Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
I have even smaller flash drives, but I apparently bought them 6 years ago and they aren't coming up on amazon anymore. But, here is what ab showed a pic of. Only $15.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-128GB-Ultra-Flash-Drive/dp/B07855LJ99/ref=sr_1_3?crid=UD3DRSKSTFF7&keywords=low+profile+flash+drive&qid=1674161767&sprefix=low+profile+flash+driv,aps,135&sr=8-3&th=1

————————————————
That’s cheating. It looks like you need nimble fingers to grab those devils.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

I use these little guys. Less than 1" long.

I just connect my phone via Bluetooth and play from there.

ab348

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

I use these little guys. Less than 1" long.

I just connect my phone via Bluetooth and play from there.

If I can play driver100 for a moment: “But what if you get an incoming call?” 😎

Sorry, driver, couldn’t resist.

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

I use these little guys. Less than 1" long.

I just connect my phone via Bluetooth and play from there.

If I can play driver100 for a moment: “But what if you get an incoming call?” 😎

Sorry, driver, couldn’t resist.

Simple the number shows up on a display and if I want to answer it I hit a button to answer it and use the hands free in the car or I can just reject it and the music starts to play again.

In the Sonata the display just shows the phone number, in the BMW if it's in my contact list it shows the name in my contact list. On the Honda I just ignore it as I really don't want to be interrupted in the ride, there is a reason God created voicemail.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

@driver100 said:

So I say to myself, after I hook up the camera to the back up lights I get how the camera gets powered. And I get that the signal goes from the camera to the monitor via wi-fi. But, then I had to ask myself, how does the monitor get power? I read it over and I saw this:

"The monitor can be connected to power from the cigarette lighter or fuse panel."

If I understand this correctly, I'll either have a wire running down to the cigarette lighter which I don't want, or a wire has to get from the dash to the fuse box which presents a few problems. Isn't that wiring into the Mercedes electrical system which seems to be a no no, or it means trying to thread a wire somehow through the dash to the fuse box - which I still am not certain wouldn't cause disastrous electrical problems, which is why none of the shops wanted to install a backup camera in the first place.

Sorry, but explain how I can do this without 1) either a cord running to cigarette lighter or 2) a wire going to the fuse box and somehow getting hidden in the dash.

Just get a new car already!!!🥸😝

He can give the old one to me….even with it’s glaring deficiencies.😂

venture

qbrozen said:

I have even smaller flash drives, but I apparently bought them 6 years ago and they aren't coming up on amazon anymore. But, here is what ab showed a pic of. Only $15.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-128GB-Ultra-Flash-Drive/dp/B07855LJ99/ref=sr_1_3?crid=UD3DRSKSTFF7&keywords=low+profile+flash+drive&qid=1674161767&sprefix=low+profile+flash+driv,aps,135&sr=8-3&th=1

I ordered that one. Thanks for doing all the work.

oldfarmer50

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

driver100

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

I use these little guys. Less than 1" long.

I just connect my phone via Bluetooth and play from there.

If I can play driver100 for a moment: “But what if you get an incoming call?” 😎

Sorry, driver, couldn’t resist.

That was funny!

My real question would be, will it mess up my wiring?

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

This 2019 Pacifica I have now was purchased used from Hertz, a former rental vehicle. There were at least a half dozen phones stored in it's memory. I did a factory erase, of course, I'm used to reconditioning computers.

I may have mentioned this before -- last year, I picked up a used computer at Goodwill for about 5 bucks. It had been dropped, and the case was bent. I got it home, hooked up a power cord, monitor, etc, and it booted. Not only did it boot, it turned out to have come from a Doctor's office, and contained a great many patient billing records. No medical records, but a lot of billing records, which is probably worse.

roadburner

tjc78 said:

Well to be fair the side mirrors are pretty far out of range for the backup cam!

I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:


M-B:

henryn

Surround view is one of the few things that would make me want a luxury car, or at least the high end model of a lesser brand.

explorerx4

My 2017 F150 had front and rear cameras along with the surround view.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

Surround view is one of the few things that would make me want a luxury car, or at least the high end model of a lesser brand.

I recently drove a small Hyundai SUV which displayed a rear facing side view every time you activated the turn signals. I’ve never seen that in an economy car before.

abacomike

@roadburner said:
I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:

M-B:

My Genesis G90 has both - surround (Birds Eye view) and back-up images. I use front view when pulling into parking spot to make sure car is straight and equidistant to the vehicles on each side.

