Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

abacomike

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

That stinks - and I thought that stuff was over with. Back in the 80's and 90's and even as late at the mid 2000's, Mercedes was heavily into the Mercedes Star Emblem at the front and rear of just about every car they made. I used to lose three or four of the front hood ornaments off the hood per year. Then they attached a metal heavy-duty wire to the base of the hood ornament star - but that didn't stop them. They still put that hood ornament star on the S Class and the E Class Luxury model. But they have eliminated that hood ornament on just about all the other models they make and inserted a big Mercedes Star into the grille. I don't miss that hood ornament at all. Now, with the BMW, I will have to check every time I park it outside of my condo development for a missing emblem. They are huge suckers, front and rear.

fintail

I don't recall rental car silver, but it is such a common normcore color choice these days, I can see how it fits (I attribute certain models as rentals). I didn't make up the racing color, it's history, going back to at least 1932. The prior German racing color was white, also seen as a boring color.

Built in Bama was a thought on why you saw a truckload of them near the south.

I think something like a GLS looks good in pearl white. Silver is popular as it is easy to keep clean, something important on a barge like one of those. A slightly off white stays clean, too. Kind of like the stereotypical Toyolex beige or greybeige, easy to maintain, perfect for people who just aren't that into it. I think there was a flare up of color diversity at the turn of the century, and then again around 2010, but for most it is pretty dull again. Brown has tried to come back. Green would be cool. I wish my blue E was a little lighter, but it is unusual anwyay.

imidazol97 said:

I recall silver cars in pedantic brands are labelled as rental car silver. But when it's a premium price brand it's a racing color for German cars. But these are Alabama cars, not German? LOL

If I paid the price for something like those SUVs, I'd want a color that makes me say, "Hmmmm." Like the dark putty color with a tone of blue in it on a Porsche Panamara? that passed by on I75 near Cincy yesterday. I liked the 80s and 90s Riviera and Cadillacs that had variations of the standard colors in tones that were gorgeous to look at, although sometimes the monstrosities had a vinyl roof on them,

I watch cars go through the drive thru line at ChickFilA and it's a bland, drab mess of silver, black, white, and a few darker gray cars. Rare is an orange or green or bright blue.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

What a nice smooth 1st sale roadburner. Just watch for any email requests from a JMonroe, you will regret it if you reply

I'm not allowed to get another car just yet. I've only had the '15 Genny for a year and a half. Besides, Kentucky is too far for me to go to get a car. However, Kentucky is probably not too far for Son #1 since he once said he would go as far as Chicago to get a car if it the deal knocked his socks off. His mother thought he was nuts when she heard that and I'm on her side this time.

Now, maybe, sorta, if @roadburner makes deliveries to the Burgh and only wants to make a FAIR profit, getting a BMW could be in play about 3 years from now.

jmonroe

abacomike

During my walk at the Mall this morning, I had an urge for an iced Starbuck's Latte with three shots of espresso. I put my artificial sweetener in, stirred, and went to "heaven"! There is nothing like a Starbuck's latte or cappaccino - it has to be the quality of the coffee beans they use. For $4.95, it better be.

I then stopped off to look at some 55" HD TV's. There are so many different ones, it started to blow my mind. I've had a 30" Toshiba for 6 years now, and it has performed perfectly without a single flaw. They had one for $399 - and with installation and wall bracket, etc., it came to $650 plus tax. I decided to wait and not make the purchase now. I wanted to do some more research on pricing as well as quality. I know many of you guys have LG's and SONY's, any suggestions on pricing and where to get the best deal on one?

jmonroe

abacomike said:

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

That stinks - and I thought that stuff was over with. Back in the 80's and 90's and even as late at the mid 2000's, Mercedes was heavily into the Mercedes Star Emblem at the front and rear of just about every car they made. I used to lose three or four of the front hood ornaments off the hood per year. Then they attached a metal heavy-duty wire to the base of the hood ornament star - but that didn't stop them. They still put that hood ornament star on the S Class and the E Class Luxury model. But they have eliminated that hood ornament on just about all the other models they make and inserted a big Mercedes Star into the grille. I don't miss that hood ornament at all. Now, with the BMW, I will have to check every time I park it outside of my condo development for a missing emblem. They are huge suckers, front and rear.

