Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

fintail

Then why did you post it?

When something hits the fan, then it is time to take notice. Still no hard data or real sources, even from Reuters, which is a better source than most.

I can understand the schadenfreude.

imidazol97 said:

The Guardian article was from the beginning of the investigation and general so I thought listing it was useful--it is 1 1/2 years OLD.

The articles from extremetech linked by someone else in general defense also is 1 1/2 years OLD.

The Reuters article is a few days old. Kind of hard to wave it away.

fintail

I think public sector retirement issues are a ticking time bomb that both sides of the aisle keep kicking down the road. That strategy won't last forever.

cdnpinhead said:

This is most certainly true, and the cost is just beginning to be felt. The next ten years will be very interesting, as more and more of these people retire and more and more people who pay taxes leave the state.

driver100

BMW gets the go ahead to sell diesel engines after rigorous testing.
VW is not going to sell diesels in the US, Mercedes is still deciding.
GM thinks their new diesel engine is on track to get certified.

Nothing is over until it is over.

imidazol97

Just pretend it's about a Cadillac. LOL

fintail said:

When something hits the fan, then it is time to take notice. Still no hard data or real sources, even from Reuters, which is a better source than most.

What should be especially concerning is the reference to ""apparently including functionalities that are common in diesel vehicles, as undisclosed Auxiliary Emission Control Devices (AECD)."

"Common in diesel vehicles?" Not just in VW or Fiats?

People can read the whole article by Reuters and decide if it's frivolous or not:

"Daimler on Wednesday reiterated that recent steps by United States authorities to investigate diesel emissions pollution and so-called auxiliary emission control devices could lead to significant penalties and vehicle recalls.

Several federal and state authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the Stuttgart prosecutor in Germany are investigating the emissions of Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles.

Last month, the Stuttgart prosecutor launched an investigation against Daimler employees on suspicion of fraud and misleading advertising tied to vehicle emissions.

"In light of the ongoing governmental information requests, inquiries and investigations, and our own internal investigation, it cannot be ruled out that the authorities might reach the conclusion that Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles have similar functionalities," Daimler said in its quarterly report, reiterating a statement from its annual report.

The inquiries and investigations are still ongoing, Daimler said, adding that the outcome of these probes could not be predicted.

Daimler said in January 2017 that U.S. authorities appeared to have taken a tough stance on what constitutes an illegal defeat device, a step that could have implications for Mercedes-Benz in particular.

Daimler said that in a notice of violation issued against another manufacturer in January that regulators identified functionalities "apparently including functionalities that are common in diesel vehicles, as undisclosed Auxiliary Emission Control Devices (AECD)".

In January the U.S. EPA accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of illegally using hidden software to allow excess diesel emissions to go undetected.

"If these or other inquiries, investigations, legal actions and/or proceedings result in unfavourable findings, an unfavourable outcome or otherwise develop unfavourably, Daimler could be subject to significant monetary penalties, remediation requirements, vehicle recalls, process improvements and mitigation measures," Daimler said."

fintail

I don't care either way about Cadillac

The rest is still a bit of a tempest in a teapot until something happens. And seeing that MB sales are as strong as ever even without diesel models, and that the company makes money hands over fist on a worldwide basis, even if the manure does hit the fan, it'll blow over.

imidazol97 said:

Just pretend it's about a Cadillac. LOL

fintail said:

When something hits the fan, then it is time to take notice. Still no hard data or real sources, even from Reuters, which is a better source than most.

driver100

Diesel makes up 1 to 4% of Mercedes sales in North America.......and we don't know if the emission controls were actually made to defeat the test equipment or just operate differently depending on when they are being tested.

Not sure what this has to do with Cadillac or with anything much....are we saying Mercedes is in the same category as Cadillac for covering up faulty ignition switches?

ab348

fintail said:

I still don't get the boomer fixation about pot.

I still don't get the millenials worship of weed.

graphicguy

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I think in my area, the money goes to subsidize golden pensions where you retire at 55 with 80% of your highest income, with guaranteed COLAs and solid platinum healthcare for life.

oldfarmer50 said:

Exactly. We hear that same"infrastructure" nonsense here as well but they spend 70% of the money buying votes with different intrest groups.

They have a different revenue stream for that here in NY.

fintail

Maybe they are just imitating their parents? Maybe those parents are resentful that something they had to sneak (although it was before the for-thee-not-me puritans who control them launched a moronic war on drugs, so less dangerous) is now accepted? The resources should be used for enforcing substance-related driving laws, and for harder drugs, like the opioid explosion that took place when the authorities were screaming about pot.

