Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Michaell

suydam said:

abacomike said:

I had to run over to the eye doctor this morning because of Intermittent double vision when I awaken in the morning or waking up from a brief nap. It goes away after a minute or two. He said it has something to do with blood supply to the left eye - he stated that my surgery was only two weeks ago and the eye is still healing. He said it's nothing to worry about so long as it resolves itself after a short time.

He wants me back in two weeks to give me an RX for glasses.

I am just worried that I could have exposed myself to the virus there in the waiting room. Scary out there!

It was the first time I've been out of my condo in a week.

Our docs have switched to telemeetings for non urgent cases. I had one with my doc this morning for an eye infection. Worked really well. I would not be in a doctors lobby now for anything!

I was supposed to have an appointment with the dermatologist last week, but I canceled. No reason to risk my health, at this point.

stickguy

of that list, I have actually seen all but 2. Rodgers, and cloud atlas (don't think I even ever heard of that one)

stickguy

I have a routine dental cleaning scheduled next week. They already sent an email that through April all non-emergencies are scrapped. Just haven't heard from them with a new date but I suspect it will be a while. Can't imagine it is fun now to be a dentist. I wouldn't do that unless they had the quick tests available and the patient took one that came back negative before the appointment.

imidazol97

Most dentists have their appointments book 6 months ahead here. So rescheduling those who had their appointments canceled will be a chore. I think offices leave openings in their day for emergencies so
there may be so slots to fill. And then there will some appointments where people cancel or move away or pass away that will leave a few openings.

Gonna be rough for a while.

imidazol97

suydam said:

Our docs have switched to telemeetings for non urgent cases. I had one with my doc this morning for an eye infection. Worked really well. I would not be in a doctors lobby now for anything!

My wife has appointment with endocrinologist in two weeks. They had sent a message a couple weeks back that there were some cases where they'd do phone appointments. But her appointment usually involves feeling the throat after the thyroid cancer removal two years ago. Can't do that by Skype or Zoom.

They just sent an appointment reminder and didn't mention setting up for Zoom or phone.

pensfan83

imidazol97 said:

Most dentists have their appointments book 6 months ahead here. So rescheduling those who had their appointments canceled will be a chore. I think offices leave openings in their day for emergencies so there may be so slots to fill. And then there will some appointments where people cancel or move away or pass away that will leave a few openings.

Gonna be rough for a while.

I'll be curious to see how long are people aren't going to mind, or just not speak out against it for fear of being demonized, forgoing their own basic health needs like teeth cleaning, eye exams, annual physicals, etc. for the greater good of society. A month or even two won't have much of an impact but if, say this goes 4-6 months...

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

Ok I know I'm going to survive this apocalypse but I'm not sure my liver will.

Do you have to wear an ascot and a smoking jacket when you drink that fancy stuff? I can relate to the boredom drinking but with much lower class booze.

Fancy stuff? That's Jim Beam in that there glass.

28firefighter

One of my closest friends is a Dentist. He is furloughed from the big practice he was with for at least 3 weeks. Probably longer. He said when we went to dental school he never imagined would find himself needing to collect unemployment.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Spring Grove Cemetery is beautiful....worth the trip and a walk through their gardens. People have their weddings there, too.

Weddings.....in a cemetery!

People used to have weddings, picnics and the like in cemeteries all the time. Back in the day they were the only green spaces in many cities.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Spring Grove Cemetery is beautiful....worth the trip and a walk through their gardens. People have their weddings there, too.

Weddings.....in a cemetery!

People used to have weddings, picnics and the like in cemeteries all the time. Back in the day they were the only green spaces in many cities.

Well, I guess it does make some sense if you think about it

ab348

Got an email from the Cadillac dealer today wanting me to make a service appointment. I can’t see that being a priority for me unless they dispatch someone here to pick the car up and then deliver it back when done.

stickguy

I have been getting emails from all the dealers around that have my contact info, and that seems to be pretty common these days.

roadburner

My BMW dealer is offering free oil changes-regardless of make-to first responders and health care professionals.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Spring Grove Cemetery is beautiful....worth the trip and a walk through their gardens. People have their weddings there, too.

