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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    OF, great plan for GG. maybe that will be my next career!

    Back in the early 90s, a young guy I worked with would drive down to the south as a hobby to look for old muscle cars and bring them back up to PA. I think he was ahead of his time.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163

    dino001 said:

    Canadian prices are much higher than US, so when you’re paying this much, you can expect to get better choice. US market is all about streamlining costs to bring prices down with a potential reward of huge volume, even in upmarket. Moreover, US customer wants a car here and now, no waiting, not even a week or two, certainly not couple of months. Not sure if Canadian customer is the same. European customer almost never buys a vehicle from a lot, especially premium brand.

    I don’t think it’s necessarily the case of American impatience but rather the dealer system that forces you into taking something off the lot or pay a higher price. They’ll do a dealer trade of course at a higher price but from my experience they’d rather give you their first born child than custom order.
    I think it's both, kind of a circle. The system was put in place to satisfy consumer's desire for instant gratification, putting all kinds of monetary incentives behind it (for all parties involves, manufacturers, dealers and consumers) that a person who is willing to wait for their "perfect" product is charged more for their patience, as they are perceived to be more costly to the system (product sitting on the lot, burning credit money and you bozo the customer want different color, or sunroof, or don't want the sunroof, what an outrage).

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    driver100 said:

    About Canadian MB models in Canada, all your points are probably true to some degree. Just from off the top of my head my guess would be;
    *Gas is 2 or 3X as expensive, so there is a market for wagons. Similar to Europe, get the same interior space with less weight...less gas.

    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    dino001 said:


    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?

    There used to be up until recently. Alberta gas prices were traditionally always much less than elsewhere in Canada. For reasons that are not clear to me that is not the case at present. Right now the cheapest gas in Canada is in parts of Ontario at 83 cents/liter, while it is over 90 cents in Alberta. A couple of years ago when we were paying $1.20/L here, prices in Alberta were maybe 30-40 cents less per liter.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    It always seemed to me though that special orders should be popular with dealers, since it saves them money, not having to floorplan a unit on the lot. But works better if lots of buyers do it, otherwise they still have a large inventory on hand.

    Back when I almost bought a 5 series, dealer was fine with it. They got a defined allocation of cars that they were getting anyway. All my special order meant was I got to spec out one of the allocated to be built units they were getting anyway. If I didn’t do it, some sales manager would have instead.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • abacomikeabacomike Member Posts: 12,255
    I just noticed that the "Sharkfin" SIRIUS/XM receiver usually found on the rear roof of my cars is no longer there. I looked all over the exterior of my car and found nothing. I get great satellite radio reception, so I am going to venture a guess that the receiver must now be incorporated into the rear window along with the AM/FM antennae.

    Anyone know if that is the case? 🤓

    2021 Genesis G90

  • jmonroe1jmonroe1 Member Posts: 7,466
    kyfdx said:

    jipster said:

    Thanks. I'll put the name in my Android Auto .

    On that second photo, lower right hand corner.....named after that time Jmonroe was being chased by his Mrs. with a frying pan? LOL

    Check the roads in the first photo. So THAT’s where Shelbyville is located.




    No, aren't the Simpsons in Illinois? :D
    Could be but for sure there is a @snakeweasel in Illinois. B)

    jmonroe

    '15 Genesis Ultimate just like jmonroe's. '18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
  • jmonroe1jmonroe1 Member Posts: 7,466
    abacomike said:

    I just noticed that the "Sharkfin" SIRIUS/XM receiver usually found on the rear roof of my cars is no longer there. I looked all over the exterior of my car and found nothing. I get great satellite radio reception, so I am going to venture a guess that the receiver must now be incorporated into the rear window along with the AM/FM antennae.

    Anyone know if that is the case? 🤓

    This guy is curious or maybe he’s serious.😳

    jmonroe



    '15 Genesis Ultimate just like jmonroe's. '18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    a lot of cars don't have those. My Accord had a flatish piece (maybe 1/2" high and 2" square) instead of the fin. I would not be surprised if MB found an alternative to the fin.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    ab348 said:

    dino001 said:


    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?

