Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

Joys of the salt belt. Walking today past a construction site went by 2 workers talking. They were next to one guys big HD GMC pickup. Shiny black, looked brand new. Definitely the current style I think.

Snippet I heard was, “ I can’t believe it’s rusty already”

South main auto on YouTube just had a video on a 2019 GMC in for a bad sensor or switch. But when he had it on the left, he showed how crusty that already was at 3-4 years old.

I might need to get a winter beater like farmer, and keep the good cars inside unless the roads are bone dry!

Actually should go with a sporty car to never see bad weather, and lease a truck of some sort to not care about.

Check out SMA’s video on underbody rust proofing with Fluid Film. I could never afford that on my hoopties but it should be no problem for a well off guy like you.

I have watched them. If I was out that way I might pay him to do it. I think it is pretty pricey around here.

I do my best to try and not go out when there is salt on the road to spray on the car. And if it does happen, I get it washed off ASAP, including underneath. I should be OK.

stickguy

Driver, I get Emails daily from hot women that can't wait to meet me, and so many prizes I won I would need to buy a warehouse to store them all.

Don't believe everything you read!

and there are many things I never plan to do in my remaining life. Stop at McDonalds for dinner is one. And driving to Florida from up north is high on the list. EV or not.

pensfan83

@kyfdx said:
Or, just maybe... a whole lot of people won't take their EV to Florida?

Imagine that. Logic and reason.

stickguy

pensfan83 said:

@kyfdx said:

Or, just maybe... a whole lot of people won't take their EV to Florida?

Imagine that. Logic and reason.

On the internet?

Now I am so confused.....

28firefighter

@pensfan83 said:

@kyfdx said:
Or, just maybe... a whole lot of people won't take their EV to Florida?

Imagine that. Logic and reason.

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

driver100

I don't believe everything I read on the internet.
But the numbers he gave are all realistic....if his story isn't true, it could happen.
You may not drive from Ontario to Florida, but you may want to drive from say Cleveland to New York for a wedding or funeral say, 500 miles. That will require at least one and possibly 2 stops to charge (30 or 45 minutes).
My neighbor has a BMW EV, she uses it to go 20 miles to work and back each day. She likes it for that.
She said her husband won't get a similar car......it isn't the best for long trips. He would probably get a Hybrid.
I'm not advocating, buy what suits you, but knowledge is important, I am being a devil's advocate so that you and I can make a better decision.
For me, I am hoping to keep the E400 and GLK going as long as possible to see what develops. But, I do wonder, if my car was stolen or destroyed.....what would I go out and buy?

tjc78

I think you are overly critical on the electric cars. If they have a range of 300 miles that is pretty much the longest most will want to drive without a stop anyway (4-5 hours). An average fill up and restroom break is 15-20 mins. If it takes 30-35 to top off and use the facilities it would add 30 mins (maybe) to a 600 mile trip if you stopped twice.

Michaell

Horses for courses. Some folks have been able to embrace the EV lifestyle, with all the good and bad that it comes with. Some aren't ready to do so, just yet. And, some others may never get an EV (or a PHEV, or even a hybrid). It all depends on the use case.

For a long while, folks were buying huge 3-row body-on-frame SUVs (Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, etc), for them to commute in. One person, surrounded by 6000 pounds of metal and glass. Seems wasteful, but they say "I use it to transport my extended family twice a year on vacation!".

If we forced people to complete a form where they truthfully outlined how they would use the car 90% of the time, they would end up with a small, fuel efficient sedan. But, that's not how the market works. And, everybody on this thread is quite glad of that fact.

qbrozen

just own them all! have an EV, have a gasser, have a hybrid. SUV, sedan, van, coupe, roadster, APC, whatever.

stickguy

I’m a big Fan of hybrids now. Makes an EV look less desirable when your normal car averages mid-40s MPG. a plug in really seems to be the ideal compromise.

andres3

jmonroe1 said:

andres3 said:

jmonroe1 said:

andres3 said:

https://youtu.be/4xBQg2MCYMM

All's well until the end when a middle lane camper and left lane camper/illegal unsafe lane changer combine both of their negligence at the same time to make a near miss. Only not a wreck due to excellent braking by the BMW M4.