Weddings.....in a cemetery!

People used to have weddings, picnics and the like in cemeteries all the time. Back in the day they were the only green spaces in many cities.

That’s true. Back in the 1800s there was the rural cemetery movement where they were planned like parks and family’s could go visit dead relatives and then picnic on their graves. Seems weird by our modern standards but back then death was a part of life and never far away.

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

oldfarmer50

Hey, this may just be a function of cabin fever but I’ve been thinking of how often you should change transmission fluid in a car that gets little use. One of my cars gets driven less than 3k miles a year and I’m wondering if sitting in storage degrades the fluid like it does motor oil.

You guys convinced me to do annual engine oil changes regardless of milage, care to weigh in on the tranny fluid?

stickguy

if it isn't hydroscopic like brake fluid probably no reason to do it more often.

kyfdx

pensfan83 said:

imidazol97 said:

Most dentists have their appointments book 6 months ahead here. So rescheduling those who had their appointments canceled will be a chore. I think offices leave openings in their day for emergencies so there may be so slots to fill. And then there will some appointments where people cancel or move away or pass away that will leave a few openings.

Gonna be rough for a while.

I'll be curious to see how long are people aren't going to mind, or just not speak out against it for fear of being demonized, forgoing their own basic health needs like teeth cleaning, eye exams, annual physicals, etc. for the greater good of society. A month or even two won't have much of an impact but if, say this goes 4-6 months...

I have nothing to do but brush my teeth. Probably the best oral health in 40 years. I can’t wait for my next dental appointment, so I can rub it in my hygienist’s face. No lecture for me this time!

cdnpinhead

oldfarmer50 said:

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

Which one?

stickguy

I hate to miss my regular cleaning, but I should be able to survive if it only bumps out a couple months. I can't see it happening before June at this point. and maybe much later. Got an eye exam I think in May. That likely gets bumped too but I can live with that. I can still see, best as I can tell!

my guess is that people will mostly put up with the restrictions for a bit longer, but even late April will be pushing it. After that, I bet a lot of people will just say to heck with it, and go out and not care about catching it. They just won't be able to take it any longer. Never mind the money aspect if not working.

Might start smaller. Hitting more stores that are open (I need to brave Lowes this weekend to get paint since apparently my shelter in place mission is the repaint half the house. we picked out the color, just have to hit and run the paint counter. loaded with wipes to disinfect the can!

stickguy

had a small gap this afternoon of suitable weather so I got ambitious and did an outside detail on the jetta. Knocked off some grunge with a clay bar, then did a full by hand wax job (Mcquires cleaner wax). came out looking and feeling much better, and water beads up nice now (proven by the rain we got hit by later in the afternoon),

decided to spiff up the TLX so it would look nice sitting in the garage. I had a big spray bottle of Griots speed detailer. so sprayed it on and wiped it off. Not a real wax job, but came out pretty smooth and nice and shiny. A good compromise when you just want a quick tidy up. Might be enough of a product to get me through lease end!

speaking of the lease, I got curious about the buyout. Did some quick math. figured out that buying it now would end up costing $2,000 more than making the rest of the payments then buying out the residual. Was not really expecting that. Not that I am now planning to do it, but if I was, definitely not doing it early!

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

Which one?

Chester A Arthur, 21st president.

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

Which one?

Chester A Arthur, 21st president.

Famous movie quote -

"What's 21 out of 42?"

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

Which one?

Chester A Arthur, 21st president.

he has a Union connection, so no wonder he is buried local!

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

benjaminh said:

Two charts from a piece in today's New York Times. There are different charts in this article based on different scenarios.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/13/opinion/coronavirus-trump-response.html

I think those death projections are wishful thinking on the part of the NYT.

I did read a biased article in the NYT about how Germany should vote to put speed limits on the Autobahn, and they are like Americans clinging to the 2nd Amendment in regards to having no speed limits.

Then they said something to the effect of: 70% of the Autobahn is limitless, 30% is limited, and that the safety is clear, because the limited sections have 26% lower fatalities!!!

