Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

fintail

As Keith Martin would say, well-bought and well-sold. That's a pretty penny, but a million dollars isn't what it used to be, and you're getting the most famous movie chase car in history, if not the most famous movie car, driven by a legend in an unforgettable film - the price you pay.

oldfarmer50 said:

Didn’t somebody mention the Bullitt Mustang was going up for sale?


Escorted in like it was royalty.

Like that exhaust note.

28firefighter

We used to like HGTV. Now we heckle it.

carnaught

28firefighter said:

We used to like HGTV. Now we heckle it.

Cannot stand the “twins” (Property Brothers, etc.) or Love It or List It, or similar renovation shows. They are very scripted with the same plot so the dial gets swiftly changed.

(Disclaimer to our Canadian friends: and it’s not because the twins are Canadian.)

28firefighter

I actually happen to like that much of the filming is done in Canada. Some of the cities (Toronto, Vancouver, etc) are beautiful.

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities. In my top 3.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

Sounds like the garbage my mom likes to watch on HGTV, the house purchasing/renovating shows which are really thinly disguised propaganda for the FIRE sector. The plotlines are always similar:

He is a 31 year old artisinal dog walker, she is a 29 year old underwater basketweaver, together, they are looking for a starter home in the 900K-1.1MM range.

He is a third tier pro athlete, she is a "model"/"entertainer" - he'd certainly stick around if she didn't take care of herself, she'd certainly be there without the income and status, they have two kids both with "aiden" variation names, will they remodel their house or sell it? Tune in to find out!

Suffice it to say, that channel is verboten when I visit. I don't get what the draw is for this stuff, especially for someone like my mom who has no actual interest in home improvement - I doubt more than $1000 has been spent on renovations to her house in the past 20 years. Fortunately, I have been getting her into the joys of streaming TV, and how an episode of Let's Make a Deal from 1975 is better than 99% of the material on normal TV.

driver100 said:

Caylea moves out of Tiffani's house, as Austin moves in; Wooda leaves Bri; Later, Emily finally feels ready to say goodbye to her son that she lost after months of mourning.
"Right to Refuse"
Amanda is getting ready for her bodybuilding competition, but she is thrown off when she is asked to take a drug test; Tiffani confronts Caylea over a pricey expense; Later, Caylea's football party ends in disaster.
I'll have to watch for it. Might be good for insomniacs

My wife loves those shows plus other reality shows. Sometimes I'm on the couch with her, but then I am either surfing the web or steaming something on my tablet.

I'm like you, all these networks spending billions on all these new shows and I'm streaming classics from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

ab348

Pretty much all of TV these days is unwatchable from my point of view. I have Prime Video and when I look at what they have to offer, I find perhaps 5% of it is worth a shot, and even then it is hit or miss whether I stay with it. From what I see of what Netflix Canada has to offer it is even worse.

What you described on HGTV is typical of almost all specialty cable channels. They seem to think that all shows need to follow a similar formula and they force all of them into that box. Shows that start out promising and fresh almost always become irritatingly overproduced in year 2 or 3. Look at almost anything on the various Discovery channels, or the History channels, and they are similar. Lots of repetition, lots of annoying "personalities", and the same basic premises over and over. I subscribe to the Motor Trend TV service and the stuff they produce is generally unwatchable, a lot of bro attitude and some pretty neanderthal behavior. It's a shame because occasionally they have something that is interesting but it is almost always surrounded by a bunch of annoyance.

fintail

I pretty much only watch hockey and snippets of local news (beware of the Sinclair station) on normal TV anymore. The rest is streaming content, probably 98% of it on Youtube. I am on the lowest tier cable package now, only marginally more than internet alone, and might axe it completely this year - I think I can stream local news for free if I look into it, and hockey can be streamed too for the one or two nights a week I want to watch it. There's enough decent user-created content and vintage shows on various streaming services to keep me occupied.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Sounds like the garbage my mom likes to watch on HGTV, the house purchasing/renovating shows which are really thinly disguised propaganda for the FIRE sector. The plotlines are always similar:

He is a 31 year old artisinal dog walker, she is a 29 year old underwater basketweaver, together, they are looking for a starter home in the 900K-1.1MM range.