The middle lane camper should NEVER have been in that lane. The left lane camper should NEVER have been in the left/passing lane at that time crossing over two lanes. The whole thing set in motion due to someone not knowing the first thing about driving in the correct right lane.

How fast was that idiot driving? It sure seemed like he was way above the legal speed limit.

I never really thought of this before but if it weren’t for lane campers that force idiots to slow down there would be even more high speed accidents.

I think some lane campers should be called, “speed controllers”.

jmonroe

First, this was on the limitless Autobahn so "above the legal speed limit" is a non-starter as an argument.

Speed controllers are the ones causing all the high speed collisions, you have it backwards. I don't much give a hoot about drivers so bad they crash into inanimate non-moving objects.

I wouldn’t have expected your response to be anything different.

Thanks.

jmonroe

I nominate @jmonroe 's suggestion above that left lane campers might somehow limit or reduce accidents as the most absurd thing he's ever written in his entire post history. And it happened in 2022.

https://youtu.be/kwC4lvUmXg0?si=bUGdByHXXtzWekXI

driver100

Is this true? I read it on the internet;
How far can a Volvo go on a full charge?
The Volvo C40 Recharge has an EPA-estimated range of up to 226 miles,1 which is slightly higher than the Volvo XC40 Recharge SUV's EPA-estimated range of 223 miles. Both new Volvo pure electric vehicles can take you beyond 200 miles on a single charge and can be recharged from 10% to 80% in approximately 37 minutes.

Michaell

driver100 said:

Is this true? I read it on the internet;
How far can a Volvo go on a full charge?
The Volvo C40 Recharge has an EPA-estimated range of up to 226 miles,1 which is slightly higher than the Volvo XC40 Recharge SUV's EPA-estimated range of 223 miles. Both new Volvo pure electric vehicles can take you beyond 200 miles on a single charge and can be recharged from 10% to 80% in approximately 37 minutes.

We looked at the XC40 last year before we put in our order for the VW ID.4 (which was subsequently cancelled). Those numbers are about right, but the use case we were looking at was about 25 miles a day, and not necessarily every day of the week.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

just own them all! have an EV, have a gasser, have a hybrid. SUV, sedan, van, coupe, roadster, APC, whatever.

————————————————
Well I’d say, given you’re in the biz, you’re doing your part of putting your money where your mouth is.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

I’m a big Fan of hybrids now. Makes an EV look less desirable when your normal car averages mid-40s MPG. a plug in really seems to be the ideal compromise.

————————————————
Owning a PHEV is the only way I’d even consider anything electric and that’s still miles down the road.

jmonroe

28firefighter

My Tesla charged 15% to 80% in 17 minutes. About half of what you are estimating.

Btw. How often can you drive more than 250 miles without taking a break? Just curious. I can’t. Need to use the bathroom, stretch my legs, etc.

driver100

The Tesla site says:
Charging Your Tesla | Tesla Canada
Tesla
The Tesla Supercharger is the fastest charging option when you're away from home, allowing you to charge your car up to 200 miles in 15 minutes. Another site said the same.
Quite often on a highway like I-75 we can drive for 4 hour stretches....that would be about 250 miles. I can fill up the tank, take a quick break, and be on the road again in 10 minutes.
I don't have to be concerned about turning off the a/c, heater, wipers, radio to conserve power.
Do you really get 250 miles out of it if it is charged to only 80%?

Everyone says to be informed before you buy any car....or anything. If I don't ask the questions I won't know if an EV would suit me. I can just go along with what the EV people say, or I can try to find out if an EV or hybrid is even worth considering. Or, do I blindly accept what I am told...buy one, you won't have any regrets.

btw...I understand only 1/3rd of hotels/and motels have charging stations.

dino001

I'm not against EVs, I'm against political BS around them and I'm really furious that the manufacturers yielded so easily to that nonsense. To the point my local BMW dealer has one or two 430 Gran Coupes because of "supply issues", but they have ten or so i4 GC. This is BS.

As an engineer I'm quite impressed what Tesla and some others were able to accomplish in those few years, notwithstanding cons pulled by Musk on investors (2020 robotaxis anyone?). EVs are generally nice and in some limited circumstances may actually be quite suitable for certain folks, but the push by the politicians as a climate panacea is a shameless scam. There are too many holes in the numbers and it can't be fixed by throwing a few billions on government investments in infrastructure. Those who claim otherwise never bothered to examine basic numbers.

