Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

That would certainly be true for my 2003 Mini, my friend's 2003 Boxster, my Dakota pickup or my brother's VW Passat. All nice vehicles, all to the wrecking yard if the engine fails. The Dakota might be borderline with a used engine and a weekend's work in the driveway.

Wow, even on the Mini and the Boxter?

verdugo

ab348 said:

Odd useless factoid I learned in my search: up here in my part of the world at least, Trane does not sell residential equipment any longer, only commercial,

We installed a Trane system last year, so you got me curious. I went to their website and they still have a residential section. I couldn't find anything either when doing an internet search.

What area do you live in?

ab348

verdugo said:

We installed a Trane system last year, so you got me curious. I went to their website and they still have a residential section. I couldn't find anything either when doing an internet search.

What area do you live in?

Canada. That's what made me curious, because the US site does indeed show residential equipment. But if you go to their Canadian site they are not in that market here, just commercial stuff.

Mr_Shiftright

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That would certainly be true for my 2003 Mini, my friend's 2003 Boxster, my Dakota pickup or my brother's VW Passat. All nice vehicles, all to the wrecking yard if the engine fails. The Dakota might be borderline with a used engine and a weekend's work in the driveway.

Wow, even on the Mini and the Boxter?

Yep. Mini is only worth maybe $6500 so that's a total. '03 Boxster is worth maybe $12,500, so that's a total. Passat diesel is a definite total. Diesel engines are very expensive to rebuild. Ask any poor Ford powerstroke owner.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Message for the I-75 Traffic Watch Team:

What is happening there? We are headed back (North of course) a week from Friday....April 1st.

No traffic moving today past Pioneer NB on I75. Tomorrow would be the 3-week deadline for the company having one lane open per the contract that TDOT let.

I'll be able to give a complete report next Monday. I'll do a drive-by on our way to Pigeon Forge and let everyone know if the northbound has been opened to one lane. Hopefully it'll be open by Thursday when we plan to come back north, probably among a lot of people from Florida traveling north along with us. LOL

I'm expecting a backup where the road narrows down to 1 lane. I wish people would use the zipper. I get tired of watching people zoom past all the people who have politely merged to flow through smoothly and then cutting in line. This causes dead stops which ripple and amplify back through those patiently going 25 mph in line.

Thanks for the update. Good luck for Thursday.
One lane won't be great, we go through on April 1st and the last day of the month and the first day of the month are bad for traffic......that's the day rental leases expire at the end of the month, and the cars are filled with cars, trailers RVs, and every other object on wheels.

berri

During college spring break years back, guys would go skiing in Colorado and then bring back Coors selling it at a big markup and covering a large chunk of their ski trip. Image and that can't get it markup! Gotta impress them women

driver100

abacomike said:

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Message for the I-75 Traffic Watch Team:

What is happening there? We are headed back (North of course) a week from Friday....April 1st.

No traffic moving today past Pioneer on I75. Tomorrow would be the 3 week deadline for the company having one lane open.
I'll be able to give a complete report next Monday. I'll do a drive-by on our way to Pigeon Forge and let everyone know if the northbound has been opened to one lane. Hopefully it'll be open by Thursday when we plan to come back north, probably among a lot of people from Florida traveling north along with us. LOL

Driver, you only have room for a couple of travelers going north so there can't be many going north "with you!"

The roads will be filled on the 1st day of the month, especially April 1st. That's a big day for snowbirds to head back. My car will just have me, my wife and Gigi, and a ton of stuff we bought....might have to buy a roof rack (no, that ain't going to happen, either it fits inside or it gets left.)

driver100

jwm40517 said:

In 1977 I flew to Emporia ,Kansas to pick up a 1977 Corvette for a friend and drive it back to east Ky. When friends heard of my trip several requested cases of Coors and I filled the rear area and front seat with around 16 cases of beer and made a non-stop trip except for gas.

You are a good friend!

driver100

Here is a question for the technical guys here.

If the car is stationary, the engine running, does it hurt the steering or is it at least hard on the steering mechanism, to turn the steering wheel a few times?

I was at the gas station and there was a really nice electric blue CTS that pulled up at the next pump, the guy wanted to get closer so he cranked the wheel a few times while the car was standing still.

