Instead he pulled out his snow shovel and proceeded to help me shovel driveway.
That's just some return on the good karma you've earned with all your helpful posts around the forums here.
Saw a Mustang the other day and noticed the blacked out "snow tire" wheels. I think they work okay, didn't really jump out at me at first. "Look at me" wheels like those on that Buick just detract from the car.
However, now it's clear Cadillac is changing from the old man's luxury vehicle to a youthful driver's car.
They are trying to change, but their biggest problem is none of the youthful drivers want a Cadillac. Inventory is piling up fast. They might be building great cars, but the market doesn't perceive them as such.
We've talked about black alloy wheels before on here. To me they always remind me of cheap steel winter wheels and almost always detract from the look of the car they are on. But there's no accounting for taste, to each his own, etc.
The current Corvette looks a lot better in person than it comes across in pics. I'm still not sure I like the styling, but I probably don't have to worry about that since I cannot see any circumstance under which I could own one.
Do all new Camrys look like the one pictured? I can't say I have noticed any that ugly on the roads here, but maybe I haven't been paying attention. That front end rivals many current Nissan models for being unattractive.
Reposted from CCBA, since I know not everybody here subscribes to that discussion:
Another day of running errands in the new Outback, so a few more thoughts and impressions.
First, it's quiet. Not sure if it's the tires, the engine, the engineering, or what, but it's much quieter than the Mazda. City, highway, whatever.
The engine pulls strongly and I don't notice the CVT transmission at all - and I thought I would. Used the "flappy paddles" once to downshift while in D - worked like a charm. Wife will need to get used to the new transmission set up - she likes to engine brake going down hills when the roads are slippery. The paddles are new to her.
The ride, as has been previously noted, is smooth - "luxurious" my wife says. Again, I think the Mazda was tuned for zoom zoom but the Subaru soaks up the bumps and potholes without much complaining. Should be a nice car for road trips.
Did a little stretch of highway driving so I got to play with the adaptive cruise control. Man, that is a nice (albeit, strange) feature. Set the distance and the car automatically slows down and speeds up to keep pace. I had the CC set at 77 but the car in front of me was only doing 65. I moved into the next lane and the Subaru immediately noticed no car in front of me and resumed my set speed. Again, a great feature to have on a long trip. And, you can set the distance between you and the car in front of you if there is more traffic.
Learned something about myself my wife has been saying for years - I have a tendency to drift to the edges of the lanes. With the lane departure warning turned on, she now knows every time I crowd the line. Busted! Guess this will make me more determined to stay within the lines.
Got an extra cable for the wife's iPhone (6) - she has a Pandora subscription, and with the cable plugged into the USB socket the phone synched right up to the audio system and started streaming her music. Shy may keep the XM subscription after the 3 month trial - it's a bit of a hassle to connect and disconnect the phone every time she gets in and out of the car. But, it's nice to have the option.
Played around a little bit with the voice activated commands - setting temperature, making phone calls, stuff like that. So far, everything seems to work as advertised.
Haven't gotten deep into the nav system just yet .. I know my wife wants to set up both home and her office as pre-set destinations so she can use the voice commands to plot a route to either from where ever she is.
The power liftgate is sweet .. can control it from the hatch itself, the remote fob or a button on the dashboard.
Much larger inside, both front and rear, and our daughter likes the fact that the rear seats recline.
Wife says it feels like a luxury car without the luxury badging.
I think I'm going to get spoiled with all the features and will want them on my next car.
A bit less than 2 months ago, I bought a 2013 CPO Ford Escape. Before I go any further with that, I'm happy to report that a Hare and one of my SIL's are still alive. I have a pile of branches in my back yard. With all the snow it looks like a big igloo. When I have been home after work lately, I've noticed a big Hare sitting outside of it just about every day. This morning when I looked out the back of the house, there were 2 bobcats trying to flush it out, but after making several tunnels in the mound, they gave up and moved on. Went to the hospital to visit one of my wife's sisters. Yesterday, the question was, Should we keep her going? Today, the prognosis is better. The doctors and nurses have been overcoming one thing after another. So, back to my recent Escape purchase, I guess the extended winter has driven prices up, so although I didn't push price/trade in too hard on the sales transaction, the asking prices have jumped
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
I wonder how my 03 leSabre would look with black spoke wheels?
