's a period of no light (even minor twilight) around the winter solstice.

Alaska's a big place. Southermost point is at about 51 degrees north, northernmost is 71 degrees. Westernmost longitude is 172.5; easternmost.... 130.

Comparatively, the entire contiguous states are: north: 49, south: 24.5; west: 124.5, east: 67.

xwesx

stickguy said:

That’s why rear cross path detection is such a nice feature.

So much of that is useless here. It takes a few minutes of driving for all those sensors to be covered with snow/ice and give nothing but false positives.

henryn

If I'm hauling a long load in my pickup, with the tailgate down, the rear view camera is useless. And when I put the truck in reverse, the proximity detector beeps constantly.

cdnpinhead

Fairbanks is a couple hundred miles south of the arctic circle. You have to be north of the arctic circle before the sun goes down and stays in the winter for some number of days. Visiting the high north in June is an interesting thing that I've done a couple of times -- haven't been up there in the winter yet, but Edmonton provided me a pretty good analog.

xwesx

cdnpinhead said:

Fairbanks is a couple hundred miles south of the arctic circle. You have to be north of the arctic circle before the sun goes down and stays in the winter for some number of days. Visiting the high north in June is an interesting thing that I've done a couple of times -- haven't been up there in the winter yet, but Edmonton provided me a pretty good analog.

Edmonton might have felt a little harsher, to tell the truth. We don't get wind here like they do on the plains. Wind chill is a wicked, wicked thing.

ab348

Crazy car carnage at a Carmax in Houston. Teenage vandals destroyed a bunch of nice cars after breaking in, getting the keys, and having a demo derby on the lot:

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2019/01/juveniles-cause-800000-in-damage-with-dealership-demo-derby/

Fortunately, they didn't think to keep a fast one intact for their escape and all were arrested. $800K in damage!

xwesx

People.... /sigh

PF_Flyer

Brain is just on a weird trip today and I came across this blast from the past. Wasn't fun to just wreck somethin'??



And did the Crashmobile help kill off fins?

Michaell

cdnpinhead said:

Fairbanks is a couple hundred miles south of the arctic circle. You have to be north of the arctic circle before the sun goes down and stays in the winter for some number of days. Visiting the high north in June is an interesting thing that I've done a couple of times -- haven't been up there in the winter yet, but Edmonton provided me a pretty good analog.

I've only made one trip to Alaska, and that was to Anchorage in May. Sun was out until 9-10 at night. Wife and I found ourselves eating dinner that late most nights.

On the other end of the scale, I spent a week in Winnipeg one February. I got lucky, as a co-worker had gone up a few weeks earlier and experienced -30 most of the week. When I was there, it was practically balmy, at around zero Celsius.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

In other news, I was sworn in today and start work tomorrow. A couple of my co-workers and I checked out our office for the first time today; it's not a complete disaster, but it's darn close- It will take a while just to get things on an even keel. Oh well, I expected nothing less. Tomorrow we have over 60 cases in the morning and 30 in the afternoon; I think it's called the total immersion method...

Here come da judge.

Good luck and if it is legal let us know about some of the more interesting cases. Just a word of caution about doing this; @driver100 will compare your rulings with how Judge Judy might have handled those cases. Let the fun begin.

Also, if by chance @andres3 happens to appear before you, let us know if any of those cheap get-me-out-of-a-ticket lawyers he's been hiring lately are worth their salt.

Again, good luck.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe1,
I don't think Driver100 is going to like you as much anymore.

ab348

Michaell said:

On the other end of the scale, I spent a week in Winnipeg one February. I got lucky, as a co-worker had gone up a few weeks earlier and experienced -30 most of the week. When I was there, it was practically balmy, at around zero Celsius.

About 20years ago I had to go to Regina, Saskatchewan around this time of year for a few days for work. It was -30 each day. Have never been so cold. Wasn’t too bad the first day because the sun was out and there was little wind. But the second night my coworker and I went to dinner about 2 blocks away from the hotel and the wind came up by the time we left the place. I didn’t think we were going to make it back to the hotel.

jmonroe1

henryn said:

xwesx said:

Imid, the parking lot is set up like this:



Each of the posts are electric outlets at the top, so we can plug in as needed.

Back in the last millennium (or perhaps it was the last geologic era?), when I was a young man and such things as drive-in movies existed -- I remember, on a trip to the frozen northern wastelands, observing that there were electrical outlets on all of the posts in the drive-in movie. When I enquired, I was told the drive-in movie theater would rent you an electric heater to use in your car during the fall and spring. During the winter, of course, they were closed.

Back in the late 50's when I was in high school, I went to more than my fair share of drive-ins in all types of weather and I was never cold. I guess it has a lot to do with the girls you go with.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
I don't think Driver100 is going to like you as much anymore.

I'll get over it.

jmonroe

stickguy

There is a reason a lot of cities in the really cold areas (Minneapolis, even Des Moines) have extensive skywalk or underground concourses.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
I don't think Driver100 is going to like you as much anymore.

No, I like this jmonroe1 guy, it's the original I'm not so sure about.
Judge Judy.....I could play the part of Judge Judy, I know how they will rule on these cases most of the time. And, I would do it for half the price...probably $70 million a year.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

henryn said:

xwesx said:

Imid, the parking lot is set up like this:



Each of the posts are electric outlets at the top, so we can plug in as needed.

Back in the last millennium (or perhaps it was the last geologic era?), when I was a young man and such things as drive-in movies existed -- I remember, on a trip to the frozen northern wastelands, observing that there were electrical outlets on all of the posts in the drive-in movie. When I enquired, I was told the drive-in movie theater would rent you an electric heater to use in your car during the fall and spring. During the winter, of course, they were closed.

Back in the late 50's when I was in high school, I went to more than my fair share of drive-ins in all types of weather and I was never cold. I guess it has a lot to do with the girls you go with.

jmonroe

So, you were a user

dino001

So the car is fixed. Two new wheels plus alignment and balancing, no further damage. $1160. Insurance covered less than $500, I paid $500 deductible plus $160 for difference between new wheel and remanufacturing. Insurance people - they’d pay for the extra time on rental car, wheel shipping back and forth, but they won’t get new wheels. I didn’t want to argue, just paid and moved on. At least had a free 430 loaner, so didn’t skip a beat. It was a two-door, so I had to watch the opening doors as they are much longer. Other than that, it was like mine, almost to the tee. Important thing it’s over. Will see if they raise my rate. I have a small claim “forgivness”, total paid may just be below the threshold.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

henryn said:

xwesx said:

Imid, the parking lot is set up like this:



Each of the posts are electric outlets at the top, so we can plug in as needed.

Back in the last millennium (or perhaps it was the last geologic era?), when I was a young man and such things as drive-in movies existed -- I remember, on a trip to the frozen northern wastelands, observing that there were electrical outlets on all of the posts in the drive-in movie. When I enquired, I was told the drive-in movie theater would rent you an electric heater to use in your car during the fall and spring. During the winter, of course, they were closed.

Back in the late 50's when I was in high school, I went to more than my fair share of drive-ins in all types of weather and I was never cold. I guess it has a lot to do with the girls you go with.

jmonroe

So, you were a user

No, I'd say it was the other way around. The girls used me to pay their way into the drive-in and on top of that, they could say they went out with a very young looking Dean Martin. I was constantly being taken advantage of in my younger days. Today, I'm taken for granted and taken advantage of but not in a good way. Yeah, things were more pleasant when I had my youth.

jmonroe