These nanny features are great for an old fart like me. But I also use my head to make sure the camera views are giving me correct info.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

All that will do is give you a list of phones that were synced to the car and then only the name of the phone. In my case it would only show [first name][model #]. It's going to be one heck of a hacker who can compromise me only knowing my first name and what type of phone I have.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

Surround view is one of the few things that would make me want a luxury car, or at least the high end model of a lesser brand.

I recently drove a small Hyundai SUV which displayed a rear facing side view every time you activated the turn signals. I’ve never seen that in an economy car before.

My daughters Honda Odyssey has that, it also has a feature where you can make it stay on.

driver100

Breaking News:
This is the last time I will mention backup camera until they make a totally wireless version.
My neighbor who is knowledgeable about such matters says, there will be a small wire going from the monitor to the fuse box, unless he removes the dash - which he isn't going to do. Or use a cord to the cig lighter which I can't see having an ugly cord there 24/7 when I only backup for 15 seconds a day. He said the wires under the dash in an MB are all black, so there is no way he would mess with those.
That's it......glad I asked, it is similar to what JM said, not really worth it.

snakeweasel

They do make wireless back up cameras that use your smart phone as the monitor.

mjfloyd1

Probably worth a call to Crutchfield to see if anything is available that meets the @driver100 specifications

tjc78

All I need is a bag of popcorn for the back up camera discussion. It’s great. 🍿 🍿 🍿

I haven’t had an all around view monitor yet, but suppose it would be very helpful especially in a larger vehicle

stickguy

Driver, did a thin power wire beat up your dog of steal your HS girlfriend? You seem to be obsessed with them.

the wire can run along the crack where the dash and windshield meet. would not even be noticeable.

ab348

I would suggest that @driver100 find himself a M-B forum where surely some bright person has already deciphered the mystery of how to do this.

stickguy

I already found a solar powered one with zero wires. can't get much cleaner than that!

henryn

Unless I've missed something, a surround view setup (at least a good one, the kind I would want) is going to require multiple cameras, and enough processing power to merge the outputs from the multiple cameras into a single, seamless image for the monitor.

Ahh... Google to the rescue.

https://www.embitel.com/blog/embedded-blog/how-does-360-degree-view-car-camera-works#:~:text=The surround view camera system,side view on the other.

Definitely not something to be added on an aftermarket basis.

4-6 cameras with wide-angle lenses are integrated in the body panel of the vehicle. Usually, these cameras are placed on the front grille, under the rear-view mirrors on either side, and on the tail. The cameras are located at spots that enable the surveillance of the entire perimeter of the vehicle.
...
The data from the cameras are sent to an image processing module. This software takes the individual images and stitches them together to produce a cohesive view of the car and its surroundings in real-time.

fintail

roadburner said:

tjc78 said:

Well to be fair the side mirrors are pretty far out of range for the backup cam!

I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:


M-B:

Lower image looks like a W213 E-class similar to mine. I suspect it is the same system in your car - 4 cameras (front, rear, mirrors) - a nice feature when so many modern cars have high beltlines and generally poor visibility. I call it a "profit center" option, as it is/was optional, but I believe anyone picking options would choose it.

As I am sure you experienced in older cars and even the 318, a camera never feels needed . The fintail has so much glass area and good sightlines that it is easy to park.

mjfloyd1

@ab348 said:
I would suggest that @driver100 find himself a M-B forum where surely some bright person has already deciphered the mystery of how to do this.

Or as my preschool aged kids would say “can we be done now”?😂

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

All that will do is give you a list of phones that were synced to the car and then only the name of the phone. In my case it would only show [first name][model #]. It's going to be one heck of a hacker who can compromise me only knowing my first name and what type of phone I have.

Once I hopped in a car just vacated by a customer and for some reason I could still hear the other party they had just been talking to. Perhaps the person on the other end had forgotten to hang up so the line was still open but I could definitely hear background noise and people talking, unaware that I could hear them.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

All that will do is give you a list of phones that were synced to the car and then only the name of the phone. In my case it would only show [first name][model #]. It's going to be one heck of a hacker who can compromise me only knowing my first name and what type of phone I have.