He is a third tier pro athlete, she is a "model"/"entertainer" - he'd certainly stick around if she didn't take care of herself, she'd certainly be there without the income and status, they have two kids both with "aiden" variation names, will they remodel their house or sell it? Tune in to find out!

Suffice it to say, that channel is verboten when I visit. I don't get what the draw is for this stuff, especially for someone like my mom who has no actual interest in home improvement - I doubt more than $1000 has been spent on renovations to her house in the past 20 years. Fortunately, I have been getting her into the joys of streaming TV, and how an episode of Let's Make a Deal from 1975 is better than 99% of the material on normal TV.

driver100 said:

Caylea moves out of Tiffani's house, as Austin moves in; Wooda leaves Bri; Later, Emily finally feels ready to say goodbye to her son that she lost after months of mourning.
"Right to Refuse"
Amanda is getting ready for her bodybuilding competition, but she is thrown off when she is asked to take a drug test; Tiffani confronts Caylea over a pricey expense; Later, Caylea's football party ends in disaster.
I'll have to watch for it. Might be good for insomniacs

Those shows are there for the “drama” which some genders seem to like. The only fix up show I can stand is one where the couple is happily married, seldom argue and the wife puts up with her husband’s silliness without demeaning him.

That’s my wife’s least favorite.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

The vents in the 2020 CLA would probably look nicer if they weren't so loud looking. They are very practical in that they can be pointed in all directions, and the louvers can direct the air more accurately. Also, most of the photos shown are looking directly into the vent at vent level, which is not the way you see them when in the car. Maybe more like this;

But, I think they would have been better if toned down....possibly black instead of chrome.

Talk about a poorly designed dash. That is the perfect spot for a backup camera.

jmonroe

imidazol97

jmonroe said:

If that steering wheel and dash were in a GM product, the ridicule would be never ending.

Round vents are fine especially if they rotate to allow air to be directed almost anywhere.

The cluster of 3 with so much drama to their appearance looks like the hang on AC units from the 60's.


https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vta-674012?seid=srese1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4KShi_X-5gIVwsDACh3ePQKEEAQYAiABEgKEy_D_BwE

qbrozen

Ok, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this is amazing timing. The F&I guy yesterday was telling my son and I how all games are fixed to best benefit big commercial sponsors such as fanduel. And now we have the 2nd crazy upset happening this weekend that is backed by a number of suspect errors.

jmonroe

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Sounds like the garbage my mom likes to watch on HGTV, the house purchasing/renovating shows which are really thinly disguised propaganda for the FIRE sector. The plotlines are always similar:

He is a 31 year old artisinal dog walker, she is a 29 year old underwater basketweaver, together, they are looking for a starter home in the 900K-1.1MM range.

He is a third tier pro athlete, she is a "model"/"entertainer" - he'd certainly stick around if she didn't take care of herself, she'd certainly be there without the income and status, they have two kids both with "aiden" variation names, will they remodel their house or sell it? Tune in to find out!

Suffice it to say, that channel is verboten when I visit. I don't get what the draw is for this stuff, especially for someone like my mom who has no actual interest in home improvement - I doubt more than $1000 has been spent on renovations to her house in the past 20 years. Fortunately, I have been getting her into the joys of streaming TV, and how an episode of Let's Make a Deal from 1975 is better than 99% of the material on normal TV.

driver100 said:

Caylea moves out of Tiffani's house, as Austin moves in; Wooda leaves Bri; Later, Emily finally feels ready to say goodbye to her son that she lost after months of mourning.
"Right to Refuse"
Amanda is getting ready for her bodybuilding competition, but she is thrown off when she is asked to take a drug test; Tiffani confronts Caylea over a pricey expense; Later, Caylea's football party ends in disaster.
I'll have to watch for it. Might be good for insomniacs

My wife loves those shows plus other reality shows. Sometimes I'm on the couch with her, but then I am either surfing the web or steaming something on my tablet.

