Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

stever said:

Can't charge your EV there.

I LOLed that one.

iluvmysephia1

U.S. Federal Highway Administration rules state: "The Dead End sign may be used at the entrance of a single road or street that terminates in a dead end or cul-de-sac. The No Outlet sign may be used at the entrance to a road or road network from which there is no other exit."
Dead end (street) - Wikipedia

We already figgered it out before this, driver100. Tee-hee. Can't fool this group.

PF_Flyer

I got some directions from a local in rural central PA once...

"Follow that road until you go past the above ground swimming pool that's half full"

There were LOTS of swimming pools along the road, and none of them were half full. Not even on an optimistic day

driver100

iluvmysephia1 said:

U.S. Federal Highway Administration rules state: "The Dead End sign may be used at the entrance of a single road or street that terminates in a dead end or cul-de-sac. The No Outlet sign may be used at the entrance to a road or road network from which there is no other exit."
Dead end (street) - Wikipedia

We already figgered it out before this, driver100. Tee-hee. Can't fool this group.

But, that is the "official" version.

driver100

PF_Flyer said:

I got some directions from a local in rural central PA once...

"Follow that road until you go past the above ground swimming pool that's half full"

There were LOTS of swimming pools along the road, and none of them were half full. Not even on an optimistic day

Did he mean half full of people or half full of water?

Maybe you should have been looking for half empty!

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

iluvmysephia1 said:

He was probably reading an interesting article. Really....Playboy stopped printing nudie pictures.


What's weirder than what you're saying, driver, that there's still a guy out there reading Playboy, is the above statement. Huh? Wow - that kind of changes things...from how they once were, doesn't it? Mr. Hefner must be up to several other money-making ideas, then! As if he doesn't already have enough cash as it is.

How the big one's fall!

Playboy subscribers. The top-selling issue was November 1972, at 7.16 million copies. And then it saw a real decline:
1975: 5.6 million circulation
2006: 3.0 million
2013: 1.2 million
2014: 0.96 million
2015: 0.82 million

Merchandise still brings in over $100 million, but that is down substantially too. I don't think Hugh cares any more...as long as he can live in the mansion.

Yep, people have the internet now for that stuff.

snakeweasel

iluvmysephia1 said:

With the extra explanation, it is making more sense, venture. It means that you can turn left or right and go down the street either way, but neither way will lead to a street that leads out of that particular neighborhood or street that you're turning on to.

Whew!

One would think that the "No Outlet" Sign would be before that at a point where you could turn and avoid the need to turn around.

snakeweasel

It's been a great weekend.

Mr_Shiftright

driver100 said:

PF_Flyer said:

I got some directions from a local in rural central PA once...

"Follow that road until you go past the above ground swimming pool that's half full"

There were LOTS of swimming pools along the road, and none of them were half full. Not even on an optimistic day

Did he mean half full of people or half full of water?

Maybe you should have been looking for half empty!

He's a pessimist, obviously

venture

snakeweasel said:

iluvmysephia1 said:

With the extra explanation, it is making more sense, venture. It means that you can turn left or right and go down the street either way, but neither way will lead to a street that leads out of that particular neighborhood or street that you're turning on to.

Whew!

One would think that the "No Outlet" Sign would be before that at a point where you could turn and avoid the need to turn around.

You can turn right. You can turn left. Or I guess you could back up or turn around. Either way you can continue on. I don't see the need for the sign unless someone was drunk and went up through the yards. If that was the case, that sign sure wouldn't stop them.

bwia

I was too quick to praise my insurer. Yesterday I received a surcharge notice from the DMV with an option to appeal the decision. Don't how much surcharge will be except that you get a premium hike for six straight years. This is what happened. 

Three years ago I bought my son a used Altima and made the mistake of putting him on my insurance. To make a long story short he slammed the car into a telephone pole. Result, a total writeoff, except that I did not have comprehensive coverage. Fair enough but my son had a female companion in the car(not his girlfriend).

It's getting better. At the time my son lied to me saying the car was stolen. Thank goodness there was no personal injury but the girl's glasses  were broken and she wanted it replaced at his expense. A couple months later I got a letter from an attorney saying that he had filed a claim against my insurance company for pain suffering.