    There used to be up until recently. Alberta gas prices were traditionally always much less than elsewhere in Canada. For reasons that are not clear to me that is not the case at present. Right now the cheapest gas in Canada is in parts of Ontario at 83 cents/liter, while it is over 90 cents in Alberta. A couple of years ago when we were paying $1.20/L here, prices in Alberta were maybe 30-40 cents less per liter.
    0.9 CAD/l = 3.40 CAD/gal. = 2.52 USD/gal., far cry from "two-three times" more than US, as Driver claimed. Florida has current price of regular about 1.80 USD/gal., mostly due to low demand. Much normal price is around 2.50-3 bucks. Even now it is less than in many US jurisdictions now - California, for example.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    is the Canadian gallon imperial, or US? Of course I am not sure how that skews the numbers anyway

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    Canada uses litters. But fair enough, Driver might have assumed that gallon in the US means 20 Imperial fluid ounces (as it does in his former Metropolis, 20, 4.546 litres), not 16 US fluid ounces (3.785 litres)

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • abacomikeabacomike Member Posts: 12,255
    stickguy said:

    a lot of cars don't have those. My Accord had a flatish piece (maybe 1/2" high and 2" square) instead of the fin. I would not be surprised if MB found an alternative to the fin.

    I would think that "fintail" would have some info on that!

    2021 Genesis G90

  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,290
    kyfdx said:

    jipster said:

    Thanks. I'll put the name in my Android Auto .

    On that second photo, lower right hand corner.....named after that time Jmonroe was being chased by his Mrs. with a frying pan? LOL

    Check the roads in the first photo. So THAT’s where Shelbyville is located.




    No, aren't the Simpsons in Illinois? :D
    IIRC there are three states with both a Springfield and a Shelbyville, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. All are landlocked, the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • abacomikeabacomike Member Posts: 12,255
    South Florida has been inundated with new coronavirus cases - but interestingly enough, the median age of infected people has dropped from 62 to 45 years of age. Many are asymptomatic - not showing any signs of the illness when tested which means they are contagious but not sick. That is kind of scary, if you ask me.

    It is obvious that our lives have changed significantly and will probably remain as such for the near future. I find myself avoiding people whether they are wearing masks or not. Socializing with people, at least for me, has deteriorated to no contact except with two friends with whom I walk at the mall. I shop for food after 12:00 noon at a grocery that is almost empty at that time of day.

    By the way, happy belated Father's Day wishes to all you guys out there with kids and grandkids.

    2021 Genesis G90

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    I'm doing the same, as long as my mother is here with me. I'm really scared for her flying back home in two weeks. There is an explosion of new cases here. Basically all went out of the window and now we're all left to fend for ourselves, old folks you can just lay down and die, we just don't care anymore. Seems for some "freedom from mask" and any other kind of common sense thing is so much more important that some old lady not going under respirator. I guess it's understandable, she is far away, who cares. I guess people will start believing when somebody they actually know will fall gravely ill.

    I thought we were doing OK until couple of weeks ago, but it's clear some people simply don't get it, they never did and they probably never will. The opening for them meant it's all good, danger gone, not real, probably all scam by fill-the-blank.

    I heard a great comment this weekend, somebody said it seems like large portion of American people think they can simply will the virus away by the power of their mind, or spirit (or whatever you say). That is a very sad testimony on the science education in the society. I kind of knew that before, but this is a final piece of evidence to me regarding misery of American education system. People seem to be completely impervious to knowledge, scientific inquiry and method and resistant to even acknowledge their not knowing anything. Overlay that with attitude "nobody will tell me what to do" and you get what we have now.

    BTW, this is not "second wave" as they call it. This is first wave, we just decided to open levies.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    Dino, if the home country has it under control, I would still try to get her on the plane and out as soon as you can. they are at least taking precautions on flights now, though wearing a mask the whole way with limited services does not sound like too much fun. At least it is (usually) an overnight flight, so hopefully get on, mask up, and go to sleep!