I don't smoke anything, never have, never will, but I don't have an issue with it. It's not just millennials. I also suspect there's a correlation between die-hard enforcement and underdeveloped economic regions.

ab348 said:

I still don't get the millenials worship of weed.

fintail

For some brands like MB and VW, there has long been a quite small but monied group of traditionalists who will buy the products. It might not work for mass market brands, but the Germans especially never had a huge issue selling them - as long as they didn't ship over too many. MB and VW have had diesel cars available here for nearly all of the past 40-50+ years, depending on brand.

We just need a jump in EV tech to allow 500 mile ranges and/or 5 minute battery swaps, and that will probably be the real nail in the coffin for diesel here, rather than the VW drama that most diesel fans ignore. I like diesel, but if something better comes along, I am willing to look into it.

graphicguy said:

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

28firefighter

ab348 said:

I still don't get the boomer fixation about pot.

I still don't get the millenials worship of weed.

I'm a millennial. I far from worship weed - never actually tried it. To me, it falls in the same boat as alcohol. You want to use it, great - do so responsibly and let's generate some revenue for it; if not, who cares. 

What I care is using valuable and stretched law enforcement resources to police simple possession of marijuana. Focus on those under the influence that are posing a threat to others (e.g. By driving). 

The few LEOs I've known here in the Seattle area have been thrilled not to deal with the paperwork. 

fintail

Income tax? Personal property tax?

oldfarmer50 said:

They have a different revenue stream for that here in NY.

Michaell

graphicguy said:

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

Dare you to repost this in the "What would it take for YOU to buy a Diesel" thread.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Not sure what this has to do with Cadillac or with anything much....are we saying Mercedes is in the same category as Cadillac for covering up faulty ignition switches?

The suggestion to just criticize liberally as would be done were this a Cadillac or GM product was to make it easier to accept that if there's enough "there" there for MB to mention it in the annual report and then iterate it in the quarterly report as Reuters said, there's something "there." I'm extrapolating that there may be extra controls that increase pollution much as VW/Audi/Porsche usw did with their software. Eventually it will come out, but rest assured if it's negative, it will get minimal criticism due to the goodwill that MB has as is the VW dieselgate problem.

As to the mention of the possible expense in the quarterly report by MB, that reminded me that I got a mailing from a third party, possibly a lawyer group, last week about a stock where I hold an amount of stock, about a company they took over and a battle over who the CEO was supposed to be and a settlement in the works. I haven't looked up the third party name on the newsletter like flier I received.

Actually I said a few years back when Fintail had the white Bluetech MB that I really liked that style and would want the Bluetech if I came into a larger amount of money where I wanted to spend some on a premium car. So I'm not anti MB nor anti diesel.

I wonder if the clean diesel for the Cruze that's coming soon will be able to meet the tests. Chevy had dropped the diesel that was in the earlier 2011-2015 Cruze.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

GG, The only thing is the people in North America who buy diesel cars usually love them. They cost more but you get that back when you trade them in. Fans like the fuel savings, 25 to 30%, even more if the gas equivalent uses premium fuel.

Maybe fintail can tell us why he loves his diesel...I think it is also the possibility it can last for a long time.

Me, I am slow to change, I always dreamed of having a decent car, and in my dreams it was always a gas powered car.

driver100

I don't care if people use weed or not (I have no interest in trying it or using it.....life is short and I want to enjoy the real world to the max), my concern is finding a way to find out if people are driving while under the influence.

driver100

Imid....I read another article that says MB could have problems with their diesel engines....and it could be costly. Story is basically true (though I don't necessarily believe everything Reuters reports), however it isn't known yet how the testing will be interpreted.

It is always better for a large company to prepare stock holders, customers, employees etc. before anything is announced.

thebean

28firefighter said:

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I still don't get the boomer fixation about pot.

I still don't get the millenials worship of weed.

I'm a millennial. I far from worship weed - never actually tried it. To me, it falls in the same boat as alcohol. You want to use it, great - do so responsibly and let's generate some revenue for it; if not, who cares. 

What I care is using valuable and stretched law enforcement resources to police simple possession of marijuana. Focus on those under the influence that are posing a threat to others (e.g. By driving). 

The few LEOs I've known here in the Seattle area have been thrilled not to deal with the paperwork. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agree 100% and I'm not a weed smoker.

fintail

There are a number of reasons I like my diesel. Torque, range, the sound/clatter, efficiency, price was good as a leftover final run car in the dieselgate era. Diesel works well for cars in this segment too, as fuel must be compared with premium rather than regular. That diesel costs less than regular right now is just a fun bonus.

driver100 said:

Maybe fintail can tell us why he loves his diesel...I think it is also the possibility it can last for a long time.

