Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

laurasdada

A good point about the better half. In our 7 years together, she's had at least 3 "gasoline" incidents; first she ran out completely. When she called me I made the mistake of presenting solutions to the problem vs simply listening and being empathetic. The other incidents are preparing to leave on a trip, asking if she needs gas, she responds, "probably" and the DTE is reading <10 miles.
So, would she be readily cognizant of charging an EV? Even plugging in at night? Or, would I have to monitor, as I do her gas situation?
Note that she is a quite accomplished woman, extremely bright and compassionate. But, as I've oft generalized, from my limited experience, to most women a car is simply a closet on wheels.

stickguy

An EV running low makes a much bigger deal than a gas car though. Impossible to miss. And if the driver still ignores all that and bricks it they deserve what they get.

stickguy

My wife was not too excited about driving the maverick because it was long and couldn’t see the back. I pointed out you can’t see out the back of her car either without the camera which she agreed with. So she could certainly drive it if needed. She also has a phobia about backing in so just has to make sure to only pull through park it!

Pretty sure though she would flat out refuse to drive something the size of a ram

driver100

stickguy said:

My wife was not too excited about driving the maverick because it was long and couldn’t see the back. I pointed out you can’t see out the back of her car either without the camera which she agreed with. So she could certainly drive it if needed. She also has a phobia about backing in so just has to make sure to only pull through park it!

Pretty sure though she would flat out refuse to drive something the size of a ram

Doesn't the Maverick have a backup camera? I usually back in if there is a choice. I was thinking the other day, the backup camera sure makes life easier. Though I can keep up my manual backing up when I get back into the C250.....which will be on Saturday. Leaving 45F for 78F.

stickguy

Yes it has a camera. Which does nothing for you when driving forward! But it does have BLIS too.

My wife just won’t back into a spot. Or up a driveway. Which is really odd because she can back out of a driveway or parking spot!

Backing in really freaks her out even when I do it. I keep telling her it is actually easier but she doesn’t believe it.

I don’t know what would happen if she had to drive one of the U haul trucks I get on a regular Basis!

tjc78

My wife handles the RAM pretty well. Not sure she would want to parallel park it, but has no issues driving it.

stickguy

My wife probably has not parallel parked more than once in the last 30 years. She hates that more than backing in.

driver100

stickguy said:

My wife probably has not parallel parked more than once in the last 30 years. She hates that more than backing in.

Your next car could be one that can park itself......that is available on a lot of cars these days. I hardly ever use it, it's easier to parallel parking than try to use the nanny device.

mjfloyd1

snakeweasel said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@dino001 said:

House chargers are not superchargers. Those do it in less than hour, not overnight. Nevertheless they still draw a decent amount of energy.

Agreed. Apparently some posters think you can have a DC supercharger in your garage when the best that you can get is a Level 2 charger. Notice the 🙄emoji

Well it could be done if your building codes allow it and you don't mind spending a lot a ton of money on it so you can seriously degrade your battery faster over time.

All you would need to do is put in a 500 amp circuit for the Tesla supercharger and talk Tesla into selling you the first ever personal use supercharger. Should be simple😎

tjc78

@mjfloyd1 said:
All you would need to do is put in a 500 amp circuit for the Tesla supercharger and talk Tesla into selling you the first ever personal use supercharger. Should be simple😎

You forgot to contact the local power company because most (if not all) residential areas wouldn’t even be able to deliver a service that large. The newer chargers run at 1000V.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

All you would need to do is put in a 500 amp circuit for the Tesla supercharger and talk Tesla into selling you the first ever personal use supercharger. Should be simple😎

You forgot to contact the local power company because most (if not all) residential areas wouldn’t even be able to deliver a service that large. The newer chargers run at 1000V.

————————————————
And as best as I know these powerful chargers require 3 phase service and only residences fairly close to commercial/industrial locations would be anywhere near close enough to this 3 phase service. And even if it was somewhat close by maybe 1 household out of 15,000 would be able to afford the hookup. So, these big jobs won’t be coming to a neighborhood near you.

jmonroe

laurasdada

Got my Covid booster tonight; weird side-effect of a strange craving for Chick fil A. So, the Audi knew the way to carry the sleigh and off we went. There's a free Chargepoint charger 1/4 mile away from the chicken coop, so that's where I parked. After spending the requisite 20 minutes trying to figure out how to plug in the dern contraption, took the long walk and satiated my chicken lust.
Burning off all the calories during the long trudge back, another 20 minutes to figure out how to unplug the dern thing and off I went with a fully charged battery thingy do.
I'm exhausted.

mjfloyd1

@laurasdada said:
Got my Covid booster tonight; weird side-effect of a strange craving for Chick fil A. So, the Audi knew the way to carry the sleigh and off we went. There's a free Chargepoint charger 1/4 mile away from the chicken coop, so that's where I parked. After spending the requisite 20 minutes trying to figure out how to plug in the dern contraption, took the long walk and satiated my chicken lust.
Burning off all the calories during the long trudge back, another 20 minutes to figure out how to unplug the dern thing and off I went with a fully charged battery thingy do.
I'm exhausted.