I can't find customized 2002-3-4-5 Buick Lesabres, at least very few. I don't think it is a car thet young people buy to customize. The best I can find is a cloth top model.
Reposted from CCBA, since I know not everybody here subscribes to that discussion:
Another day of running errands in the new Outback, so a few more thoughts and impressions.
Haven't gotten deep into the nav system just yet .. I know my wife wants to set up both home and her office as pre-set destinations so she can use the voice commands to plot a route to either from where ever she is.
Much larger inside, both front and rear, and our daughter likes the fact that the rear seats recline.
Wife says it feels like a luxury car without the luxury badging.
I think I'm going to get spoiled with all the features and will want them on my next car.
Nice review. The last statement is something I have really found to be true, once you get used to a new feature it is very hard to live without it.
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
Funny you mention that. When trading in our Wrangler, not only did I delete the 'home' address, but also all the recent locations.
I forgot to delete my music from the hard drive though. Oh well.
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
Funny you mention that. When trading in our Wrangler, not only did I delete the 'home' address, but also all the recent locations.
I forgot to delete my music from the hard drive though. Oh well.
When I traded in the 535 for the MB E400 the salesman said they would wipe all the GPS and hard drive music off the system. They don't want to sell a car with someone els's material in the cars system.
However, a thought did occur to me. I put our home address and Florida address into the GPS so I can find my way home. It wouldn't be good if my car was stolen....the thief would know how to get to my house and would know I wasn't there!
When I would take in a trade from a customer, you'd be amazed what people leave in their cars. Addresses and phone numbers are the usual things left behind, but what about:
glasses; wallets; money; credit cards in both front and back seat creases as well as in glove boxes and consoles; old copies of registrations showing addresses and tag numbers; electronic toll transponders; bar codes security tags on side window, just to mention a few.
Whenever you sell or trade or dispose of a car, it is recommended that you take your time going through it not once, not twice, but three times, preferably by at least two different people. Every document should be gone over carefully to make sure names, phone numbers and addresses are removed from service records and user manuals.
This is just to provide everyone with a knowledge and sense of caution to keep your personal info and ID data from getting into the wrong hands. Most dealers go out of their way to go over trade--ins and if anything of a personal nature is found, it is promptly returned to the original owner. But there are exceptions - like who is doing the cleaning out of the trade and is he/she trustworthy.
When I would take in a trade from a customer, you'd be amazed what people leave in their cars. Addresses and phone numbers are the usual things left behind, but what about:
glasses; wallets; money; credit cards in both front and back seat creases as well as in glove boxes and consoles; old copies of registrations showing addresses and tag numbers; electronic toll transponders; bar codes security tags on side window, just to mention a few.
Whenever you sell or trade or dispose of a car, it is recommended that you take your time going through it not once, not twice, but three times, preferably by at least two different people. Every document should be gone over carefully to make sure names, phone numbers and addresses are removed from service records and user manuals.
This is just to provide everyone with a knowledge and sense of caution to keep your personal info and ID data from getting into the wrong hands. Most dealers go out of their way to go over trade--ins and if anything of a personal nature is found, it is promptly returned to the original owner. But there are exceptions - like who is doing the cleaning out of the trade and is he/she trustworthy.
Mike, you make a good point about the home address in the nav.
Before going to the dealer the first time two weeks ago, I did a thorough search through every nook and cranny of the Mazda we were trading in. Gathered up everything into a bankers box which I left in the rear cargo area and transferred to the Subaru yesterday. Went through the box once we got home and only put a handful of items back into the Subaru:
1. Shop towels and a pair of work gloves - those will go into the storage space under the rear cargo floor, next to the spare tire 2. Loose change (quarters only; I got to keep the pennies, dimes and nickels) 3. A travel sized bottle of Febreeze fabric spray 4. A microfiber cloth wipe for glasses 5. Snow scraper and a pair of heavy mittens for the wife or daughter to use 6. A few Shout towelettes for the inevitable stain on clothing 7. The package of gum my wife insists on keeping in the car
The old license plates are in the car as well; we'll put them on the Subaru when we register in in the next 45-60 days. Which will be a decent sized check that I'll have to write to the county - 2.1% of 85% of the base MSRP of $33K (or, $589 - and that's just the personal property tax - the registration is added to that, so figure around $650 or so).