The case dragged on for over two years before my insurance company settled for seven grand. Now the insurance company wants its money back in form of a surcharge. I can appeal but I don't think I stand chance. 
 

driver100

bwia, Wow....the things people do, especially young people or immature adults.
Saying the car was stolen is a hard one to get away with.
I can't imagine what issue you can appeal this under. The insurance company is probably in the clear since there was some illegality going on. I think the policy holder has kind of given up their rights for coverage because of the false stolen car report.

That is a tough one....and mine is just an off the head opinion from a real amateur in these matters. Unless someone spots a way to appeal I think you have to absorb it.

iluvmysephia1

Pain suffering because of broken glasses? Can you appeal that decision - buy her some new glasses and apologize for the inconvenience.

snakeweasel

Does anyone here watch "The Last Man on Earth"? It's a show on Fox about a small group of survivors of a world wide plague that kills off everyone else. Well this group is driving several cars in a caravan to find a new home, one of them is in a self driving car. At one point they all pull over and the one in the self driving car gets out and well this happens:

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

jmonroe

stever said:

Can't charge your EV there.

Man, those signs were waaay ahead of their time. Will probably get a lot more use in the days ahead.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

Does anyone here watch "The Last Man on Earth"? It's a show on Fox about a small group of survivors of a world wide plague that kills off everyone else. Well this group is driving several cars in a caravan to find a new home, one of them is in a self driving car. At one point they all pull over and the one in the self driving car gets out and well this happens:

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

That's funny. One glitchy sensor and you're walking. Can't wait to see that happen in real life.

I still say anyone who would buy a self driving car should just call Uber.

driver100

Bummer when your self driving car takes off with your accordion.

sda

My SIL visited over the week end and I had the opportunity to drive her '06 Acura TL that she bought new for an extended drive. She has been very diligent in maintaining it and with 121k, it drives very well. It is still a very nice car and is satisfying to drive.

It has been a tough 60 days on our check book as I've replaced tires on the Accord and Pilot. I was able to benefit from a Memorial Day sale which saved me over $200 for the tires on the Accord. I ended up buying Good Year Comfortreds. I got great mileage out of the Good Year Fuel Max that were OE. Where I would have preferred to buy Michelin, the new Michelin Premiere only has 8.5/32 of tread vs 11/32 on the GY. I was afraid the Michelins would not go the distance and given their cost---about $200 more than the GY.

I did replace the Michelin LTX with the Michelin Destiny LTX on the Pilot. The LTX had a 60k warranty and they were at 3-4/32 at 40k. I was able to get a reimbursement along with a $70 Michelin rebate and $50 rebate from the tire store. The new tires have 12/32 of tread, and what a nice difference they make. Perhaps not a fair assessment as I compare tires with 40k vs new, but the new LTX seem a lot quieter and seem to provide crisper handling.

Then, yesterday, went to move the Accord out of the garage, and r-r-r-tick-tick-tick. The battery failed. I really can't complain, 60k and 3yrs on the original battery. Goodyear was open, so I got them to install a new one. On the road again..

stever

oldfarmer50 said:

I still say anyone who would buy a self driving car should just call Uber.

Uber and Lyft Are Now Bigger than Taxis and Rental Cars Combined (Fortune)

The headline is a bit misleading since they only looked at business travel. Still an impressive stat.

stickguy

I have never tried either one. Probably not surprising since I have taken a taxi (other than in Bermuda) in many years!

28firefighter

I use Uber almost exclusively over taxis when I am traveling. For me, it is largely the completely electronic process for me - I never have to take my wallet out, I get electronic receipts, and I can track their arrival and progress during the drive. An added plus, I can rely on Uber's automated algorithms to reimburse me if the Uber drive takes an unexpected and longer route.

graphicguy

I haven't used a taxi in awhile, either. Uber mostly, but used Lyft while on vacation. Interesting encounter with the last Lyft driver I had in Miami a week ago. Nice lady, had a relatively new Honda CR-V (pretty nice vehicle for a compact SUV).