Once I hopped in a car just vacated by a customer and for some reason I could still hear the other party they had just been talking to. Perhaps the person on the other end had forgotten to hang up so the line was still open but I could definitely hear background noise and people talking, unaware that I could hear them.

Then the customer had to be within a few hundred feet of the car with no obstructions. Once the car is out of Bluetooth range of the phone the car will drop it like most people here would drop a Yugo.

snakeweasel

Happy Birthday Buzz.

iluvmysephia1

Buzz Aldrin, to the young girl at the elementary school, who asked Buzz "I wanna know why the astro-nots never went back to the moon."

Buzz Aldrin, with his gin-laced look, who perhaps didn't feel like lying to an 8-year old innocent little girl, simply replies "'Cause we never went there, that's why."

Oh yeah, the rabbit hole runs deep on that one. I'll just let that sit for a bit.

roadburner

abacomike said:

@roadburner said:

I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.

BMW:

M-B:

My Genesis G90 has both - surround (Birds Eye view) and back-up images. I use front view when pulling into parking spot to make sure car is straight and equidistant to the vehicles on each side.

These nanny features are great for an old fart like me. But I also use my head to make sure the camera views are giving me correct info.

I consider a "nanny feature" to be along the lines of something the car does for you because you are too lazy/inept to do it yourself. The surround view provides information that otherwise would be difficult if not impossible to obtain.

snakeweasel

Actually he didn't say that, he said he also wanted to know why we went back and he said we didn't meaning that they didn't go back and he said it was because of funds. You can see his answer on Youtube.

iluvmysephia1

That will likely mean that for about the first quarter of 2023, many American-made EVs will qualify for the full $7,500 amount, while after the first quarter most of those qualifying models will only be eligible for $3,750.

Under the new credit, the vehicle’s MSRP cannot exceed $80,000 for SUVs, pickups, and vans, or $55,000 for passenger cars. The IRS emphasizes that while the MSRP includes options, “it isn’t necessarily the price you pay”—a clarification many will have amid rampant dealer markups. As per the new rules, buyers must have a household income equal to or less than $150,000 for single filers, $225,000 for heads of households, or $300,000 for married couples filing jointly. Buyers must also purchase the vehicle for their own use, not for resale, and for use primarily in the U.S.

The above is from an article in Green Car Reports by Bengt Halvorson on December 29, 2022. I am hunting for a 2023 Chevy Bolt that isn't marked up ridiculously. I found a white one in California that is just a slicy dice above MSRP. The next hurdle will be getting decent trade-in value on my 2021 Kia Soul LX. If this doesn't work I'll just keep my Kia Soul and look for a used car like a 2010 VW Golf 5-speed stick.

I last took all-electric cars seriously around 2012. I wanted a French-built Renault Zoe that got around 220 miles per charge-up. Since I'm no longer working I could do this pursuit - I've definitely got the time.

roadburner

fintail said:

roadburner said:

tjc78 said:

Well to be fair the side mirrors are pretty far out of range for the backup cam!

I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:


M-B:

Lower image looks like a W213 E-class similar to mine. I suspect it is the same system in your car - 4 cameras (front, rear, mirrors) - a nice feature when so many modern cars have high beltlines and generally poor visibility. I call it a "profit center" option, as it is/was optional, but I believe anyone picking options would choose it.

As I am sure you experienced in older cars and even the 318, a camera never feels needed . The fintail has so much glass area and good sightlines that it is easy to park.

Exactly! My 2002 was similar to your fintail- almost unlimited visibility.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

fintail said:

roadburner said:

tjc78 said:

Well to be fair the side mirrors are pretty far out of range for the backup cam!

I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:


M-B:

Lower image looks like a W213 E-class similar to mine. I suspect it is the same system in your car - 4 cameras (front, rear, mirrors) - a nice feature when so many modern cars have high beltlines and generally poor visibility. I call it a "profit center" option, as it is/was optional, but I believe anyone picking options would choose it.

As I am sure you experienced in older cars and even the 318, a camera never feels needed . The fintail has so much glass area and good sightlines that it is easy to park.

Exactly! My 2002 was similar to your fintail- almost unlimited visibility.