Going through all of this in my head made me realize I left both the current registration card and an insurance card in the glove box .. I'll have to contact the salesman tomorrow to have him retrieve and destroy that info.
It's amazing what a family can accumulate in a car over the years. That registration card and the insurance card are ways people can gather info for "other than legitimate" purposes, if you know what I mean.
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
Funny you mention that. When trading in our Wrangler, not only did I delete the 'home' address, but also all the recent locations.
I forgot to delete my music from the hard drive though. Oh well.
When I traded in the 535 for the MB E400 the salesman said they would wipe all the GPS and hard drive music off the system. They don't want to sell a car with someone els's material in the cars system.
However, a thought did occur to me. I put our home address and Florida address into the GPS so I can find my way home. It wouldn't be good if my car was stolen....the thief would know how to get to my house and would know I wasn't there!
Not only that, but after he got there he would have access to your garage/house by using the Homelink button (assuming you have it).
In the last two weeks, the average price of Premium gasoline has gone up 30+ cents per gallon. Costco Premium has gone from $2.39 to $2.79 a gallon in the past two weeks. But a barrel of oil has remained below $50. It took 2 months to go from $2.79 to $2,59 a gallon with oil dropping $1.00 - $2.00 a barrel per month.. Now, it goes up 30-40 cents a gallon in 2 weeks with no appreciable increase in the cost of a barrel of oil.
Smells like someone is making a killing on our backs.
According to the AAA, premium unleaded is expected to rise another 30 cents a gallon in the next 30 days. Sounds like something is rotten in Denmark (no insult intended to that beautiful Scandinavian Country). And still no XL Pipeline which was vetoed by POTUS. what can I say????
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
Funny you mention that. When trading in our Wrangler, not only did I delete the 'home' address, but also all the recent locations.
I forgot to delete my music from the hard drive though. Oh well.
When I traded in the 535 for the MB E400 the salesman said they would wipe all the GPS and hard drive music off the system. They don't want to sell a car with someone els's material in the cars system.
However, a thought did occur to me. I put our home address and Florida address into the GPS so I can find my way home. It wouldn't be good if my car was stolen....the thief would know how to get to my house and would know I wasn't there!
Not only that, but after he got there he would have access to your garage/house by using the Homelink button (assuming you have it).
I do have it and I forgot about that....how convenient.......for him.
In the last two weeks, the average price of Premium gasoline has gone up 30+ cents per gallon. Costco Premium has gone from $2.39 to $2.79 a gallon in the past two weeks. But a barrel of oil has remained below $50. It took 2 months to go from $2.79 to $2,59 a gallon with oil dropping $1.00 - $2.00 a barrel per month.. Now, it goes up 30-40 cents a gallon in 2 weeks with no appreciable increase in the cost of a barrel of oil.
Smells like someone is making a killing on our backs.
According to the AAA, premium unleaded is expected to rise another 30 cents a gallon in the next 30 days. Sounds like something is rotten in Denmark (no insult intended to that beautiful Scandinavian Country). And still no XL Pipeline which was vetoed by POTUS. what can I say????
Ahhh. The infamous Rocket and Feather effect.
When gas prices rise they go up like a rocket. When they fall they flutter down like a feather.
I am less interested in what I personally pay for gasoline than what cheaper gasoline over the long run can do to pump up our economy.
Right now, people are using the savings in gasoline to pay off debt and add to their savings. But over the long run, those billions and billions of dollars will be spent on consumer goods that will strengthen our economy. Short lived savings will do nothing to help the middle class strengthen.
I am not being political here - I am just concerned that our economy needs continued investment by the middle class purchasing appliances, clothing, furniture, automobiles, housing, etc., which can be made possible by long term cheaper fuels - and those savings can be used to increase that purchasing.
As they say in the stock market, oil is having a temporary "dead cat bounce". The oil companies can try to prop up the prices (they're taking a hit today, by the way). But, those companies doing shale fracturing are going full steam ahead. There's a glut of oil and demand continues to drop. Those price rises don't have any economic support.