I always try to move a little when turning the steering wheel. Once an instructor who was teaching me how to teach driving to students said turning while stationary was really hard on the car.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

Filled the car up this morning with PUG.  Costco was at $2.09.9 two weeks ago - I paid $2.45.9 at the pump this morning.  Most gas stations are up about 40 cents a gallon.  I realize refineries are shutting down for maintenance and oil is up about $15.00 a barrel, not to mention that refineries are starting to produce summer gasoline blends.

But those cheaper gasoline prices were nice while they lasted.  AAA said to expect additional increases in gasoline prices through June.  For the amount of driving I do, I sure can't complain - but you guys who drive 15,000+ miles per year are affected much more.

I am getting about 20 mpg's around town and 31+ mpg's on the highway at 65 mph with an average of 24 mpg.  Really not bad for a 330 hp engine with 354 lb.ft. of torque.

Mike,

330 HP ?

That's a secretaries car.

My new '15 Genny V8 has 420 HP. Even my first Genny, an '09 V8, had 370 HP.

No wonder you keep trading your cars in before the first oil change...by then you've had it with underpowered cars.

jmonroe

jmonroe

isellhondas said:

jmonroe,

Rebuilding ANYTHING today is a dying art. In the "old days" a quality shop wouldn't think of buying a rebuilt carb, alternator, starter or anything else. They wouldn't trust the skills of the rebuilder for one thing and they had the necessary skills to do the job themselves.

Same applied to engines. Nobody rebuilds engines anymore. They install a "reman" unit.

A lot has to do with labor rates. With rates starting at 100.00/hr it usually isn't cost effective.

Isell,

You're right, that hourly rate is the reason shops can't spend the time doing rebuilds of almost anything anymore. But I think there is a savings grace here...just as cars today are more reliable, I think the rebuild companies are a lot better too.

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

Here is a question for the technical guys here.

If the car is stationary, the engine running, does it hurt the steering or is it at least hard on the steering mechanism, to turn the steering wheel a few times?

I was at the gas station and there was a really nice electric blue CTS that pulled up at the next pump, the guy wanted to get closer so he cranked the wheel a few times while the car was standing still.

I always try to move a little when turning the steering wheel. Once an instructor who was teaching me how to teach driving to students said turning while stationary was really hard on the car.

Driver,

The power steering in cars today has eliminated the feel of a lot of the forces on the steering mechanism as opposed to the old manual steering systems where you were really pulling on the steering wheel to turn the wheels.

Years ago I was told that the steering system on cars today is a lot better than the very old designs and it can take the forces of the being turned with the power steering system. However, the one thing that hasn't changed is the excessive scrubbing of the tires when the car is not moving at least a little.

jmonroe

suydam

berri said:

During college spring break years back, guys would go skiing in Colorado and then bring back Coors selling it at a big markup and covering a large chunk of their ski trip. Image and that can't get it markup! Gotta impress them women

All the college kids and young professionals I know drink craft beers now. Mass produced, not so much.

stever

Of course the majors are buying all the craft beer places.

Pretty soon we'll have to invoke the "Body by Fisher" rule with beer, lol.

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That would certainly be true for my 2003 Mini, my friend's 2003 Boxster, my Dakota pickup or my brother's VW Passat. All nice vehicles, all to the wrecking yard if the engine fails. The Dakota might be borderline with a used engine and a weekend's work in the driveway.

Wow, even on the Mini and the Boxter?

Yep. Mini is only worth maybe $6500 so that's a total. '03 Boxster is worth maybe $12,500, so that's a total. Passat diesel is a definite total. Diesel engines are very expensive to rebuild. Ask any poor Ford powerstroke owner.

WOW! Well, those cars would make great Organ Donors!

abacomike

jmonroe said:

Filled the car up this morning with PUG.  Costco was at $2.09.9 two weeks ago - I paid $2.45.9 at the pump this morning.  Most gas stations are up about 40 cents a gallon.  I realize refineries are shutting down for maintenance and oil is up about $15.00 a barrel, not to mention that refineries are starting to produce summer gasoline blends.

But those cheaper gasoline prices were nice while they lasted.  AAA said to expect additional increases in gasoline prices through June.  For the amount of driving I do, I sure can't complain - but you guys who drive 15,000+ miles per year are affected much more.