As long as EVs are mostly toys for the enthusiasts and virtue signaling devices for the privileged, they're fine. They're even fine for those few others, who are lucky enough to be able to easily upgrade their house infrastructure for charging and then use the vehicle for commuting. They'll surely save on gas, not sure if they actually save any money in total, but let's just say they will. All of that is only if there is no mass adoption (i.e. total switch), which would lead to massive disruption in the system and high gas prices would be nothing compared to electricity price hikes. Let's just assume for a moment that they can produce them quickly enough, which already is something. Where is the electricity going to come from? Just a quick comparison between average grid household electricity allowance to a number of cars that would be needed to charged if say every other person in an apartment building or a condo decided to buy one (assuming they get a plug). We would have to start building a new power plant in this country every month for several years to satisfy that kind of demand and simultaneously lay down bunch of new wires, build new transformer stations, etc. Good luck when design-permit-build cycle of new power plant is well over 10 years, closer to 20, thanks to wonderful NIMBY people. There is ZERO chance EVs can be a viable transportation option for an every average citizen in timeframe that (supposedly) serious politicians are fantasizing about. This is truly Lenin's "mind over matter" - we know how well that went.

dino001

28firefighter said:

My Tesla charged 15% to 80% in 17 minutes. About half of what you are estimating.

Btw. How often can you drive more than 250 miles without taking a break? Just curious. I can’t. Need to use the bathroom, stretch my legs, etc.

I have done several trips going from Tampa to NC/Tennessee (600-650 miles) with three short breaks to gas up, one to eat, one for extra bathroom. The breaks were typically rather short (10-15 minutes), but the trips felt quite tiring. It all depends how rested I am at the trip start. Sometimes I get tired just after 100 miles and need longer break, another time I can stretch beyond 200 and don't need too long of a break. I think I could live with longer breaks, but overly careful planning of a trip for energy fillups would induce some anxiety. Also estimated range can sometimes be quite unreliable in EVs - all it needs to cold, hot, extra speed, extra drag (towing), etc. I think the biggest downfall for Ford Lightning is range being literally cut in half or sometimes even more when towing at decent highway speed (say 70 mph), as opposed to say 20 percent for the gas powered vehicle. That's an unacceptable swing, I think they should develop a special "towing" program in the ECU (or whatever it's called for EV) that economizes the usage under heavy load. For example you don't need seat-pressing acceleration when towing if you can save some range.

andres3

I get more tired driving 1-5 MPH in bumper to bumper traffic in 15 minutes than I do going 100 for an hour (Doable in parts of Nevada where the NHP doesn't roam).

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

just own them all! have an EV, have a gasser, have a hybrid. SUV, sedan, van, coupe, roadster, APC, whatever.

Now THAT’S a program I can get behind.😉

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

I get more tired driving 1-5 MPH in bumper to bumper traffic in 15 minutes than I do going 100 for an hour (Doable in parts of Nevada where the NHP doesn't roam).

We regularly do 200 mile trips, pause for a few moments and do another 200 miles. We do occasionally stop for a bathroom break or coffee for a few minutes but I don’t know if that would be enough time to charge up an EV.

driver100

@dino001
I'm not against EVs, I'm against political BS around them and I'm really furious that the manufacturers yielded so easily to that nonsense. To the point my local BMW dealer has one or two 430 Gran Coupes because of "supply issues", but they have ten or so i4 GC. This is BS.

As long as EVs are mostly toys for the enthusiasts and virtue signaling devices for the privileged, they're fine. They're even fine for those few others, who are lucky enough to be able to easily upgrade their house infrastructure for charging and then use the vehicle for commuting. They'll surely save on gas, not sure if they actually save any money in total,.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Right on dino....exactly, there are lots of things that don't add up.
We barely have enough electricity to meet all our needs now.....how do we power a few hundred million more cars?
How will people in big cities who park on streets charge their cars, how about people with car ports, no garages, people who live in older apartment buildings with outside parking?
What happens to the car that gets 200 miles on a charge, when the newer 500 miler is developed? What about if they make a charger that can charge up in 5 minutes, who wants to buy the 15 minute charger used car?
Just wondering?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

mjfloyd1

Maybe they will be very valuable classic EVs😂

It would be nice if they had easily replaceable and upgradeable battery packs

dino001

driver100 said:

