Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

not the best quality recording, but he is good,

kyfdx

stickguy said:

not the best quality recording, but he is good,

Even better without the slide. We saw him on Memorial Day.

sda

graphicguy said:

sda said:

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

In between, it was a shoe store.

I'm not a bourbon drinker, so not really my kind of place, but it is pretty cool.

Didn’t know that!

I don't think it's been a gas station since the '50s or '60s. It was already a shoe store in the '80s. Sort of an independent DSW type of place. For probably 20 years, at least. Back when there was retail in small city downtowns.

Interesting...I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently down in Newport. The local bands I follow play at the Mansion Hill Bar. Plus, knowing the owners of Newberry’s, I seem to stop and visit them once every couple of weeks. Just did Taste of Newport a couple of weeks ago. Not nearly as big as Cincinnati’s, but a nice start nonetheless. Then, there’s all the entertainment with the Aquarium and the Levy. Nice job by Newport.

I like what they’re doing with that area....sort of keeping it’s “old town” feel while revitalizing and redirecting it’s core.

The town I grew up in (Hamilton, OHIO) is going through something similar right now....moving from a mainly industrial base and converting into an artists’ enclave.

These were taken Tuesday....

Impressive. What is the last pic of the wonderfully restored Victorian?

That house is now a museum. It's really beautiful as the pic does not do it justice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNGfF2rnYWM

Awesome, thx!

imidazol97

Michaell said:

I still think Boomers and Gen X'ers can retake the world from the millenial crowd with just two changes ...

1. Use cursive, even as a computer font
2. Outlaw automatic transmissions

Those made my laugh of the DAY!

It's been a very stressful day trying to reconcile billing with a physical therapy
company's billing somewhere around Chicago. The people there don't understand
a thing I was saying about how screwed up their billing is starting with last year;s
sessions . They ended up punting by writing off $5.48.

The second person said they could have sent the August sessions $7.48 CREDIT
to COLLECTIONS even though we never got a bill showing a credit until March therapy
sessions this year.

I'm not sure even the second level person understood the difference between
positive amounts owed and negative signs in front of the amounts.

BTW, I was curtly informed when I said they should have issued a check for
$7.48 credit after a few months--"We don't issue checks."

WAT?

driver100

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy">

This....for $58K? That’s very tempting..

Did somebody hit that guy in the head with an axe...he has a cut on his forehead. He really likes to pronounce his words clearly. The car looks pretty good, 380 h.p. for $58k, and it is beautiful and sounds like a blast to drive. Another thing I wonder....do these guys make any money from these videos?

@driver100 ...they do make good money doing the videos. I read somewhere that a subscriber to a Youtube video series is worth $1. You have 10 subscribers, you get $10. You have 100,000 subscribers, you get $100,000. You have 1,000,000 subscribers, you get a cool million dollars.

I noticed his head "gash", too. He also writes for Autotrader.

Agree about that BMW.

$100000 for 100000 subscribers. I am wasting my talents writing here for free! Watch for the new upcoming driver100 blog appearing soon, where I give my opinion of various models of cars. $500 if your car company wants a really good review, $300 for a fairly good review, and if you pay $0 your make gets trashed.

sda

After much rain and pine needles from our trip to Hilton Head the Accord got a much-needed waxing today. It doesn't look too bad for being almost six years old.

venture

sda said:

After much rain and pine needles from our trip to Hilton Head the Accord got a much-needed waxing today. It doesn't look too bad for being almost six years old.

That looks nice. It's hard to believe it's six years old. That one looks like they took the time to finish the grill area.

driver100

Sda, the Accord looks like new. It is surprising how nice cars can look when they are maintained.
What is the story about the white Acura behind it?

Maybe I will see how long I can keep the E400 running....hmmmm, on second thought, maybe not!

sda

driver100 said:

Sda, the Accord looks like new. It is surprising how nice cars can look when they are maintained. What is the story about the white Acura behind it? Maybe I will see how long I can keep the E400 running....hmmmm, on second thought, maybe not!

 My wife's sister generously gave the Acura to my 17 year old daughter.  It was bought new and meticulously maintained.  It was replaced with a new RDX Advance.  Picture taken at the house we rented in Hilton Head.

kyfdx

We vacationed there about a dozen times. Always in Sea Pines. Great place!

sda

Yes, we love Sea Pines. The house we rented was ideally located. Less than a 10 minute walk to the beach, and halfway between South Beach and Harbour Town. The house had a pool and hot tub. We were spoiled. Back to reality...

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

This....for $58K? That’s very tempting.....

https://youtu.be/M6RTHn-71z0

So is that a true M car or is it like a wanna-be? I guess BMW has given up any pretense of the numbers meaning anything. The 340 doesn’t have a 3.4L motor? The hp/torque numbers sound good.