    Mike, the age of people testing positive is mostly due to the fact that from what you see on TV, most of the people going out to crowded bars, etc. are younger, so they are the ones getting exposed. Plus, it makes sense that if you test more people without symptoms, and younger folks are more commonly asymptomatic, you will find more positives.

    I don't blame you for trying to stay out of harms way, but worth it to try and put together some social activities, even if it is socially distant appropriate outdoor get togethers. AKA lawn chairs and a cooler out in the common area!

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,311
    stickguy said:

    It always seemed to me though that special orders should be popular with dealers, since it saves them money, not having to floorplan a unit on the lot. But works better if lots of buyers do it, otherwise they still have a large inventory on hand.

    Back when I almost bought a 5 series, dealer was fine with it. They got a defined allocation of cars that they were getting anyway. All my special order meant was I got to spec out one of the allocated to be built units they were getting anyway. If I didn’t do it, some sales manager would have instead.

    Why didn't you get the BMW 5-series? And what year was that?
    2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2018 Honda CR-V EX AWD (wife's)
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    It was a MY 2001 I believe. so somewhere in late 2000/early 2001 range. a 525 RWD with 5 speed.

    basically I chickened out on spending that much money at the time, and spent less than 1/2 on a 3 year old Maxima SE.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891


    the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    I'm gonna regret this ... how do we know this?

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    stickguy said:

    Dino, if the home country has it under control, I would still try to get her on the plane and out as soon as you can. they are at least taking precautions on flights now, though wearing a mask the whole way with limited services does not sound like too much fun. At least it is (usually) an overnight flight, so hopefully get on, mask up, and go to sleep!

    Basically that's what we're going to do. Poland has its own surge, but nothing close to the disaster here. We would have done it much sooner, but Polish airports were completely closed until June 1st and just opened for international traffic last week. Lufthansa will fly to her airport in July and we're taking almost first availbale connection. It's through Chicago ( :worried: ), but she's going to be there really short, just go from one gate to another. Then Munich, many hours.

    BTW, in comparison to Poland, Florida has a bit more than half of the population and number of diagnosed Covid cases is three times higher (almost 6x per million residents). Some of the difference is higher number of tests, but it's only part, they don't test here as comprehensively as their propaganda would like you believe. The worst part is probably the positive rate just crossed 10% of the tests here in FL, it was 2-3% just a couple of weeks ago - this means the virus is raging. It's a clear developing disaster for anybody who is willing to see it and it's accelerating. Thoughts and prayers, I guess. 3-4 thousand new cases every day with 20-30 percent daily growth in last couple of weeks, vs. 300-400 per day over there.

    Clearly no efforts to stop it, with these numbers, tracing will be futile (there is no staff to trace these many contacts), pretty much the government washed their hands.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Funny you mention the Forte - I have a friend in BC who bought an absolute base model Forte (sedan), doesn't even have AC. I think it was around 8K USD out the door - insanely cheap. A similar model doesn't exist in the USDM. It's kind of a penalty box, but some find that endearing, and I think that might also be a part of the "cheapskate" (or prudent) movement - there can be a charm to a basic car, and the price is right. Some also seem to get excited about how little they can spend, and these cars are gold to them. Really, these basic cars should be offered here, but often are not.

    On local CL there are always numerous ex-Canada cars, mostly either JDM material that filters in, or trucks (I wouldn't want a truck that worked in the tar sands) but sometimes a random ordinary car too.

    Standard of living stuff can be mystifying judging by what I see in BC and AB anyway. I know taxes are higher (although medical costs in total are more here) and many incomes are lower, but you'd never know it with the vehicles on the road and the mcmansions sprouting up everywhere (albeit often more tightly packed than south of the border). I think some Canadians have a similar or even higher appetite for debt than Americans.
    ab348 said:

    Fin's post below captures a lot of the situation but I would add this - traditionally (going back even past the 1950s) the standard of living in Canada was a bit lower than the US and incomes were less, so naturally cheap cars did better. It is reall e in a hotted-up version, though I have yet to see one.



