Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

stever said:

Good points - on the other hand, nothing depreciates faster than our ability to enjoy what we have.

Beautifully said.......and I will bet there will be a lot of unknown costs involved, and that can take the fun out of things quickly.
I once bought a little sail boat (just a Laser), had to buy a trailer, a license for the trailer, then insurance, then storage.......
For the 4 times a year I used it I could have rented one at the lake for a lot less money and hassle.
Can rent a brand new Mustang for a few weekends a year for the cost of the insurance, or the interest on $10k.

They say that the two happiest days in a boat owners life is the day they buy their boat and the day they sell it.

A friend of mine and myself once talked about going in together to buy a boat. Talking through it we decided that renting one the few times a year we would use it would be far more cost effective. Turns out we were right.

ab348

I like it aside from the black wheels, which really do not belong on such a nice car IMO.

I wonder what he bought instead?

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

I consider lying about fuel economy to be far worse. Mitsubishi and the others that have done so should be ashamed. That is lying directly to your customer, and causing them greater direct expense for using the product. What VW/Audi did is pretty much trick the EPA and their silly smog tests.

Just trick the EPA and their silly smog test or just trick the EPA and their silly MPG test, whats the difference?

If you avoid all the companies that lie to you you will end up naked living in a cave hunting your food with sticks you sharpened yourself on a rock.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

Yes, but the big difference is murder isn't a totally arbitrary rule of law that only began 10 years ago. Murder is considered wrong and unethical in addition to a law that hasn't changed in centuries. When cars of 10 or 20, or 30 years ago are treated differently for no reason other than being "grandfathered" it creates a general feeling of ridiculousness.

Sort of like 55 MPH speed limits.

So because you don't personally agree with a law or rule, you think it can be ignored? Good luck with that.

Yes, it's cost me several tickets over the years but a wise person once said it is immoral to obey and follow unjust laws.

At least with the 55 MPH speed limits, the vast majority of Americans have voted with their left foots, and I'm not alone. Now if we could just get politicians to follow the will of the people.

But the law is unjust based on what standards?

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

I'm lucky in that I have a decent pension and have saved some so finances are not a concern. I'm single so I don't have a family to support and my house is paid for. But the idea of being alone is less and less appealing as I get older. Not that I'm looking for a wife or anything - I really think at my age now it would be nearly impossible to work out after being by myself all my life. But it is a bit of a big gulp kind of realization as I age. Kind of scary in one sense, and in another almost like too many options to figure out what would excite me in terms of activities or travel or lifestyle changes. I think part of the issue for me is that when I was working I was very structured and disciplined both at work and in my personal planning. Now all that is no longer necessary and it is a bit overwhelming.

Have you thought about getting a dog? Gives your life some structure as you have to take care of the pooch and they do give back to you, a lot.

snakeweasel

houdini1 said:

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

'houdini1 said:

Car Buying Simplified

An older couple returns to a Mercedes Dealer where the salesman has just sold the car they were interested in to a beautiful leggy, busty blonde.

I thought you said you would hold that car for us until we got back with the cashiers check for $75,000. the old man whined. She told us you sold it to her for $65,000. and you told us not a dime less than $75,000.

Well, what can I say, said the salesman, I mean, just look at her. She had the ready cash and I just could not resist.
Just then the young woman came up and gave the keys to the older couple. Here you go mom and dad. I told you I could get that price down.

Don't mess with old people !!
_______________________________________________________________________________

HOLY COW, Mike never told us that story.

jmonroe

Houdini stole that joke from yours truly - I was saving it for a dull evening and Houdini let the cat out of the bag.  He just beat me to the punch - Houdini is too sharp for me!   I bow to his royalness and concede the joke!

Yes, I found that joke in Mikes computer files. Lots of interesting stuff in those files. One of our hosts was kind enough to share their ability to remotely access any of our members computer files.

Oh great, now I have to dump a lot of files and clear my browser history.

snakeweasel

tyguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Hey here's a question.

Is it still possible to push start a standard shift car with fuel injection? Probably not on a modern car because of all the computer systems but how about an old throtle body FI system?