It never ceases to amaze me. I think it was driver that mentioned he has a friend who has lost thousands of dollars in the oil market. If that person paid the least bit of attention in Econ 101, the economic fundamentals just don't exist to support high(er) oil prices. Simplest of economic principles....if demand is down and supply is up, prices will fall. That's exactly what's happening in the oil industry right now.
As they have done in the past, the oil companies have tried to artifically prop up prices with thinly veiled socio-economic reasoning (which never holds up) or refining and production scares (seems like those oil wells in Kuwait and oil tankers going through the gulf have no bearing on what we produce in North America). The fundementals for a rise in prices don't exist.
In the not so distant future, if oil companies don't change this way of doing buisness in their pricing structures, initiate a coporate diet, they're going to be faced with a business model that will force them out of business.
Please post pics. We want to see. How much did you end up paying for that?
Regarding luxury cars and navigation systems. When these in dash nav systems first came out way back when and were only available on high end luxury cars like the S-Class, 7er BMW, Lexus LS... guys would steal the cars from valets, hit HOME, then drive to the peoples's house and rob them. Most (if not all) cars with built in navigation systems have a HOME button, but to access it, you need a PIN or pass code.
Or you could ALWAYS get creative:
Set HOME as the address of the local police precinct or pick an address of a very seedy neighborhood:)
Michaell - Once I got my Legacy, I realized just why they are so popular and have such a loyal following. Most people only buy new ones because they just "want" a new car, hand their car down, or they have an accident that they survived and will never drive anything else.
My Father In Law had 3 Outbacks ('06, '08, '10). The only reason he switched to a Ford Escape is because the Subaru dealer wouldn't give him "a deal."
My neighbor across the street is on his 3rd Outback. It is an '08 6cyl LL Bean. He had an '06 or an '07 that got totaled when he hit a deer.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Keystone wasn't vetoed. Congress just wants to skip the rest of the review process, just as was done with the TransAlaska Pipeline. Spiro broke the tie vote to skip NEPA in lieu of a fasttrack permit for that one.
There was a refinery fire in Torrance that's hammering California gas prices. For the east coast, I'm sure you'll find the usual excuses there too. Refinery maintenance, seasonal reformulation for summer gas, yada yada. As @graphicguy notes, the crude glut is growing again so the excuses won't be able to stand up much longer. Although the refinery strikes could "help".
We've actually been holding steady around here; cheapest regular is $2.05, most is $2.19.
Keystone wasn't vetoed. Congress just wants to skip the rest of the review process
They've had 6 years for the review by the prez. As long as the Wall Street friends have big money against it to push the business to the Buffet-owned trains, the "review" process will never end. Note the WV train wreck a week ago of one of these trains that are so much safer than the pipeline. LOL
Our gas prices shot up 20 cents or so because we had more of the White Death dropped early Sunday morning. Price always goes up in this area controlled by Marathon for pricing.
Steve, do you miss the occasional snows from when you lived in UP Michigan?
Yeah, I like snow. Boise was better though - you drove up the hill to it, and rarely did it hit the ground nor stay for more than a couple of days in town. So you didn't have to shovel much at all. With the 200 inches we got in the UP, sometimes I couldn't keep the 8' x8' section between my garage and the alley cleared. Usually I drove the Outback and would just cruise through it as winter wore on and the piles got big. In Anchorage, if the plow came by at 2 am I'd get up and shovel the berm. Otherwise you'd wish for some dynamite. In the UP, the berms didn't set up like concrete after they plowed my alley though, so that was nice.
The Quest didn't get driven much up there between November and March.
We have had a couple of one inch "dumps" in our yard since we've been in Las Cruces and the Organ Mtns get some now and then. Let me switch computers and I'll post a snap.
This was Jan 3rd. This storm made the front page of the paper.
Ideal snow. It is gone a few hours. Wow. Is that an animal beside the top bush in middle of photo? Cactus at top edge about 60% up from bottom?
Beautiful mountains off in the distance. Don't have those in Ohio. Son had a job offer in S. Arizona. I wasn't sure he would stand the difference in scenery from Ohio. No deciduous trees.
That's a fake deer near the water dish on the ground. I intend to paint it turquoise one of these days (the de rigueur color here in NM). The water dish you see on the ground is a sled - you buy them over at White Sands for sledding down the sand dunes.