  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    That reminds me when I was chatting with a cop after the rental car smash in Milwaukee. He told me he buys a winter beater, usually an old Suburban or similar, drives it during salt season, then sells it when he is done, usually breaks even. I might try for that.

    Definitely nobody brags about a car being from ON or NY in a used car ad. One of the rustiest old MBs I've seen was originally from Quebec - and it wasn't even a 15 year old car at the time. I think it has some poorly prepared paintwork at time, and rust took over. The owner wanted my opinion (as I had a similar car at the time), I told her to find another.


    In the rust belt that’s not being a cheapskate, that’s being financially prudent. What kind of spendthrift throws away $70k only to see it turn to a pile of rust in a few years? The alternative is to have a good car for summer and a beater for salt season. That can get pricey too unless you’re an expert hooptie hunter like me. B)

    Say, there’s another job for GG. When he takes those cars down south for his clients he can shop the local Craigslist circuit for rust free cars, bring them back north and sell them to desperate MB owners. :p

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    stickguy said:

    It always seemed to me though that special orders should be popular with dealers, since it saves them money, not having to floorplan a unit on the lot. But works better if lots of buyers do it, otherwise they still have a large inventory on hand.

    Back when I almost bought a 5 series, dealer was fine with it. They got a defined allocation of cars that they were getting anyway. All my special order meant was I got to spec out one of the allocated to be built units they were getting anyway. If I didn’t do it, some sales manager would have instead.

    This is in theory true, but when you walk in, at that very moment they have umpty pieces collecting dust, requiring interest payments. When you take one now from the lot, they can immediately buy a replacement. Also, they are getting paid in full (by the bank or you, depending who financed the purchase) for it. When they order, they get a measly deposit, the vehicles on the lot still need interest payments, etc. This is compounded by the manufacturer's pressure to accept new cars on the lots (yes, that order is probably credited somewhere in the system, but when, probably at the delivery. Lots of incentives to push what's here, not what "can be". The only difference is training of the upscale brand staff not to flinch when there is a customer insisting on green with pink leather (if available). I ordered (Euro delivery) my last two BMWs, the experience was great, the opening salvo was always MSRP (plus "fees" of course), the final discount I would get was never big, but I tempered my expectations regarding pricing. I don't regret it, would do it again, situation permitting (probably not now).

    To me "deal" is not a real deal if you don't get what you really want. If you don't care about details (mane people don't), by all means, but if you positively need certain combination of options, color and inlays, do not let others talk you into a "better deal". You'll regret it three months later and start looking for a new car.

    BTW, they also have system of trading allotments in case of order not fitting theirs. They may need to give up something more popular for it, but they'd do it if they have a real customer with a real order at attractive (to them) price. Euro Delivery vehicles were not subject to allotments in BMW's system, so that was not even an issue.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    stickguy said:

    It was a MY 2001 I believe. so somewhere in late 2000/early 2001 range. a 525 RWD with 5 speed.

    basically I chickened out on spending that much money at the time, and spent less than 1/2 on a 3 year old Maxima SE.

    Boooo!!! :wink:

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • driver100driver100 Member Posts: 31,964
    edited June 2020
    dino001 said:

    driver100 said:

    About Canadian MB models in Canada, all your points are probably true to some degree. Just from off the top of my head my guess would be;
    *Gas is 2 or 3X as expensive, so there is a market for wagons. Similar to Europe, get the same interior space with less weight...less gas.

    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?
    Gas in Ontario today is just under $1 a litre for REG right now, when I left Florida REG was about $2.30 to $2.40 a gallon, so almost double. At one time Alberta was rolling in oil money, and they kept the price really low especially for their own population.
    Prices have been more than double at times, just before the economy tanked this time, gas was about $1.40 a litre, but as low as $2.20 a gallon in Florida last winter.