The struggle is real

stickguy

I am too much a skeptic (and paranoid!) to ever use self park. I barely trust cruise control. And I know there is zero chance the wife would ever figure it out or try it.

roadburner

I've been pleasantly surprised with the Distronic in the C43 and the adaptive cruise in the Wrangler. The Distronic is relaxing to use on long interstate slogs.

driver100

stickguy said:

I am too much a skeptic (and paranoid!) to ever use self park. I barely trust cruise control. And I know there is zero chance the wife would ever figure it out or try it.

If it can locate a parking spot and you know what buttons to press it is pretty well foolproof. I don't like the way it turns so sharply, it really cranks the wheels while the wheels are hardly moving....I can do it smoother on my own. But, you have to trust technology to some degree....and you can always apply the brake if you get nervous.

driver100

laurasdada said:

Got my Covid booster tonight; weird side-effect of a strange craving for Chick fil A. So, the Audi knew the way to carry the sleigh and off we went. There's a free Chargepoint charger 1/4 mile away from the chicken coop, so that's where I parked. After spending the requisite 20 minutes trying to figure out how to plug in the dern contraption, took the long walk and satiated my chicken lust.
Burning off all the calories during the long trudge back, another 20 minutes to figure out how to unplug the dern thing and off I went with a fully charged battery thingy do.
I'm exhausted.

..and I stop on my way to pickleball, drive up to the gas pump, insert my credit card, and fill up the car in 5 minutes and I don't have to wait, walk a quarter of a mile, or figure out how the pump works...but I don't burn all those calories....well, actually I do because I don't stop to eat and I can play pickleball longer.

stickguy

but you did just spend what, $80? Dada got it for free! and taking more than a minute to get plugged in is not the norm. certainly not unplugging.

tjc78

@roadburner said:
I've been pleasantly surprised with the Distronic in the C43 and the adaptive cruise in the Wrangler. The Distronic is relaxing to use on long interstate slogs.

Adaptive cruise is one of my favorite newer features. I kick myself for not getting it on my Ram. The outgoing Volvo had it as does the new EQE.

laurasdada

driver100 said:

laurasdada said:

Got my Covid booster tonight; weird side-effect of a strange craving for Chick fil A. So, the Audi knew the way to carry the sleigh and off we went. There's a free Chargepoint charger 1/4 mile away from the chicken coop, so that's where I parked. After spending the requisite 20 minutes trying to figure out how to plug in the dern contraption, took the long walk and satiated my chicken lust.
Burning off all the calories during the long trudge back, another 20 minutes to figure out how to unplug the dern thing and off I went with a fully charged battery thingy do.
I'm exhausted.

..and I stop on my way to pickleball, drive up to the gas pump, insert my credit card, and fill up the car in 5 minutes and I don't have to wait, walk a quarter of a mile, or figure out how the pump works...but I don't burn all those calories....well, actually I do because I don't stop to eat and I can play pickleball longer.

Just to clarify, as perhaps my sly sense of humor did not translate...

By choice, I always park in that lot, if the 14.1 kwh battery is low, as it is only 1/4 mile away from the shopping/dining area. It offers free electricity, four clean and almost always unoccupied charging stations (it's a Comcast facility). I imagine if free gas was also offered while you dined, one might do the same with their ICE.
Also, plugging in/unplugging took a total of 2 minutes, max. I do have some experience in working the nuclear sub.
And, a bit of good exercise.

I realize the free electricity gravy train likely will not run forever, so I'm enjoying it while I can. Other formerly free plugs are now charging .25/KWh, as it appears the town took over from I'll guess the mall owners, who were subsidizing the in-mall area charges (much like my GPA, 0.0/kwh!)
So far, since my last fill-up, I'm averaging a smidge over 60mpg.

driver100

@laurasdada Thanks for the clarification....I know you are joking at times and I like that...but sometimes I don't know what is factual and what is being said in jest. But, I appreciate your honest helpful information.
I don't know if I would actually drive way out of my way to save money filling up, even if the food was free. I can drive to Sam's or Costco for gas but I only get gas there if I am there. My time is more important to me. I have seen 10 cars in each line to save 10 cents a gallon on gas at Sams....no thanks. They probably use that much idling while waiting in line.