Interesting. According to a little Internet research this is possible even with FI, provided there's enough battery power to cycle the fuel injectors. Might be worth an experiment, but rather than a push start I'll let gravity do my pushing

My first car I had while living in AK was a Chevy Camero POS with 4 on the floor. My parking spot was at top of a nice long hill. I often backed that car into my space and when leaving I would just coast down the hill get up speed and pop the clutch.

[Deleted User]

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

stever said:

Good points - on the other hand, nothing depreciates faster than our ability to enjoy what we have.

Beautifully said.......and I will bet there will be a lot of unknown costs involved, and that can take the fun out of things quickly.
I once bought a little sail boat (just a Laser), had to buy a trailer, a license for the trailer, then insurance, then storage.......
For the 4 times a year I used it I could have rented one at the lake for a lot less money and hassle.
Can rent a brand new Mustang for a few weekends a year for the cost of the insurance, or the interest on $10k.

They say that the two happiest days in a boat owners life is the day they buy their boat and the day they sell it.

A friend of mine and myself once talked about going in together to buy a boat. Talking through it we decided that renting one the few times a year we would use it would be far more cost effective. Turns out we were right.

The happiest times for me as an owner of personal watercraft are when I'm flying through the air after losing my grip, just before plunging into the water, laughing the whole way in. What a blast! I love the water and we get out most weekends in the warm months. We take along friends to make memories together.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I at least hit a milestone this weekend on my Sonota. I broke 10k miles a week before the 1/2 way point on my 36 month lease! Guess I don't really drive that much after all.

How about picking me up in NY for a road trip to Texas to look at a Caddy? You need to run some miles up on that thing.

Hey, come on down, I have a spare bedroom. And my dogs will love the company!

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience.
I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com:

This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill.

I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

snakeweasel

tyguy said:

The happiest times for me as an owner of personal watercraft are when I'm flying through the air after losing my grip, just before plunging into the water, laughing the whole way in. What a blast! I love the water and we get out most weekends in the warm months. We take along friends to make memories together.

I have been thrown through the air after losing my grip, but it was during very heavy seas in a bad storm one dark and cold November night. I do remember that my thought at the moment that I hit that cold cold water was "For this I left nice warm bed,"

snakeweasel

Not sure if I mentioned this or not but my son in law was injured in the Mid East a while back, his recovery isn't what they were hoping for so they retired him for medical reasons last week. The ceremonies were Thursday and Friday last week and we went out there for them.

A few observations.

We drove overnight from Chicago to Washington and my are those semi's all lit up as they were were so pretty at night.

On one 10-15 mile stretch of I-76 outside of Pittsburgh at around 2:30-3:00 AM I saw no other traffic, neither going my way or in the oncoming lanes. Seemed so eerie to be the only car on an interstate highway for so long.

When taking a catnap at a rest area make sure you're not directly under a light and that you are relatively close to the facilities.

My GPS must really like Maryland as when we crossed into Maryland going and coming back it welcomed us into Maryland. It didn't do that for any other state.

Going south out of Breezewood, PA the route to Washington and to Baltimore is the same for a considerable amount of time, just outside Breezewood Washington is 1 mile further than Baltimore, a little while later it is 2 miles further and after you cross into PA it's 3 miles further (according to the signs). So which city is moving?

Never take directions from a 7 and 4 year old. We were taking the grandkids to IHOP for breakfast and my daughter said that the kids knew where it was and could guide us there. Following their directions we drove 7 miles to the IHOP that just happened to be a little more than a mile down the road.

On the way home we took a different route through West Virginia and our GPS suggested another shorter route. We decided to take it, it took us off the interstate down some really back woods mountain roads. I swear the GPS was taunting us by playing banjo music.

Indiana is to damn flat, and must exist simple to keep two more interesting places apart.

imidazol97

snakeweasel said:

Indiana is to damn flat, and must exist simple to keep two more interesting places apart.

LOL. What route did you take across Indiana? It's not all flat. I'm a recovered Hoosier.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

I'm thinking it was worth $80k the minute it rolled across the curb. I like the milage unless he left out some zeroes.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5567336569.html

You aren't far off. $80k, maybe up to $82k private party.

nyccarguy

roadburner said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience. I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com: This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill. I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

I agree with what you are saying.  Even a conventional 5 or 6 speed automatic would suck what little life is in my Legacy's 175 hp 4 cyl motor.  The CVT is perfectly matched to it. 