    2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250

  • driver100driver100 Member Posts: 31,964
    dino001 said:

    ab348 said:

    dino001 said:


    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?

    There used to be up until recently. Alberta gas prices were traditionally always much less than elsewhere in Canada. For reasons that are not clear to me that is not the case at present. Right now the cheapest gas in Canada is in parts of Ontario at 83 cents/liter, while it is over 90 cents in Alberta. A couple of years ago when we were paying $1.20/L here, prices in Alberta were maybe 30-40 cents less per liter.
    0.9 CAD/l = 3.40 CAD/gal. = 2.52 USD/gal., far cry from "two-three times" more than US, as Driver claimed. Florida has current price of regular about 1.80 USD/gal., mostly due to low demand. Much normal price is around 2.50-3 bucks. Even now it is less than in many US jurisdictions now - California, for example.
    I'm not as good at math as you Dino but I just paid $1.28 a litre for premium, Reg is about $1....a litre. I understand 4.5 litres = 1 Imp gal, 4 liters equals one U.S gallon. 4 litres at $1 = $4 U.S, you just said gas was $1.80 in Florida. Sorry if my math is off but looks like more than 2X.

    2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    edited June 2020
    dino001 said:

    Canada uses litters. But fair enough, Driver might have assumed that gallon in the US means 20 Imperial fluid ounces (as it does in his former Metropolis, 20, 4.546 litres), not 16 US fluid ounces (3.785 litres)

    I'm confused. I think the word "gallon" is not what was meant in the post.

    16 fluid ounces (US) is a pint. 32 fl oz is a quart. 128 fl oz is a gallon US. Not 16

    And then the Imperial gallon is 4 liters and is 160 Imperial fl oz.

    https://www.convertunits.com/from/US+gallons/to/Imperial+gallon

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    Oops, my bad. I messed up the units. You're correct, 16 vs.20 fluid ounces was a pint definition, not gallon. I was correct about Imperial ounce being different from US and the amount of litres in each of the gallons (4.546 vs. 3.78), but I obviously botched the aforementioned gallon to ounce conversions. Sorry about that.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    driver100 said:


    Prices have been more than double at times, just before the economy tanked this time, gas was about $1.40 a litre, but as low as $2.20 a gallon in Florida last winter.

    But that's not apples to apples. When it was more expensive in Alberta, it was probably much more here, as well. I'm sure when it was 1.4 CAD per litre in Alberta, i was probably around near or around 4 bucks US per gallon here in Florida. If you convert it, apples to apples, relationships are similar regardless of price of gas or even dollar conversions. What determines gas pricing in relative terms between jurisdictions is mostly taxation and local monopolies, if such exist - product itself, or its transportation cost is a small portion of that difference. This makes relative relationships quite stable.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    qbrozen said:


    the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    I'm gonna regret this ... how do we know this?
    Here's a how....

    The Sea Captain has been a reoccurring character on the Simpson's for many years.

    "Yarrrr!" ―McCallister's Catchphrase "I'm married to the sea, plus I have a thing on the side with two of the Great Lakes." ―The Sea Captain. Horatio Peter McCallister, more known simply as the Sea Captain, is a resident of Springfield. He is always seen holding a corncob pipe and squinting: because he has at least one glass eye - though once he was seen tapping both of his eyes and says he has "two glass eyes." In addition to eye.
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    did they show his boat docked in Springfield?

    might mean it is Springfield, PA. close enough to the river to get out to the ocean (freighters come up to Philly and other ports along the Delaware river)

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • driver100driver100 Member Posts: 31,964
    edited June 2020
    dino001 said:

    driver100 said:


    Prices have been more than double at times, just before the economy tanked this time, gas was about $1.40 a litre, but as low as $2.20 a gallon in Florida last winter.