What happens to the car that gets 200 miles on a charge, when the newer 500 miler is developed? What about if they make a charger that can charge up in 5 minutes, who wants to buy the 15 minute charger used car?
Just wondering?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

That is typical issue for an emerging technology, so we went through that many times before - personal computers, cell phones, smart phones, other electronics, too. The difference here is the size of the object - you could just through your perfectly functional DiskMan to a drawer for a new ipod, can't do that with a car so easily. You may be able to sell it for a penny to a guy who doesn't care that much about the range or speed of refill. Also, the salvage value that may actually be a little higher than a regular ICE car due to these rare Earth metals.

sda

A blast from the past. Freshman English at UT Knoxville 9/78.

Michaell

The son of my mom's oldest friend went to UT at about the same time. Highly recruited linebacker from the Tri-Cities area, who dislocated his hip in one of their first practices. Took three people to put it back in place.

Never played another down of football, but they honored the sholarship.

sda

Michaell said:

The son of my mom's oldest friend went to UT at about the same time. Highly recruited linebacker from the Tri-Cities area, who dislocated his hip in one of their first practices. Took three people to put it back in place.

Never played another down of football, but they honored the sholarship.

Coach Johnny Majors had started the year before in 77. Loved going to the games in Neyland Stadium.

jmonroe1

sda said:

Michaell said:

The son of my mom's oldest friend went to UT at about the same time. Highly recruited linebacker from the Tri-Cities area, who dislocated his hip in one of their first practices. Took three people to put it back in place.

Never played another down of football, but they honored the sholarship.

Coach Johnny Majors had started the year before in 77. Loved going to the games in Neyland Stadium.

————————————————
Johnny Majors had 2 head coaching stints at Pitt. During his first one, Pitt won the National Championship in 1976. He was a pretty good coach and having Tony Dorsett as his running back didn’t hurt.

jmonroe

laurasdada

In SF area for a few days. EVs (yes, predominately Teslas) everywhere. So many dead by the side of the road. Not.
How do they do it?! Probably by understanding what they are driving and using it as such.

laurasdada

And, test sat a Lucid that was available in an open air mall in Walnut Creek. Wicked roomy, seat seemed comfy and well adjustable. Windshield stretches into roof, which is cool but on those bright, sunshine days?
Tech looked fun; couple of marketing types who reminded me several times that they were not salespeople.
I was with three women and granddaughter, so the seat time was naturally brief. Shoe store, there the ladies could spend 90 minutes or more...

Also walked the AutoTwoBlocks, "Luxury Collection." Was immediately approached at the Caddy dealer, checking out the Lyriq. Ignored completely at the Maser/McLaren/Aston/Bentley/Lambo dealer. Same at MB. Approached at high-end UC dealership, looking at pretty 911s all in a row. Perhaps my NE Patriots hat tipped them off I wasn't local?

stickguy

not a car, but I am such an EV convert for my lawn mower and trimmer I can't imagine ever going back.

mjfloyd1

Exciting high school cross town rivalry game tonight. In regulation it ended 17-17 tie. Other team scored and made PAT then we scored and went for two and WON. We have beat them at their place each time my kids were seniors.

driver100

stickguy said:

not a car, but I am such an EV convert for my lawn mower and trimmer I can't imagine ever going back.

........as long as you don't take it on a 500 mile trip

driver100

mjfloyd1 said:

Exciting high school cross town rivalry game tonight. In regulation it ended 17-17 tie. Other team scored and made PAT then we scored and went for two and WON. We have beat them at their place each time my kids were seniors.

My partner and I won 2 really big pickleball games yesterday against 2 of the top players

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

Exciting high school cross town rivalry game tonight. In regulation it ended 17-17 tie. Other team scored and made PAT then we scored and went for two and WON. We have beat them at their place each time my kids were seniors.

My son graduated in 2012, and I am so happy to have never attended a high school football game, since.

mjfloyd1

@kyfdx said:
My son graduated in 2012, and I am so happy to have never attended a high school football game, since.