This is guy obviously bought this Z06 drop top to try and flip it.  That just drives me nuts.  

graphicguy

@qborzen.....you're the guy I should ask the following.....

'98 Mustang Cobra, convertible, red ext, tan int, manual trans, one owner, ~40+K miles, needing tires good condition.

What's the number for a private purchase/sale?

Thanks in advance!

qbrozen

well... as expected, we don't have many comps to go on. Here is what I do have:

3/23/16, Nashville, 28k miles, above average condition, black, $10,100
8/12/15, Pittsburgh, 56k miles, black, average, $8900
12/31/15, Fredericksburg, 80k miles, average, white, $7800

So, really, even needing tires, I think $10,500 is a really safe number if everything else checks out. I mean, the guy should be able to get $8k-$8500 trade value with Spring upon us. Dealer would probably list it for around $11,995 or even $12,995.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

This is guy obviously bought this Z06 drop top to try and flip it.  That just drives me nuts.  

Me too, although if I were to win the M4 GTS in the BMW CCA raffle I'd be sorely tempted to put it on eBay as only 300 are US-bound; I'd probably make enough to buy a GT350, an M2, and a Bonneville T120 for me, an X1 M Sport for my bride, and still have enough cash left over to pay all the taxes

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

tyguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Hey here's a question.

Is it still possible to push start a standard shift car with fuel injection? Probably not on a modern car because of all the computer systems but how about an old throtle body FI system?

Interesting. According to a little Internet research this is possible even with FI, provided there's enough battery power to cycle the fuel injectors. Might be worth an experiment, but rather than a push start I'll let gravity do my pushing

My first car I had while living in AK was a Chevy Camero POS with 4 on the floor. My parking spot was at top of a nice long hill. I often backed that car into my space and when leaving I would just coast down the hill get up speed and pop the clutch.

I assume it was FI unless this was a LONG time ago.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

nyccarguy said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience.
I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com:

This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill.

I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

I think you're right about the modern auto transmissions. Combine that with the fact that $100k cars are usually owned by older people who may not trust their reflexes or shifting knee and it makes sense.

I was driving the van the other day and while not a hot rod it was kind of fun going through the gears....until I hit traffic and a string of always red stop lights. Then the thrill vanished real quick. I can't imagine driving through 7-8 gears only to hit a light and then having to do it all over again.

berri

Snake - sorry to hear about your son. At least today Americans have a better understanding of what war and our military face. I appreciate his service and sacrifice while wishing him the best.

abacomike

berri said:

Snake - sorry to hear about your son. At least today Americans have a better understanding of what war and our military face. I appreciate his service and sacrifice while wishing him the best.

+1

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

I think you're right about the modern auto transmissions. Combine that with the fact that $100k cars are usually owned by older people who may not trust their reflexes or shifting knee and it makes sense.

I was driving the van the other day and while not a hot rod it was kind of fun going through the gears....until I hit traffic and a string of always red stop lights. Then the thrill vanished real quick. I can't imagine driving through 7-8 gears only to hit a light and then having to do it all over again.

It's a combination of factors; for better or worse, most truly high performance motors aren't nearly as high-strung as they used to be. At the same time, automatic transmissions have improved immensely- very quick upshifts, rev-matching downshifts, and a wide spread of gear ratios that allow quick acceleration and good fuel economy to coexist.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

Yes, but the big difference is murder isn't a totally arbitrary rule of law that only began 10 years ago. Murder is considered wrong and unethical in addition to a law that hasn't changed in centuries. When cars of 10 or 20, or 30 years ago are treated differently for no reason other than being "grandfathered" it creates a general feeling of ridiculousness.

Sort of like 55 MPH speed limits.

So because you don't personally agree with a law or rule, you think it can be ignored? Good luck with that.

Yes, it's cost me several tickets over the years but a wise person once said it is immoral to obey and follow unjust laws.

At least with the 55 MPH speed limits, the vast majority of Americans have voted with their left foots, and I'm not alone. Now if we could just get politicians to follow the will of the people.

