Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

explorerx4

PA Turnpike is about $5 an hour in tolls to drive.

Mr_Shiftright

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

oldfarmer50

Pretty sure I know but when Edmunds lists a "switch" cash incentive it means your trading in a different brand, right?

stever

All these years here and I've never seen that one. Usually I think of trading in a different brand as a "conquest" incentive. If you look at this Escape list of incentives, you'll see both a switch and a conquest, and in different amounts.

Looks like this terminology is specific to Fords but I can't figure out what it really means. Why have a separate "conquest" incentive? Maybe you have to switch brands and use Ford financing. Anyone?

(There's also a GM "switch" bonus incentive for the bad ignition switch mess. )

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Our neighbors who live here permanently rent a place in Costa Rica for July, August and September to escape the heat. Cost is $1800 a month, for a luxury home in the mountains, constant 70F day and night. Swimming pool, great views. I think I could handle that, 9 months in Florida and 3 in Costa Rica....or Maine

qbrozen

fezo said:

Per AutoTrader, there are 11 of them with 75 mile of my zip. All list around $47,000 and mostly the dealer says that's their price. Some are offering 3K off. Were I in your shoes I , too, would have taken the V sport.

Interesting. I wonder if those exist. I didn't try autotrader. Since it would have been new, it didn't occur to me. I used the finder on Chevy's website and even searched a couple of dealer lots. Struck out. But all for the best, of course.

explorerx4

I tried to figure the 'Switch' incentive, could be switch vehicles. Didn't matter as I bought a pre owned Escape.

imidazol97

qbrozen said:

Interesting. I wonder if those exist. I didn't try autotrader. Since it would have been new, it didn't occur to me. I used the finder on Chevy's website and even searched a couple of dealer lots. Struck out. But all for the best, of course.

I found several, 15 or so with 100 miles of zip code 43210 (OSU's campus zip code).

stickguy

Big problem with that tax chart. It seems to not include property taxes. Meaning if you own a home it is right up there in total burden with new york

venture

stickguy said:

Big problem with that tax chart. It seems to not include property taxes. Meaning if you own a home it is right up there in total burden with new york

At the bottom of the chart: * Includes property taxes, personal income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.

bwia

And speaking of nitrogen inflated tires. I wonder if the New England Patriots (and the NFL by extension) ever considered using nitrogen in their footballs.

From what I've read I believe nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen and a result slower to escape from an inflated tire. If that is true perhaps the NFL should consider nitrogen inflated footballs as the norm. But then again footballs are made from leather and tires from rubber compounds so nitrogen might react differently in the footballs. Nonetheless, the "Deflategate" allegations that are dogging my Patriots and diminish their accomplishments, not to mention distracting to the Superbowl event, is a national embarrassment.

houdini1

bwia said:

And speaking of nitrogen inflated tires. I wonder if the New England Patriots (and the NFL by extension) ever considered using nitrogen in their footballs.

From what I've read I believe nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen and a result slower to escape from an inflated tire. If that is true perhaps the NFL should consider nitrogen inflated footballs as the norm. But then again footballs are made from leather and tires from rubber compounds so nitrogen might react differently in the footballs. Nonetheless, the "Deflategate" allegations that are dogging my Patriots and diminish their accomplishments, not to mention distracting to the Superbowl event, is a national embarrassment.

I think those footballs have a rubber bladder inside.

Deflategate is being driven by the NYC. media. No love in NYC for anything Boston related. Pretty ridiculous imo.

ab348

Being driven by media generally, NYC or otherwise. The amount of noise being generated over this is ridiculous. I got a chuckle out of Belichick's news conference yesterday. He basically threw down the gauntlet and said this is nuts, without actually saying that.

imidazol97

Construction of a football by Wilson in Ada, Ohio, 10 miles east of Lima, Ohio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8kZP4dRe3w

stever

bwia said:

NFL should consider nitrogen inflated footballs as the norm.

Too funny - green cap football.

Belichick reminds me of Smokey Yunick. There's this air (sorry...) about him that he'll do anything to win, and lots of people think his "innovative" wins deserve an asterisk.

One of Yunick's "innovations was to put a basketball in the fuel tank and inflate it when the car's fuel capacity was checked and air it down for the race. Yep, the original deflategate.

imidazol97

I have it on good authority the DT6 will be shown March 31 for those of you in eastern part of our countries at the NYC auto show. It will be competitive with the S class MB.