I'm like you, all these networks spending billions on all these new shows and I'm streaming classics from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

The ones that make me laugh are the house flip shows where they take down kitchen cabinets with a sledge hammer. Pieces of cabinets flying everywhere but they don't show you that the back of the cabinets are still on the wall. It's so much easier to just unscrew them and maybe even have them for the garage. Plus it's a lot easier to carry out the whole cabinets than to spend time gathering up pieces. My Son's flip house had metal cabinets. Try taking those down with a sledge. If you want to get a real feel for what it is like to flip a house, all you have to do is go through neighborhoods until you see a dumpster in the driveway. Then knock on the door and say you'd like to help for an hour or two. You will probably be welcomed in with open arms and you'll see how it's actually done.

As for surfing TV for something to watch, I don't know what I'd do without the MeTV cable channel. Lots of the old time shows there.

jmonroe

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

Ok, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this is amazing timing. The F&I guy yesterday was telling my son and I how all games are fixed to best benefit big commercial sponsors such as fanduel. And now we have the 2nd crazy upset happening this weekend that is backed by a number of suspect errors.

I'm watching this too. This weekend would be a bad weekend to say pro football ain't fixed. It's not over yet but I have seen this movie before, in fact, a couple of times.

jmonroe

stickguy

of course that is just done for drama. It is entertainment after all. Usually they just do one, then don't show the rest being taken out normally by the crew.

I like these shows. Just ignore the drama part, but I enjoy seeing some of the changes and designs. Same with car shows. I just like to watch cars, and don't care all that much about the scripted parts.

besides, it's better than watching the Kardashians or a housewives show!

stickguy

qbrozen said:

Ok, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this is amazing timing. The F&I guy yesterday was telling my son and I how all games are fixed to best benefit big commercial sponsors such as fanduel. And now we have the 2nd crazy upset happening this weekend that is backed by a number of suspect errors.

you would have to mean by the officials. Not that the league would dare try actually fixing a game that way, but in theory they could try. No way at all that teams would not be trying to win.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

The vents in the 2020 CLA would probably look nicer if they weren't so loud looking. They are very practical in that they can be pointed in all directions, and the louvers can direct the air more accurately. Also, most of the photos shown are looking directly into the vent at vent level, which is not the way you see them when in the car. Maybe more like this;

But, I think they would have been better if toned down....possibly black instead of chrome.

Talk about a poorly designed dash. That is the perfect spot for a backup camera.

jmonroe

That big screen with a picture of a car on it now becomes a backup camera....and there is a 360 degree view from overhead on the screen as well. That doesn't get much larger or clearer.

cdnpinhead

". . . which some genders seem to like. . ."

Well, not to poke the bear, but how many genders do you think there are?

stickguy

Imid, I am with you. I don't care for the style in general on any of the cars, but that particular model IMO is hideous.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

jmonroe said:

If that steering wheel and dash were in a GM product, the ridicule would be never ending.

Round vents are fine especially if they rotate to allow air to be directed almost anywhere.

I don't think that dash or steering wheel would have been ridiculed if in a GM product. I think people would be pleasantly surprised that GM got so daring and innovative.

Compare a dash from a 2019 Buick Regal. Looks nice but doesn't break any new ground, could be taken out of a 1999 car, but with a media screen added.

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cdnpinhead

For my money, the only true "reality" show was Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe is as real as it gets, or at least he's got me fooled. Most of the other ones started out okay but became scripted after a couple of years of success -- Gold Rush is an example. Deadliest Catch can't help but be somewhat real, given the weather bit, but much of the rest of it has gone downhill over the years.