Little do they know that anyone that can do a little math would know that they just made a very compelling and powerful argument for no speed limits. As 70/30 would indicate that the limited sections should be 57% lower in fatalities, assuming they were EQUALLY safe. Since their own data and argument stated it was only 26% lower, it is clear which method is working to save lives better!

Of course, this doesn't take into account traffic and miles driven, but neither did their evidence or poorly written opinion piece, so I'm only using their own figures against them. Strange how they used word and number play to try and convey a conclusion the opposite of what the figures and data show to be true.

The problem with your post is that the limited sections don't have 26% lower fatalities, they have a 26% lower fatality rate. Big difference there. That means that for an equal number of miles driven there will be fewer fatalities on the limited sections then on the unlimited sections. Completely the opposite of your conclusion.

Where do you get that information as the word "rate" wasn't used in the article, so you must have another source? Or are you just inventing things? I find when fatalities are talked about the word "rate" is deliberately left out, not accidentally left out. Is this the one exception of all-time? We shall find out.....

Drumroll....

P.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/world/europe/germany-autobahn-speed-limit.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Quoting "The number of deadly accidents on stretches of autobahn that have a speed limit is 26 percent lower than on those without."

You might have different English comprehension than I do, but my language skills indicates "the number of deadly accidents" is most definitely a figure, and not a rate.

So based on this I'm going to say you pulled your post out of your behind with no substantiation or support, much like the way most of the speed limits in the USA are decided in the first place.

I didn't read that article but I have researched the issue and I am going off of a German Government statistic that gave the fatality rates separated by limited and unlimited sections of the autobahn. Those statistics showed a marked decline in the fatality rate in the sections with a speed limit. A quick web search revealed only overall fatality rates but I will do a more complete search when time permits. I do recall we discussed this before and I'll see I'd I can find the posts on it.

Also there is another flaw in your argument, can you figure it out?

I've already pointed it out. Just because more fatalities happen where there are speed limits, and less happen where there are none, and there are more miles of no speed limits on the Autobahn vs. limited sections, it doesn't mean more people drive more miles on that roadway vs. the other. I've always preferred vehicle miles traveled in high sample sizes like the billions. It's the fairest and most honest equalizer by far. Population is pretty meaningless because you could have a million people that never drive.

Sorry you didn't, you made the claim that the high speed sections were safer because the sections with a speed limit being 30% of the roads had 26% fewer fatalities and if they were equally safe it would have larger percentage. You totally ignored vehicle miles traveled, I was the one who brought it up.

andres3 said:

I don't think we've ever gone into the intricacies and details of the Autobahn before, because the facts of the Autobahn don't fit your preconceived notions and biases. You usually discount it as superior German DNA, training, licensing, and enforcement.

Yes we have, or at least I have. A long time ago you posted that the autobahn was the safest highway system in the world despite having no speed limits (spoiler alert it isnt). I replied that it wasn't a good ideal to truly compare the autobahn to the interstate highways since they exist in different environments with different customs and laws. I mentioned that a better comparison would be between Germany and Denmark. At that time Denmark had a safer highway system based on fatalities per vehicle miles traveled and they have a speed limit on all their highways. But the fatality rate of the Danish highways was approximately equal to the fatality rate on the sections of the autobahn with speed limits.

Now while DNA is rather silly there are differences between the US and Germany that do account for Germany having safer roads.

Yes Germanys licensing process is far more difficult and more expensive than here in the US. It truly does make the US's look like a joke, something that has been discussed here before. This includes training at high speeds.

Germans tend to follow traffic laws far more than they do here, again this has been discussed here at length.

Germany is a much smaller country that has a much higher population density with a very good public transit system. Think less driver fatigue.

Germany has a higher population density than the US. Because of this an accident in Germany will result in emergency services getting to the accident faster than say in rural Nebraska, the sooner medical care is administered the greater the chance of surviving. This is one of reasons why rural fatality rates are higher than urban rates.

Germany does a better job on up keeping the autobahn than most states do for their roads.

andres3 said:

Everywhere in the world I've looked, putting speed limits where there were none has resulted in higher fatality rates, whether it be Montana, Australia, or anywhere else.