Rumored to offer a plugin hybrid and possibly a V8 alongside the twin turbo V6.

I'd hold off buying a new car for a few months to include this in your shopping list.

gmauthority.com/blog/2015/01/2016-cadillac-ct6-will-be-unveiled-march-31st/

jayrider

I want to see field goals kicked with footballs filled with helium.

robr2

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but:

it has the lowest spending on education in the country
it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country
it has the highest identity theft in the country
it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county
job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Mr_Shiftright

I try to avoid any place with a lot of mosquitos. You remember the old Alaska bush pilot joke? "If it has number on the side, it's a plane, if not, it's an Alaska mosquito".

RE: Inflategate---Ah, politics and football--two clear signs of a slowly decaying Empire.

RE: Cadillac CT6 --- oh, oh, I didn't see AWD in that write up. I truly hope Cadillac doesn't forget that if it wants to play with the Big Dogs.

driver100

robr2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but:

it has the lowest spending on education in the country
it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country
it has the highest identity theft in the country
it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county
job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Some of those are pretty minor...highest identity theft, highest insurance fraud, highest health care fraud. I think people driving while yakking on their cell phones is a bigger problem than any of those. Not to mention hurricane season.

But generally, Florida offers a pretty good standard of living, and there is that glorious sunny weather. Lots of people live here who came from the North. They came here for a much better standard of living on their pension incomes. btw...things are kind of booming, jobs, home sales, purchase prices, construction.....

Just for the record, I hardly ever see mosquitoes or even flies, or any insects for thet matter....except on the front of my car after going on the highway.

Mr_Shiftright

Did you know FLA has more species of mosquito than any other state? You might have smooshed a rare one on that windshield!

robr2

driver100 said:

robr2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but:

it has the lowest spending on education in the country
it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country
it has the highest identity theft in the country
it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county
job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Some of those are pretty minor...highest identity theft, highest insurance fraud, highest health care fraud. I think people driving while yakking on their cell phones is a bigger problem than any of those. Not to mention hurricane season.

But generally, Florida offers a pretty good standard of living, and there is that glorious sunny weather. Lots of people live here who came from the North. They came here for a much better standard of living on their pension incomes. btw...things are kind of booming, jobs, home sales, purchase prices, construction.....

Just for the record, I hardly ever see mosquitoes or even flies, or any insects for thet matter....except on the front of my car after going on the highway.

Do you really believe that talking on a cell phone while driving is a bigger problem than $80 billion a year in health insurance fraud, the identity theft that targets those the state is trying to draw (retirees with money), and a high violent crime rate? C'mon - you're smarter than that.

There is job growth in Florida but most of them are low paying service jobs. Even the construction trades are making in the $12-$14 an hour. Engineers are in the $40K range.

Here's a neat nugget I found: between 1980 and 2008, 13 million people moved to Florida from another state. In that same time, 9.5 million people left Florida for another state.

Listen, I know you like it but it's not for everyone. I've been enough times and spoken to enough residents to know that I would get so bored out of mind in a very short time.

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

Did you know FLA has more species of mosquito than any other state? You might have smooshed a rare one on that windshield!

I didn't know that, but, it wouldn't surprise me too much. Because of the tourists and the growing population a lot of work is done to keep mosquitoes under control.....not to many complaints.

Probably most of those species are found in the Everglades and more toward the South, or on my front bumper.

explorerx4

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

ab348

I could tolerate Florida quite well for January through March. I visited once at the end of June though... no thanks.

driver100

robr2 said:

driver100 said:

robr2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but:

it has the lowest spending on education in the country
it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country
it has the highest identity theft in the country
it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county
job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Some of those are pretty minor...highest identity theft, highest insurance fraud, highest health care fraud. I think people driving while yakking on their cell phones is a bigger problem than any of those. Not to mention hurricane season.

But generally, Florida offers a pretty good standard of living, and there is that glorious sunny weather. Lots of people live here who came from the North. They came here for a much better standard of living on their pension incomes. btw...things are kind of booming, jobs, home sales, purchase prices, construction.....

Just for the record, I hardly ever see mosquitoes or even flies, or any insects for thet matter....except on the front of my car after going on the highway.