I've become mostly a YouTube person, not that anyone give a s***,

fintail

This is the dash in my prior car, the design of which is a minor 2014 facelift on a 2010 model year car:



YouTube is a great platform for finding things to watch, many independent creators do a better job than big name big money studios. Lots of good car-related content, plenty of old reruns there too, especially if one enjoys vintage game shows.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

qbrozen said:

Ok, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this is amazing timing. The F&I guy yesterday was telling my son and I how all games are fixed to best benefit big commercial sponsors such as fanduel. And now we have the 2nd crazy upset happening this weekend that is backed by a number of suspect errors.

you would have to mean by the officials. Not that the league would dare try actually fixing a game that way, but in theory they could try. No way at all that teams would not be trying to win.

I don’t know. You are getting paid millions of bucks... are you really not going to do as you are told?

But big comeback in process, so we’ll see.

But, 5 dropped passes by KC inside of 22 mins? A blocked punt when kicker was way closer to the line than he should have been? A dropped punt?!? Its SSSOOO suspect, IMHO.

stickguy

nah. this is looking for a conspiracy because of a few fluke plays. And if KC was throwing the game, they seem to have forgotten.

or did the league send word down that the lead was too big, so Houston had to let them catch up, and all the players on both sides are in on it?

ab348

stickguy said:

I like these shows. Just ignore the drama part, but I enjoy seeing some of the changes and designs. Same with car shows. I just like to watch cars, and don't care all that much about the scripted parts.

But you're forced to watch the stupid stuff. That's why I can't bear to watch things like Graveyard Cars, which I might otherwise enjoy given the subject, because of the foolishness and annoying people.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Those shows are there for the “drama” which some genders seem to like. The only fix up show I can stand is one where the couple is happily married, seldom argue and the wife puts up with her husband’s silliness without demeaning him.

That’s my wife’s least favorite.

That sounds like "Fixer Upper", which I am absolutely allergic to. Not only is the husband an absolute buffoon, but his wife designs everything to look like every other project she ever did.

stickguy

I got behind on a lot of the car shows (now backed up on the DVR) but even I could not take Graveyard cars, though I did like all the Mopar minutia. Just too annoying. so I just deleted that series. A couple others I would never invest the time to watch back episodes.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

nah. this is looking for a conspiracy because of a few fluke plays. And if KC was throwing the game, they seem to have forgotten.

or did the league send word down that the lead was too big, so Houston had to let them catch up, and all the players on both sides are in on it?

That’s what the theorists are saying, I’m sure. “Make it look good, guys!”

stickguy

well, I think you have to draw the line at thinking Belichik would cheat to lose instead of win.

qbrozen

Alright, faith restored in the game

venture

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Those shows are there for the “drama” which some genders seem to like. The only fix up show I can stand is one where the couple is happily married, seldom argue and the wife puts up with her husband’s silliness without demeaning him.

That’s my wife’s least favorite.

That sounds like "Fixer Upper", which I am absolutely allergic to. Not only is the husband an absolute buffoon, but his wife designs everything to look like every other project she ever did.

Barn door, fake beams, and open shelving.

snakeweasel

jmonroe said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Sounds like the garbage my mom likes to watch on HGTV, the house purchasing/renovating shows which are really thinly disguised propaganda for the FIRE sector. The plotlines are always similar:

He is a 31 year old artisinal dog walker, she is a 29 year old underwater basketweaver, together, they are looking for a starter home in the 900K-1.1MM range.

He is a third tier pro athlete, she is a "model"/"entertainer" - he'd certainly stick around if she didn't take care of herself, she'd certainly be there without the income and status, they have two kids both with "aiden" variation names, will they remodel their house or sell it? Tune in to find out!

Suffice it to say, that channel is verboten when I visit. I don't get what the draw is for this stuff, especially for someone like my mom who has no actual interest in home improvement - I doubt more than $1000 has been spent on renovations to her house in the past 20 years. Fortunately, I have been getting her into the joys of streaming TV, and how an episode of Let's Make a Deal from 1975 is better than 99% of the material on normal TV.

driver100 said:

Caylea moves out of Tiffani's house, as Austin moves in; Wooda leaves Bri; Later, Emily finally feels ready to say goodbye to her son that she lost after months of mourning.
"Right to Refuse"
Amanda is getting ready for her bodybuilding competition, but she is thrown off when she is asked to take a drug test; Tiffani confronts Caylea over a pricey expense; Later, Caylea's football party ends in disaster.
I'll have to watch for it. Might be good for insomniacs

My wife loves those shows plus other reality shows. Sometimes I'm on the couch with her, but then I am either surfing the web or steaming something on my tablet.

