Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

bwia

stickguy said:

My anniversary is today also. I even remembered this year! Got flowers at lunch. The finger lakes wine trip last weekend was our annual anniversary get away.

A few years less though.

Congrats and glad you remembered.

tjc78

You can drive anything fast. In my youth I did some of my stupidest things in an 89 Grand Marquis and 79 Continental. Both were slower than molasses but still reached over 100mph.

sda

tjc78 said:

You can drive anything fast. In my youth I did some of my stupidest things in an 89 Grand Marquis and 79 Continental. Both were slower than molasses but still reached over 100mph.

Been there done that. Surprisingly no speeding tickets or calamities. Youth

snakeweasel

Got gas this morning RUG was $3.45 and PUG was $4.35

benjaminh

Joined Costco soon after I got my first car that needed premium. Last fill-up with premium at Coscto was 2.99 a gallon, which is about the same price as regular non-Tier 1 gas at other local stations. Plus with the Costco card you get a rebate of 4% on gas, which brings the price per gallon down to 2.88—which is actually less than regular costs near me. The good and the bad of that is I feel I can drive as much as I want to and not worry about it, and so I take drives just for fun almost everyday, which is a large part of why there's already 48,000 miles on my car that's only a little more than three years old.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

Got gas this morning RUG was $3.45 and PUG was $4.35

That’s expensive. My area is usually at the top of price ranges but in my morning cruise I saw regular ranging from $3.02 to $3.27 on the same road within a few miles off each other. I might still find a $2.99 somewhere if I was willing to travel. Cheapest PUG was $3.59.

What I find strange is people who will pay 20-30 cents more for gas when there are cheaper alternatives right in front of them. I wonder if it has something to do with those rewards programs that keep them coming back to the same station until after a thousand fill ups they get a free coffee.

kyfdx

Shell yesterday

RUG: $2.94
PUG: $3.64

Around here, there is almost no difference between discount and brand-name stations, regarding price. Kroger fuel tends to be $0.05-$0.10 cheaper.

bwia

kyfdx said:

Shell yesterday

RUG: $2.94
PUG: $3.64

Around here, there is almost no difference between discount and brand-name stations, regarding price. Kroger fuel tends to be $0.05-$0.10 cheaper.

Bummer! Stop & Shop rewards program with Shell has ended. At times, the program offered as much as $1.50 off a gallon, limited to 20 gallons per fill up. I guess its time to go back to Mobil, although its not one of the cheaper brands.

andres3

stickguy said:

well, technically the guy going 62 passing a car going 60 is the faster traffic, and is passing. Even if not as quickly as you would prefer.

learn to relax. You will get there eventually!

You'd be surprised by how many feet/second you would be passing by at a delta of 2 MPH. That wouldn't be so bad (though I'd recommend they do so at more like 5 MPH over). It's the 0.2 MPH guys you have to worry about. I'll let someone else do the math.

andres3

fintail said:

Come to the PNW, you'll have no issues. I usually have my car in economy setting for highway drives, and never have a problem merging, as most here do it at about 40 mph, so if there's someone in front of you, have fun. The upshifts and throttle response in that mode make the car seem velvety smooth. I don't think I've ever used Sport+

driver100 said:

cdnpinhead said:

It's a mystery to me why a "sport" setting on a car that's only driven on mostly urban, always flat and straight roads would make a difference.

Guess it's sour grapes.

I live in a urban area but sometimes I have to enter a busy highway....SPORT MODE let's me do it easier and safer.

I'd have used Sport+ by the time the engine warmed up during the test drive! I'd be way too curious not to have "tried it."

Some recent model Audi owners claim the ZF-8 speed now used by Audi is just about "as good" as the DSG "after" you "tune it."

andres3

benjaminh said:

Joined Costco soon after I got my first car that needed premium. Last fill-up with premium at Coscto was 2.99 a gallon, which is about the same price as regular non-Tier 1 gas at other local stations. Plus with the Costco card you get a rebate of 4% on gas, which brings the price per gallon down to 2.88—which is actually less than regular costs near me. The good and the bad of that is I feel I can drive as much as I want to and not worry about it, and so I take drives just for fun almost everyday, which is a large part of why there's already 48,000 miles on my car that's only a little more than three years old.

Cars are meant to be driven! Sounds like you are having fun!