According to my boss BMW is in trouble. There’s nothing special about them any more and they are losing sales. According to him BMW is calling and offering insane discounts on all the 7 series we can handle.

Might be a good time to buy one at a dealer.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

fintail said:

Some of those guys earn substantial income from those videos. Doug must be among the leaders.

Can we believe them then.....will they get work if they are negative?
Does Scotty earn money from his videos?

I think they earn money if an advertiser sticks a commercial in one of their videos. YouTube is currently involved in a controversy over “demonetization” of certain videos due to political leanings.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy">

This....for $58K? That’s very tempting..

Did somebody hit that guy in the head with an axe...he has a cut on his forehead. He really likes to pronounce his words clearly. The car looks pretty good, 380 h.p. for $58k, and it is beautiful and sounds like a blast to drive. Another thing I wonder....do these guys make any money from these videos?

@driver100 ...they do make good money doing the videos. I read somewhere that a subscriber to a Youtube video series is worth $1. You have 10 subscribers, you get $10. You have 100,000 subscribers, you get $100,000. You have 1,000,000 subscribers, you get a cool million dollars.

I noticed his head "gash", too. He also writes for Autotrader.

Agree about that BMW.

$100000 for 100000 subscribers. I am wasting my talents writing here for free! Watch for the new upcoming driver100 blog appearing soon, where I give my opinion of various models of cars. $500 if your car company wants a really good review, $300 for a fairly good review, and if you pay $0 your make gets trashed.

OK Scotty.

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

This....for $58K? That’s very tempting.....

https://youtu.be/M6RTHn-71z0

So is that a true M car or is it like a wanna-be? I guess BMW has given up any pretense of the numbers meaning anything. The 340 doesn’t have a 3.4L motor? The hp/torque numbers sound good.

It’s not M car, it’s 340 with a few M treatments.

The engine displacement has not been the key for a while, but when it was it was the two last digits. In other words 340 would have been 3 series with 4.0 engine. Today it’s whatever displacement (here 3.0 turbocharged) that gives you power in line with old 4.0 naturally aspirated engines that are no longer in use. Call it 4.0 equivalent, if you must.

Btw, BMW is not really in trouble, in relative terms. The entire market peaked, so all manufacturers are hurting. Sedan (and derivatives) market is in particular trouble, so BMW is in trouble, but I don’t think it’s any more than Audi or Benz. I think they are as special, or nonspecial, as they have been a few years ago. Nice, luxury, some sport, but rather balanced and trying to appeal to Joe Upscale and Jane Aspiration, same as Benz or Audi. They still drive better than many, but the margin isn’t as big. Electronic parking brake in new 3-series is sacrilege to me, but it’s a sign of times.

explorerx4

Not sure if anyone reads Autoextremist, but Pete D begged BMW's as Chevys of German lux brands in his annual Brand Image rating this year.

dino001

explorerx4 said:

Not sure if anyone reads Autoextremist, but Pete D begged BMW's as Chevys of German lux brands in his annual Brand Image rating this year.

Opinions are like noses - everybody has one.

tjc78

BMW certainly fire saled lots of iron in April and typically have greater lease incentives and deeper discounts on loaners than other luxury brands. 

So IMO that comment may not be that far off.  

At some of the lease prices I’ve been seeing on other sites, I wouldn’t hesitate to snatch one up.  

explorerx4

I'll go with his nose over yours.

stickguy

I could be swayed by an X3 loaner in 2.5 years. A nice Christmas clearance sale!

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

explorerx4 said:

Not sure if anyone reads Autoextremist, but Pete D begged BMW's as Chevys of German lux brands in his annual Brand Image rating this year.

Opinions are like noses - everybody has one.

I heard that saying but at the opposite end of the anatomy. .

Thanks for explaining the BMW nomenclature.

oldfarmer50

OK, here’s something I never thought I’d be mentioning. Who needs a 2005 Hyundai Accent with 46k miles in excellent condition? Guy at work got it cheap from a relative but since he weighs about 300lbs finds it too cramped.

Normally, I would be all over a car like that but I’m currently overflowing with hoopities and new cars too.

Looks like this.

abacomike

Sometimes life has a way of surprising you with situations when you are least expecting them.  That just happened to me earlier this evening,

My daughter flew in a few weeks ago to interview for a job in a suburb just north of where I live.  She stayed with me a couple of days.  After the interview, she flew home.  I got a phone call earlier this evening that she got the job!  She will be moving here to Southeastern Florida on or before July 12th.