I'm like you, all these networks spending billions on all these new shows and I'm streaming classics from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

The ones that make me laugh are the house flip shows where they take down kitchen cabinets with a sledge hammer. Pieces of cabinets flying everywhere but they don't show you that the back of the cabinets are still on the wall. It's so much easier to just unscrew them and maybe even have them for the garage. Plus it's a lot easier to carry out the whole cabinets than to spend time gathering up pieces. My Son's flip house had metal cabinets. Try taking those down with a sledge. If you want to get a real feel for what it is like to flip a house, all you have to do is go through neighborhoods until you see a dumpster in the driveway. Then knock on the door and say you'd like to help for an hour or two. You will probably be welcomed in with open arms and you'll see how it's actually done.

As for surfing TV for something to watch, I don't know what I'd do without the MeTV cable channel. Lots of the old time shows there.

jmonroe

The sledgehammer crap is a pet peeve of mine. Not only are you correct about unscrewing what remains but if you take them down intact they can be repurposed.

ab348

venture said:

Barn door, fake beams, and open shelving.

Yep. Then there’s “Restored by the Fords” with the stoner siblings, whose designs always involve painting everything white. “We have this lovely Victorian-era wood paneling...” (homeowner returns to find an all-white room).

stickguy

most designers do have a certain style though. and sometimes they do specifically say they are donating the cabinets so take them down carefully. But mostly they are going in the dumpster and busting things up with a sledge is way more engaging TV than seeing a guy unscrew cabinets.

not like they are making professional instructional videos here!

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

Alright, faith restored in the game

Must have read your post.

omarman

They would remove asbestos with sledgehammers if the ratings went up.



And I'd probably watch it.

driver100

Omarman, how do you come up with this stuff?....Hilarious!

btw...it seems on those shows they usually get the home owner involved in taking a sledgehammer to the cabinets or walls. That always adds to the fun and enjoyment....helping to tear down your own home.

stickguy

that would be the most fun part to me. I would love to be able to do some serious demo.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

". . . which some genders seem to like. . ."

Well, not to poke the bear, but how many genders do you think there are?

I’m told it’s more than I used to think.🧠

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I got behind on a lot of the car shows (now backed up on the DVR) but even I could not take Graveyard cars, though I did like all the Mopar minutia. Just too annoying. so I just deleted that series. A couple others I would never invest the time to watch back episodes.

Even with all the Chargers I can’t take it.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Omarman, how do you come up with this stuff?....Hilarious!

btw...it seems on those shows they usually get the home owner involved in taking a sledgehammer to the cabinets or walls. That always adds to the fun and enjoyment....helping to tear down your own home.

I saw a story on the news about a fix up show from Chicago where they gentrified old run down buildings into million dollar homes. One participant is suing the show because of shoddy and unfinished work. According to the story the show left without even finishing the roof.

ab348

I have never found trying to swing a sledgehammer (or a pickaxe) "fun".

stickguy

no different really than working with any other contractor sadly. I saw that too. They seem to have some issues all over with contractors, fines by the city, etc.

cdnpinhead

"I have never found trying to swing a sledgehammer (or a pickaxe) "fun"."

Yeah, I'd throw in with you on that, but I spent many an hour in my younger days swinging an axe and took quite a bit of pleasure in it.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

that would be the most fun part to me. I would love to be able to do some serious demo.