    But that's not apples to apples. When it was more expensive in Alberta, it was probably much more here, as well. I'm sure when it was 1.4 CAD per litre in Alberta, i was probably around near or around 4 bucks US per gallon here in Florida. If you convert it, apples to apples, relationships are similar regardless of price of gas or even dollar conversions. What determines gas pricing in relative terms between jurisdictions is mostly taxation and local monopolies, if such exist - product itself, or its transportation cost is a small portion of that difference. This makes relative relationships quite stable.
    It is exactly apples to apples. Tomorrow 1 litre of reg will be $1.05 CDN. 3.8 litres = 1 U.S. gallon.
    That is $4 Cdn. $4 Cdn = $2.96 U.S. Gas in Florida is $1.80...not quite double but there was a wider difference before the pandemic. A large percentage of our cost of gas goes for taxes, to help pay for things like universal medicare....which is OK with me.
    When you compare to Alberta things have changed drastically, Alberta was a big oil producer and oil was over $100 a barrel, today they lose money on oil under $40 a barrel...the economy in Alberta is really hurting.

    2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250

  • driver100driver100 Member Posts: 31,964
    stickguy said:

    a lot of cars don't have those. My Accord had a flatish piece (maybe 1/2" high and 2" square) instead of the fin. I would not be surprised if MB found an alternative to the fin.

    They must have found a way to put the GPS, cell phone, internet into the roof or something instead of the fin.
    Mrs D100s 2015 has a fin, my 2017 doesn't have one. Mike is one very observant individual....I never thought about it. Either he is observant or doesn't have enough to do all day. :D

    2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250

  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,290
    qbrozen said:


    the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    I'm gonna regret this ... how do we know this?
    There was one episode where they took Mr. Burns yacht out into international waters to get around liquor hours in Springfield. There was another where Homer joined the Navy and sailed away on a sub from a local naval base.

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    kyfdx said:

    jipster said:

    Thanks. I'll put the name in my Android Auto .

    On that second photo, lower right hand corner.....named after that time Jmonroe was being chased by his Mrs. with a frying pan? LOL

    Check the roads in the first photo. So THAT’s where Shelbyville is located.




    No, aren't the Simpsons in Illinois? :D
    The creator would never admit to which Springfield was his model. There’s one in MA too. From various references to upstate NY I’d guess Groning spent some time here as well.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,290
    driver100 said:

    dino001 said:

    ab348 said:

    dino001 said:


    I don't recall seeing such high gas prices when I was in Alberta 2015. It was more, but not two or three times. Are there large variations between provinces?

    There used to be up until recently. Alberta gas prices were traditionally always much less than elsewhere in Canada. For reasons that are not clear to me that is not the case at present. Right now the cheapest gas in Canada is in parts of Ontario at 83 cents/liter, while it is over 90 cents in Alberta. A couple of years ago when we were paying $1.20/L here, prices in Alberta were maybe 30-40 cents less per liter.
    0.9 CAD/l = 3.40 CAD/gal. = 2.52 USD/gal., far cry from "two-three times" more than US, as Driver claimed. Florida has current price of regular about 1.80 USD/gal., mostly due to low demand. Much normal price is around 2.50-3 bucks. Even now it is less than in many US jurisdictions now - California, for example.
    I'm not as good at math as you Dino but I just paid $1.28 a litre for premium, Reg is about $1....a litre. I understand 4.5 litres = 1 Imp gal, 4 liters equals one U.S gallon. 4 litres at $1 = $4 U.S, you just said gas was $1.80 in Florida. Sorry if my math is off but looks like more than 2X.
    Well 1 Canadian dollar is 0.74 US dollars and a gallon is 3.785 liters so a dollar a liter would be 2.80 USD a gallon. Since RUG is in the 2.20 range around here that would make gas there about 25% more expensive.

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    stickguy said:

    OF, great plan for GG. maybe that will be my next career!

    Back in the early 90s, a young guy I worked with would drive down to the south as a hobby to look for old muscle cars and bring them back up to PA. I think he was ahead of his time.