Me, I am slow to change, I always dreamed of having a decent car, and in my dreams it was always a gas powered car.

ab348

28firefighter said:

I'm a millennial. I far from worship weed - never actually tried it. To me, it falls in the same boat as alcohol. You want to use it, great - do so responsibly and let's generate some revenue for it; if not, who cares. 

What I care is using valuable and stretched law enforcement resources to police simple possession of marijuana. Focus on those under the influence that are posing a threat to others (e.g. By driving). 

The few LEOs I've known here in the Seattle area have been thrilled not to deal with the paperwork. 

I was poking back at Fin for poking at me.

Around here law enforcement only invoked the laws as an add-on to something more serious they were charging someone with. Nobody here got arrested for it otherwise in years. I suspect that is the same in most areas.

The liquor business, where I used to work, took decades to get past the stigma it had in the early 20th century. It was a very dirty business back in those days. Pot has a far worse image attached to it from what I can tell. Lawmakers can say that when you wake up tomorrow you're no longer a criminal because they changed the laws, but that doesn't change the mindset that led those people to disrespect the laws in the first place.

stickguy

not sure what mileage difference a diesel gets these days. I did like the drive in the land rover I had in Ireland. And it did get good mileage.

but, sedans do fine with petrol On the run up from DC to jersey today, my Sonata got about 35, and the Jetta (we had both cars) pulled 41.2. Not sure how much more a Diesel Jetta would pull on the same trip, but not like you are going broke putting in RUG and pulling 40 on the highway (where IIRC diesels shine).

Oh, around here, Diesel is about $.15 more than RUG, so close to mid grade price, and usually does run more than RUG.

fintail

If an E350 can get say 31 on the highway, and an E250 can do maybe 42, that's a decent difference. For a long distance commuter, it would slowly add up. And the former car requires premium. I just looked up my local Chevron online - regular is $3 even, premium $3.23, diesel $2.85.

fintail

Who me?

Sadly, in many areas, someone would be pulled over for having a defective tail light, then strung up on inflated pot charges after "probable cause". If it was a particularly backwards area, they might fall victim to civil forfeiture, too. Some wonder how law enforcement became hated and disrespected - garbage like that is certainly a factor. I really have to wonder the costs vs benefits of the war which in many cases has now been discontinued.

IMO, not all laws deserve respect just because they are laws, nor do the people making the laws (and fighting for them to remain - often in the face of logic and progress - which usually benefits their meal ticket) deserve respect.

ab348 said:

I was poking back at Fin for poking at me.

Around here law enforcement only invoked the laws as an add-on to something more serious they were charging someone with. Nobody here got arrested for it otherwise in years. I suspect that is the same in most areas.

The liquor business, where I used to work, took decades to get past the stigma it had in the early 20th century. It was a very dirty business back in those days. Pot has a far worse image attached to it from what I can tell. Lawmakers can say that when you wake up tomorrow you're no longer a criminal because they changed the laws, but that doesn't change the mindset that led those people to disrespect the laws in the first place.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Income tax? Personal property tax?

oldfarmer50 said:

They have a different revenue stream for that here in NY.

Employees pay 3% of income and the employer (stare or local ) contribute the bulk. By law the fund has to be fully funded so the retirement system has plenty of money to invest.

In the end, directly or indirectly, it's the taxpayers who foot the bill but at least it's a more or less solvent system. The politicians can't raid it so they go looking for other "infrastructure" money to waste.

sb55

We really like our BMW 535 diesel. When shopping last year, we were planning to get a CPO 528. Maybe "diesel-gate" deflated all diesel prices, so the CPO 535d we got was less $ than a comparable 528.
Almost year later, it's averaged about 35 mpg and that's mostly shorter duration trips. Besides the great MPG,
it has lot's of torque with great acceleration. It's comfortable, but can be sporty enough when switching the vehicle dynamic button from "comfort" to "sport". Plus, it started easily on the coldest winter days (important in Northern VT).
My wife says it's her favorite car we've ever owned. Since she's the main driver, who am I to argue!

driver100

fintail said:

There are a number of reasons I like my diesel. Torque, range, the sound/clatter, efficiency, price was good as a leftover final run car in the dieselgate era. Diesel works well for cars in this segment too, as fuel must be compared with premium rather than regular. That diesel costs less than regular right now is just a fun bonus.

driver100 said:

Maybe fintail can tell us why he loves his diesel...I think it is also the possibility it can last for a long time.

Me, I am slow to change, I always dreamed of having a decent car, and in my dreams it was always a gas powered car.