Well, if one goes missing, just check your condo neighbors who own a Hyundai or a Kia. There can't be too many of them, right?

jmonroe

carnaught

Mike, son has gotten good deals on flat screen tv's through Amazon.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

During my walk at the Mall this morning, I had an urge for an iced Starbuck's Latte with three shots of espresso. I put my artificial sweetener in, stirred, and went to "heaven"! There is nothing like a Starbuck's latte or cappaccino - it has to be the quality of the coffee beans they use. For $4.95, it better be.

I then stopped off to look at some 55" HD TV's. There are so many different ones, it started to blow my mind. I've had a 30" Toshiba for 6 years now, and it has performed perfectly without a single flaw. They had one for $399 - and with installation and wall bracket, etc., it came to $650 plus tax. I decided to wait and not make the purchase now. I wanted to do some more research on pricing as well as quality. I know many of you guys have LG's and SONY's, any suggestions on pricing and where to get the best deal on one?

I just saw the latest on this in my Consumer Reports.

They said the week before the Super Bowl is usually a good time to buy if you missed the Black Friday sale.

As to quality, Samsung should be in the running.

Good luck.

jmonroe

murphydog

jmonroe said:

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

That's pathetic.

Was there any damage to the hood?

jmonroe

They must have had a slim screw driver or something, there is a scratch, but it is squarely under the emblem. I think I should put a bit of primer over it so it does not start rusting.

Plan to pick up a replacement today - looks like it snaps back in pretty easily.

murphydog

driver100 said:

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

I thought that kind of thing was over for now. Not original, not smart, just plain stupid. I was going to say it could have been worse, but, people always say that, and I don't think it is that helpful.

I see carbon fibre insignias for about $8! What makes them different...b&w opposed to blue?



ONE EXAMPLE - NOT RESEARCHED

The carbon fiber comes in blue as well. From my brief research the aftermarket ones get a lot of complaints on fit and color. Yes they are cheaper (around $10) but the OEM one is only $40ish, so likely will go that route.

Mr_Shiftright

28firefighter said:

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

Someone stole an emblem...in Seattle? That seems like so much effort for so little return.

Probably fell off.

" Of the six BMW's I have had, 5 of them required replacement of the hood roundel. The blue/white portion delaminates from the backing. One day you notice it has gone - or mostly gone. Easy to replace, but the new ones are no longer cheap - around $30 at the dealer (and that is with the CCA discount)."

source: Bimmerforums

berri

Costco often has good deals on Samsung. LG and Sony are also good brands. Check out Amazon.

driver100

abacomike said:

There is nothing like a Starbuck's latte or cappaccino - it has to be the quality of the coffee beans they use. For $4.95, it better be.

I then stopped off to look at some 55" HD TV's. There are so many different ones, it started to blow my mind. I've had a 30" Toshiba for 6 years now, and it has performed perfectly without a single flaw. They had one for $399 - and with installation and wall bracket, etc., it came to $650 plus tax. I decided to wait and not make the purchase now. I wanted to do some more research on pricing as well as quality. I know many of you guys have LG's and SONY's, any suggestions on pricing and where to get the best deal on one?

$4.95 for a coffee, I can get a whole dinner for that at Denny's! Hope you didn't get two donuts with it.

TVs, I like Costco online. Free delivery right to your door. The extended warranty is worth considering too...in home service and covers years 3, 4 and 5. If not a member then Amazon is good...check the reviews.

Our 55 inch Samsung (Samsung is a pretty safe bet) 55" LED/. I think it is this model on amazon;
Samsung UN55KU6300 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2016 Model)
55 Samsung LCD/LED

Now they are $750. It was $650 on Black Friday....and using my negotiating skills - clubbed them like a baby seal.

murphydog

Mr_Shiftright said:

28firefighter said:

murphydog said:

Sigh - walked out to run errands and noticed the hood emblem is gone from my wife's X3...So stupid and annoying...

Looks like replacements are $15 for knock offs and ~ $35 for the OEM. Wonder if I should get the carbon fiber looking one?

Someone stole an emblem...in Seattle? That seems like so much effort for so little return.