But the law is unjust based on what standards?

Traffic engineers agree the 85th percentile is the safest standard to set speed limits at, and 55 is not supported in most locations.

Also, if the majority of people ignore the law, maybe there's something wrong with the law?

andres3

roadburner said:

nyccarguy said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience.
I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com:

This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill.

I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

How much time would you say you spend in Sport + mode vs. Sport mode vs. Comfort/Eco modes?

fezo

I can't live without a stick around but I will say that the automatics these days aren't killing me.

Actually, if you don't count the Miata, my two favorite cars I had were one automatic and one stick. 87 Maxima wagon (auto) and 04 Mazda 6 wagon (stick).

I still prefer sticks for all but city driving even with my old knees but I certainly wouldn't throw roadburner's new toy out of my driveway.

stickguy

I actually much prefer the stick in city driving. Much better control, especially in "point and shoot" driving. Open highwY, doesn't really matter.

roadburner

andres3 said:

roadburner said:

nyccarguy said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience.
I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com:

This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill.

I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

How much time would you say you spend in Sport + mode vs. Sport mode vs. Comfort/Eco modes?

I use Comfort just driving around, and stick it in Eco Pro for long internet slogs(Eco Pro mode functions up to 80 mph, fortunately). Once I hit a twisting two-lane I usually switch straight to Sport+, since it allows more "instability" before reigning things back in.

driver100

snakeweasel
Not sure if I mentioned this or not but my son in law was injured in the Mid East a while back, his recovery isn't what they were hoping for so they retired him for medical reasons last week. The ceremonies were Thursday and Friday last week and we went out there for them.

A few observations

.

Best wishes for your SIL.........soldiers certainly get my utmost respect!

I enjoyed reading your observations for your trip. I also think the GPS voice should be changeable, Southern when traveling in the South, NY accent when in the big apple, eh after a sentence when in Canada. If you make lots of wrong turns it should have a school ladies voice on there that shouts at you and calls you an idiot.

fezo

roadburner said:

andres3 said:

roadburner said:

nyccarguy said:

DOES this guy honestly think somebody from Craig's list is going to show up at his door step with a check for almost $100K?  What is the purpose of buying a Z06 with an automatic?  I get that not everyone wants to or can't drive a stick, but save yourself thousands and get a standard C7 drop top with an automatic & magnetic ride control.  

I agree, but the pro-manual argument becomes much harder to make when the new automatics are both faster and more economical than the equivalent manual version. An automatic would suck 99.9% of the driving enjoyment out of your Prelude or my 318ti, but with many of today's 320+ hp motors boasting virtually flat torque curves a manual doesn't guarantee a more involving driving experience.
I'm reminded of an a story related by Jack Baruth at roadandtrack.com:

This past week, I was at an open-lapping day at Thunderhill, in Northern California, and I happened to run into a fellow who, in past years, had been a well-respected racer in a big-bore SCCA National class. He'd run a Corvette back then, so it was no surprise to see that he'd brought a brand-new Corvette Z06 with all the track trimmings to this event. What was a surprise: He'd chosen to buy his new track rat with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, you don't get to the pointy end of an SCCA grid without knowing your way around a clutch pedal, so I didn't figure he was afraid of shifting his new Vette manually. When I asked him why he'd chosen the automatic, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's less hassle, and it's just as quick," he said. "I don't miss shifting it myself." Well, I couldn't really call him a wimp or a wannabe, so I settled for keeping my mouth shut on the matter. Apparently there's at least one bona-fide race driver out there who would rather put it in "D" and forget it, even when he's turning laps in the two-minute range around Thunderhill.

I'm interested to see if I'll feel the same way about my 2er when I finally hit the track with it in a month or so...

How much time would you say you spend in Sport + mode vs. Sport mode vs. Comfort/Eco modes?

I use Comfort just driving around, and stick it in Eco Pro for long internet slogs(Eco Pro mode functions up to 80 mph, fortunately). Once I hit a twisting two-lane I usually switch straight to Sport+, since it allows more "instability" before reigning things back in.