Do you really believe that talking on a cell phone while driving is a bigger problem than $80 billion a year in health insurance fraud, the identity theft that targets those the state is trying to draw (retirees with money), and a high violent crime rate? C'mon - you're smarter than that.

Here's a neat nugget I found: between 1980 and 2008, 13 million people moved to Florida from another state. In that same time, 9.5 million people left Florida for another state.

Listen, I know you like it but it's not for everyone. I've been enough times and spoken to enough residents to know that I would get so bored out of mind in a very short time.

I think the health cost fraud figure is $80 billion for the whole US.

The total cost of accidents in the US is $871 billion a year in economic loss and societal harm,

It is estimated that cell phones and other distractions, but cell phones being the greatest by far, could amount to 25% of all accidents.....or over $200 billion.

Also, car accidents involving cell phones are responsible for about 2500 deaths in Florida a year.(Fraud is serious, but doesn't result in death in most cases).

Some people leave, but the state is growing more rapidly than any other state. Salaries may be lower but costs are lower than many states. It definitely isn't for everyone. Being bored doesn't depend too much on where you live....it depends on what activities and what people you know and how you like to spend your time.

We used to stay for 2 or 3 weeks and that was enough...just a nice break. But, if you plan on staying for a few months or more you have to have activities and get to know some people.

driver100

ab348 said:

I could tolerate Florida quite well for January through March. I visited once at the end of June though... no thanks.

That's why you need a condo in Maine too!

abacomike

ab348 said:

I could tolerate Florida quite well for January through March. I visited once at the end of June though... no thanks.

What about November, April and May?  We have beautiful weather from November through May.  Temps average low to mid 60's at night and low to upper 70's during the day.  Right now it is 58 degrees F and we had a high of 71 F.  

But from mid June through mid October, it is not the best of climates - lows in the high 70's to low 80's, highs in the upper 80's to low 90's.  It's the humidity that is rough in July - October.

Where my brother lives (just south of Jacksonville), it is much colder in the winter - 30's and 40's at night and mid 50's to low 70's during the day.

I personally preferred the weather in San Diego - probably the best climate in the US.

graphicguy

driver100 said:

robr2 said:

driver100 said:

robr2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

And FLA is now the 3rd most populated state in America, having bumped NY out. Over 19 million people now, almost 20. And it's not seniors---lots of young people, lots of immigrant population who can find low-wage entry jobs. AND no state income tax! AND 9 months of very tolerable weather.

robr2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

If you're talking about the NYS Thruway which runs from NYC to the PA border near Jamestown good question. The bonds that built the road were paid off in 1996 and the tolls should have ended. Never did. Now they want to raise them 40% to pay for the new Tappen Zee bridge.

Another reason I want to squat in driver's garage down in Florida.

Florida has 734 miles of toll roads - the most of any state.

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but:

it has the lowest spending on education in the country
it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country
it has the highest identity theft in the country
it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county
job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Some of those are pretty minor...highest identity theft, highest insurance fraud, highest health care fraud. I think people driving while yakking on their cell phones is a bigger problem than any of those. Not to mention hurricane season.

But generally, Florida offers a pretty good standard of living, and there is that glorious sunny weather. Lots of people live here who came from the North. They came here for a much better standard of living on their pension incomes. btw...things are kind of booming, jobs, home sales, purchase prices, construction.....

Just for the record, I hardly ever see mosquitoes or even flies, or any insects for thet matter....except on the front of my car after going on the highway.

Do you really believe that talking on a cell phone while driving is a bigger problem than $80 billion a year in health insurance fraud, the identity theft that targets those the state is trying to draw (retirees with money), and a high violent crime rate? C'mon - you're smarter than that.

Here's a neat nugget I found: between 1980 and 2008, 13 million people moved to Florida from another state. In that same time, 9.5 million people left Florida for another state.

Listen, I know you like it but it's not for everyone. I've been enough times and spoken to enough residents to know that I would get so bored out of mind in a very short time.

I think the health cost fraud figure is $80 billion for the whole US.

The total cost of accidents in the US is $871 billion a year in economic loss and societal harm,

It is estimated that cell phones and other distractions, but cell phones being the greatest by far, could amount to 25% of all accidents.....or over $200 billion.

Also, car accidents involving cell phones are responsible for about 2500 deaths in Florida a year.(Fraud is serious, but doesn't result in death in most cases).