Source? Also remember there are plenty of things that influence fatality rates.

andres3 said:

I've looked at a great number of these studies. Your "speed kills" myth propagating crowd hates using rates. Like the NY Time article, they almost always speak about fatalities in deceptive numbers that don't take rates into account. This is nothing new. I didn't suddenly figure this out. I just see it every time I'm reading something from the IIHS, the NHTSA, Australia, or the fake and failing news media. There's a consistency to the sources on "your side," and that's not a compliment.

Dont talk about others using deceptive numbers when you started this with deceptive numbers.

I didn't use deceptive numbers. Goodness gracious.

I was just pointing out how the NY Times used deceptive numbers without any qualification to support their argument or Opinion piece.

I was using their own numbers against them. They are not my numbers.

I've never said the Autobahn is the safest in the world, just that it is very safe by worldwide standards. It is always hovering at about 1/2 the fatality rate of US highways. Someone should look into how people from outside Germany are probably "padding" the bad stats.

I suggest you read your original post. But whatever makes you sleep at night. I'm out of here.

You mean the one where you were caught red-handed making inaccurate untrue statements? Of course, you admitted you didn't even read the article I was referencing in the NY Times.

Jumping to false conclusions as usual. Deceptive. Misleading. Are you sure you don't get paid by the IIHS?

andres3

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

qbrozen said:

Miserable weather and no freelance work meant movie day (mostly).
1. Bloodshot.
2. The Hunt
3. Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
4. Dolittle
5. Knives Out

1 was OK. Entertaining, although you really gotta bite your tongue for the first 30 mins because most of the incongruences get answered.
2 was fun. Really amusing.
3 was not what I expected. A different story involving Fred Rogers rather than a biography of him.
4 was fairly lousy. Don’t know why RDJ had to put on the awkward voice and accent. Made understanding him difficult.

In between, the wife made me put together something for the boys to do while trapped inside besides TV and video games.
5 was REALLY good. Very enjoyable. I have a pic but can’t post of course. It is an arcade basketball court thing. Fairly substantial and took a couple hours to assemble.

@qbrozen, I agree with you about Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. We went to see that New Years Eve with 5 other couples before going out to dinner then to my youngest brothers place for the festivities after dinner. About a half hour into the movie I told Mrs. j I had enough.

jmonroe

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood reminds me of this;
Tom Hanks survived 4 years on an island as a castaway 🏝. He spent a year in an airport without being able to leave 🛫. Caught AIDS in Philadelphia 💉. He was in World War II and rescued Private Ryan. He went to Vietnam and rescued Lieutenant Dan 🔫. Was on a boat kidnapped by Somali pirates 🚢; survived Apollo 13 trying to reach the Moon 🚀. Landed a Boeing on the Hudson River✈. If that SOB dies of coronavirus 👑🦠, we are ALL finished!

Don't forget his "ties" with the Vatican in The Divinci Code Movies - I thought those movies were his best next to Saving Private Ryan.

I thought Castaways was a pretty good 2 hour commercial for Fed Ex.

jmonroe

How could you not love Castaway?

One of my all-time faves. My youngest is actually slightly obsessed with Hanks. Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, and Forrest Gump are 3 of his favorite 5 films. Jaws and The Shining are the other 2, I think.

I'm proud to say that in an Elementary School Yearbook I saw that I had early good taste. I listed Tom Hanks as my favorite actor at a very young age, I'm sure due to the Excellent movie "BIG."

andres3

jwm40517 said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned here, but a plastic grocery bag makes a good glove to handle a nasty gas
pump while filling car. Then just throw it away.

CA banned those bags in an effort to be more green years ago.

pensfan83

Michaell said:

oldfarmer50 said:

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

Which one?

Chester A Arthur, 21st president.

Famous movie quote -

"What's 21 out of 42?"

21 again!