Sounds like a plan to me!

fezo

driver100 said:

snakeweasel
Not sure if I mentioned this or not but my son in law was injured in the Mid East a while back, his recovery isn't what they were hoping for so they retired him for medical reasons last week. The ceremonies were Thursday and Friday last week and we went out there for them.

A few observations

.

Best wishes for your SIL.........soldiers certainly get my utmost respect!

I enjoyed reading your observations for your trip. I also think the GPS voice should be changeable, Southern when traveling in the South, NY accent when in the big apple, eh after a sentence when in Canada. If you make lots of wrong turns it should have a school ladies voice on there that shouts at you and calls you an idiot.

So up this way you'd need "Yo! Marone! You were supposed to make that (expletive deleted) left!"

carnaught

Snake, thank your SIL for his service and sacrifice.

stickguy

GPS voice is changeable. At least on a Garmin it was. I remember getting a new one, and the wife was playing with it in the car, and managed to change the voice, but couldn't figure out how to change it back. So we were getting directions, IIRC, in Spanish. Which neither one of us speaks.

not sure if the Navi in my car has alternate voices. I doubt I will care enough to find out before it goes back!

oldfarmer50

fezo said:

I can't live without a stick around but I will say that the automatics these days aren't killing me.

Actually, if you don't count the Miata, my two favorite cars I had were one automatic and one stick. 87 Maxima wagon (auto) and 04 Mazda 6 wagon (stick).

I still prefer sticks for all but city driving even with my old knees but I certainly wouldn't throw roadburner's new toy out of my driveway.

If I had that car I wouldn't care if I had to pedal it.

My Mustang is driven in sports mode about about 1/10th of 1% of the time so I don't miss a stick shift.

driver100

stickguy said:

GPS voice is changeable. At least on a Garmin it was. I remember getting a new one, and the wife was playing with it in the car, and managed to change the voice, but couldn't figure out how to change it back. So we were getting directions, IIRC, in Spanish. Which neither one of us speaks.

not sure if the Navi in my car has alternate voices. I doubt I will care enough to find out before it goes back!

But can it change accents or gender? How about a nice French accent?

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

fezo said:

I can't live without a stick around but I will say that the automatics these days aren't killing me.

Actually, if you don't count the Miata, my two favorite cars I had were one automatic and one stick. 87 Maxima wagon (auto) and 04 Mazda 6 wagon (stick).

I still prefer sticks for all but city driving even with my old knees but I certainly wouldn't throw roadburner's new toy out of my driveway.

If I had that car I wouldn't care if I had to pedal it.

My Mustang is driven in sports mode about about 1/10th of 1% of the time so I don't miss a stick shift.

I love Sport mode compared to Comfort, and with gas at $2 a gallon I use it as much as possible, if it is going to make a difference.

Mr_Shiftright

You can get a British accent on Garmin---man's voice. I'd love to have John Gielgud telling me where to go

I don't much like that "Mrs. Henderson's 2nd grade" kind of voice" they give you by default. There's another female voice that's a bit too chipper for me.

driver100

I sat in this fellows brand new Lexus SUV. Looks like this:


It was nice to sit in, comfortable and it had great views......command seating position.
He showed me the heads up display which shows all speedo and other information on the windshield, and he really likes that feature. I am just wondering....is it a really nice thing to have?
I don't know if I want that info in front of me right on my windshield.

driver100

lol....John Gielgud.

I was thinking more like Mae West kind of voice....come up and see me some time kind of voice.

Mr_Shiftright

You get used to it. I would find it useful, especially MPH, which I seem to struggle with.

I think you can create a heads-up (HUD) with some cell phones and a windshield bracket, but I've never seen one in action. I will investigate this and report back.

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

Indiana is to damn flat, and must exist simple to keep two more interesting places apart.

LOL. What route did you take across Indiana? It's not all flat. I'm a recovered Hoosier.

The tollway, Going down 65 it's pretty much the same.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

tyguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Hey here's a question.

Is it still possible to push start a standard shift car with fuel injection? Probably not on a modern car because of all the computer systems but how about an old throtle body FI system?