I am getting about 20 mpg's around town and 31+ mpg's on the highway at 65 mph with an average of 24 mpg.  Really not bad for a 330 hp engine with 354 lb.ft. of torque.

Mike, 330 HP ? That's a secretaries car. My new '15 Genny V8 has 420 HP. Even my first Genny, an '09 V8, had 370 HP. No wonder you keep trading your cars in before the first oil change...by then you've had it with underpowered cars. jmonroe

That's 330 hp before I get out and push it hard - then I'm getting 400+ hp.  The only problem with my pushing it hard is that I get tired very quickly and have to get back in the driver's seat to rest my ailing heart.

I'm worth at least 70 hp, don't you agree JM? 

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

snakeweasel

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

WARNING ABOUT IKEA: We bought a bed from Ikea for the Florida place. It must have had 1000 parts (has drawers underneath) and took about 16 hours to put together.

The worst part is if we move the bed can't be deconstructed to take it with. If we sell, the bed goes with the house.

Thinking back, I would rather pay more somewhere else and get a bed that can be taken apart.

We had something similar in younger son's room. Not quite as complicated; about 30 pieces, not counting hardware. I tried to disassemble and take it with us when we moved in October. It did not survive.

Since we are talking IKEA it reminded me of this:

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

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Message for the I-75 Traffic Watch Team:

What is happening there? We are headed back (North of course) a week from Friday....April 1st.

No traffic moving today past Pioneer NB on I75. Tomorrow would be the 3-week deadline for the company having one lane open per the contract that TDOT let.

I'll be able to give a complete report next Monday. I'll do a drive-by on our way to Pigeon Forge and let everyone know if the northbound has been opened to one lane. Hopefully it'll be open by Thursday when we plan to come back north, probably among a lot of people from Florida traveling north along with us. LOL

I'm expecting a backup where the road narrows down to 1 lane. I wish people would use the zipper. I get tired of watching people zoom past all the people who have politely merged to flow through smoothly and then cutting in line. This causes dead stops which ripple and amplify back through those patiently going 25 mph in line.

There is a decent chance of us going through that area at the beginning of May. The son in law is retiring from the Army on April 29th and wants me to attend the ceremony. We are thinking of making it a long weekend and spending the following Saturday with the grandkids then leaving early Sunday and drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway (the live outside DC) and head back to Chicago on Monday.

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

I suppose some stores are more pleasant than others. The one in Emeryville is a chore. But it IS close to Fantasy Junction!

Why is it the first thing I noticed in that picture was the armadillo?
I think I just lost my membership privileges .

snakeweasel

suydam said:

berri said:

During college spring break years back, guys would go skiing in Colorado and then bring back Coors selling it at a big markup and covering a large chunk of their ski trip. Image and that can't get it markup! Gotta impress them women

All the college kids and young professionals I know drink craft beers now. Mass produced, not so much.

Actually craft beers have a lot more in common with pre prohibition national beers than what we have today. Beers like Miller today are nothing like they were 100 years ago. Prohibition nearly killed off the US beer industry that is still recovering from it.

explorerx4

I tried to find the IKEA storage cabinet I had one of my kids put together when they were in 6th grade.
Opened the box and said here are the directions.
Didn't really expect her to get too far with it, but she assembled it with no help.
Couldn't find anything half as complicated now.

jmonroe

Mike said:

I'm worth at least 70 hp, don't you agree JM? 

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

Mike,
I'm not sure what you are worth in HP but I'm sure if only 6 bottles of Yuengling will satisfy your urge for a cold one, no one that invites you over for a BBQ has to worry if they bought enough beer.

jmonroe

abacomike

jmonroe said:

Mike said: I'm worth at least 70 hp, don't you agree JM? 

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

Mike, I'm not sure what you are worth in HP but I'm sure if only 6 bottles of Yuengling will satisfy your urge for a cold one, no one that invites you over for a BBQ has to worry if they bought enough beer. jmonroe   

AH, You forgot the 18 bottles in the pantry!   

imidazol97

abacomike said:

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

When does the Yuenglliing Ice cream get delivered?

abacomike

imidazol97 said:

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

When does the Yuenglliing Ice cream get delivered?