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

had a small gap this afternoon of suitable weather so I got ambitious and did an outside detail on the jetta. Knocked off some grunge with a clay bar, then did a full by hand wax job (Mcquires cleaner wax). came out looking and feeling much better, and water beads up nice now (proven by the rain we got hit by later in the afternoon),

decided to spiff up the TLX so it would look nice sitting in the garage. I had a big spray bottle of Griots speed detailer. so sprayed it on and wiped it off. Not a real wax job, but came out pretty smooth and nice and shiny. A good compromise when you just want a quick tidy up. Might be enough of a product to get me through lease end!

speaking of the lease, I got curious about the buyout. Did some quick math. figured out that buying it now would end up costing $2,000 more than making the rest of the payments then buying out the residual. Was not really expecting that. Not that I am now planning to do it, but if I was, definitely not doing it early!

Hey Beavis...

venture

kyfdx said:

pensfan83 said:

imidazol97 said:

Most dentists have their appointments book 6 months ahead here. So rescheduling those who had their appointments canceled will be a chore. I think offices leave openings in their day for emergencies so there may be so slots to fill. And then there will some appointments where people cancel or move away or pass away that will leave a few openings.

Gonna be rough for a while.

I'll be curious to see how long are people aren't going to mind, or just not speak out against it for fear of being demonized, forgoing their own basic health needs like teeth cleaning, eye exams, annual physicals, etc. for the greater good of society. A month or even two won't have much of an impact but if, say this goes 4-6 months...

I have nothing to do but brush my teeth. Probably the best oral health in 40 years. I can’t wait for my next dental appointment, so I can rub it in my hygienist’s face. No lecture for me this time!

I hear ya brother. My dentist called yesterday to cancel my appointment for cleaning on April 7. They are closed.

They said they could reschedule me for late May or early June. I said, "I'll call you".

venture

Now here's something.

Our school district allowed students to go to their lockers to get stuff out of them a few weeks ago - right after school was cancelled for an extended Spring break. A few days ago they let them back in to get their Chrome Books out of their lockers so they can do their home school work.

One of my friends works there and said the kids were all over the school and now the entire buildings need to be re-sanitized. Not really unexpected.

This only applied to Jr. high and Sr. high kids. Elementary kids don't have Chrome Books issued by the school. The Elementary parents (most with their little darlings with them) had to go to the school and stand in line to get packets for the kids to do school work. They were lined up as close as can be to pick up these packets.

Something is wrong.

driver100

ab348 said:

Got an email from the Cadillac dealer today wanting me to make a service appointment. I can’t see that being a priority for me unless they dispatch someone here to pick the car up and then deliver it back when done.

I have the same problem. I am supposed to get my 3rd of 4 yearly prepaid service done early April. The Ontario government says if you are over 70 you shouldn't leave your home. I am going to write to the service manager and try to get written permission to come in once the pandemic is over. If they come and pick it up that is fine too, probably depends on how busy they are.

tjc78

omarman

I remember that! It was called "1980."

graphicguy

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

Wife and I loved both of those. Watched Rocketman twice.

We are both big Hanks fans. Countless viewings of Gump, Castaway and even the older stuff like Big and Money Pit.

Yes, I enjoyed "Rocketman" as well. Taron Egerton was great in the role as he was in the two "Kingsman" movies. I agree with you about "Big" and "Forest Gump". Tom Hanks is a great actor - but I enjoy his comedy a little more than his dramatic roles.

Liked the first KINGSMEN movie. The 2nd one was terrible.....Elton John was kidnapped by the bad guys (in this case, bad woman) for no apparent reason. And, at the end of the movie, the big fight scene, Elton turns into some sort of ninja warrior.

Whomever wrote the script should be barred for life from every working in the industry ever again.

graphicguy

Had someone call yesterday that I didn’t know (usually means a spam call). Guy on the other end said a friend of mine told him I had a TLX for sale. I do. And, I know the friend.

We went back and forth about the condition of the car (excellent, always garaged, bought new, A-Spec, all loaded up, no runs, drips or errors...driver’s leather seat isn’t even creased, low mileage, needs nothing, very red).

He said he was looking for a car to replace his Civic. Don’t know why, but I thought that was odd. He he wanted to know my asking. Last I looked, private party value was between $27K-$29K. I told him those numbers, and also told him since mine was pretty pristine, I was leaning towards the $29K number. But, to make a quick sale, I’d split the difference at $28K.