Probably fell off.

" Of the six BMW's I have had, 5 of them required replacement of the hood roundel. The blue/white portion delaminates from the backing. One day you notice it has gone - or mostly gone. Easy to replace, but the new ones are no longer cheap - around $30 at the dealer (and that is with the CCA discount)."

source: Bimmerforums

in this case it was stolen, there is a very visible scratch where they jammed something under and popped the whole thing off.

LOL - had it delaminated I would have taken it in for a warranty claim!

stickguy

probably want to get at a local store with a good reputation if you want to have it installed on a wall mount bracket. I put one of those up in our bedroom, and while not horribly complicated, was a bit of effort, and required a few tools.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

TVs, I like Costco online. Free delivery right to your door. The extended warranty is worth considering too...in home service and covers years 3, 4 and 5. If not a member then Amazon is good...check the reviews.

As much as I like Amazon, I am starting to not trust their reviews. They seem to generalize and group them together. IOW, if you're looking at printers such as HP, there are 318 reviews of a particular model. Then I go to another model with a completely different model, and I'm presented with the same 318 reviews. Since most people don't mention the model number within the review, I take them with a grain of salt as far as being about the particular model I'm looking for reviews on. I have noticed before that seemed to have happened, now I'm sure.

I look up electronics on Newegg.com occasionally for their reviews which seem to be from techy folks.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

TVs, I like Costco online. Free delivery right to your door. The extended warranty is worth considering too...in home service and covers years 3, 4 and 5. If not a member then Amazon is good...check the reviews.

As much as I like Amazon, I am starting to not trust their reviews. They seem to generalize and group them together. IOW, if you're looking at printers such as HP, there are 318 reviews of a particular model. Then I go to another model with a completely different model, and I'm presented with the same 318 reviews. Since most people don't mention the model number within the review, I take them with a grain of salt as far as being about the particular model I'm looking for reviews on. I have noticed before that seemed to have happened, now I'm sure.

I look up electronics on Newegg.com occasionally for their reviews which seem to be from techy folks.

I think newegg reviews are more complete and professional. But, I do fine with amazon reviews. In the case of the TV I mentioned, it had over 1000 review and had 4.5 stars. You can eliminate some of the worst reviews, they will be silly, the box was too hard to cut up, or it had too much packaging material etc. If someone mentions a problem that would bother you use that information and look for something else. But if 90% of the people say it is a great item, it probably is a great item.

abacomike

stickguy said:

probably want to get at a local store with a good reputation if you want to have it installed on a wall mount bracket. I put one of those up in our bedroom, and while not horribly complicated, was a bit of effort, and required a few tools.

You are probably right.  I need to have the wall bracket installed on a load bearing wall which is not an easy task - concrete walls are not easy to work on.  I'll wait until I can get in to hhGregg or BestBuy where they have people who are familiar with this type of installation.  I can't do it myself in my condition.  I want to put it up on the wall in my bedroom.  My brother thinks 55" might be too big - he suggested 47"-49".

What does CR recommend in that size?

qbrozen

For TVs, also take a look at bestbuy.com. They have demos and open box items on their website with free delivery. Bought 2 that way, although one turned up with a broken screen. Was allowed to return to a brick and mortar store for a full refund, however.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

probably want to get at a local store with a good reputation if you want to have it installed on a wall mount bracket. I put one of those up in our bedroom, and while not horribly complicated, was a bit of effort, and required a few tools.

You are probably right.  I need to have the wall bracket installed on a load bearing wall which is not an easy task - concrete walls are not easy to work on.  I'll wait until I can get in to hhGregg or BestBuy where they have people who are familiar with this type of installation.  I can't do it myself in my condition.  I want to put it up on the wall in my bedroom.  My brother thinks 55" might be too big - he suggested 47"-49".

What does CR recommend in that size?

My latest Consumer Reports (Feb. 2017 edition) does not mention recommended sizes for a given space. They were only interested in what TV brand was best per price, size of TV and what features you usually get for a given TV size.