We're about 3 miles from the mountains and really enjoy the view. Still wish I was in town but I'm adapting. Happy wife, etc. Not up on my cacti but we have barrels, prickly pears and several other kinds in the "yard".
Didn't much like Santa Fe when I first visited in the early 70s. Dusty, brown. Now I feel hemmed in back East with all the trees blocking the vistas.
That's a fake deer near the water dish on the ground. I intend to paint it turquoise one of these days (the de rigueur color here in NM). The water dish you see on the ground is a sled - you buy them over at White Sands for sledding down the sand dunes.
We're about 3 miles from the mountains and really enjoy the view. Still wish I was in town but I'm adapting. Happy wife, etc. Not up on my cacti but we have barrels, prickly pears and several other kinds in the "yard".
Didn't much like Santa Fe when I first visited in the early 70s. Dusty, brown. Now I feel hemmed in back East with all the trees blocking the vistas.
I hear you ... from my neighborhood I can see 100 miles of the Rocky Mountains ... from Pikes Peak on the south end to Mt. Evans to some peak I can't remember the name of on the north.
On hold with XM as I type this ... trying to cancel the service in the Mazda. Got a temp insurance card from my agent already, and need to contact the dealer to cancel the extended warranty.
Keystone wasn't vetoed. Congress just wants to skip the rest of the review process, just as was done with the TransAlaska Pipeline. Spiro broke the tie vote to skip NEPA in lieu of a fasttrack permit for that one.
There was a refinery fire in Torrance that's hammering California gas prices. For the east coast, I'm sure you'll find the usual excuses there too. Refinery maintenance, seasonal reformulation for summer gas, yada yada. As @graphicguy notes, the crude glut is growing again so the excuses won't be able to stand up much longer. Although the refinery strikes could "help".
We've actually been holding steady around here; cheapest regular is $2.05, most is $2.19.
Keystone was vetoed by Obama about a week ago. On Thursday of this week there will be a vote to try and override the veto.
I have a Dodge Avenger as a rental. It's not a horrible car.
Could we please try to be more positive.
How is the Avenger "Not a Horrible Car"?
I kind of like the style of the Avenger, and it appears to be a lot of car for the money. But, what is good or bad about it?.
It seems to be a lot of car for the money...about $17k
Edmunds gives the 2014 a C rating, with these comments;
Pros
Strong V6 engine; composed ride and handling.
Cons
Not as roomy as many of its rivals; smallish trunk; SE's outdated four-speed automatic; behind-the-times electronics interface; limited rear visibility.
Keystone wasn't vetoed. Congress just wants to skip the rest of the review process, just as was done with the TransAlaska Pipeline. Spiro broke the tie vote to skip NEPA in lieu of a fasttrack permit for that one.
There was a refinery fire in Torrance that's hammering California gas prices. For the east coast, I'm sure you'll find the usual excuses there too. Refinery maintenance, seasonal reformulation for summer gas, yada yada. As @graphicguy notes, the crude glut is growing again so the excuses won't be able to stand up much longer. Although the refinery strikes could "help".
We've actually been holding steady around here; cheapest regular is $2.05, most is $2.19.
Keystone was vetoed by Obama about a week ago. On Thursday of this week there will be a vote to try and override the veto.
It has been proven moving oil by train is far riskier than moving it by pipeline. Unlikely to get enough votes to override the veto....need 67, will possibly get 63. Too bad!
"I am returning herewith without my approval S. 1, the "Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act." Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest." (whitehouse.gov)
My understanding is that the permitting process is still ongoing; I think the idea is to dump the decision on the next POTUS. (capradio.org). The veto was to kill the law to shortcircuit the permitting process, just like my Alaska pipeline reference. You say potato....
And the debate really isn't over the pipeline so much as the tar sands that will be mined to fill the pipe. (Or is it shale oil? I forget). Pretty concise summary at the Christian Science Monitor. Sounds like Hillary wishes Obama would have just let the bill pass.
"I am returning herewith without my approval S. 1, the "Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act." Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest." (whitehouse.gov)
My understanding is that the permitting process is still ongoing; I think the idea is to dump the decision on the next POTUS. (capradio.org). The veto was to kill the law to shortcircuit the permitting process, just like my Alaska pipeline reference. You say potato....