He went on to say he was looking at several other cars. Thought I was high in my asking (maybe....maybe not). Was wondering if he could take a test drive. Before doing that, I asked if I could text him some pics. Took interior, exterior, trunk, under hood, undercarriage (as best I could). He called me back a couple of hours later wanting to know if he could do a test drive. As I told him, given the present circumstances, I’d want to know if he was interested given my asking price. He said he was interested at $25K.

I politely told him I appreciated his time, but we were not going to make a deal unless he added $3K to his offer, and I made it contingent on a test drive but would have to see a cashier’s check first.

He got a little huffy with me. I dunno, maybe I was pushing it a bit much. What say you peanut gallery? Was I over the line?

driver100

GG no, you were right on! You want $28k, he will never go there....a waste of time. If you were desparate for a sale and would take $25k then worth some effort......let him keep looking.

pensfan83

FWIW when I leased mine in September 2017, roughly 4-5 months after you bought yours, the RV was 58%, ~$26,600 I think.

28firefighter

I have mixed feelings - I'm not a fan of negotiating price without someone having seen the car. What did Kia offer you for the car when they did a trade evaluation? That said, he called you blindly with no introduction and after asking for your price, made a serious low ball relative to that number. He could have just said that was more than he was looking to pay and gone away respectfully.

My gut says the real number is somewhere between $25 and $28 - so call it 26,5?

qbrozen

GG, I think you were absolutely in the right. It is silly of him to think you'd come down on price after he drives it.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Spring Grove Cemetery is beautiful....worth the trip and a walk through their gardens. People have their weddings there, too.

Weddings.....in a cemetery!

People used to have weddings, picnics and the like in cemeteries all the time. Back in the day they were the only green spaces in many cities.

That’s true. Back in the 1800s there was the rural cemetery movement where they were planned like parks and family’s could go visit dead relatives and then picnic on their graves. Seems weird by our modern standards but back then death was a part of life and never far away.

We’ve got Albany Rural Cemetery nearby that even has a president buried there.

A president of what?

ab348

Called the Caddy dealer about the service appointment request they sent. No changes to their usual procedures aside from maintaining 6-foot distances and some more attentive cleaning, apparently. I asked about dropping the loaner here, picking up my car, then returning it and retrieving the loaner. No, they can't do that. So I can't do a service appointment right now, sorry. They didn't seem too broken-hearted.

Their usual service appointment routine is painful enough so I cannot imagine how much worse it probably is now.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

benjaminh said:

Two charts from a piece in today's New York Times. There are different charts in this article based on different scenarios.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/13/opinion/coronavirus-trump-response.html

I think those death projections are wishful thinking on the part of the NYT.

I did read a biased article in the NYT about how Germany should vote to put speed limits on the Autobahn, and they are like Americans clinging to the 2nd Amendment in regards to having no speed limits.

Then they said something to the effect of: 70% of the Autobahn is limitless, 30% is limited, and that the safety is clear, because the limited sections have 26% lower fatalities!!!

Little do they know that anyone that can do a little math would know that they just made a very compelling and powerful argument for no speed limits. As 70/30 would indicate that the limited sections should be 57% lower in fatalities, assuming they were EQUALLY safe. Since their own data and argument stated it was only 26% lower, it is clear which method is working to save lives better!

Of course, this doesn't take into account traffic and miles driven, but neither did their evidence or poorly written opinion piece, so I'm only using their own figures against them. Strange how they used word and number play to try and convey a conclusion the opposite of what the figures and data show to be true.

The problem with your post is that the limited sections don't have 26% lower fatalities, they have a 26% lower fatality rate. Big difference there. That means that for an equal number of miles driven there will be fewer fatalities on the limited sections then on the unlimited sections. Completely the opposite of your conclusion.

Where do you get that information as the word "rate" wasn't used in the article, so you must have another source? Or are you just inventing things? I find when fatalities are talked about the word "rate" is deliberately left out, not accidentally left out. Is this the one exception of all-time? We shall find out.....

Drumroll....

P.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/world/europe/germany-autobahn-speed-limit.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Quoting "The number of deadly accidents on stretches of autobahn that have a speed limit is 26 percent lower than on those without."