She was from Brazil and had to flea to the U.S. because of some graft/corruption that happened at the company she worked for. She was a lawyer for them. Not exactly sure how all of that worked out that she had to leave, but she came here to stay with a distant cousin. Crazy story about how she left with little because she didn't have time to get out before some sort of police action was going to happen. Left quite a few questions open, like why do you have to flee if you just work for a company who is undersuspicion of illegal activities. And, apparently her family owned the company in question.

Anyway, she seemed nice enough. She said the only work she could get was driving for Lyft and Uber. $25 bill from MIA airport to the ship docks....about half what a taxi would charge.

suydam

I'm an Uber fan. Always use it when I'm in a city.

stickguy

I would be most likely to use it in Philly. Where they keep making it illegal (they will ticket and boot an Uber car if they see it), So kinda defeats the purpose.

Very good taxi owners graft payola friends in city hall.

Mr_Shiftright

NYC now has a service called "Via". For $5 bucks they'll take you anywhere in the city. Only caveats are that they meet you on a nearby corner to where you are and b) they may stop and pick up someone else (or may not). And they drop you off at your precise address.

Cars were all nice clean large SUVs, drivers were cool, no tipping required, no long wait times.

If you want to try it, e-mail me.

driver100

My grandson uses nothing but Uber. He says the drivers try hard to get a good rating, so they offer a bottle of water, choice of music etc.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but $5 vs. $20...that adds up if you're running around a big city.

suydam

Uber is especially useful in Philly, where you can wait ages for a taxi if you're outside Center City. Taxi service is especially poor around popular tourist areas the Franklin Institute or art museums. I don't get it.

ab348

Just back from the supermarket, followed a newish (but not the newest model) M-B E350 into the lot, probably a lot like @driver100 's was - white but with a black interior (naturally, that's all that gets ordered around here) with Veteran commemorative plates and a handicap tag. Looks like the owner hit the options list pretty hard. Had AMG wheels but what struck me were the taillights. All the individual segments of each taillight, and the entire taillight assembly, were framed with chrome or stainless trim. At first I thought it was that awful sticky-back cut to fit stuff they sell at Pep Boys or wherever, but I walked past and looked. These were all one piece and had different widths depending on what section it was. Is this standard, aftermarket, or a M-B option?

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

I use Uber almost exclusively over taxis when I am traveling. For me, it is largely the completely electronic process for me - I never have to take my wallet out, I get electronic receipts, and I can track their arrival and progress during the drive. An added plus, I can rely on Uber's automated algorithms to reimburse me if the Uber drive takes an unexpected and longer route.

I haven't used a taxi since the late 80s. I tried about 10 years ago but the guy showed up at the house down the road and I wasn't walking a quarter mile in the snow to tell him.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

I haven't used a taxi in awhile, either. Uber mostly, but used Lyft while on vacation. Interesting encounter with the last Lyft driver I had in Miami a week ago. Nice lady, had a relatively new Honda CR-V (pretty nice vehicle for a compact SUV).

She was from Brazil and had to flea to the U.S. because of some graft/corruption that happened at the company she worked for. She was a lawyer for them. Not exactly sure how all of that worked out that she had to leave, but she came here to stay with a distant cousin. Crazy story about how she left with little because she didn't have time to get out before some sort of police action was going to happen. Left quite a few questions open, like why do you have to flee if you just work for a company who is undersuspicion of illegal activities. And, apparently her family owned the company in question.

Anyway, she seemed nice enough. She said the only work she could get was driving for Lyft and Uber. $25 bill from MIA airport to the ship docks....about half what a taxi would charge.

So this nice woman was an illegal alien fleeing the police? Sounds like Lyft is pretty loose on the background checks.

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

NYC now has a service called "Via". For $5 bucks they'll take you anywhere in the city. Only caveats are that they meet you on a nearby corner to where you are and b) they may stop and pick up someone else (or may not). And they drop you off at your precise address.

Cars were all nice clean large SUVs, drivers were cool, no tipping required, no long wait times.

If you want to try it, e-mail me.