After being separated by a thousand miles+ for over 30 years, my baby is moving here.  I could not believe my ears when she told me.  I don’t know much about how she is going to manage selling her house and driving down here in just 4 weeks, but I know she is motivated to finally get away from the cold midwestern winters.  What she doesn’t realize is how hot and humid it gets down here from late May through early November.

But it is definitely a change in my life - for the better! 😁😀😜🤪

stickguy

Farmer, good little car for someone. I could not take driving one though. Too small and outdated.

stickguy

Good news Mike. Hope it works out for her.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Sometimes life has a way of surprising you with situations when you are least expecting them.  That just happened to me earlier this evening,

My daughter flew in a few weeks ago to interview for a job in a suburb just north of where I live.  She stayed with me a couple of days.  After the interview, she flew home.  I got a phone call earlier this evening that she got the job!  She will be moving here to Southeastern Florida on or before July 12th.

After being separated by a thousand miles+ for over 30 years, my baby is moving here.  I could not believe my ears when she told me.  I don’t know much about how she is going to manage selling her house and driving down here in just 4 weeks, but I know she is motivated to finally get away from the cold midwestern winters.  What she doesn’t realize is how hot and humid it gets down here from late May through early November.

But it is definitely a change in my life - for the better! 😁😀😜🤪

That’s great news Mike. There’s always an ebb and flow to the relationships with our children. Maybe it’s the wisdom of age but I think we appreciate them more as people when we get older.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Scotty makes a fortune. It's all about the hits/views and ads, not so much the quality of the content.

driver100 said:

Can we believe them then.....will they get work if they are negative?
Does Scotty earn money from his videos?

https://youtu.be/T2-sjwi8IpI

stickguy

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

jmonroe1

Congratulations @Mike. Im sure you are looking forward to this. I think getting used to hot weather is easier than getting used to cold weather. When we moved back to the Burgh after living in SC for 5 years, I had to relearn how to cope. I think I'm still learning.

FWIW, I think there is some good news in this for me too. With one less kid to have to buy tickets to come visit you, you should be able to spring for airfare for me now.

jmonroe

driver100

stickguy said:

Farmer, good little car for someone. I could not take driving one though. Too small and outdated.

+1

driver100

stickguy said:

Good news Mike. Hope it works out for her.

+1

From now on I am going to let stick do my posts since I usually agree anyway, I am working on my youtube videos.

driver100

stickguy said:

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

+1 How about keeping a 2017 E400 for 28 years?

ab348

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

+1 How about keeping a 2017 E400 for 28 years?

Would probably work out if you had a place to put it up on blocks for the last 20 years or so.

stickguy

my guess is, it will cost just a bit more $ per year to keep it going. But I am sure you can make it. Car will last. software might not though.

I do wonder that about modern cars with so much computer control going on, and being software driven. Like a PC or phone, what happens when the company stops supporting the software? and if something goes wrong with the many computer modules. If it was a 5 year old phone you throw it out. Are we going to see otherwise fine 15 YO cars scrapped because it's OS is out of date?

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

+1 How about keeping a 2017 E400 for 28 years?

You’ll be about 100 by then. You won't know The difference between an E400 and an Accent.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

my guess is, it will cost just a bit more $ per year to keep it going. But I am sure you can make it. Car will last. software might not though.

I do wonder that about modern cars with so much computer control going on, and being software driven. Like a PC or phone, what happens when the company stops supporting the software? and if something goes wrong with the many computer modules. If it was a 5 year old phone you throw it out. Are we going to see otherwise fine 15 YO cars scrapped because it's OS is out of date?

Maybe 50 years from now aftermarket companies will be selling software for old cars instead of fenders.

graphicguy

Not sure if any of you had seen this yet. Hard to argue, IMHO!

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/best-cars-under-30000/

PF_Flyer

Just want to give everyone a shout out for being the best online automotive community EVER!

Over there on the right side of the page, we have that Unanswered Questions link, and with your help, we have that beat down to zero at the moment!



We really appreciate (and I'm always impressed by) the collective knowledge and experience of our users, and your willingness to share that with others.

Gold stars all around!

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

not the best quality recording, but he is good,

Even better without the slide. We saw him on Memorial Day.

Sonny has played with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lonnie Mack and Roy Buchanan....all were guitar legends. All have since passed away.

I’ve spent some time talking to him after seeing him play several years ago and finding we knew some of the same people. He grew up in my home town and I remember seeing his band(s) play around local festivals and High School occasions. He always had his guitar slung over his back if I ever saw him just wandering around town. We didn’t hang in the same circles, though. There were a lot of relatively big names coming out of the OH music scene, then.....Ohio Players (funk), Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles), Bootsie Collins (funk), Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders), Devo, John Legend (more recent), and a lot of others.