You might have different English comprehension than I do, but my language skills indicates "the number of deadly accidents" is most definitely a figure, and not a rate.

So based on this I'm going to say you pulled your post out of your behind with no substantiation or support, much like the way most of the speed limits in the USA are decided in the first place.

I didn't read that article but I have researched the issue and I am going off of a German Government statistic that gave the fatality rates separated by limited and unlimited sections of the autobahn. Those statistics showed a marked decline in the fatality rate in the sections with a speed limit. A quick web search revealed only overall fatality rates but I will do a more complete search when time permits. I do recall we discussed this before and I'll see I'd I can find the posts on it.

Also there is another flaw in your argument, can you figure it out?

I've already pointed it out. Just because more fatalities happen where there are speed limits, and less happen where there are none, and there are more miles of no speed limits on the Autobahn vs. limited sections, it doesn't mean more people drive more miles on that roadway vs. the other. I've always preferred vehicle miles traveled in high sample sizes like the billions. It's the fairest and most honest equalizer by far. Population is pretty meaningless because you could have a million people that never drive.

Sorry you didn't, you made the claim that the high speed sections were safer because the sections with a speed limit being 30% of the roads had 26% fewer fatalities and if they were equally safe it would have larger percentage. You totally ignored vehicle miles traveled, I was the one who brought it up.

andres3 said:

I don't think we've ever gone into the intricacies and details of the Autobahn before, because the facts of the Autobahn don't fit your preconceived notions and biases. You usually discount it as superior German DNA, training, licensing, and enforcement.

Yes we have, or at least I have. A long time ago you posted that the autobahn was the safest highway system in the world despite having no speed limits (spoiler alert it isnt). I replied that it wasn't a good ideal to truly compare the autobahn to the interstate highways since they exist in different environments with different customs and laws. I mentioned that a better comparison would be between Germany and Denmark. At that time Denmark had a safer highway system based on fatalities per vehicle miles traveled and they have a speed limit on all their highways. But the fatality rate of the Danish highways was approximately equal to the fatality rate on the sections of the autobahn with speed limits.

Now while DNA is rather silly there are differences between the US and Germany that do account for Germany having safer roads.

Yes Germanys licensing process is far more difficult and more expensive than here in the US. It truly does make the US's look like a joke, something that has been discussed here before. This includes training at high speeds.

Germans tend to follow traffic laws far more than they do here, again this has been discussed here at length.

Germany is a much smaller country that has a much higher population density with a very good public transit system. Think less driver fatigue.

Germany has a higher population density than the US. Because of this an accident in Germany will result in emergency services getting to the accident faster than say in rural Nebraska, the sooner medical care is administered the greater the chance of surviving. This is one of reasons why rural fatality rates are higher than urban rates.

Germany does a better job on up keeping the autobahn than most states do for their roads.

andres3 said:

Everywhere in the world I've looked, putting speed limits where there were none has resulted in higher fatality rates, whether it be Montana, Australia, or anywhere else.

Source? Also remember there are plenty of things that influence fatality rates.

andres3 said:

I've looked at a great number of these studies. Your "speed kills" myth propagating crowd hates using rates. Like the NY Time article, they almost always speak about fatalities in deceptive numbers that don't take rates into account. This is nothing new. I didn't suddenly figure this out. I just see it every time I'm reading something from the IIHS, the NHTSA, Australia, or the fake and failing news media. There's a consistency to the sources on "your side," and that's not a compliment.

Dont talk about others using deceptive numbers when you started this with deceptive numbers.

I didn't use deceptive numbers. Goodness gracious.

I was just pointing out how the NY Times used deceptive numbers without any qualification to support their argument or Opinion piece.

I was using their own numbers against them. They are not my numbers.

I've never said the Autobahn is the safest in the world, just that it is very safe by worldwide standards. It is always hovering at about 1/2 the fatality rate of US highways. Someone should look into how people from outside Germany are probably "padding" the bad stats.

I suggest you read your original post. But whatever makes you sleep at night. I'm out of here.

You mean the one where you were caught red-handed making inaccurate untrue statements? Of course, you admitted you didn't even read the article I was referencing in the NY Times.