Some people leave, but the state is growing more rapidly than any other state. Salaries may be lower but costs are lower than many states. It definitely isn't for everyone. Being bored doesn't depend too much on where you live....it depends on what activities and what people you know and how you like to spend your time.

We used to stay for 2 or 3 weeks and that was enough...just a nice break. But, if you plan on staying for a few months or more you have to have activities and get to know some people.

Driver...thanks for the figures. We have an office in Orlando. I go there often. That area is just now beginning to get its footing from the economic crash 7 years ago.

Amazing how some areas will continue to throw gobs of money at something that seems to have bottomed out like DUI/DWI, qnd ignore a much bigger problem like texting and driving.

ab348

abacomike said:

What about November, April and May?  We have beautiful weather from November through May.  Temps average low to mid 60's at night and low to upper 70's during the day.  Right now it is 58 degrees F and we had a high of 71 F.  

November/December would be fine too I suppose. It would mean having Christmas w/o winter weather which, growing up in the northeast, would seem strange. But I could get used to it I think.

The problem with April and May is that there is a huge amount of yard/property work that needs doing that time of year after the winter subsides. It is the busiest part of the year for that sort of thing, so as long as I own a property here, I would want to be here.

isellhondas

abacomike said:

ab348 said:

I could tolerate Florida quite well for January through March. I visited once at the end of June though... no thanks.

What about November, April and May?  We have beautiful weather from November through May.  Temps average low to mid 60's at night and low to upper 70's during the day.  Right now it is 58 degrees F and we had a high of 71 F.  

But from mid June through mid October, it is not the best of climates - lows in the high 70's to low 80's, highs in the upper 80's to low 90's.  It's the humidity that is rough in July - October.

Where my brother lives (just south of Jacksonville), it is much colder in the winter - 30's and 40's at night and mid 50's to low 70's during the day.

I personally preferred the weather in San Diego - probably the best climate in the US.

You are right about San Diego weather. It never seems to vary by more than a few degrees. In the 70's most of the time. I grew up about 125 miles from SD, straight up the coast and the weather was similar.

I remember how people would complain on those rare days when it got into the mid 80's. No humidity and few mosquitos or any other biting flies.

abacomike

robr2 said:

Just like any state, there are good and bad sides. Personally, I don't see the appeal of Florida. Yes taxes are low but: it has the lowest spending on education in the country it has the 6th highest violent crime rate in the country it has the highest identity theft in the country it has the highest health care fraud rate in the county job growth is still mainly in low wage tourism jobs.

Some of those are pretty minor...highest identity theft, highest insurance fraud, highest health care fraud. I think people driving while yakking on their cell phones is a bigger problem than any of those. Not to mention hurricane season. But generally, Florida offers a pretty good standard of living, and there is that glorious sunny weather. Lots of people live here who came from the North. They came here for a much better standard of living on their pension incomes. btw...things are kind of booming, jobs, home sales, purchase prices, construction..... Just for the record, I hardly ever see mosquitoes or even flies, or any insects for thet matter....except on the front of my car after going on the highway.

Do you really believe that talking on a cell phone while driving is a bigger problem than $80 billion a year in health insurance fraud, the identity theft that targets those the state is trying to draw (retirees with money), and a high violent crime rate? C'mon - you're smarter than that. There is job growth in Florida but most of them are low paying service jobs. Even the construction trades are making in the $12-$14 an hour. Engineers are in the $40K range. Here's a neat nugget I found: between 1980 and 2008, 13 million people moved to Florida from another state. In that same time, 9.5 million people left Florida for another state. Listen, I know you like it but it's not for everyone. I've been enough times and spoken to enough residents to know that I would get so bored out of mind in a very short time.

The high crime rate and fraud/identity theft levels are due to Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties.  If you eliminate those counties from the stats, Florida looks pretty good.  It's like Chicago and Illinois, NYC and NY State, LOS Angeles and Oakland Counties in CA.  

I do do not like living in Northern Broward County and will leave Southeast Florida when my Dad passes on.  The West Coast of Florida and the Central and Northern East Coast of Florida are great places to live.

Ad for boredom, as driver said - you must plan your retirement or life down here.  But I do agree with you that there are lots of negatives about living in Southeastern Florida.  Even Orlando has its negatives.

driver100

Driver...thanks for the figures. We have an office in Orlando. I go there often. That area is just now beginning to get its footing from the economic crash 7 years ago.