    I know a few used car dealers with a CDL A class who own a car carrier. They travel south of the rust belt to bring back 10 cars at a time.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    dino001 said:

    dino001 said:

    Canadian prices are much higher than US, so when you’re paying this much, you can expect to get better choice. US market is all about streamlining costs to bring prices down with a potential reward of huge volume, even in upmarket. Moreover, US customer wants a car here and now, no waiting, not even a week or two, certainly not couple of months. Not sure if Canadian customer is the same. European customer almost never buys a vehicle from a lot, especially premium brand.

    I don’t think it’s necessarily the case of American impatience but rather the dealer system that forces you into taking something off the lot or pay a higher price. They’ll do a dealer trade of course at a higher price but from my experience they’d rather give you their first born child than custom order.
    I think it's both, kind of a circle. The system was put in place to satisfy consumer's desire for instant gratification, putting all kinds of monetary incentives behind it (for all parties involves, manufacturers, dealers and consumers) that a person who is willing to wait for their "perfect" product is charged more for their patience, as they are perceived to be more costly to the system (product sitting on the lot, burning credit money and you bozo the customer want different color, or sunroof, or don't want the sunroof, what an outrage).
    I’ll concede that there’s a good percentage of people who want instant gratification. I could never understand that when spending that kind of money.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    dino001 said:

    Oops, my bad. I messed up the units. You're correct, 16 vs.20 fluid ounces was a pint definition, not gallon. I was correct about Imperial ounce being different from US and the amount of litres in each of the gallons (4.546 vs. 3.78), but I obviously botched the aforementioned gallon to ounce conversions. Sorry about that.

    And what threw me is the fluid ounce is different in size in the two systems! Thank God for the conversion websites that do it easily.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    Here's a calculator to convert Canadian liter price in CDN to gallon US price in USD.
    https://www.mississauga4sale.com/Gasoline-Conversion-Calculator-litres-gallons-us.htm#LtoGal

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    driver100 said:


    It is exactly apples to apples. Tomorrow 1 litre of reg will be $1.05 CDN. 3.8 litres = 1 U.S. gallon.
    That is $4 Cdn. $4 Cdn = $2.96 U.S. Gas in Florida is $1.80...not quite double but there was a wider difference before the pandemic. A large percentage of our cost of gas goes for taxes, to help pay for things like universal medicare....which is OK with me.
    When you compare to Alberta things have changed drastically, Alberta was a big oil producer and oil was over $100 a barrel, today they lose money on oil under $40 a barrel...the economy in Alberta is really hurting.

    Well, $1.80 is the lowest since early 2000s. Typical price here varies between 2.50-3.00 USD per gallon. So for the spread to be "larger" than 1.65 (your implied number) currently calculated, your price would have to be over 1.47-1.77 CAD per litre, respective to the mentioned Florida prices. To be "twice", as you originally mentioned the range would have to be 1.80-2.15 CAD, "three times", 2.60-3.20 CAD/liter. Was it ever? You see, I have seen "two-three times" higher gas prices (UK, France, or even Poland that still is cheaper than Western Europe countries), they don't look anywhere close to those in Canada. It feels much more painful to pump gas there then you have ever experienced, Alberta or not Alberta :wink:

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    stickguy said:

    a lot of cars don't have those. My Accord had a flatish piece (maybe 1/2" high and 2" square) instead of the fin. I would not be surprised if MB found an alternative to the fin.

    The 2009 Chrysler had the flat receiver as does the decade newer Kia. The 2010 Fusion has an actual antenna sticking up about 5 inches.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    qbrozen said:


    the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    I'm gonna regret this ... how do we know this?

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Funny, I paid $3 USD for PUG at Chevron yesterday - and even at Costco it was like $2.80. So it balances out price-wise, yet we get less bang for our buck in tax rewards.