Sb55 and your reasons help me to understand the attraction of diesels to some people. One friend had a Jetta diesel and he loved the fact it only cost him $150 or some ridiculously low amount of money to drive from Toronto to L.A.
Just a theory, but it seems that the technology is interesting to people, and a diesel engine is efficient in certain ways....better gas mileage and longevity. It is also a bit unique....not as common as gas.
I get it........but, I still like my life to be as simple as possible, so I like to go with what is most popular, and I don't have to look for a diesel fuel station...I can use 90% of the pumps etc., not saying gas is better, and I get the fascination with diesels, just seems like more effort to maintain and more to think about.

graphicguy

Michaell said:

graphicguy said:

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

Dare you to repost this in the "What would it take for YOU to buy a Diesel" thread.

Nah....not looking for a fight. And, the few that like diesels (very few in the grand scheme) aren't going to be swayed. Diesels will die out on their own.

graphicguy

thebean said:

28firefighter said:

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I still don't get the boomer fixation about pot.

I still don't get the millenials worship of weed.

I'm a millennial. I far from worship weed - never actually tried it. To me, it falls in the same boat as alcohol. You want to use it, great - do so responsibly and let's generate some revenue for it; if not, who cares. 

What I care is using valuable and stretched law enforcement resources to police simple possession of marijuana. Focus on those under the influence that are posing a threat to others (e.g. By driving). 

The few LEOs I've known here in the Seattle area have been thrilled not to deal with the paperwork. 

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

Agree 100% and I'm not a weed smoker.

Same here. But, there's a pretty big push in OHIO to legalize it. The "anti-pot" contingency was able to campaign on FUD and got it defeated a little while ago. It will come back on the ballot, though.

Personally, I don't care. Saw it in college, a lot. I was more of a beer person back then and never hung with the pot crowd. Still, no stigma with my group towards the pot group. I know plenty of the 50 and up crowd would today said they'd use it (again) if legalized.

As long as the taxes on it really did some good for the state, I'd be all for it.

imidazol97

Touchy subject. Most would figure out I've never touched the stuff. I've seen several, many people who have been affected by pot's ability to enhance their lazy gene. They end up on the entitlements and feel that should be their life. Then it's on to bigger and better drugs and/or a life with crime to fund the drug style. On the other hand, there are quite a few who occasionally imbibe and control it, more or less.

Big push in Ohio to legalize it, using some of the same propaganda methods used in other political "resistances." The legislature did an end run and legalized medical marijuana in a difficult-to-use setup. My big concern is that my wife has several lower vertebrae that need surgery with almost no guarantee of a successful outcome. She has used Vicodin for years at a low level. The push against the dopes that let themselves get addicted to heroin has created a push on doctors to resist prescribing pain drugs for those who need it as a way of keeping those innocent souls from starting on opioids they glean or steal or buy and then going on heroin when they can't get opioids. That logic is sort of like saying all marijuana users can't control their use after the first puff.

My sister who has passed a decade ago and who sort of raised me since I was a "late" child and my mother had health problems when I was little talked at one time about how marijuana was around when she was younger, 40s and 50s. It was mostly around the music business folks. She was a beautiful young woman and enjoyed dancing and partying. So marijuana is not as new or chic as some would like to think.

ab348

graphicguy said:

As long as the taxes on it really did some good for the state, I'd be all for it.

Canada has much higher taxes on booze than in the USA. For example, a 12-pack of beer is $25, a fifth of lower-to mid priced spirits is between $25 and $35 depending on brand, and a bottle of cheapish wine like Turning Leaf or Woodbridge starts at around $12 and goes up from there. Most of that is tax used to help fund the health care system. As taxes and prices have continued to increase there has been a large growth in people making their own wine and beer from kits, and they even legalized places where you can go to use their facilities to make it.

The issue of tax on legal weed here is interesting. Unlike, say, whiskey, it is easy to grow/make your own weed. In fact the legislation proposed says that each household can have 4 plants. The issue I see is that there is still all this existing capacity for large-scale production, currently illegal. If the taxes are set at comparable levels to that on booze, people will still want to buy the cheaper illegal/untaxed stuff. And of course there is the underage market as well. Then you will get all of the enforcement activity redirected towards stomping out that. Will be interesting to see that play out.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Employees pay 3% of income and the employer (stare or local ) contribute the bulk. By law the fund has to be fully funded so the retirement system has plenty of money to invest.

In the end, directly or indirectly, it's the taxpayers who foot the bill but at least it's a more or less solvent system. The politicians can't raid it so they go looking for other "infrastructure" money to waste.