Try a motorcycle, nothing to block your view a full 360 degree field of view. Plus it's smaller so much easier to back into spaces.

iluvmysephia1

Actually he didn't say that, he said he also wanted to know why we went back and he said we didn't meaning that they didn't go back and he said it was because of funds. You can see his answer on Youtube.

Buzz Aldrin just looks like a BS-er. You can read him pretty well. Hiding lies from NASA and the elites. The lies run very deep. Just think of JFK's assassination. Pappy Bush called anyone disagreeing on the killer being Lee Harvey Oswald a "conspiracy theorist."

Right. A conspiracy theorist is simply someone who wants the truth on a matter. The lies run deep.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

They do make wireless back up cameras that use your smart phone as the monitor.

Would be good, if I had a cell phone with data. My $3 a month plan just allows telephone and texting.

driver100

stickguy said:

Driver, did a thin power wire beat up your dog of steal your HS girlfriend? You seem to be obsessed with them.

the wire can run along the crack where the dash and windshield meet. would not even be noticeable.

I don't want a wire running along the dash, that is going to be visible. When you find a monitor that runs on batteries let me know.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

A little reminder for you car phone interface fanatics. Today I was taking a car out of service and while fooling with the radio all the people who have connected their phone to the car came up on a list. Some listed the owner’s full name. Now, a caveman like me might not be able to glean anything from that but there might be some talented hacker who could compromise you.

Better to erase your tracks.

All that will do is give you a list of phones that were synced to the car and then only the name of the phone. In my case it would only show [first name][model #]. It's going to be one heck of a hacker who can compromise me only knowing my first name and what type of phone I have.

Once I hopped in a car just vacated by a customer and for some reason I could still hear the other party they had just been talking to. Perhaps the person on the other end had forgotten to hang up so the line was still open but I could definitely hear background noise and people talking, unaware that I could hear them.

You should have joined the conversation.

tjc78

@driver100 said:
Would be good, if I had a cell phone with data. My $3 a month plan just allows telephone and texting.

This is a very serious question. How in 2023 do you survive without a smartphone? I’d be completely lost without it.

There are so many things you can’t do without it.

Amazon return drop offs
Several event tickets are all electronic now
Online ordering for many places
Loyalty programs in stores (scan app)
Scan and go at Walmart

The list goes on and on

jmonroe1

@abacomike said:

@roadburner said:
I much prefer surround view over a backup camera.
BMW:

M-B:

My Genesis G90 has both - surround (Birds Eye view) and back-up images. I use front view when pulling into parking spot to make sure car is straight and equidistant to the vehicles on each side.

These nanny features are great for an old fart like me. But I also use my head to make sure the camera views are giving me correct info.

————————————————
I think I mentioned this before:

I’m not a very trusting person until I can prove things for myself and it took me a little while to trust what I was seeing in my first car that had a backup camera (my ‘09 Genny), I thought the car gods were trying to fool me. I think it took me a week to trust this new fangled gizmo. It took me longer than that to get used to cruise control a few decades ago.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

iluvmysephia1 said:

Actually he didn't say that, he said he also wanted to know why we went back and he said we didn't meaning that they didn't go back and he said it was because of funds. You can see his answer on Youtube.

Buzz Aldrin just looks like a BS-er. You can read him pretty well. Hiding lies from NASA and the elites. The lies run very deep. Just think of JFK's assassination. Pappy Bush called anyone disagreeing on the killer being Lee Harvey Oswald a "conspiracy theorist."

Right. A conspiracy theorist is simply someone who wants the truth on a matter. The lies run deep.

You can believe what you wish, it's just the all the evidence against the moon landings is rather thin and the evidence for it is pretty strong. We shared moon rocks and soil with scientists around the world and not one said anything about them not being from the moon. Plus there have been lunar probes that have photographed the landing sites and you can see the trails that the astronauts left there. Plus the Soviet Union would have loved to prove it's a fake but couldn't. So the evidence if you really look at it says we were there.

Anyway, it's my birthday too and I am heading down to the AL post to celebrate it.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@driver100 said:

Would be good, if I had a cell phone with data. My $3 a month plan just allows telephone and texting.

This is a very serious question. How in 2023 do you survive without a smartphone? I’d be completely lost without it.

There are so many things you can’t do without it.