Interesting. According to a little Internet research this is possible even with FI, provided there's enough battery power to cycle the fuel injectors. Might be worth an experiment, but rather than a push start I'll let gravity do my pushing

My first car I had while living in AK was a Chevy Camero POS with 4 on the floor. My parking spot was at top of a nice long hill. I often backed that car into my space and when leaving I would just coast down the hill get up speed and pop the clutch.

I assume it was FI unless this was a LONG time ago.

It was a long time ago, back in '81/82 and the car was 5 or 6 years old at the time. So yeah it had a carb.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

I was driving the van the other day and while not a hot rod it was kind of fun going through the gears....until I hit traffic and a string of always red stop lights. Then the thrill vanished real quick. I can't imagine driving through 7-8 gears only to hit a light and then having to do it all over again.

Which is why I tend to shy away from manuals, they're a PITA in the heavy rush hour traffic that is my daily hell commute.

snakeweasel

berri said:

Snake - sorry to hear about your son. At least today Americans have a better understanding of what war and our military face. I appreciate his service and sacrifice while wishing him the best.

Thanks, he looks OK but has some issues with pain and headaches that I know of. He doesn't talk about it and I don't press for any information and if you look at him you would never notice anything wrong. Good thing is is that he is still with us and my grand kids still have a father.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

berri said:

Snake - sorry to hear about your son. At least today Americans have a better understanding of what war and our military face. I appreciate his service and sacrifice while wishing him the best.

+1

Thanks.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

Snake - sorry to hear about your son. At least today Americans have a better understanding of what war and our military face. I appreciate his service and sacrifice while wishing him the best.

Thanks, he looks OK but has some issues with pain and headaches that I know of. He doesn't talk about it and I don't press for any information and if you look at him you would never notice anything wrong. Good thing is is that he is still with us and my grand kids still have a father.

That's what really matters!

stever

My Garmin usually has an Aussie's woman's voice.

My rental Camaro a couple of years back had HUD - really liked it. You can probably turn it off if it bugs you.

abacomike

After my driving experiences this morning, as well as a lifetime of many such driving experiences, I finally decided what I hate - detest - abhor - the most:  Drivers who sit at a traffic light after it turns green while fixing their hair, texting or just plain disconnected from what they are doing and hold up traffic until horns start honking!

Those are the sinners who will meet Lucifer face-to-face at the END OF DAYS!    

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

Yes, but the big difference is murder isn't a totally arbitrary rule of law that only began 10 years ago. Murder is considered wrong and unethical in addition to a law that hasn't changed in centuries. When cars of 10 or 20, or 30 years ago are treated differently for no reason other than being "grandfathered" it creates a general feeling of ridiculousness.

Sort of like 55 MPH speed limits.

So because you don't personally agree with a law or rule, you think it can be ignored? Good luck with that.

Yes, it's cost me several tickets over the years but a wise person once said it is immoral to obey and follow unjust laws.

At least with the 55 MPH speed limits, the vast majority of Americans have voted with their left foots, and I'm not alone. Now if we could just get politicians to follow the will of the people.

But the law is unjust based on what standards?

Traffic engineers agree the 85th percentile is the safest standard to set speed limits at, and 55 is not supported in most locations.

Also, if the majority of people ignore the law, maybe there's something wrong with the law?

A lot of traffic engineers will tell you that the 85th percentile is arbitrary and the true number can vary due to many influences.

The number of people following a law or not has no bearing on the justfullness of a law. We must be very careful about saying it is immoral to follow an unjust law to justify disobeying laws we don't like.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel
Not sure if I mentioned this or not but my son in law was injured in the Mid East a while back, his recovery isn't what they were hoping for so they retired him for medical reasons last week. The ceremonies were Thursday and Friday last week and we went out there for them.

A few observations

.

Best wishes for your SIL.........soldiers certainly get my utmost respect!

I enjoyed reading your observations for your trip. I also think the GPS voice should be changeable, Southern when traveling in the South, NY accent when in the big apple, eh after a sentence when in Canada. If you make lots of wrong turns it should have a school ladies voice on there that shouts at you and calls you an idiot.

I had a Tom Tom that had several different voices and you could download voices. I had Cartman from South Park and John Cleese (you can imagine that) and one that would insult you if you missed a turn.