Up here there are a few different pension plans, one for the bulk of the public service, one for teachers, several smaller ones for universities and municipal govts. I was in the main public service one and after the 2008 crash it, like most other plans, became underfunded. This was quite a shift from the late 1990s where it was so overfunded that by law they had to give people back part of their past contributions and also provided a pension holiday (no contributions) for a year. After the crash they increased the contribution rates so that by the time I retired I was contributing something like 12% of my gross pay to the plan, matched by the employer. It was a pretty big number. But because of that the plan is again fully funded.

The teachers plan is a different story. They have a militant union that has resisted all attempts short of govt writing a big check (which has already been done a couple of times in the past) to fix the severely underfunded plan which is currently funded only at a percentage somewhere in the 70s range. There will have to be a reckoning there soon. Hopefully those who benefit from it will see their contribution rates increased to a more realistic level.

imidazol97

The nice new highway that we built in Dayton for Driver100 to use has been damaged already. A gasoline tank truck was hit by a driver going north in the southbound lanes.

Here's a picture of the resulting explosion after the fire has been burning for a while. Notice the huge black cloud that has existed for several minutes and note the northbound drivers on the right who refuse to slow down or move over far to the right to avoid the danger. One car is almost hit by a plume of burning gas.

You will have to click on the video to view. The web site is awful with all kinds of things loading.

http://fox45now.com/news/local/odot-cameras-catch-vehicle-explosion-on-i-75-south-in-dayton

fintail

Insanity. I put away 5x more than that, and likely won't have nearly the payoff when it comes time to hang 'em up. That entire system is going to have to be overhauled, or there might finally be a taxpayer revolt.

oldfarmer50 said:

Employees pay 3% of income and the employer (stare or local ) contribute the bulk. By law the fund has to be fully funded so the retirement system has plenty of money to invest.

In the end, directly or indirectly, it's the taxpayers who foot the bill but at least it's a more or less solvent system. The politicians can't raid it so they go looking for other "infrastructure" money to waste.

fintail

It's an acquired taste. The fueling issue can be real, too - I have seen stations without diesel pumps. Being unique is also something I like - I don't want to pull up beside myself at every other intersection. I have yet to see a twin of my current car. Longevity on modern NA spec diesels will be something to see, if the emissions and electronics hold up. If they do, engine life should exceed gassers, but by the time these cars wear out, the cars might not be in demand anyway.

driver100 said:

Sb55 and your reasons help me to understand the attraction of diesels to some people. One friend had a Jetta diesel and he loved the fact it only cost him $150 or some ridiculously low amount of money to drive from Toronto to L.A.
Just a theory, but it seems that the technology is interesting to people, and a diesel engine is efficient in certain ways....better gas mileage and longevity. It is also a bit unique....not as common as gas.
I get it........but, I still like my life to be as simple as possible, so I like to go with what is most popular, and I don't have to look for a diesel fuel station...I can use 90% of the pumps etc., not saying gas is better, and I get the fascination with diesels, just seems like more effort to maintain and more to think about.

fintail

Definitely. "Reefer Madness" is from 1936, and there's even a funny line in Back to the Future about "reefer addicts". I have seen the substance enhance the "lazy gene" (good one) too, but I've seen more people messed up by booze and harder drugs. It's nothing new or cool, and I don't know if youngins today are pretending it is so.

My brother likes to imbibe in the legal-here stuff, most Friday and Saturday nights he and his friends play video games and light up. Funny thing, he doesn't drink at all, nor does he use tobacco. This is his one vice. As he lives in a small town with a decent drug problem (common everywhere), this isn't so bad - and now with resources not being wasted by patrolling it. I remember back in the early 00s, he even wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, supporting legalization (and it got a snarky reply from another reader). Looks like he won.

imidazol97 said:

My sister who has passed a decade ago and who sort of raised me since I was a "late" child and my mother had health problems when I was little talked at one time about how marijuana was around when she was younger, 40s and 50s. It was mostly around the music business folks. She was a beautiful young woman and enjoyed dancing and partying. So marijuana is not as new or chic as some would like to think.

abacomike

My grandson (16-1/2 years old) moved in with my son for exactly the same reason you guys are discussing - smoking weed!  My X-daughter-in-law was unable to handle that situation as a part-time mom - it (the weed-smoking) demanded the father's full time attention.  I, personally, am not the least bit surprised - it's rampant in our public high schools.

I hope my son is successful at providing his son with good role-modeling so he can stop the weed addiction until he is old enough to make an objective decision about it.  He is a promising athlete - could get a college scholarship in baseball (pitching - he has a 90 mph fast ball at 16 yrs old)! But that could disappear with a weed-smoking addiction.