Amazon return drop offs

Several event tickets are all electronic now

Online ordering for many places

Loyalty programs in stores (scan app)

Scan and go at Walmart

The list goes on and on

there are still a lot of people (usually older ones like Driver) that have no clue about of hope for using any of that. Many of whom don't have smart phones either (can you tell that I am tier 1 "tech support" for my 93 YO father?) Some people are lucky they can handle E-mail.

I don't bother finding the store apps (supermarket, etc.). Just type in my phone number. Tickets can still be printed. seniors don't tend to use scan and go type stuff. and I guess just live without online stuff on the go.

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
Breaking News:
This is the last time I will mention backup camera until they make a totally wireless version.
My neighbor who is knowledgeable about such matters says, there will be a small wire going from the monitor to the fuse box, unless he removes the dash - which he isn't going to do. Or use a cord to the cig lighter which I can't see having an ugly cord there 24/7 when I only backup for 15 seconds a day. He said the wires under the dash in an MB are all black, so there is no way he would mess with those.
That's it......glad I asked, it is similar to what JM said, not really worth it.

————————————————
Whew, for a while there I thought we were going to see daily posts about this. There are times when you just gotta know when to stop beating a dead horse.

jmonroe

henryn

I was working for Gulf Oil in Houston, TX when we (the US) put a man on the moon. Gulf (and Shell for that matter) were running Sperry Univac mainframe computers, as was NASA. It was a tight knit community, I knew a number of the people who worked at NASA and helped put a man on the moon. Some of our geologists worked with NASA on examining the moon rocks, once again people I personally knew and trusted.

After the NASA cutbacks later on, a number of their computer techs came to work with me at Gulf. They were, to a man, extremely proud of what they had done. Your baseless aspersions are an insult to all of the fine Americans who worked their a____ off to make it happen.

snakeweasel

@stickguy said:
there are still a lot of people (usually older ones like Driver) that have no clue about of hope for using any of that. Many of whom don't have smart phones either (can you tell that I am tier 1 "tech support" for my 93 YO father?) Some people are lucky they can handle E-mail.

I don't bother finding the store apps (supermarket, etc.). Just type in my phone number. Tickets can still be printed. seniors don't tend to use scan and go type stuff. and I guess just live without online stuff on the go.

Sometimes I head out and either I turn the phone off or just leave it at home. I just don't want to be connected all the time. When I buy things I want to physically buy things. I love using paper maps. I could easily live wihtout a smartphone.

driver100

tjc78 said:

@driver100 said:

Would be good, if I had a cell phone with data. My $3 a month plan just allows telephone and texting.

This is a very serious question. How in 2023 do you survive without a smartphone? I’d be completely lost without it.

There are so many things you can’t do without it.

I have a smart phone at home, but only use it for calling and if a QR Code is the only way to do something....like a boarding pass for a flight then I'll do it.

Amazon return drop offs
I make the label on the home computer and take the item to UPS
Several event tickets are all electronic now
I don't go to many events...but I print tickets if needed, at home.
Online ordering for many places
I order lots from amazon, from my home computer
Loyalty programs in stores (scan app)
I never use loyalty programs
Scan and go at Walmart

I can get by without doing that.....and I tend to avoid Walmart.

They do scan at the tennis club, but a lot of the guys just tell the lady at the desk our name and she checks us in.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

Breaking News:

This is the last time I will mention backup camera until they make a totally wireless version.

My neighbor who is knowledgeable about such matters says, there will be a small wire going from the monitor to the fuse box, unless he removes the dash - which he isn't going to do. Or use a cord to the cig lighter which I can't see having an ugly cord there 24/7 when I only backup for 15 seconds a day. He said the wires under the dash in an MB are all black, so there is no way he would mess with those.

That's it......glad I asked, it is similar to what JM said, not really worth it.

————————————————

Whew, for a while there I thought we were going to see daily posts about this. There are times when you just gotta know when to stop beating a dead horse.

jmonroe

I'm not even the one who started all of that!

imidazol97

I was waiting for another 10 pages of discussion from the OP about what car to buy to replace the one without the BUC, and discussions by posters as to which car would be the proper vehicle.

I'd suggest a Genesis G70 as a nice 6-month car for the Florida home.

cdnpinhead

tjc78 said:

This is a very serious question. How in 2023 do you survive without a smartphone? I’d be completely lost without it.

The list goes on and on

Indeed. Somehow I've managed to get along with a (gasp) flip phone and a laptop.

Works for me.