I have a 55 inch Samsung that is about 5 years old (so far no complaints) in the family room and it seems to be good for viewing at a distance of about 10 feet. I just measured it and it is 48.5 inches wide and 27.75 inches high and this TV has only 3/8 of an inch black border on both the width and height. That is one of the reasons I bought it. The picture just seems to float in the space. I think a lot of the TV's today are like that, so that is not so novel anymore.

If I were you I'd get a large piece of paper or cardboard and cut it to the size I just mentioned and tape it to your wall. That should give you a "real feel" how it will look in your room before buying it and being surprised.

jmonroe

suydam

You figure out size by viewing distance. There are charts if you google it.

abacomike

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

probably want to get at a local store with a good reputation if you want to have it installed on a wall mount bracket. I put one of those up in our bedroom, and while not horribly complicated, was a bit of effort, and required a few tools.

You are probably right.  I need to have the wall bracket installed on a load bearing wall which is not an easy task - concrete walls are not easy to work on.  I'll wait until I can get in to hhGregg or BestBuy where they have people who are familiar with this type of installation.  I can't do it myself in my condition.  I want to put it up on the wall in my bedroom.  My brother thinks 55" might be too big - he suggested 47"-49".

What does CR recommend in that size?

My latest Consumer Reports (Feb. 2017 edition) does not mention recommended sizes for a given space. They were only interested in what TV brand was best per price, size of TV and what features you usually get for a given TV size.

I have a 55 inch Samsung that is about 5 years old (so far no complaints) in the family room and it seems to be good for viewing at a distance of about 10 feet. I just measured it and it is 48.5 inches wide and 27.75 inches high and this TV has only 3/8 of an inch black border on both the width and height. That is one of the reasons I bought it. The picture just seems to float in the space. I think a lot of the TV's today are like that, so that is not so novel anymore.

If I were you I'd get a large piece of paper or cardboard and cut it to the size I just mentioned and tape it to your wall. That should give you a "real feel" how it will look in your room before buying it and being surprised.

jmonroe

Good idea, JM.

oldfarmer50

Possible sales story coming up.

I'm going with my work buddy to look at that 2012 Mustang tomorrow. I don't know if he's realistic about what he can buy it for but who knows, last sales day of the year...miracles can happen. Anyway it'll be fun to compare it to my next generation pony.

tifighter

Picked up a 55" LG OLED in autumn. The picture quality has lived up to the hype.

driver100

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

probably want to get at a local store with a good reputation if you want to have it installed on a wall mount bracket. I put one of those up in our bedroom, and while not horribly complicated, was a bit of effort, and required a few tools.

You are probably right.  I need to have the wall bracket installed on a load bearing wall which is not an easy task - concrete walls are not easy to work on.  I'll wait until I can get in to hhGregg or BestBuy where they have people who are familiar with this type of installation.  I can't do it myself in my condition.  I want to put it up on the wall in my bedroom.  My brother thinks 55" might be too big - he suggested 47"-49".

What does CR recommend in that size?

If I were you I'd get a large piece of paper or cardboard and cut it to the size I just mentioned and tape it to your wall. That should give you a "real feel" how it will look in your room before buying it and being surprised.

jmonroe

I think the formula is 1 foot of screen size for every 3 feet of distance.

ab348

The new LED TVs are very light in comparison to the old plasma ones. A lot of them use a thing to hang them on a wall that is much like a picture frame wire. This one says its good for 100 lbs.

https://www.amazon.com/Mount-MI-104-Super-Mount-32-60/dp/B003N5CARU/ref=pd_lpo_23_lp_t_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NRBXJRWDRJZ49EJ3WP72

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

Possible sales story coming up.

I'm going with my work buddy to look at that 2012 Mustang tomorrow. I don't know if he's realistic about what he can buy it for but who knows, last sales day of the year...miracles can happen. Anyway it'll be fun to compare it to my next generation pony.

I might beat you to a sales story.

Son #2 is bringing over his 2 brats any minute now so that they can sleep over here tonight. That will let him and his wife go get their replacement for the totaled Kia van first thing tomorrow morning. They want to take their time and not be rushed so I get to take his son to a hockey game tomorrow morning at 10.

Mrs. j will probably stay home with his daughter to do girl things like make brownies, sweep up the mess and stuff like that.