I pray every day and every night that my grandson "sees the light" and rationally decides it's going to affect his life negatively!  

berri

I'm not sure I see a big difference between weed and alcohol. I think the gov may have built up weed more than it really is by the grant processes it used to fund police departments. Busting teens with marijuana was a quick way to build up the stat numbers, but unfortunately it took the pressure and eyes off of more serious drugs sometimes. Over indulgence in weed, booze, sugar, fatty foods etc. is all bad for you. But as in politics, sometimes moderation is hard to achieve I suppose.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

The nice new highway that we built in Dayton for Driver100 to use has been damaged already. A gasoline tank truck was hit by a driver going north in the southbound lanes.

Here's a picture of the resulting explosion after the fire has been burning for a while. Notice the huge black cloud that has existed for several minutes and note the northbound drivers on the right who refuse to slow down or move over far to the right to avoid the danger. One car is almost hit by a plume of burning gas.

You will have to click on the video to view. The web site is awful with all kinds of things loading.

http://fox45now.com/news/local/odot-cameras-catch-vehicle-explosion-on-i-75-south-in-dayton

That is scary - quite the fireball and people driving the wrong way on major highways is a big problem. It seems to happen about once a month in the Tampa area. I know we are over nannyized but I think it would make sense to have devices in cars that prevent drivers under the influence to drive....or at least they should be installed on cars driven by anyone charged with a DUI within the last 3 years.

We have our tickets to fly to Florida on October 25th, it looks like the days of driving down are over. It is getting busier, the drivers on I-75 are getting crazier, it takes 3 or 4 days to recuperate, and it is a lot of wear and tear on the car. Besides, we are looking at 2 1/2 hours vs 2 1/2 days.

This year there were big traffic jams too, a combination of bad weather and that highway taken out in Atlanta.

abacomike

berri said:

I'm not sure I see a big difference between weed and alcohol. I think the gov may have built up weed more than it really is by the grant processes it used to fund police departments. Busting teens with marijuana was a quick way to build up the stat numbers, but unfortunately it took the pressure and eyes off of more serious drugs sometimes. Over indulgence in weed, booze, sugar, fatty foods etc. is all bad for you. But as in politics, sometimes moderation is hard to achieve I suppose.

Being not sure you see a big difference between weed and alcohol, IMHO, is the problem that faces government, the populous and the medical profession. Alcohol has a direct affect on the liver and the kidneys and usually causes liver failure in alcoholics which is preceded by cirrhosis and damage to other vital organs - eventually causing death. Liver cancer is also a possible result.

Weed, on the other hand, affects the nervous system and brain with possible side effects like lung cancer and throat cancer. Smoking weed can also affect the eyes and muscular system due to problems associated with the nervous system. The real, long term affects of smoking weed are still not fully known, but the affects of alcohol on the body is well researched.

If you are talking about the problem of "addiction" rather than physical affects, I would then tend to agree with your statement that they both are very similar in terms of their affects on their addictive properties.

No matter what, both are a major cause of uncontrolled behaviors as a result of their use. I have never tried marijuana/weed or any heavy drugs. I am very aware of the addictive side affects of opioids because I have suffered from that addiction after 2 major surgeries where I was on Demerol and Morphine for long periods of time - coming off those drugs was murder for me - but thank the Lord, I do not need those drugs - even though I suffer from severe pain at times, I refuse to use the morphine pills I have in the pantry because I know what taking them does to my body - constipation is another serious side effect.

Let's face it, we humans have been able to discover a myriad of things we should not be putting into our bodies. Yet we have not been able to "fix" the addictive properties in those "things"!

driver100

One big problem with weed is it can affect younger forming brains....those under 25 years. One thing that turned me off in college days was the people who loved it - that became their life. How to get it, how to socialize with others who shared this major driving force, and getting it took the place of any other ambition. Users could discuss for hours how they got it, the quality, prices paid etc.......it became their life! (kind of like we do now with cars ).

Basically, I don't care if legalized or not......I just want to be protected from the people who use it and will risk others lives for their own enjoyment.

jmonroe

FINALLY , a complement.

CAUTION: this tale is more than 150 words.

I had to get the Genny it's annual PA state inspection today. In fact, I was one day late. I should have taken it in before the end of April. I guess telling you guys that was not needed since it will take me over the limit, but to be sure I overshot the limit I decided to get my monies worth.

I took it in at 8 AM this morning before I even had a chance to eat breakfast. It took about an hour, so now I'm hungry and decided to go to the Dunkin Donut shop right near this place as soon as I left.

Again, more than you needed to know but this is when the story takes place with a retired guy that was there along with a few other retired guys that hang out there every morning. I got to talking with this one guy in particular since he was from this area going waaay back. We leave together and I'm parked right next to him.