OK, I heard that. Son #1 is looking for his second flip house as I speak. I'll invite you over for the first demo day. If he does it like he did with his first flip, he supplies the pizza, hoagies and beer (regular and lite). We'll see how much fun that is at the end of the day.

jmonroe

stickguy

I would join if Pitt wasn't a 6 hour drive.

and I know all about doing unpaid labor on the kids house. Usually that did not even include food that I didn't pay for myself, but sometimes I could sneak a beer (though come to think of it, I think I brought most of that too...)

we are in the process of looking at kitchen remodel options. To save money I am sure that will mean us doing everything possible such as taking the old cabinets out (given how shoddy the work was, I doubt it will be hard) and of course painting. I think we will farm out all plumbing, electrical, and installation. Could maybe try the back splash if the kid wants to learn to tile (none of us have ever done that).

jmonroe

stickguy said:

I would join if Pitt wasn't a 6 hour drive.

and I know all about doing unpaid labor on the kids house. Usually that did not even include food that I didn't pay for myself, but sometimes I could sneak a beer (though come to think of it, I think I brought most of that too...)

we are in the process of looking at kitchen remodel options. To save money I am sure that will mean us doing everything possible such as taking the old cabinets out (given how shoddy the work was, I doubt it will be hard) and of course painting. I think we will farm out all plumbing, electrical, and installation. Could maybe try the back splash if the kid wants to learn to tile (none of us have ever done that).

Ya know, there might be a way to avoid the driving. If you can recruit some of our poster buddies I'm sure @oldfarmer50 could borrow a school bus and bring the whole gang to the flip party. Could probably knock out all of the demo in one day like that. I'm sure my Son will still provide all of the refreshments too.

jmonroe

stickguy

just curious, but was there enough profit out of the first place to make it worth doing a 2nd? Or is he assuming he learned enough that this one will be a money maker?

sda

stickguy said:

I would join if Pitt wasn't a 6 hour drive.

and I know all about doing unpaid labor on the kids house. Usually that did not even include food that I didn't pay for myself, but sometimes I could sneak a beer (though come to think of it, I think I brought most of that too...)

we are in the process of looking at kitchen remodel options. To save money I am sure that will mean us doing everything possible such as taking the old cabinets out (given how shoddy the work was, I doubt it will be hard) and of course painting. I think we will farm out all plumbing, electrical, and installation. Could maybe try the back splash if the kid wants to learn to tile (none of us have ever done that).

For the first part it’s called being a dad. Thanks dad.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

just curious, but was there enough profit out of the first place to make it worth doing a 2nd? Or is he assuming he learned enough that this one will be a money maker?

To make a long story short he did quite well with the profit. A good bit more than he projected. Mainly because he didn't have to pay a realtor to list or sell it. In fact, before he even had a chance to list it himself he got a buyer by word of mouth from neighbors who knew he was flipping the house. They had come over several times to see the progress. All of them walked away, at various stages of work, saying, "this is going to look really nice when you guys are done". Like I said before, it was essentially a new house on the inside. It would take less time to list what we didn't do than what we did do and I'm not exaggerateing about that. Even all of the windows were replaced along with all new vinyl siding, facia and gutters. As for profit going forward, I doubt he can be that lucky again. He thinks he's pretty good and I guess he is to some extent but he's DAMN good at getting work out of me.

jmonroe

28firefighter

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

just curious, but was there enough profit out of the first place to make it worth doing a 2nd? Or is he assuming he learned enough that this one will be a money maker?

To make a long story short he did quite well with the profit. A good bit more than he projected. Mainly because he didn't have to pay a realtor to list or sell it. In fact, before he even had a chance to list it himself he got a buyer by word of mouth from neighbors who knew he was flipping the house. They had come over several times to see the progress. All of them walked away, at various stages of work, saying, "this is going to look really nice when you guys are done". Like I said before, it was essentially a new house on the inside. It would take less time to list what we didn't do than what we did do and I'm not exaggerateing about that. Even all of the windows were replaced along with all new vinyl siding, facia and gutters. As for profit going forward, I doubt he can be that lucky again. He thinks he's pretty good and I guess he is to some extent but he's DAMN good at getting work out of me.

jmonroe

I’m very curious about the Pittsburgh market. If you’re willing to share, how big was the house and what part of town?

I think often of moving back because I can’t think of many places I’d rather raise a family. Won’t happen, but a guy can dream...