By the way, about 5% of gas price goes to road tax.....I am subsidizing you
Your welcome.!

laurasdada

Surely, I jest.

I've been lucky, only very occasionally have I encountered gas lines at Costco. So far, never at my local BJs.

stickguy

I was at BJs last weekend. Line was at least 20 cars deep. I went to a Mobil instead for about the same price.

tjc78

BJs by me is always busy.

stickguy

We used to go there before they built the one on 73

tjc78

@stickguy said:
We used to go there before they built the one on 73

I know that one well too … I was there almost weekly at the AC Moore there and my office wasn’t too far down 73.

No gas at that one though.

driver100

I was in the car with 4 people going to dinner....there was a Sams at the other end of the plaza.
We waited behind about 8 cars to get to the pump....it took about 15 minutes.
Since the driver was a woman and I was the youngest I got out to put the gas in.
Of course she was on the wrong side to fill it, so I stretched the hose and held the nozzle upside down to get it to go into the car.
Once I got it going she told me to stop when it got to $15!
I gave up 25 minutes of my life to save 50 cents!!!!
......and almost lost my life when she drove across the lot to get to Sam's, avoiding all the bargain hunters.

roadburner

As I've said, it's usually BP, Shell or Sunoco for me; if I'm on a trip and those fuels aren't available I'll go with any Top Tier retailer.

laurasdada

BJs is easy for me, on the way to almost anywhere I go. And, not only do I never see the gas station busy, even on weekends, but the warehouse is never like Costco. Before I moved, I'd gas up at Costco on Friday nights (and grab a pizza or a hot dog. Or both.), probably the longest I waited was 5 minutes.
But, on the weekend, oy vey.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

I was in the car with 4 people going to dinner....there was a Sams at the other end of the plaza.
We waited behind about 8 cars to get to the pump....it took about 15 minutes.
Since the driver was a woman and I was the youngest I got out to put the gas in.
Of course she was on the wrong side to fill it, so I stretched the hose and held the nozzle upside down to get it to go into the car.
Once I got it going she told me to stop when it got to $15!
I gave up 25 minutes of my life to save 50 cents!!!!
......and almost lost my life when she drove across the lot to get to Sam's, avoiding all the bargain hunters.

————————————————
Are you trying to say you paid for the gas too?

I only get gas at Sam’s when we shop there about every 3 weeks or so and only if I can remember to do it and there aren’t any lines. I’m not going to the other side of town to save a nickel or two on gas plus I only buy Sam’s gas for Mrs. j’s Subie since it’s not top tier.

jmonroe

explorerx4

jmonroe1,
Since washers and cars can both run on electricity, the lines are getting blurred,

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

jmonroe1,
Since washers and cars can both run on electricity, the lines are getting blurred,

————————————————
I’ve noticed. Cars have always screwed things up. What’s next go to a car wash and fill your tank from the same hose?

jmonroe

tjc78

Best parking job ever

jwm40517

Is that your Ram?

imidazol97

Aren't those scrapes and dents on the right side of the truck?

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

Aren't those scrapes and dents on the right side of the truck?

————————————————
Looks like it to me. Now I understand why that driver needs a lot of parking spots to get the truck to fit in without getting more dings.

jmonroe

driver100

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

————————————————
That looks like a truck that’s earned 4 flat tires.

jmonroe

tjc78

@jwm40517 said:
Is that your Ram?

Absolutely not

This is my Ram… no dents

cdnpinhead

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

————————————————
That looks like a truck that’s earned 4 flat tires.

jmonroe

I was just thinking the same thing.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@jwm40517 said:

Is that your Ram?

Absolutely not

This is my Ram… no dents

————————————————
Now show us the other side.

jmonroe

andres3

tjc78 said:

@roadburner said:

I've been pleasantly surprised with the Distronic in the C43 and the adaptive cruise in the Wrangler. The Distronic is relaxing to use on long interstate slogs.

Adaptive cruise is one of my favorite newer features. I kick myself for not getting it on my Ram. The outgoing Volvo had it as does the new EQE.

I could never use or live with adaptive cruise. For one, it relies upon the idiot in front of you to know how to drive.

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

@roadburner said:

I've been pleasantly surprised with the Distronic in the C43 and the adaptive cruise in the Wrangler. The Distronic is relaxing to use on long interstate slogs.