Here goes:

Retired guy: WHOA, got yourself a Bentley.

Me: It ain't no Bentley look again at the trunk badge.

Retired guy: That's what I'm looking at. Oh, wait a minute, that doesn't have the "B".

Me: Right. Don't feel bad this car fooled a guy at Firestone right after I got it 2 years ago.

Retired guy: Ya know, I like that badge better. It's not as small as the Bentley. So, how do you like the Genesis. I've heard about them but never saw one this close. Looks pretty nice to me. Do you mind if I sit in it? Yeah, it looks really nice.

Me: Sure.

He sets in the driver's seat then wants to sit in the back seat.

Retired guy: Seems to be pretty roomy and I like the dash, especially the wood trim. Is that real wood?

Me: It's supposed to be.

Retired guy: I like it.

If this guy wasn't so ugly I would have kissed him on the lips.

He is now out of my car and is almost finished drooling. He then points to his car parked right next to me. It's a white MB. I don't know what year it is but I see it has the 550 badge on it.

Retired guy: That's my car. It's a 2009. I was thinking of getting another one when the 2018's come out but maybe I will take a look at the new Genesis when the 2018's come out.

I try to discourage him and say.

Me: Stick with a Benz. The Genesis depreciates like a rock.

Retired guy: I'm not going to get very much for that thing at its age. I'm not worried about depreciation. I usually keep my cars for 6 years but since I liked this one so much I held onto it a little longer.

Me: You'll get more for it at its age than you will for a Genesis at the same age.

Retired guy: Yeah, but I'm sure I paid a good bit more for it when it was new than you did for your Genesis from what I have heard about the price of them. Oh man, I just noticed this. I see the 5.0 on the trunk. Is this a V8 ?

Me: Yes.

Retired guy: I'm really getting interested now. I haven't had a V8 for a long time.

I could tell more of this story but that's all I dare to tell now.

If you come in this area someday and see another Genny on the road it might belong to this guy. I'm not going to like that but I warned him.

The more I think about this, if I go back to that Dunkin Donut someday at breakfast time and see a Genny in the lot, I'm gonna let the air out of all 4 tires. :@

jmonroe

ab348

Good story, JM.

Seems to me the secret to buying a Genesis is to get one a couple of years old and let the first guy eat the depreciation.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

not sure what mileage difference a diesel gets these days. I did like the drive in the land rover I had in Ireland. And it did get good mileage.

but, sedans do fine with petrol On the run up from DC to jersey today, my Sonata got about 35, and the Jetta (we had both cars) pulled 41.2. Not sure how much more a Diesel Jetta would pull on the same trip, but not like you are going broke putting in RUG and pulling 40 on the highway (where IIRC diesels shine).

Oh, around here, Diesel is about $.15 more than RUG, so close to mid grade price, and usually does run more than RUG.

Our bus diesels get about 10 on the highway and 8 in general traffic. Not sure what a gasoline version would do.

Like you, diesel here runs more than RUG.

stickguy

A Benz 550 is a V8.

abacomike

jmonroe said:

FINALLY , a complement.

CAUTION: this tale is more than 150 words.

I had to get the Genny it's annual PA state inspection today. In fact, I was one day late. I should have taken it in before the end of April. I guess telling you guys that was not needed since it will take me over the limit, but to be sure I overshot the limit I decided to get my monies worth.

I took it in at 8 AM this morning before I even had a chance to eat breakfast. It took about an hour, so now I'm hungry and decided to go to the Dunkin Donut shop right near this place as soon as I left.

Again, more than you needed to know but this is when the story takes place with a retired guy that was there along with a few other retired guys that hang out there every morning. I got to talking with this one guy in particular since he was from this area going waaay back. We leave together and I'm parked right next to him.

Here goes:

Retired guy: WHOA, got yourself a Bentley.

Me: It ain't no Bentley look again at the trunk badge.

Retired guy: That's what I'm looking at. Oh, wait a minute, that doesn't have the "B".

Me: Right. Don't feel bad this car fooled a guy at Firestone right after I got it 2 years ago.

Retired guy: Ya know, I like that badge better. It's not as small as the Bentley. So, how do you like the Genesis. I've heard about them but never saw one this close. Looks pretty nice to me. Do you mind if I sit in it? Yeah, it looks really nice.

Me: Sure.

He sets in the driver's seat then wants to sit in the back seat.

Retired guy: Seems to be pretty roomy and I like the dash, especially the wood trim. Is that real wood?

Me: It's supposed to be.

Retired guy: I like it.

If this guy wasn't so ugly I would have kissed him on the lips.