TO BE CONTINUED

jmonroe

tjc78

Just buy the biggest set that will fit on the wall! No one has ever said "I wish I bought the smaller set".

jmonroe

tjc78 said:

Just buy the biggest set that will fit on the wall! No one has ever said "I wish I bought the smaller set".

I know someone who said that...Mrs. j. Don't look so surprised.

When I bought the 55 inch and got it hooked up and running picturing, she said, "that TV is to big for that corner". I told her it fit the corner perfectly. She said, "I won't be able to put a picture in that corner now that bought that monstrosity". I told her I saved her money, "watch the pictures on the TV".

That started another trip around the dining room table.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

Better you than me. Where spouses are concerned, it's all relative, and I appreciate the stories that help me realize my place in all of this.

abacomike

My downstairs neighbors invited me to their home this evening for a kind of "pre-New Years" party.  There were 5 other unit owners there and the dining room and kitchen tables were filled with finger foods, salads, deli meats, breads and rolls, cakes and other sweets, and a seemingly endless supply of champagne, wine and liquor.  I had brought 4 bottles of Korbel Brut "bubbly"!  As a prelude, remember the average age of most of our unit owners is "deceased"!

The conversations centered mainly on their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (I am many years away from having great-grandchildren, so I just sat there and smiled).  The food was overwhelming and since I have a weakened liver, no alcohol for me.  So I had no means of numbing myself from the geneology discussions, I sat and listened as best I could.  After about 2 hours of this "party", it was obvious things were slowing down.  Two of the men were already snoring in their reclining chairs and several women had put up a bridge table and were playing canasta!  Another man had been in the guest bathroom for at least 45 minutes - what he was doing in there that long is a mystery to me!  

One of of the widows who was not a canasta maven tried to start up a conversation with me, but I had to keep repeating myself because her hearing aids weren't working very well with all the background noise of the 2 men who were snoring loudly.  So, I politely thanked the host couple for inviting me to their soirée and made an accelerated retreat to the elevator and arrived safely back to my Condo unit.

I was invited to a New Years Party by the new owners of a Condo on the 4th floor but I just got off the phone and expressed my regrets for having to decline their invitation since I was not feeling very well.  I decided that spending New Years alone in my secluded condo unit would be much more pleasant than joining another crowd of unit owners for what would be an agonizing welcome to 2017!

suydam

It was very nice of them to invite you. Too bad all your unit neighbors are so old! I love the mix of young families, retired folks and working folks in our condo complex. Happy New Year!

abacomike

suydam said:

It was very nice of them to invite you. Too bad all your unit neighbors are so old! I love the mix of young families, retired folks and working folks in our condo complex. Happy New Year!

Thanks - same to you and your family.  Yes, it is an older crowd and yes, it was nice of them to invite me.  But a guy can take just so much before developing an urge to "scream"!  Maybe I'll appreciate these gatherings in 10-15 years from now - assuming I'm still alive. 

jmonroe

Here we go.

Son #2 found a replacement for the totaled Kia van today but his wife was not with him because she took their daughter to dance practice so all that remains is for her liking the Mountaineer that he saw today. Since it will be her vehicle if she doesn't like it they will keep looking. But as usual there is a story behind this to be purchase just like all purchases.

On Wednesday he took the '08 Explorer that my DIL drove and liked to his mechanic to give it the OK. His mechanic said it needed a trans axle seal because it was leaking and it also needed a few other things. All told about $500 to make the repairs. He takes the Explorer back to the dealer and gives him the news. The salesman says he would talk to the boss, who was out, and get back to him but he was sure they would make the repairs. Well almost. They called him late yesterday afternoon and said they would make the repairs but wanted another $200 to do it. My Son told the salesman there was no way he was going to do that and felt if anything he should be paying less for finding out what the problems were. He leaves it at that and this morning he heads to the other side of town to look at an '09 Mountaineer.

The Honda dealer that had the '09 Mountaineer was willing to give him the deal he wanted and my Son told him he'd be back tomorrow to get it, contingent on his wife liking it. As he is driving home the Explorer salesman calls him to say they would make the repairs without charging him the additional $200 dollars. My Son told him thanks but you are too late.

It gets better.