My TTS and S4 are merging their mileage soon. I'm Below 45K on the S4 and gaining fast (commute), and just under 50K in the TTS.

kyfdx

2 mph = approx 3 ft/second

mjfloyd1

5 mph = 7.33 feet per second

dino001

Has anybody bought a car these days? This should be a good story...

stickguy

I ordered one. So check back in about 6 months to see if it arrived yet!

abacomike

$2.87 and $3.19 a gallon at Costco this morning for RUG and PUG respectively.

From the reading I have done recently, ⛽️ gasoline prices are expected to rise in the coming months. This puts a catalyst on inflation - more so than on many other causes of inflation. Add this to tremendous price increases on food and automobiles and it would appear that the Fed is going to have to take some action to curb these heavy increases on inflation.

stickguy

it's ST impacts, not really overall demand. More important to get the supply chains back up and running.

abacomike

I was passing by several large dealerships this morning and was awed by the empty new car lots.

The local Lexus dealer (2nd highest in new car sales in the US) had very low inventory on their lots. They usually have so much inventory that they fill up both lots and the front and sides of the showroom.

The Infinity dealer has one empty lot (usually holds 250 new cars and SUV’s) and their main lot was 2/3 empty.

The local Toyota dealer (3rd highest new car sales in the country) has 2 empty lots and their main lot was 1/2 empty. They usually have all their lots filled to the brim.

The local Chevy and Ford dealerships had empty new car lots and the Ford dealer had only 1 level of their 4 story lot with new vehicles.

I have never seen this kind of shortage of new cars in the last 22 years. I realize this is all due to lack of microprocessors, which are mainly produced in Asia. Every new car is now utilizing twice the amount of microprocessors compared to 8 years ago. All the safety and upgraded infotainment systems are the reason.

benjaminh

There hasn't been a shortage of cars like this since World War II.

stickguy

I really did not time it well to be getting back into the market.

cdnpinhead

abacomike said:

From the reading I have done recently, ⛽️ gasoline prices are expected to rise in the coming months.

Imagine that. Who'd a thunk?

benjaminh

stickguy said:

I really did not time it well to be getting back into the market.

Seems like you got a very good vehicle at a very good price. But as you yourself predicted, it might be 6 months before you can actually get your hands on it.

ab348

abacomike said:

From the reading I have done recently, ⛽️ gasoline prices are expected to rise in the coming months.

The news media always expects gas prices to rise. It's the similar sort of clickbait that makes them declare every weather system to be a cause of impending doom. People like to read scare stories, which is all the media companies care about. Truth or accuracy is way down the list of what's important to them.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

$2.87 and $3.19 a gallon at Costco this morning for RUG and PUG respectively.

From the reading I have done recently, ⛽️ gasoline prices are expected to rise in the coming months. This puts a catalyst on inflation - more so than on many other causes of inflation. Add this to tremendous price increases on food and automobiles and it would appear that the Fed is going to have to take some action to curb these heavy increases on inflation.

Once inflation gets rolling it’s hard to stop. Just ask Jimmy Carter.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I really did not time it well to be getting back into the market.

That rusty cargo van is looking better and better isn’t it?

roadburner

@dino001 said:
Has anybody bought a car these days? This should be a good story...

I’m hoping M2C prices moderate. I’m also considering a G42 M240i RWD if sunroof delete is an option. I also would look at a 400Z but I suspect prices will also remain crazy for some time.

stickguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
That rusty cargo van is looking better and better isn’t it?

We may be able to deal on something when I’m up over Christmas. Car, farm, whatever!

imidazol97

I was browsing the local Ford dealer's online offerings. The sale pricing is $2000 to $4000 over the sticker on ecosport and escape.

driver100

Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

abacomike

@driver100 said:
Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

Those clouds are caused by the cool ocean interacting with the warm land surfaces. LA, San Diego, San Francisco and the entire west coast is hampered by the air inversions that cause heavy clouds much of the day during summer and early fall with a few hours of sunshine between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM when the heat from the sun dissipates those clouds.

We get similar air inversions in the winter at times along our coastline when the air gets cold (40’s) and the ocean is in the 70’s.

Sandman6472

We had ours on the 13th, 40 years. Went out for a nice dinner. Seems like the time has flown by to be honest. 1981 doesn't seem like it was that long ago really!!!