We use to have a bus in Albany that would take you to NYC for $20. Very loose schedule. It would pull up in front of a Chinese resturant and wait until it was filled and then take off. Eventually the bus crashed and it was discovered that the driver had no license, the bus wasn't properly registered and had failed multiple equipment inspections. The company turned out to be some shell corporation tied to organized crime. Must have been some bribes involved with government officials because news of it all was blacked out real fast.

oldfarmer50

A friend sent me this:

http://www.listingallcars.com/details/2008-Ford-Mustang-Used/7309485159848088080?mode=photos#

I notice it said Roush upgrades and wasn't sure what that meant. I know at one time Roush had several different levels of upgrades ranging from just air intake/ muffler/badges type stuff up to performance suspension/superchargers/performance tuning etc. They were listed according to asending stages with each stage being more involved than the last. IIRC, one of them bumped that 4.6L up to 415hp.

Anyone know how to tell the real performance version from the mainly cosmetic one?

explorerx4

@oldfarmer,
Couldn't find a lot of info with some quick searches, but that seems like intake/exhaust upgrade.
Not sure if the front shock tower brace is stock or added.

qbrozen

I don't see forced induction. Looks to me that the only thing Roush are the badges, sill plates, and intake. Steeda (tower brace) and Flowmaster (exhaust) are other aftermarket companies and not part of any Roush package.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

NYC now has a service called "Via". For $5 bucks they'll take you anywhere in the city. Only caveats are that they meet you on a nearby corner to where you are and b) they may stop and pick up someone else (or may not). And they drop you off at your precise address.

Cars were all nice clean large SUVs, drivers were cool, no tipping required, no long wait times.

If you want to try it, e-mail me.

Yes, I have a friend in NYC who uses it all the time. She loves it, raves about it.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

A friend sent me this:

http://www.listingallcars.com/details/2008-Ford-Mustang-Used/7309485159848088080?mode=photos#

I notice it said Roush upgrades and wasn't sure what that meant. I know at one time Roush had several different levels of upgrades ranging from just air intake/ muffler/badges type stuff up to performance suspension/superchargers/performance tuning etc. They were listed according to asending stages with each stage being more involved than the last. IIRC, one of them bumped that 4.6L up to 415hp.

Anyone know how to tell the real performance version from the mainly cosmetic one?

I checked on the Roush website by VIN #---it's not real.

driver100

ab348 said:

Just back from the supermarket, followed a newish (but not the newest model) M-B E350 into the lot, probably a lot like @driver100 's was - white but with a black interior (naturally, that's all that gets ordered around here) with Veteran commemorative plates and a handicap tag. Looks like the owner hit the options list pretty hard. Had AMG wheels but what struck me were the taillights. All the individual segments of each taillight, and the entire taillight assembly, were framed with chrome or stainless trim. At first I thought it was that awful sticky-back cut to fit stuff they sell at Pep Boys or wherever, but I walked past and looked. These were all one piece and had different widths depending on what section it was. Is this standard, aftermarket, or a M-B option?

Sounds like some kind of after market thing. Not offered on my car as far as I know. Anything like this?

driver100

Just heard from insurance company.....all set, paying for the Tech Packages so they will pay full replacement value for the 2017, just a few things I have to cover like registration etc....probably $2000 to get a brand new 2017.

Was it worth it, not really, but not bad, probably worth about $30000 trading from a 2015 to a 2017.

ab348

driver100 said:

Sounds like some kind of after market thing. Not offered on my car as far as I know. Anything like this?

No, the bright work was much more substantial. I guess he must have found them in a catalog somewhere. Not sure it is an improvement. This one also had a very narrow body side moulding, was that standard? I also noticed a "Blue Environmental" (?) badge just behind the front wheel. Not sure what that is.

Congrats on winning the battle with the insurance company!

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Just heard from insurance company.....all set, paying for the Tech Packages so they will pay full replacement value for the 2017, just a few things I have to cover like registration etc....probably $2000 to get a brand new 2017.

Was it worth it, not really, but not bad, probably worth about $30000 trading from a 2015 to a 2017.

Excellent.

driver100

Was it worth it, not really, but not bad, probably worth about $30000 trading from a 2015 to a 2017

.

Excellent.


Thanks guys, actually, I think I did even better than Mike always did!

stickguy

a few houses down from me, a guy has a GT the same vintage and color. I really like the way it looks. But his is an AT.

fintail

Sounds aftermarket to me, not my cup of tea - but it happens to these cars as they age.