After he gets home the Honda dealer that had the Odyssey he could not come to terms with the other day called him to say that he would take off another $150 on top of the $300 that he discounted the Odyssey a few days ago after he had left that store. If you guys remember, the salesman almost choked when my Son asked if the $300 was on top of the initial $150 he reduced the Odyssey to when he was at that store and the salesman said NO. Now today, it's OK but that is the car biz. My Son said that if the Odyssey guy had given him that deal while they were at the table he would have bought it right then and there but the salesman let him get away to go look at others vehicles; again this is the car biz.

I think this is THE END.

jmonroe

stickguy

some interesting choices here, replacing the Kia van (which sounds like something they needed for the functionality). So I would have figured an Odyssey would make way more sense than a gas hog Mountaineer. Not really a fan of the truckish drive on those either.

but, to each their own. And by that, I mean whatever the wife wants.

jmonroe

Mike said:

One of of the widows who was not a canasta maven tried to start up a conversation with me, but I had to keep repeating myself because her hearing aids weren't working very well with all the background noise of the 2 men who were snoring loudly. So, I politely thanked the host couple for inviting me to their soirée and made an accelerated retreat to the elevator and arrived safely back to my Condo unit.

**************************************************************************************

Mike, that woman was not hard of hearing. That is an 'old widow trick' to keep saying huh. I think she thought you were hitting on her and she couldn't believe it.

You gave up too soon. You otta go back and see if she is still there. You know, start the New Year off right.

jmonroe

jmonroe

stickguy said:

some interesting choices here, replacing the Kia van (which sounds like something they needed for the functionality). So I would have figured an Odyssey would make way more sense than a gas hog Mountaineer. Not really a fan of the truckish drive on those either.

but, to each their own. And by that, I mean whatever the wife wants.

I thought she like the van and she did until she drove the Explorer. They had an Explorer before they got the Kia van and after she drove the Explorer it all came back to her and she told my Son she now knows what she was missing.

As for the versatility of a van, I agree with you they are better than an SUV/truck. Son #1 has a van because he has 3 boys and 2 of them play hockey. As much as he would have preferred not to have a van, it was the only thing that worked for his family. Son #1 is almost counting the days until he will not have to see a van in his garage.

jmonroe

stickguy

my wife had really gotten tired of piloting a minivan around after 17 years, which is why we got the RDX. Of course, she often grumbles about not having enough room (or more likely, she gets grouchy when I bark at her about trying to take too much crap with us!). She keeps mumbling about should have gotten something larger, like an MDX. But also enjoys driving the smaller vehicle.

I actually kind of miss the van on occasion. Probably should have kept that as the 2nd car. I actually could consider getting a used on next year, and taking it the few times a year we need the space (vacation at the beach, moving Daughter to/from college). But that probably won't be happening!

Hey, if you are going to have a car hanging around for occasional use and back-up duty, the 2 most useful ones to have are a Minivan or a pick up (which I also threaten to get sometimes). Especially now that we are going to begin fostering rescue dogs, a van would be majorly handy.

suydam

We drove a minivan of some type until all the kids left the nest. After that we switched to smaller haulers: a Forester, then a Mazda6 wagon, then a Pontiac Vibe. Now we've got the Encore and I couldn't be happier. I've always liked smaller vehicles but with a family and pets and sports and road trips a minivan really is the most functional vehicle.

berri

If it is like most places, the fireworks will alert you when the midnight hour strikes anyway

sb55

Whoops! Car carrier hauling Mini and BMW accident. 2 cars fell off. OUCH.

Accident http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/vermont-state-police-part-of-route-7-closed-due-to-car-carrier-spill/633786776

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

My downstairs neighbors invited me to their home this evening for a kind of "pre-New Years" party.  There were 5 other unit owners there and the dining room and kitchen tables were filled with finger foods, salads, deli meats, breads and rolls, cakes and other sweets, and a seemingly endless supply of champagne, wine and liquor.  I had brought 4 bottles of Korbel Brut "bubbly"!  As a prelude, remember the average age of most of our unit owners is "deceased"!