Adaptive cruise is one of my favorite newer features. I kick myself for not getting it on my Ram. The outgoing Volvo had it as does the new EQE.

I could never use or live with adaptive cruise. For one, it relies upon the idiot in front of you to know how to drive.
————————————————
How could I have guessed that?

jmonroe

roadburner

cdnpinhead said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

————————————————
That looks like a truck that’s earned 4 flat tires.

jmonroe

I was just thinking the same thing.

One of my friends had some loudmouth punks cut in front of him and grab a parking space. He called them on it and they flipped him off. He waited until they went into the store and then he got his cordless drill and carefully drilled out all four tire valves.

abacomike

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

All that "white stuff" on the cars and on the ground looks familiar - but I just can't place the name or what it is. Must be my age catching up to my brain cells. If I remember correctly, that stuff comes down like rain or hail - am I correct so far? But I just can't seem to identify the stuff!

abacomike

Just received notice in the form of a certified letter that my HOA monthly fees are going up from $582 a month to $710 a month. I almost excreted a brick from my derriere. Last year, they went up from $500 to $582 a month. According to the rationale provided by the Condo Association, it is due to the Florida Law that now requires a minimum reserve for buildings 3 stories high or higher. Additionally, the insurance for each of the buildings increased 70% over the previous year - all due to the collapse of that condo on the oceanfront in Dania Beach two years ago. It also applies to buildings that are 30 years old or older.

We just had our inspection, and the building passed the requirements including our roof. If I had a mortgage on my condo with a monthly payment of $1000 a month, for example, I could not afford to live in the condo community. Imagine, $710 per month for HOA which covers grounds, maintenance, roof, and most of all, insurance. Thats over $8,400 per year per condo unit - and we have 48 units in our building which is the standard for 90% of all the buildings in our community. That is a whopper!! Also, just got my property tax bill for my condo which was $827.44 if paid prior to November 30th.

It's been a tough month, financially - especially when you add my own Condo Insurance in crease and my auto insurance increase. Hopefully, I can handle this. Am I the only individual truly feeling this inflationary trend on our country? I sure hope not.

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

All that "white stuff" on the cars and on the ground looks familiar - but I just can't place the name or what it is. Must be my age catching up to my brain cells. If I remember correctly, that stuff comes down like rain or hail - am I correct so far? But I just can't seem to identify the stuff!

————————————————
Posts like that is gonna get your posting privileges revoked.

Plus, you deserve long restaurant lines till Spring from the invading snow birds you’re about to get for talk like that.

jmonroe

imidazol97

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

@tjc78
My friend always tries to park away from other cars. He parked his dark blue Volvo all on it's own, and came back to find this:

All that "white stuff" on the cars and on the ground looks familiar - but I just can't place the name or what it is. Must be my age catching up to my brain cells. If I remember correctly, that stuff comes down like rain or hail - am I correct so far? But I just can't seem to identify the stuff!

It's another 4-letter word. Please don't say it here. Added into another 4-letter word that's measured in F or C and we have something I dread to see coming to O H I O, yet another 4-letter word.

Car shows of any potention have ended in O H I O and I'm suffering withdrawal. If wife were healthier to be able to travel, I'd look up some larger car shows in mid-Southern states and make visits there

roadburner

abacomike said:

Just received notice in the form of a certified letter that my HOA monthly fees are going up from $582 a month to $710 a month. I almost excreted a brick from my derriere. Last year, they went up from $500 to $582 a month. According to the rationale provided by the Condo Association, it is due to the Florida Law that now requires a minimum reserve for buildings 3 stories high or higher. Additionally, the insurance for each of the buildings increased 70% over the previous year - all due to the collapse of that condo on the oceanfront in Dania Beach two years ago. It also applies to buildings that are 30 years old or older.

We just had our inspection, and the building passed the requirements including our roof. If I had a mortgage on my condo with a monthly payment of $1000 a month, for example, I could not afford to live in the condo community. Imagine, $710 per month for HOA which covers grounds, maintenance, roof, and most of all, insurance. Thats over $8,400 per year per condo unit - and we have 48 units in our building which is the standard for 90% of all the buildings in our community. That is a whopper!! Also, just got my property tax bill for my condo which was $827.44 if paid prior to November 30th.

It's been a tough month, financially - especially when you add my own Condo Insurance in crease and my auto insurance increase. Hopefully, I can handle this. Am I the only individual truly feeling this inflationary trend on our country? I sure hope not.

That's just crazy.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

Best parking job ever

Probably wanted to do a pull through and that person was blocking him until he gave up. It’s probably customers like that, that are causing all the Shop Rites in my area to close.