The smaller body cladding would be the "luxury" (in the US) trim line, a no-cost difference from the more aggressive "sport" trim cars. Probably at least an 8:1 sales ratio for the "sport" models.

"Blue Efficiency" badge would be MY 2012 only, I am pretty sure. I think it was to mark the upgraded DI engines that year.

And yes, congrats about finally ending the insurance drama. We will await pics and thoughts of your new W213.

ab348 said:

<
No, the bright work was much more substantial. I guess he must have found them in a catalog somewhere. Not sure it is an improvement. This one also had a very narrow body side moulding, was that standard? I also noticed a "Blue Environmental" (?) badge just behind the front wheel. Not sure what that is.

Congrats on winning the battle with the insurance company!

driver100

"fintail"
Congrats on winning the battle with the insurance company!

Thanks for clearing up about the do-dads on that poor E350. We checked E300s and found one similar at the dealer, but, of course it just has the 4 cylinder engine which is supposed to be quite a technical marvel, but, people haven't been entirely pleased with a 4 cyl in such a large heavy car. Mike said they won't have an E400 in the US, will have an E43 with 396 hp (vs 330 hp) in 2017.

Mine should look something like this:

ab348

One thing that struck me about the 2012 (likely) E350 I saw yesterday was that when it made a left turn into the parking lot, the best feature for me of that generation's styling came into view, the rather prominent wedge shape from low in front to higher in the back. I really like that, the same as I liked it on that era's C300. I am not so impressed with the soft-curve bar of soap design on the current C/E/S models, though I have not seen all that many on the road so maybe it will grow on me.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

I haven't used a taxi in awhile, either. Uber mostly, but used Lyft while on vacation. Interesting encounter with the last Lyft driver I had in Miami a week ago. Nice lady, had a relatively new Honda CR-V (pretty nice vehicle for a compact SUV).

She was from Brazil and had to flea to the U.S. because of some graft/corruption that happened at the company she worked for. She was a lawyer for them. Not exactly sure how all of that worked out that she had to leave, but she came here to stay with a distant cousin. Crazy story about how she left with little because she didn't have time to get out before some sort of police action was going to happen. Left quite a few questions open, like why do you have to flee if you just work for a company who is undersuspicion of illegal activities. And, apparently her family owned the company in question.

Anyway, she seemed nice enough. She said the only work she could get was driving for Lyft and Uber. $25 bill from MIA airport to the ship docks....about half what a taxi would charge.

So this nice woman was an illegal alien fleeing the police? Sounds like Lyft is pretty loose on the background checks.

OF...That's what I thought, too. She painted a sad picture, and she was probably 30, pretty and seemed to be sincere. But, while listening, I kept thinking "what exactly di the company/family do?". She said Brazil was very corrupt. Having worked down there, and knowing others who lived/worked there, she's correct. Brazil is very corrupt (in this country, we have no idea what corruption is). But, had to be pretty egregious if you have to flee your home country....especially since she told me she didn't want to leave.

Lots of blank spaces in her story....that's a pretty big delta going from a corporate lawyer in Brazil to a Lyft driver in Miami.

Still, she took me to where I was going. You don't tip Lyft or Uber drivers, but maybe she was trying to elicit some sympathy tips? If so, I'd spin a better yarn than I had to leave my home country with nothing but the clothes on my back before I was arrested.

graphicguy

Driver....Yay! I'm sure you're relieved this whole thing is over. It's really a shame that insurance companies make what is tragic to begin with more difficult and frustating to add to your misery. I despise insurance companies, but they're a necessary evil.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

Just heard from insurance company.....all set, paying for the Tech Packages so they will pay full replacement value for the 2017, just a few things I have to cover like registration etc....probably $2000 to get a brand new 2017.

Was it worth it, not really, but not bad, probably worth about $30000 trading from a 2015 to a 2017.

Man, that was like pulling teeth and we all felt your pain.

Good luck with the new one. Let us know how you like it after about 5K miles.

I'd run early yellow lights to avoid having it happen again.

jmonroe

roadburner

driver100 said:

Was it worth it, not really, but not bad, probably worth about $30000 trading from a 2015 to a 2017

.

Excellent.

Thanks guys, actually, I think I did even better than Mike always did!



Congrats on finally wearing them down!