Agreed. This is the last in town rivalry game but I didn’t grow up here so I really don’t care other than for my kids. Daughters are cheerleaders so I have this year of high school FB and other daughter is a college senior and cheerleader so we go to see her as well.

Older daughter just got interviews at Butler and IU PA schools so we shall see how this works out. Butler program costs $100k and IU $68k for the 27-ish months. She still has 5 or so applications waiting on invitations for interviews but those two are the front runners and an hour from home.

ab348

driver100 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Exciting high school cross town rivalry game tonight. In regulation it ended 17-17 tie. Other team scored and made PAT then we scored and went for two and WON. We have beat them at their place each time my kids were seniors.

My partner and I won 2 really big pickleball games yesterday against 2 of the top players

That's a lot of big pickles. Full sours I hope.

mjfloyd1

@driver100 said:
My partner and I won 2 really big pickleball games yesterday against 2 of the top players

I’m guessing that your opponents no-showed because they drive EVs and were simultaneously charging and took down the power grid. Or maybe could not find a charger because they lived in apartments with no chargers…😂

driver100

@mjfloyd1
Actually, there are a few EVs at the tennis club, it is a fairly modest public club. But I haven't seen an EV at the recreation centers where I play pickleball. Pickleball is relatively inexpensive to play, maybe that is why

tjc78

I finally got my EV back last night… 25 mile range and no doors lol.

Looks like the manufacturer changed guidance on how to break in the AGM batteries. Common theory was 5 or so full drain and charge cycles. Now with these new type batteries they are saying to not drain it past 75% for the first 10-20 cycles.

Who knows… just happy to have it back.

houdini1

Concerning EVs or most anything else, at my age, my knee jerk, default position is that I am against it, no matter what it is.

oldfarmer50

laurasdada said:

In SF area for a few days. EVs (yes, predominately Teslas) everywhere. So many dead by the side of the road. Not.
How do they do it?! Probably by understanding what they are driving and using it as such.

We were delivering cars to White River Junction VT and our agent told us that they frequently rent cars to Hertz Tesla customers who start in NYC or Boston and then abandon their cars when they can’t find a charger. Hertz then has to flat bed their cars back.

With our own Hyundai EVs we occasionally get a call from a customer who has run the car down to under 5% and expects us to come charge it. I don’t think we have any buckets of electricity laying around.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

not a car, but I am such an EV convert for my lawn mower and trimmer I can't imagine ever going back.

........as long as you don't take it on a 500 mile trip

While not a big EV car enthusiast my electric chainsaw lasts longer than I do out in the sun.

houdini1

Courage is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.
Stupidity is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.
And that is why life is hard.

driver100

tjc78 said:

I finally got my EV back last night… 25 mile range and no doors lol.

Looks like the manufacturer changed guidance on how to break in the AGM batteries. Common theory was 5 or so full drain and charge cycles. Now with these new type batteries they are saying to not drain it past 75% for the first 10-20 cycles.

Who knows… just happy to have it back.

This sounds familiar...like deja-vu all over again!
What exactly happened? Some of us would like to know.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

laurasdada said:

In SF area for a few days. EVs (yes, predominately Teslas) everywhere. So many dead by the side of the road. Not.
How do they do it?! Probably by understanding what they are driving and using it as such.

With our own Hyundai EVs we occasionally get a call from a customer who has run the car down to under 5% and expects us to come charge it. I don’t think we have any buckets of electricity laying around.

I hope they don't run them down to zero juice like my friends.
Charging a Tesla with zero juice resulted in blowing a transformer or generator (or the technical term JMonroe uses.....a thingy) which cost $2000 to repair.

roadburner

Yawn...

mjfloyd1

@oldfarmer50 said:
We were delivering cars to White River Junction VT and our agent told us that they frequently rent cars to Hertz Tesla customers who start in NYC or Boston and then abandon their cars when they can’t find a charger. Hertz then has to flat bed their cars back.

With our own Hyundai EVs we occasionally get a call from a customer who has run the car down to under 5% and expects us to come charge it. I don’t think we have any buckets of electricity laying around.

So basically people are stupid? 😂

mjfloyd1

@roadburner- they must have been running at Putnam Park today. We went up to see my daughter cheer and on the way home, I see a 911 with a “10” (in painters tape)on the drivers door…