Amazing how some areas will continue to throw gobs of money at something that seems to have bottomed out like DUI/DWI, qnd ignore a much bigger problem like texting and driving.

Talking on cell phones and texting are a much larger problem than drunk driving for causing accidents. I turn the corner and see 6 cars stopped for a stop sign. Usually more than half are talking on their cell phones....probably the others have blue tooth. Sometimes I stop at a stop sign and watch them turn left in front of me, one hand on the wheel, the other holding the phone up to their head, right in their line of vision.

GG, house prices are up 11% in the last year in Orlando area. They are predicting an increase of 4 to 5% for this year. The economy is slowly starting to grow.....as long as there isn't a monkey wrench thrown in.

driver100

ab348 said:

abacomike said:

What about November, April and May?  We have beautiful weather from November through May.  Temps average low to mid 60's at night and low to upper 70's during the day.  Right now it is 58 degrees F and we had a high of 71 F.  

November/December would be fine too I suppose. It would mean having Christmas w/o winter weather which, growing up in the northeast, would seem strange. But I could get used to it I think.

The problem with April and May is that there is a huge amount of yard/property work that needs doing that time of year after the winter subsides. It is the busiest part of the year for that sort of thing, so as long as I own a property here, I would want to be here.

That's easy ab. We are here from early Nov to the end of March. You will be back in time to do yard work.
We fly back at Christmas time, but Christmas here has it's own charm. We went to a "Boat Parade" party and lots of people have them. We go to a house with a huge deck area overlooking a waterway...in this case a pretty wide canal. All these boats line up and float by, probably about 50 of them. They are all decorated with Christmas lights and have music playing or people singing and waving. We all cheer and wave from the shore.



You just have to go with the flow.............

driver100

Did it twice and can't delete ????????

driver100

i.



Mike said:

The high crime rate and fraud/identity theft levels are due to Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties.  If you eliminate those counties from the stats, Florida looks pretty good.

.

Thanks for pointing that out Mike, I never thought of that. There are troublesome areas in central Tampa...but there are lots of other areas that experience relatively little crime. That information is useful to know.

nyccarguy

explorerx4 said:

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

imidazol97

nyccarguy said:

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

I apologize for sending this minor storm on to the east where it's likely to become a bad storm. It dropped 4-5 inches of beautiful fluffy snow on us at 32 degrees with little wind since 4 pm Sunday and is now drizzling light stuff as the last band swirls over on its way east from here at 3 am.

It's beautiful outside.

Blizzard for the east! Bad.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

nyccarguy said:

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

I apologize for sending this minor storm on to the east where it's likely to become a bad storm. It dropped 4-5 inches of beautiful fluffy snow on us at 32 degrees with little wind since 4 pm Sunday and is now drizzling light stuff as the last band swirls over on its way east from here at 3 am.

It's beautiful outside.

Blizzard for the east! Bad.

Id rather be in Florida....mosquitoes, health insurance fraud, identity theft, whatever!

robr2

driver100 said:

I think the health cost fraud figure is $80 billion for the whole US.

The total cost of accidents in the US is $871 billion a year in economic loss and societal harm,

It is estimated that cell phones and other distractions, but cell phones being the greatest by far, could amount to 25% of all accidents.....or over $200 billion.

According to the FBI, health care fraud in the United States in 2014 was $3 TRILLION.

qbrozen

yup. snow has started already. They are talking about 2 feet in my area! ugh. This will put my little John Deere to the test.

driver100

robr2 said:

driver100 said:

I think the health cost fraud figure is $80 billion for the whole US.

The total cost of accidents in the US is $871 billion a year in economic loss and societal harm,

It is estimated that cell phones and other distractions, but cell phones being the greatest by far, could amount to 25% of all accidents.....or over $200 billion.

According to the FBI, health care fraud in the United States in 2014 was $3 TRILLION.

I believe, that $3 Trillion is the total amount spent on health care.
FBI REPORT ON HEALTHCARE FRAUD

A lot of those take place wherever you live in the USA. Many have nothing to do with being exclusive to Florida and many don't affect most of the normal population. Many are things like drugstores illegally billing the government, some single cases are for $millions. Miami is a hot spot for medical fraud. Living in Florida isn't that much riskier, it is usually the government that loses the big bucks....everyone pays! Miami is definitely a hot spot for fraud in the USA, but the government has to come up with ways to screen suppliers better. I don't see it as a reason not to live in Florida, there are excellent reasons why it may not appeal to someone, but, that wouldn't deter me.
Medical Fraud - Economist
This article says medical fraud could be closer to $300 billion. But that includes all kinds of things that don't affect the common person - more like industrial fraud or drug companies.