He is now out of my car and is almost finished drooling. He then points to his car parked right next to me. It's a white MB. I don't know what year it is but I see it has the 550 badge on it.

Retired guy: That's my car. It's a 2009. I was thinking of getting another one when the 2018's come out but maybe I will take a look at the new Genesis when the 2018's come out.

I try to discourage him and say.

Me: Stick with a Benz. The Genesis depreciates like a rock.

Retired guy: I'm not going to get very much for that thing at its age. I'm not worried about depreciation. I usually keep my cars for 6 years but since I liked this one so much I held onto it a little longer.

Me: You'll get more for it at its age than you will for a Genesis at the same age.

Retired guy: Yeah, but I'm sure I paid a good bit more for it when it was new than you did for your Genesis from what I have heard about the price of them. Oh man, I just noticed this. I see the 5.0 on the trunk. Is this a V8 ?

Me: Yes.

Retired guy: I'm really getting interested now. I haven't had a V8 for a long time.

I could tell more of this story but that's all I dare to tell now.

If you come in this area someday and see another Genny on the road it might belong to this guy. I'm not going to like that but I warned him.

The more I think about this, if I go back to that Dunkin Donut someday at breakfast time and see a Genny in the lot, I'm gonna let the air out of all 4 tires. :@

jmonroe

Your tires or his?

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Definitely. "Reefer Madness" is from 1936, and there's even a funny line in Back to the Future about "reefer addicts". I have seen the substance enhance the "lazy gene" (good one) too, but I've seen more people messed up by booze and harder drugs. It's nothing new or cool, and I don't know if youngins today are pretending it is so.

My brother likes to imbibe in the legal-here stuff, most Friday and Saturday nights he and his friends play video games and light up. Funny thing, he doesn't drink at all, nor does he use tobacco. This is his one vice. As he lives in a small town with a decent drug problem (common everywhere), this isn't so bad - and now with resources not being wasted by patrolling it. I remember back in the early 00s, he even wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, supporting legalization (and it got a snarky reply from another reader). Looks like he won.

imidazol97 said:

My sister who has passed a decade ago and who sort of raised me since I was a "late" child and my mother had health problems when I was little talked at one time about how marijuana was around when she was younger, 40s and 50s. It was mostly around the music business folks. She was a beautiful young woman and enjoyed dancing and partying. So marijuana is not as new or chic as some would like to think.

My limited experience with the wacky weed was based on some pretty beat stuff that was available back in the 60s. Burned my throat so much that I couldn't tell if what I was feeling was from weed or the beer I had to wash it down with.

Personally, the arguement that it's no worse than booze is bogus. Lot of lives ruined by booze. Giving people one more intoxicating substance doesn't make sense to me.

Government sees legalization as the latest cash cow but I wonder if we're moving towards Huxley's 'Brave New World'.

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

graphicguy said:

Why is it that the car manufacturers keep trying to bring diesels to the U.S.? We've largely rejected them. Yet, brands try to see them to a very small number of fans in the hopes that the market will expand. Hasn't happened in decades. Odds are worse today than ever to sell them here.

Stop already!

Dare you to repost this in the "What would it take for YOU to buy a Diesel" thread.

GG is quite right you know, at least until some unknown "thing" changes what has been basically a passenger car diesel market share carved in concrete for decades.

Basically small diesel cars make no sense (to me). You trade away 90% of the diesel's usefulness for a few measly MPG.

Haul a horse--buy a diesel
Haul a dog--buy a Subaru

Mr_Shiftright

This just in:

GasBuddy says that Monday is the best day, dollar-wise, to fill up your gas tank and Thursday is the worst day. This taken from 3 years of data. Caveat: This works for many, but not all, states.

fintail

I've also seen more lives ruined by booze and cigs than weed. I think the enforcement aspect of it might be the other dystopia, 1984. Do we need big brother keeping an eye on everything we inhale, or even worse, accepting bribes from some those who profit from certain addictive substances, while fighting one in particular? Sounds like a good way to limit competition rather than protect people. Prohibition never works, people who want to imbibe will find a way if it is legal or not. The praetorian sector never weighs the costs vs benefits of militarized enforcement and penalty, but they should be held to a standard.

oldfarmer50 said:

My limited experience with the wacky weed was based on some pretty beat stuff that was available back in the 60s. Burned my throat so much that I couldn't tell if what I was feeling was from weed or the beer I had to wash it down with.

Personally, the arguement that it's no worse than booze is bogus. Lot of lives ruined by booze. Giving people one more intoxicating substance doesn't make sense to me.

Government sees legalization as the latest cash cow but I wonder if we're moving towards Huxley's 'Brave New World'.