I can't eat ice cream - I am diabetic and take insulin - no way can I eat sugar.  It's not easy being me - not much fun if you can't eat ice cream, cookies, donuts, pasta, etc.  but I do cheat a little - not much - but a little!

When tyguy and his family and I had lunch last week, I was a good boy - chicken salad wrap and a diet Coke and a house salad with blue cheese dressing!  That was a great lunch at Applebee's - and even better - tyguy insisted on picking up the check - it doesn't get better than that! 

tjc78

What I want to know is what liquor store delivers!

abacomike

tjc78 said:

What I want to know is what liquor store delivers!

You have to remember that this is God's waiting room.  Most businesses deliver down here - even Publix has a shopping service with delivery.  I did not want to lift that much weight with my heart condition so the owner said, "...I assume you want this delivered!"  I said yes and just called the security gate to allow the truck in about 2 hours later. 

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Here is a question for the technical guys here.

If the car is stationary, the engine running, does it hurt the steering or is it at least hard on the steering mechanism, to turn the steering wheel a few times?

I was at the gas station and there was a really nice electric blue CTS that pulled up at the next pump, the guy wanted to get closer so he cranked the wheel a few times while the car was standing still.

I always try to move a little when turning the steering wheel. Once an instructor who was teaching me how to teach driving to students said turning while stationary was really hard on the car.

Driver,

The power steering in cars today has eliminated the feel of a lot of the forces on the steering mechanism as opposed to the old manual steering systems where you were really pulling on the steering wheel to turn the wheels.

Years ago I was told that the steering system on cars today is a lot better than the very old designs and it can take the forces of the being turned with the power steering system. However, the one thing that hasn't changed is the excessive scrubbing of the tires when the car is not moving at least a little.

jmonroe

Makes sense........explained nicely, even I can understand.

berri

Aba - diabetic, gotta also be careful with alcohol because chemically it contains sugars.

abacomike

berri said:

Aba - diabetic, gotta also be careful with alcohol because chemically it contains sugars.

Like I said - I cheat a little - and that's where I cheat a little.  I usually take a little more insulin if I have a drink.

abacomike

A few of you guys said you were interested in a used or CPO E350 in the future.  Right now you can get a new E350 pretty loaded (MSRP $63,000) for under $56,000 and even less with some good negotiating.  I would guess around $54,000.  That's brand new!  Definitely worth a look see, IMHO.

stickguy

mike, if you spot me the first 30K, I will scrape up the rest.

abacomike

stickguy said:

mike, if you spot me the first 30K, I will scrape up the rest.

Stick, I wouldn't spot my son $30,000, but I would spot him $10,000.  But since you are not my son, I've got $3.00 saved in my left slipper - it's hours if you want it!!! 

stever

Ah yes, the real money is hidden in the shoe.

Every pro car dealer knows to ask for that little bit extra "to make the deal work" with that guy in the tower. And I've heard stories where guys pulled their shoe off in the cubicle to sweeten the pot..

abacomike

stever said:

Ah yes, the real money is hidden in the shoe. Every pro car dealer knows to ask for that little bit extra "to make the deal work" with that guy in the tower. And I've heard stories where guys pulled their shoe off in the cubicle to sweeten the pot..

True - but the money in the shoe smells as bad as the feet the shoe protects! 

stickguy

56 isn't a bad start, but I can find a decent selection of 2014's for more like $36K with miles in the teens

sda

Car Max had a large selection of 2013-14 MB C-class at their 2 lots in Charlotte recently. They were all nicely equipped, different trims, Sport, Luxury, some with leather(!), typically less than 30k mi, priced from $20-26k. I guess these were off lease vehicles. Even with Car Max's higher pricing, they sold them quickly. I was almost tempted to test drive one and see what they'd give me for the Accord, but I am trying to be good and keep what I have. That is no fun at all.

sda

abacomike said:

berri said:

Aba - diabetic, gotta also be careful with alcohol because chemically it contains sugars.

Like I said - I cheat a little - and that's where I cheat a little.  I usually take a little more insulin if I have a drink.