And the debate really isn't over the pipeline so much as the tar sands that will be mined to fill the pipe. (Or is it shale oil? I forget). Pretty concise summary at the Christian Science Monitor.
But he can still approve the pipeline. Shades of Spiro Agnew. I lost access to a nice canoeing and trout stream thanks to a similar permitting override. Some of us don't appreciate politics circumventing the regulatory process.
But he can still approve the pipeline. Shades of Spiro Agnew.
He does not want to build the pipeline from Canada to the U.S. He will veto any bill Congress sends to him that authorizes the construction of a pipeline from Canada to the U.S..
The headline in the christian Science Monitor read, "Obama Veto's Keystone XL Bill. That is what the poster said. The rest is just a lot of parsing and hairsplitting. A potato is a potato and a veto is a veto. I've found it is usually better to speak plain English.
Comments
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Saw a Mustang the other day and noticed the blacked out "snow tire" wheels. I think they work okay, didn't really jump out at me at first. "Look at me" wheels like those on that Buick just detract from the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
That grill on the Camry? looks like 3 separate furnace filters !!
LOL
I don't know why, but the front on the Toyota reminds me of an insects mandibles!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The current Corvette looks a lot better in person than it comes across in pics. I'm still not sure I like the styling, but I probably don't have to worry about that since I cannot see any circumstance under which I could own one.
Do all new Camrys look like the one pictured? I can't say I have noticed any that ugly on the roads here, but maybe I haven't been paying attention. That front end rivals many current Nissan models for being unattractive.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Another day of running errands in the new Outback, so a few more thoughts and impressions.
First, it's quiet. Not sure if it's the tires, the engine, the engineering, or what, but it's much quieter than the Mazda. City, highway, whatever.
The engine pulls strongly and I don't notice the CVT transmission at all - and I thought I would. Used the "flappy paddles" once to downshift while in D - worked like a charm. Wife will need to get used to the new transmission set up - she likes to engine brake going down hills when the roads are slippery. The paddles are new to her.
The ride, as has been previously noted, is smooth - "luxurious" my wife says. Again, I think the Mazda was tuned for zoom zoom but the Subaru soaks up the bumps and potholes without much complaining. Should be a nice car for road trips.
Did a little stretch of highway driving so I got to play with the adaptive cruise control. Man, that is a nice (albeit, strange) feature. Set the distance and the car automatically slows down and speeds up to keep pace. I had the CC set at 77 but the car in front of me was only doing 65. I moved into the next lane and the Subaru immediately noticed no car in front of me and resumed my set speed. Again, a great feature to have on a long trip. And, you can set the distance between you and the car in front of you if there is more traffic.
Learned something about myself my wife has been saying for years - I have a tendency to drift to the edges of the lanes. With the lane departure warning turned on, she now knows every time I crowd the line. Busted! Guess this will make me more determined to stay within the lines.
Got an extra cable for the wife's iPhone (6) - she has a Pandora subscription, and with the cable plugged into the USB socket the phone synched right up to the audio system and started streaming her music. Shy may keep the XM subscription after the 3 month trial - it's a bit of a hassle to connect and disconnect the phone every time she gets in and out of the car. But, it's nice to have the option.
Played around a little bit with the voice activated commands - setting temperature, making phone calls, stuff like that. So far, everything seems to work as advertised.
Haven't gotten deep into the nav system just yet .. I know my wife wants to set up both home and her office as pre-set destinations so she can use the voice commands to plot a route to either from where ever she is.
The power liftgate is sweet .. can control it from the hatch itself, the remote fob or a button on the dashboard.
Much larger inside, both front and rear, and our daughter likes the fact that the rear seats recline.
Wife says it feels like a luxury car without the luxury badging.
I think I'm going to get spoiled with all the features and will want them on my next car.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Before I go any further with that, I'm happy to report that a Hare and one of my SIL's are still alive.
I have a pile of branches in my back yard. With all the snow it looks like a big igloo. When I have been home after work lately, I've noticed a big Hare sitting outside of it just about every day.
This morning when I looked out the back of the house, there were 2 bobcats trying to flush it out, but after making several tunnels in the mound, they gave up and moved on.