    Dangerous to base an economy on resource extraction.
    driver100 said:



    It is exactly apples to apples. Tomorrow 1 litre of reg will be $1.05 CDN. 3.8 litres = 1 U.S. gallon.
    That is $4 Cdn. $4 Cdn = $2.96 U.S. Gas in Florida is $1.80...not quite double but there was a wider difference before the pandemic. A large percentage of our cost of gas goes for taxes, to help pay for things like universal medicare....which is OK with me.
    When you compare to Alberta things have changed drastically, Alberta was a big oil producer and oil was over $100 a barrel, today they lose money on oil under $40 a barrel...the economy in Alberta is really hurting.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I am pretty sure it is in Oregon - as Groening is from OR and there's even some tourism stuff in the town (kind of a twin city to Eugene, where the latter is seen as maybe being more with it.


    The creator would never admit to which Springfield was his model. There’s one in MA too. From various references to upstate NY I’d guess Groning spent some time here as well.

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,562
    fintail said:

    Funny you mention the Forte - I have a friend in BC who bought an absolute base model Forte (sedan), doesn't even have AC. I think it was around 8K USD out the door - insanely cheap. A similar model doesn't exist in the USDM. It's kind of a penalty box, but some find that endearing, and I think that might also be a part of the "cheapskate" (or prudent) movement - there can be a charm to a basic car, and the price is right. Some also seem to get excited about how little they can spend, and these cars are gold to them. Really, these basic cars should be offered here, but often are not.

    On local CL there are always numerous ex-Canada cars, mostly either JDM material that filters in, or trucks (I wouldn't want a truck that worked in the tar sands) but sometimes a random ordinary car too.

    Standard of living stuff can be mystifying judging by what I see in BC and AB anyway. I know taxes are higher (although medical costs in total are more here) and many incomes are lower, but you'd never know it with the vehicles on the road and the mcmansions sprouting up everywhere (albeit often more tightly packed than south of the border). I think some Canadians have a similar or even higher appetite for debt than Americans.


    ab348 said:

    Fin's post below captures a lot of the situation but I would add this - traditionally (going back even past the 1950s) the standard of living in Canada was a bit lower than the US and incomes were less, so naturally cheap cars did better. It is reall e in a hotted-up version, though I have yet to see one.



    Maybe folks who buy cars like that are environmentalists who want to limit their footprint. Would you even need AC in British Columbia? I didn’t get my first air conditioned car until 1987. Prior to that we just fanned ourselves with our bootstraps. ;)

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    stickguy said:

    It always seemed to me though that special orders should be popular with dealers, since it saves them money, not having to floorplan a unit on the lot. But works better if lots of buyers do it, otherwise they still have a large inventory on hand.

    Back when I almost bought a 5 series, dealer was fine with it. They got a defined allocation of cars that they were getting anyway. All my special order meant was I got to spec out one of the allocated to be built units they were getting anyway. If I didn’t do it, some sales manager would have instead.

    I'm convinced a lot of "Sales Managers" are lousy at their jobs, at least at Dealerships that are not setting the world on fire with sales numbers. Then again, maybe my tastes are just different than most other people when it comes to cars, but I find the abundance of 50 shades of gray exteriors with black interiors to be appalling. :disappointed:
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    They've showed his boat docked.

    qbrozen said:


    the state that the Simpsons takes place has direct access to the open sea.

    I'm gonna regret this ... how do we know this?

    Nice detective work there oldfarmer. And hopefully everyone in here knows that Kentucky is not bordered by the ocean. :smile:
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,163
    edited June 2020
    andres3 said:


    I'm convinced a lot of "Sales Managers" are lousy at their jobs, at least at Dealerships that are not setting the world on fire with sales numbers. Then again, maybe my tastes are just different than most other people when it comes to cars, but I find the abundance of 50 shades of gray exteriors with black interiors to be appalling. :disappointed:

    I have the same impression. This is especially visible when you see completely different configurations (color, equipment, trims) in dealerships 20 miles apart and you hear "we order what sells". So let me get it straight - in Tampa white with beige stripper sells and in Sarasota it is grey with grey fully loaded (made up example). I call baloney, it's basically the SM taste, it's what he likes and he thinks others will.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

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