I dated a woman who was a brittle diabetic. She taught me a lot about the disease, what contained sugar or would convert to sugar, what she could eat, what to avoid, etc. After a while I could tell when she was having ups/downs and she taught me how to give her an insulin shot if needed. I truly feel for you and anyone that has to manage around this disease. My wife has celiac disease, and a lot of what she can or cannot eat is somewhat similar to diabetes. Always a struggle, and finding restaurants where we can find gluten free is a challenge.

imidazol97

@driver100
North I75 will reopen this Thursday to one lane. They are paving it in this report.

Click to view video
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/crews-continue-to-work-on-i-75-in-campbell-county-after-a-rock-slide-closed-the-road/94614138

http://content.wbir.com/photo/2016/03/21/tdot1_1458599777027_1096948_ver1.0.jpg

driver100

imidazol97 said:

@driver100
North I75 will reopen this Thursday to one lane. They are paving it in this report.

Thanks for the update imid. Let me know what it is like getting through with just one lane. I don't think there is a good alternative, but I would consider it if it is a big problem.

***I watched the video...it isn't like those guys are working at lightening speed :@

jmonroe

abacomike said:

berri said:

Aba - diabetic, gotta also be careful with alcohol because chemically it contains sugars.

Like I said - I cheat a little - and that's where I cheat a little.  I usually take a little more insulin if I have a drink.

Mike,

Good to hear that you know how to cheat by adjusting your insulin.

It's a darn good thing some people don't have diabetes because I don't think they make enough of that stuff.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

so...a good scotch with an insulin chaser?

stickguy

My dog is on insulin now. Made a huge difference. I give him a shot every 12 hours. Thankfully I don't have to do blood pricks for monitoring!

jmonroe

abacomike said:

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

We discussed so much about Yeungling beer yesterday that I stopped into my local liquor store where he had Yuengling on sale this week.  I had him deliver 2-cases to my house this afternoon.  I have 6 bottles in the fridge now so I'm stocked should I get the urge to have an ice cold one at a moment's notice. 

When does the Yuenglliing Ice cream get delivered?

I can't eat ice cream - I am diabetic and take insulin - no way can I eat sugar.  It's not easy being me - not much fun if you can't eat ice cream, cookies, donuts, pasta, etc.  but I do cheat a little - not much - but a little!

When tyguy and his family and I had lunch last week, I was a good boy - chicken salad wrap and a diet Coke and a house salad with blue cheese dressing!  That was a great lunch at Applebee's - and even better - tyguy insisted on picking up the check - it doesn't get better than that! 

Mike,

That was very nice of Tyguy to pick up the tab but from what I've come to know of him here on this site it doesn't surprise me at all.

I've always use the jmonroe philosophy of going to a restaurant with people I haven't seen for a while. For those who do not know of this philosophy it's really quite simple. With people you haven't seen for a while there is bound to be quite a bit of gabbing when you sit down, so I try to figure out who is going to get the tab at the end of the meal. This crucial bit of info determines if I'm going to have tuna fish salad or surf and turf.

jmonroe

jmonroe

stever said:

Ah yes, the real money is hidden in the shoe.

Every pro car dealer knows to ask for that little bit extra "to make the deal work" with that guy in the tower. And I've heard stories where guys pulled their shoe off in the cubicle to sweeten the pot..

Stever,

I've never heard of the shoe-money-trick before but I have heard of taking your shoe off to pound on the desk to get your point across and even women crying. Maybe that's when the money fell out and the salesman figured the guy was all in.

Seriously, a salesman once told me about a crying woman so he backed off a couple hundred to get the sale.

Maybe 'isell' can tell us some of the antics he has seen at the negotiating table. There has be lot of tales about that!

jmonroe

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

Exterior Color Race Red

Or as the state troopers I know call it "Pull me over red".

I've found being at the wrong place at the wrong time has far more impact on whether you get pulled over than does your actual speed traveled, or color of car.

Can you elaborate on that please.

Well, I'll give a few examples.

1) CHP pulled over on the side of the road, busy and distracted by the fact they are already issuing a ticket. They probably won't even notice you zooming by at 80, 90, or even 100 MPH, and even if they do, there's nothing they will do about it.

2) I never see people pulled over for tickets when the weather is bad (raining). Beware nice sun shiny days in CA; which is often!

3) CHP on an emergency call will pass you at 95 with emergency lights on while your doing 85 and as long as you get out of their way they don't even bat an eye.