Jumping to false conclusions as usual. Deceptive. Misleading. Are you sure you don't get paid by the IIHS?

In what universe did that happen?

Funny thing is just before seeing this post I hear on the news that the CHP has reported empty roads and that people are going faster (many getting tickets for triple digits) and the CHP has stayed the they are seeing more serious accidents than they normally see. I'll see if I can find that online.

driver100

ab348 said:

Called the Caddy dealer about the service appointment request they sent. No changes to their usual procedures aside from maintaining 6-foot distances and some more attentive cleaning, apparently
Their usual service appointment routine is painful enough so I cannot imagine how much worse it probably is now.

I wrote a nice email to my MB sales rep explaining why I wanted to postpone my yearly prepaid service. He called and told me to call MB Canada. I did and they said they made a decision to extend the service date by up to 3 months...depending on what happens regarding the pandemic. I said great, please send me written confirmation....verbal guaranties can be misinterpreted.
He wouldn't do that but offered to call my sales rep and let him know. I wrote to the sales rep and asked him to send me written confirmation of the 3 month extension. I'll see what happens.

Mrs D100's GLK will need an oil change soon too, but, since it is off warranty - that is right, now we have 2 out of 3 MBs with no warranty - we can do the oil change anytime, especially because it only goes 4k miles a year.

fintail

I'm at the local MB dealer for my prepaid 1st year service right now. I am the only customer here, which is a little eerie given that this is a busy dealership.

ab348

My dealer is middling at best in customer relationship management and from what I can determine they are doing very little to keep customers coming in for scheduled maintenance. Since I doubt they are selling many cars, you'd think they would try some tactics in the short term to at least get service customers to come in. Business as usual probably isn't cutting it right now.

28firefighter

I just dropped the ZHP off for a brake fluid flush and an oil change. I left the key in the car - mechanic came out, we spoke from ~10 feet away, and he took the key and went back inside. Strange times we live in - strange times.

graphicguy

Thanks, all!

Kia offered $24.5K. Nor surprising on the low ball as there was no meat left on the bone on the sale of the Stinger.

If he didn’t get so huffy with me on the phone, I may have been a bit more amenable. If he would have just said, “that’s a little out of my price range, so can you work with me a little more”?...I probably would have. If it isn’t everything I say it is, then I’m the jerk. But, my TLX is as I describe. Drive it away on a coast to coast trip without even needing a car wash as you drive it away.

I talked to the friend who recommended the guy. He said he’s a neighbor....more of an acquaintance. He said he thought the Civic he was talking about was his daughter’s car. He and his wife drive drive a late model Infiniti (he didn’t know the model). None of that really matters. The guy may have been looking to buy it for his daughter. Or, he may have been looking for a bargain basement upgrade to the Civic.

Again, the TLX isn’t really costing me anything (aside from a little bit of insurance). I’m in no hurry. I know it isn’t going up in value. But, they do hold their resale value quite well.

I’m not doing the whole “tire kicker” thing...especially in today’s environment.

pensfan83

My Acura dealer went to great lengths to promote the measures they've taken for service customers. Sanitizing measures before and after service, pick up and drop off service with the driver wiping it down upon delivery, hour cleanings of their shuttle, daily deep cleans of the loaner fleet, etc. In fact I can't think of anything they haven't thought of already.

ab348

I find myself wondering if the lady on the other end of the phone booking appointments actually knows what they are doing in these times. She didn't seem to have a script nor did she seem to be referring to any list of things they were doing. It was not at all reassuring. It seems they are pretty clueless if so. I mean, I don't even need a loaner for what they are doing, so someone could just come here and take my key, then bring it back. Sounds like they want every item on their paperwork initialed, and no opportunity to upsell things missed. It annoys me.

driver100

fintail said:

I'm at the local MB dealer for my prepaid 1st year service right now. I am the only customer here, which is a little eerie given that this is a busy dealership.

Head office said a lot of smaller dealerships are closed now....so they decided to extend the prepaid service date.
I'd almost take it in, but it takes about 5 hours,and I am adding to exposure time if I get a ride home and back!!!