Went to the hospital to visit one of my wife's sisters.
Yesterday, the question was, Should we keep her going? Today, the prognosis is better. The doctors and nurses have been overcoming one thing after another.
So, back to my recent Escape purchase, I guess the extended winter has driven prices up, so although I didn't push price/trade in too hard on the sales transaction, the asking prices have jumped
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I usually advise people to "not" enter their home address into their NAV system. Many people forget to erase destinations from their NAV systems when they sell their car. Just a suggestion, Michael.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
I forgot to delete my music from the hard drive though. Oh well.
However, a thought did occur to me. I put our home address and Florida address into the GPS so I can find my way home. It wouldn't be good if my car was stolen....the thief would know how to get to my house and would know I wasn't there!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
@verdugo
When I would take in a trade from a customer, you'd be amazed what people leave in their cars. Addresses and phone numbers are the usual things left behind, but what about:
glasses; wallets; money; credit cards in both front and back seat creases as well as in glove boxes and consoles; old copies of registrations showing addresses and tag numbers; electronic toll transponders; bar codes security tags on side window, just to mention a few.
Whenever you sell or trade or dispose of a car, it is recommended that you take your time going through it not once, not twice, but three times, preferably by at least two different people. Every document should be gone over carefully to make sure names, phone numbers and addresses are removed from service records and user manuals.
This is just to provide everyone with a knowledge and sense of caution to keep your personal info and ID data from getting into the wrong hands. Most dealers go out of their way to go over trade--ins and if anything of a personal nature is found, it is promptly returned to the original owner. But there are exceptions - like who is doing the cleaning out of the trade and is he/she trustworthy.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Before going to the dealer the first time two weeks ago, I did a thorough search through every nook and cranny of the Mazda we were trading in. Gathered up everything into a bankers box which I left in the rear cargo area and transferred to the Subaru yesterday. Went through the box once we got home and only put a handful of items back into the Subaru:
1. Shop towels and a pair of work gloves - those will go into the storage space under the rear cargo floor, next to the spare tire
2. Loose change (quarters only; I got to keep the pennies, dimes and nickels)
3. A travel sized bottle of Febreeze fabric spray
4. A microfiber cloth wipe for glasses
5. Snow scraper and a pair of heavy mittens for the wife or daughter to use
6. A few Shout towelettes for the inevitable stain on clothing
7. The package of gum my wife insists on keeping in the car
The old license plates are in the car as well; we'll put them on the Subaru when we register in in the next 45-60 days. Which will be a decent sized check that I'll have to write to the county - 2.1% of 85% of the base MSRP of $33K (or, $589 - and that's just the personal property tax - the registration is added to that, so figure around $650 or so).
Going through all of this in my head made me realize I left both the current registration card and an insurance card in the glove box .. I'll have to contact the salesman tomorrow to have him retrieve and destroy that info.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
It's amazing what a family can accumulate in a car over the years. That registration card and the insurance card are ways people can gather info for "other than legitimate" purposes, if you know what I mean.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2025 Forester Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
Smells like someone is making a killing on our backs.
According to the AAA, premium unleaded is expected to rise another 30 cents a gallon in the next 30 days. Sounds like something is rotten in Denmark (no insult intended to that beautiful Scandinavian Country). And still no XL Pipeline which was vetoed by POTUS. what can I say????
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
When gas prices rise they go up like a rocket. When they fall they flutter down like a feather.
2025 Forester Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
Right now, people are using the savings in gasoline to pay off debt and add to their savings. But over the long run, those billions and billions of dollars will be spent on consumer goods that will strengthen our economy. Short lived savings will do nothing to help the middle class strengthen.
I am not being political here - I am just concerned that our economy needs continued investment by the middle class purchasing appliances, clothing, furniture, automobiles, housing, etc., which can be made possible by long term cheaper fuels - and those savings can be used to increase that purchasing.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
It never ceases to amaze me. I think it was driver that mentioned he has a friend who has lost thousands of dollars in the oil market. If that person paid the least bit of attention in Econ 101, the economic fundamentals just don't exist to support high(er) oil prices. Simplest of economic principles....if demand is down and supply is up, prices will fall. That's exactly what's happening in the oil industry right now.