4) Sheriff with nothing better to do on drug patrol on Interstate 8 from San Diego to Arizona will pull you over for 80 in a 70 zone; something the CHP wouldn't dare do. 10 MPH is way too tight. Going to traffic classes in person the question is often asked and almost all hands raised are 15MPH and up violators of speed, very little in the 10 MPH and under range.

5) If a Bugatti Veyron and Nissan GTR are racing at 125 MPH+ on an Arizona highway, the poor sap in the Chevy doing 90 in a 75 will be more likely to be pulled over as it's the easier "catch" Humans take the path of least resistance to their jobs; especially lazy traffic enforcement officers. I'd bet huge on that.

6) Per #5 above, the Chevy is also more likely to be pulled over because they can be caught from behind as well as from in front. The traffic doing very high speeds can't be caught from behind; only from the front; if that.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

A few of you guys said you were interested in a used or CPO E350 in the future.  Right now you can get a new E350 pretty loaded (MSRP $63,000) for under $56,000 and even less with some good negotiating.  I would guess around $54,000.  That's brand new!  Definitely worth a look see, IMHO.

I would imagine those big discounts explain the low prices on the used ones.

Interesting concept. If you eliminate the status factor of owning a new MB you could buy a low mile 2-3 year old one for less than half.

stickguy

Andre, as I get older, I find it more relaxing to just use the 9 over rule. 74 in a 65 zone is fast enough to get me where I am going quick enough, without undue stress, and can pretty much pay no attention that cops. Especially when getting passed by plenty of others in a big hurry.

Oddly, on I85 in the trees of NC where the SL is 70, I still keep it to around 75. Lots of hiding places and little traffic makes it easy to get picked off, and 79 just seems too high, even though still just 9 over!

andres3

graphicguy said:

Wow....Rover's back, too. Welcome back!

Was in Austin this week for work. Little crazy there with South by Southwest going on. Heard some good bands, though. Packed downtown was a pain in the derriere, though. Fortunately, UBER saved me from even messing around trying to get downtown and back to my hotel.

Still, I had a rental to go back and forth from my hotel to our office.

Brand new Jetta with about 1,600 miles on it. Liked the way it drove. Chassis was a good compromise between ride and handling. No "bad road shudder" ever hit the cabin....which is quite good for this class of car. Steering was a bit light, but no over-abundance of understeer was noticeable. Brakes were good. Electronics were wonky, particularly bluetooth. It kept dropping my iPhone connection. Plus, playing music via my iphone was a hit and miss proposition.

Clearly it was a base model. But, even at that, I was shocked at how bad some of the materials were on the inside. Lots and lots of hard plastics....it didn't take much to push and flex hard surfaces, either. They did nothing to even try to disguise the look of the materials on the inside, either.

Compared to a base Accord, Camry, Fusion, Malibu, Sonata, or any other rental I've driven in the same class, I'd rate it's build and materials dead last. Driving it would rank up there with the best of them though.

Oh gosh, my parents just visited and had a base Jetta rental too. Agree on the substandard cheap interior. I hope they are selling these for about $15K given the interior quality. I got to drive it a bit, and was unimpressed.

I couldn't get over how weak the base engine was. It was under powered by far; the '07 Civic we used to have would smoke it. Other then those two things, it is a good automobile. It had about 15K miles.

andres3

stickguy said:

Andre, as I get older, I find it more relaxing to just use the 9 over rule. 74 in a 65 zone is fast enough to get me where I am going quick enough, without undue stress, and can pretty much pay no attention that cops. Especially when getting passed by plenty of others in a big hurry.

Oddly, on I85 in the trees of NC where the SL is 70, I still keep it to around 75. Lots of hiding places and little traffic makes it easy to get picked off, and 79 just seems too high, even though still just 9 over!

What you just described is often what a lot of drivers do. You ignore the under posted limits and have more "respect" for the more appropriate speed limits. I noticed this in AZ. They have 65 MPH and 75 MPH speed limits, but no 70 MPH zones. The traffic pretty much moved at exactly the same speed whether it was 65 or 75. The lower speed limit had no effect, and people didn't suddenly go up to 85.

However, in CA you have lots of straight flat highway, like large sections of Interstate 8, where the speed limit could very well be 80 or 85 MPH safely almost the entire length.