Sandman6472

I work at that Toyota dealership Mike mentioned earlier and their inventory is super low! Seeing less of those trailers coming in to be honest. Guess they're making it up in the service department as it's always busy and we're dropping off/picking up a whole lot of customers. They even extended the service times an hour on Monday through Saturday, 6:30 to 6:30. Sunday is still at 7 to 4. Haven't worked a Sunday so not sure how busy they get.

driver100

abacomike said:

I was passing by several large dealerships this morning and was awed by the empty new car lots.

The local Lexus dealer (2nd highest in new car sales in the US) had very low inventory on their lots. They usually have so much inventory that they fill up both lots and the front and sides of the showroom.

The Infinity dealer has one empty lot (usually holds 250 new cars and SUV’s) and their main lot was 2/3 empty.

My MB Dealer usually has about 50 cars parked in front....these days there is about 15.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

5 mph = 7.33 feet per second

A typical car might be approx. 15' long, but you have to add in some safety zone distances for passing too.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

@dino001 said:

Has anybody bought a car these days? This should be a good story...

I’m hoping M2C prices moderate. I’m also considering a G42 M240i RWD if sunroof delete is an option. I also would look at a 400Z but I suspect prices will also remain crazy for some time.

A coworker told a story today of how his friend was looking at a Kia K5 (Optima replacement) and was told there was a $2k ADM because they had to pay for “chips”. The baloney that is being peddled could fill a deli.

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
My MB Dealer usually has about 50 cars parked in front....these days there is about 15.

If that’s not a car palace I’ve never seen one. I’m sure their customers aren’t paying for that. It’s a damn good thing the Mercedes Fairy is still alive.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

That’s one form of air travel I’ve never been on.

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

You don’t have to apologize, we got a much needed break from your posts. I never thought we’d thank the Weather God’s for anything. I was wrong.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

My MB Dealer usually has about 50 cars parked in front....these days there is about 15.

If that’s not a car palace I’ve never seen one. I’m sure their customers aren’t paying for that. It’s a damn good thing the Mercedes Fairy is still alive.

jmonroe

Better than the Wannabe Dealership;

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

That’s one form of air travel I’ve never been on.

I can't say you are missing much, unless you like to be on a real adventure. MrsD100 was at dinner with children and grandchildren reading my texts...it was like I was Waldo, and they found an app and could follow my flight....they knew I was going to the airport before I did!

explorerx4

@driver100,
Those 'Things' are probably worth as much as any of your cars.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volkswagen/thing/2503264.html

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Sorry guys, I couldn't post much, we were in Victoria B.C. visiting children/grandchildren and it is hard to work using my tablet....and with a busy schedule.
On Tuesday I took the Sea Otter to Vancouver to see my daughter. It takes about 50 minutes...here is a pix from the seaplane;

I was supposed to return at 3 p.m. but the clouds were thick so they put me on the 4 p.m.flight. At 3:30 you could tell the clouds weren't getting better so they told me to check Helijet helicopters, they use different instruments. They had one seat left on the last flight out at 6:30.

At 6 they said the clouds in Vancouver were too thick, so they took us on a bus to the airport - a 45 minute ride. We waited until 2 air ambulances took off and then they took the 12 of us in the helicopter. We couldn't land in Victoria, we had to go to the airport because they had much better landing instrumentation to land there. The first 80% of the trip was in pure white clouds...couldn't see a thing. The last 20% of the 40 minute trip looked like this:

The helicopter was brand new. The pilot gave us a little package and I asked if they were mints. He said they were ear plugs because of the noise. Those helicopters are constantly vibrating. I should have been back by 4 p.m., got back at 9 p.m.
Like I always say to MrsD100 who loves to travel.....The joys of travelling.

That’s one form of air travel I’ve never been on.

When I was a kid there was a guy at the state fair who gave rides in a Bell 47(think: M.A.S.H.). Dad gave me the option of going to the midway or taking a helicopter ride- knowing full well I'd always go for the helicopter.
Years later I was clerking for a large insurance defense firm and one of the companies we represented had an insured(a coal company) crash a Bell 206B JetRanger in the Appalachians. The attorney I clerked for always wanted to go to the scene of an accident and study the area before going to trial. The coal company provided their other helicopter- an Aérospatiale(now Airbus) A Star. We were flown to the crash site along with our video team. The pilot was a Vietnam Vet who showed off a bit, flying nap-of-the-earth, and such. I was having a ball but the attorney was considerably less enthused.
When I was judge the ROTC of the local school invited me to go along on a flight in a UH-1B Huey. That was a hoot, hooked to a strap and sitting in the open door.