A lot of those cases are phony wheel chairs or are drug sales etc....all kinds of things. It can happen anywhere in the US, just t aht there are more seniors in Florida. Just be on guard, wherever you live! :@

jpp75

nyccarguy said:

explorerx4 said:

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

This will definitely be a good test for your Legacy.

I know several people from my old job in Denver and they swore by their Subarus even on those rare occasions when they got 20+ inches of snow.

abacomike

robr2 said:

I think the health cost fraud figure is $80 billion for the whole US. The total cost of accidents in the US is $871 billion a year in economic loss and societal harm, It is estimated that cell phones and other distractions, but cell phones being the greatest by far, could amount to 25% of all accidents.....or over $200 billion.

According to the FBI, health care fraud in the United States in 2014 was $3 TRILLION.

3 trillion dollars?  Check your figures - the total US budget this year was 3 trillion dollars!!!

Mr_Shiftright

Well maybe 20+ inches having fallen while they are on plowed roads--but ain't no passenger car going through 20+ inches of unplowed snow.

jpp5862 said:

nyccarguy said:

explorerx4 said:

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

This will definitely be a good test for your Legacy.

I know several people from my old job in Denver and they swore by their Subarus even on those rare occasions when they got 20+ inches of snow.

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

yup. snow has started already. They are talking about 2 feet in my area! ugh. This will put my little John Deere to the test.

Put my CTS in the "snow" setting early this a.m. I know I have AWD, but no problems. Of course, we had an inch or two of snow, not 20 inches of snow. Black ice wasn't good, but you just stay careful on overpasses and bridges (where most black ice occurs) and you're fine.

jpp75

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well maybe 20+ inches having fallen while they are on plowed roads--but ain't no passenger car going through 20+ inches of unplowed snow.

jpp5862 said:

nyccarguy said:

explorerx4 said:

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

This will definitely be a good test for your Legacy.

I know several people from my old job in Denver and they swore by their Subarus even on those rare occasions when they got 20+ inches of snow.

Correct, I think most of their situations were ones where they were going through tracks in their neighborhood and then were able to "punch it" into their driveway. They definitely weren't going through 20" of unplowed snow for any distance.

jpp75

graphicguy said:

qbrozen said:

yup. snow has started already. They are talking about 2 feet in my area! ugh. This will put my little John Deere to the test.

Put my CTS in the "snow" setting early this a.m. I know I have AWD, but no problems. Of course, we had an inch or two of snow, not 20 inches of snow. Black ice wasn't good, but you just stay careful on overpasses and bridges (where most black ice occurs) and you're fine.

I was impressed with the Q50 last year when we got about 9" of snow. You could hear it pushing snow underneath but we were able to get out and about before the streets were plowed. Most of those had at least some tracks to follow but a few of the neighborhood streets were still fresh.

I guess the "snow" setting does help some but I couldn't tell much noticeable difference.

Michaell

I guess it's not a good time to note that the temperature will be in the mid to upper 60's today and tomorrow here in Colorado. Though I still have a fair amount of unmelted snow in my back yard.

nyccarguy

jpp5862 said:

nyccarguy said:

explorerx4 said:

@robr2, Supposedly the weather in the NE won't be boring this week. Will be a good test for my Escape.

Looks like we are going to get hammered tomorrow night into Tuesday.

This will definitely be a good test for your Legacy.

I know several people from my old job in Denver and they swore by their Subarus even on those rare occasions when they got 20+ inches of snow.

Not sure if I'll get the chance to "give 'er all she's got." Gov in CT is closing state highways starting at 9 pm. I'm going to talk to Dad about maybe not opening up tomorrow. Might take forever for us to get in, spend the AM on the phone telling people we don't have any more rock salt or calcium chloride. Then there is the possibility of one or both of us getting involved in a minor (or worse) fender bender on the way in or on the way home. By the time I'm on my way Wednesday AM, the roads should be plowed. That doesn't mean I'm not going to go tearing around my block for a few minutes:)