Sonny moved to L.A. when he signed a recording contract with Alligator Records. He did session work with some of the people mentioned above. He recorded an album but the promoter who signed him died before its release. He said it was never released and he was a small town kid wandering L.A. making scraps. He moved back here, and released that album that he ended up self producing. Got married, stuck around and the rest is history. Fate touches some and not others.

He still tours nationally (most recently with the Allman Brothers before Gregg Allman died) but mostly he plays locally. Good guy....great musician.

ab348

graphicguy said:

Not sure if any of you had seen this yet. Hard to argue, IMHO!

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/best-cars-under-30000/

Don't think there is anything there I would want to buy except maybe the GLI. The CX5 with the turbo engine might also be OK for me but that takes it way out of the price range being discussed. One equipped with the turbo is $41K Cdn here before sales taxes.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

+1 How about keeping a 2017 E400 for 28 years?

Don't push it. You should be happy just for the 28 years part.

jmonroe

stickguy

Not a bad list. A few I have owned at one point, and a bunch I’ve test driven or considered.

A lot better than most lists on the internet!

graphicguy

@ab348 ...what’s the CA$ to US$ Exchange rate now? I never could figure out the difference in pricing between Canada and the U.S. when the exchange rates were about on par.

dino001

graphicguy said:

@ab348 ...what’s the CA$ to US$ Exchange rate now? I never could figure out the difference in pricing between Canada and the U.S. when the exchange rates were about on par.

Have you met Mr. Google? He'd have all the answers...

ruking1

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

not the best quality recording, but he is good,

Even better without the slide. We saw him on Memorial Day.

Sonny has played with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lonnie Mack and Roy Buchanan....all were guitar legends. All have since passed away.

I’ve spent some time talking to him after seeing him play several years ago and finding we knew some of the same people. He grew up in my home town and I remember seeing his band(s) play around local festivals and High School occasions. He always had his guitar slung over his back if I ever saw him just wandering around town. We didn’t hang in the same circles, though. There were a lot of relatively big names coming out of the OH music scene, then.....Ohio Players (funk), Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles), Bootsie Collins (funk), Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders), Devo, John Legend (more recent), and a lot of others.

Sonny moved to L.A. when he signed a recording contract with Alligator Records. He did session work with some of the people mentioned above. He recorded an album but the promoter who signed him died before its release. He said it was never released and he was a small town kid wandering L.A. making scraps. He moved back here, and released that album that he ended up self producing. Got married, stuck around and the rest is history. Fate touches some and not others.

He still tours nationally (most recently with the Allman Brothers before Gregg Allman died) but mostly he plays locally. Good guy....great musician.

Are you saying he’s found his niche? (ala, guitar)

https://youtu.be/QwVjTlTdIDQ

Getting into (any) entertainments “BIG TIMES” are truly hard & fraught with enormous difficulties. It’s almost like the epic mythical Sisyphus’ task. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus

If no one can relate to that, another way: it may take 50 years to be an overnight success. Then ...who cares? Then, one can add to being one of the mythical (music) figures.

henryn

graphicguy said:

Not sure if any of you had seen this yet. Hard to argue, IMHO!

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/best-cars-under-30000/

The only surprise (to me) was the Ford Ranger. The reviews I have read have not been kind.

thebean

I think what hurts the Ranger is the small real world purchase price difference between it and the F-150. You have to really want the smaller size to make the choice of a Ranger. If Ford made the Ranger interior more plush and provided more of a reason to choose it other than size, they would sell more. But, with gas at it’s current price, most people are going to choose the F-150 thinking they are getting more for their money.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

so if you want to become a millionaire, you need to drive a 1992 toyota 300,000 miles.

+1 How about keeping a 2017 E400 for 28 years?

You’ll be about 100 by then. You won't know The difference between an E400 and an Accent.

Good point. After 28 years it would probably make a beautiful casket....or urn.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Not sure if any of you had seen this yet. Hard to argue, IMHO!

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/best-cars-under-30000/

I would find it hard to argue too. Surprised Camry isn't on the list though, not my thing, but good rock solid value.

driver100

ab348 said:

graphicguy said:

Not sure if any of you had seen this yet. Hard to argue, IMHO!

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/best-cars-under-30000/

Don't think there is anything there I would want to buy except maybe the GLI. The CX5 with the turbo engine might also be OK for me but that takes it way out of the price range being discussed. One equipped with the turbo is $41K Cdn here before sales taxes.

They weren't necessarily picked because they are "drivers" cars, though the Jetta sounds like it could be fun. I think they just mean these cars a great value for the typical average non-enthusiast car owner.