roadburner

My wife and I went to Homearama(the local home show) tonight. As usual I was instructed not to comment on the quality(or lack thereof) of what passes for home theater installations. She needn't have worried; this year Homearama was held in a development which is comprised of three level homes spaced less than 10-20 feet apart. I'm not antisocial, but that is WAY too close for me. There were no home theater installs to speak of, I suspect a result of the proximity of the homes to each other. A few homes had awful sounding flush mount speakers in the ceiling, and that was about it.
The fad in most of the houses was to put a flat screen in virtually every room- but in each case they were too small for the seating distance, they were mounted too high on the wall, and they were hardly high-end models- even though the homes were all priced in the $1,000,000 range.
Meh.

benjaminh

A gigantic and bizarre vehicle designed to explore the Antarctica. Never really worked because of bad tires and underpowered (electric) motors. Had living and sleeping facilities for up to five scientists. Abandoned when World War II broke out, it was last seen in 1958 after it was dug out of the snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW0eZRoQ86g

tjc78

@roadburner said:
My wife and I went to Homearama(the local home show) tonight. As usual I was instructed not to comment on the quality(or lack thereof) of what passes for home theater installations. She needn't have worried; this year Homearama was held in a development which is comprised of three level homes spaced less than 10-20 feet apart. I'm not antisocial, but that is WAY too close for me. There were no home theater installs to speak of, I suspect a result of the proximity of the homes to each other. A few homes had awful sounding flush mount speakers in the ceiling, and that was about it.
The fad in most of the houses was to put a flat screen in virtually every room- but in each case they were too small for the seating distance, they were mounted too high on the wall, and they were hardly high-end models- even though the homes were all priced in the $1,000,000 range.
Meh.

The 65” in our family room is too small. It also has no sound bar or anything, so it really only get used for the news.

If we want to watch a movie we either use the TV in our bedroom which is a 65 with a nice sound bar, sub and rear speakers or the theater room. You get spoiled by that for sure. My 7 year old will go down there by himself and watch something. Apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

During the winter I would like to do some upgrades. All new surround speakers and maybe a new Atmos receiver.

Sandman6472

Looking to get a sound bar for our Samsung. The wife mostly works from home and likes it quiet. I've already got the Bose blue tooth headphones so need a relatively inexpensive sound bar so I can listen through my headphones when we're both home during the day. Hopefully I'll find one that's simple to plug in and go. Like things easy when it comes to electronics now, those days of the big sound systems are over for us.

qbrozen

Sorry, but I’ve nowhere else to rant about this. The Giants were absolutely ROBBED last night. Putting aside the bad calls and non-calls throughout the game, the last 10 secs alone took the win away and handed it to Washington. First the officials stop the clock for Washington, who was out of timeouts, with 9 secs left to review a play that nobody had any doubt on nor was questioning. Field goal is missed and team is all sad THEN a flag is thrown for an infraction that DID NOT happen! I happen to be recording it for my son and have looked it over and it is pretty darned obvious the ball was snapped before the defender even got his hand off the ground. This game was an appalling display of officiating. Is Washington the new Patriots or what?

ab348

Sandman6472 said:

Looking to get a sound bar for our Samsung. The wife mostly works from home and likes it quiet. I've already got the Bose blue tooth headphones so need a relatively inexpensive sound bar so I can listen through my headphones when we're both home during the day. Hopefully I'll find one that's simple to plug in and go. Like things easy when it comes to electronics now, those days of the big sound systems are over for us.

Not sure I understand why you need a soundbar if you are listening via headphones?

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
Those 'Things' are probably worth as much as any of your cars.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volkswagen/thing/2503264.html

True, but I wouldn't trade it for one of my cars

driver100

ab348 said:

Sandman6472 said:

Looking to get a sound bar for our Samsung. The wife mostly works from home and likes it quiet. I've already got the Bose blue tooth headphones so need a relatively inexpensive sound bar so I can listen through my headphones when we're both home during the day. Hopefully I'll find one that's simple to plug in and go. Like things easy when it comes to electronics now, those days of the big sound systems are over for us.

Not sure I understand why you need a soundbar if you are listening via headphones?

In case the headphones fall off his head!