As they have done in the past, the oil companies have tried to artifically prop up prices with thinly veiled socio-economic reasoning (which never holds up) or refining and production scares (seems like those oil wells in Kuwait and oil tankers going through the gulf have no bearing on what we produce in North America). The fundementals for a rise in prices don't exist.
In the not so distant future, if oil companies don't change this way of doing buisness in their pricing structures, initiate a coporate diet, they're going to be faced with a business model that will force them out of business.
1966 Corvette is what my Dad has parked in his garage. It will be mine, one day in the very distant future.
@fezo
Please post pics. We want to see. How much did you end up paying for that?
Regarding luxury cars and navigation systems. When these in dash nav systems first came out way back when and were only available on high end luxury cars like the S-Class, 7er BMW, Lexus LS... guys would steal the cars from valets, hit HOME, then drive to the peoples's house and rob them. Most (if not all) cars with built in navigation systems have a HOME button, but to access it, you need a PIN or pass code.
Or you could ALWAYS get creative:
Set HOME as the address of the local police precinct or pick an address of a very seedy neighborhood:)
Michaell - Once I got my Legacy, I realized just why they are so popular and have such a loyal following. Most people only buy new ones because they just "want" a new car, hand their car down, or they have an accident that they survived and will never drive anything else.
My Father In Law had 3 Outbacks ('06, '08, '10). The only reason he switched to a Ford Escape is because the Subaru dealer wouldn't give him "a deal."
My neighbor across the street is on his 3rd Outback. It is an '08 6cyl LL Bean. He had an '06 or an '07 that got totaled when he hit a deer.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
There was a refinery fire in Torrance that's hammering California gas prices. For the east coast, I'm sure you'll find the usual excuses there too. Refinery maintenance, seasonal reformulation for summer gas, yada yada. As @graphicguy notes, the crude glut is growing again so the excuses won't be able to stand up much longer. Although the refinery strikes could "help".
We've actually been holding steady around here; cheapest regular is $2.05, most is $2.19.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Our gas prices shot up 20 cents or so because we had more of the White Death dropped early Sunday morning. Price always goes up in this area controlled by Marathon for pricing.
Steve, do you miss the occasional snows from when you lived in UP Michigan?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The Quest didn't get driven much up there between November and March.
We have had a couple of one inch "dumps" in our yard since we've been in Las Cruces and the Organ Mtns get some now and then. Let me switch computers and I'll post a snap.
This was Jan 3rd. This storm made the front page of the paper.
.
Is that an animal beside the top bush in middle of photo?
Cactus at top edge about 60% up from bottom?
Beautiful mountains off in the distance. Don't have those in Ohio.
Son had a job offer in S. Arizona. I wasn't sure he would
stand the difference in scenery from Ohio. No
deciduous trees.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
We're about 3 miles from the mountains and really enjoy the view. Still wish I was in town but I'm adapting. Happy wife, etc. Not up on my cacti but we have barrels, prickly pears and several other kinds in the "yard".
Didn't much like Santa Fe when I first visited in the early 70s. Dusty, brown. Now I feel hemmed in back East with all the trees blocking the vistas.
On hold with XM as I type this ... trying to cancel the service in the Mazda. Got a temp insurance card from my agent already, and need to contact the dealer to cancel the extended warranty.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
How is the Avenger "Not a Horrible Car"?
I kind of like the style of the Avenger, and it appears to be a lot of car for the money. But, what is good or bad about it?.
It seems to be a lot of car for the money...about $17k
Edmunds gives the 2014 a C rating, with these comments;
Pros
Strong V6 engine; composed ride and handling.
Cons
Not as roomy as many of its rivals; smallish trunk; SE's outdated four-speed automatic; behind-the-times electronics interface; limited rear visibility.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My understanding is that the permitting process is still ongoing; I think the idea is to dump the decision on the next POTUS. (capradio.org). The veto was to kill the law to shortcircuit the permitting process, just like my Alaska pipeline reference. You say potato....
And the debate really isn't over the pipeline so much as the tar sands that will be mined to fill the pipe. (Or is it shale oil? I forget). Pretty concise summary at the Christian Science Monitor. Sounds like Hillary wishes Obama would have just let the bill pass.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460