The conversations centered mainly on their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (I am many years away from having great-grandchildren, so I just sat there and smiled).  The food was overwhelming and since I have a weakened liver, no alcohol for me.  So I had no means of numbing myself from the geneology discussions, I sat and listened as best I could.  After about 2 hours of this "party", it was obvious things were slowing down.  Two of the men were already snoring in their reclining chairs and several women had put up a bridge table and were playing canasta!  Another man had been in the guest bathroom for at least 45 minutes - what he was doing in there that long is a mystery to me!  

One of of the widows who was not a canasta maven tried to start up a conversation with me, but I had to keep repeating myself because her hearing aids weren't working very well with all the background noise of the 2 men who were snoring loudly.  So, I politely thanked the host couple for inviting me to their soirée and made an accelerated retreat to the elevator and arrived safely back to my Condo unit.

I was invited to a New Years Party by the new owners of a Condo on the 4th floor but I just got off the phone and expressed my regrets for having to decline their invitation since I was not feeling very well.  I decided that spending New Years alone in my secluded condo unit would be much more pleasant than joining another crowd of unit owners for what would be an agonizing welcome to 2017!

You're a regular party animal compared to my wife and I who will spend this morning visiting her 96 yo mother in the hospital.

driver100

Mike, Sounds like quite the party. At least the talk wasn't about health issues. There should be a rule that when people are over 55 they should not be able to talk more than 2 minutes about what is ailing them or what meds they are taking, or how many doctor appointments they have coming up.

JMonroe, I hear great things about the Odyssey...except it is a hard one to spell. People like them because they handle more like a car than a van or truck...and they are relatively reliable. But, interesting story, mainly because it shows what a risk it is for the salesman to let people walk. I guess they have it figured out, by not giving in, they win more times than they lose. It sounds like your son has learned well from his father how to play hard ball with the best of them. Your son may want to keep the door open for the Odyssey, just in case his wife doesn't like driving the Mountaneer. I go along with sticks comments about the two vehicles.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

Here we go.

Son #2 found a replacement for the totaled Kia van today but his wife was not with him because she took their daughter to dance practice so all that remains is for her liking the Mountaineer that he saw today. Since it will be her vehicle if she doesn't like it they will keep looking. But as usual there is a story behind this to be purchase just like all purchases.

On Wednesday he took the '08 Explorer that my DIL drove and liked to his mechanic to give it the OK. His mechanic said it needed a trans axle seal because it was leaking and it also needed a few other things. All told about $500 to make the repairs. He takes the Explorer back to the dealer and gives him the news. The salesman says he would talk to the boss, who was out, and get back to him but he was sure they would make the repairs. Well almost. They called him late yesterday afternoon and said they would make the repairs but wanted another $200 to do it. My Son told the salesman there was no way he was going to do that and felt if anything he should be paying less for finding out what the problems were. He leaves it at that and this morning he heads to the other side of town to look at an '09 Mountaineer.

The Honda dealer that had the '09 Mountaineer was willing to give him the deal he wanted and my Son told him he'd be back tomorrow to get it, contingent on his wife liking it. As he is driving home the Explorer salesman calls him to say they would make the repairs without charging him the additional $200 dollars. My Son told him thanks but you are too late.

It gets better.

After he gets home the Honda dealer that had the Odyssey he could not come to terms with the other day called him to say that he would take off another $150 on top of the $300 that he discounted the Odyssey a few days ago after he had left that store. If you guys remember, the salesman almost choked when my Son asked if the $300 was on top of the initial $150 he reduced the Odyssey to when he was at that store and the salesman said NO. Now today, it's OK but that is the car biz. My Son said that if the Odyssey guy had given him that deal while they were at the table he would have bought it right then and there but the salesman let him get away to go look at others vehicles; again this is the car biz.

I think this is THE END.

jmonroe

The end? Uh uh no way, tell the kid to get back out there and buy something, anything. You have car buying addicts to satisfy. We need a story.

Tonight I hope to have a tale of car buying even if I have to toss in a few moths from my wallet to sweeten the deal.

oldfarmer50

sb55 said:

Whoops! Car carrier hauling Mini and BMW accident. 2 cars fell off. OUCH.

Accident http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/vermont-state-police-part-of-route-7-closed-due-to-car-carrier-spill/633786776

Wonder what they'll do with the two that fell off. What's the damage level before they have to tell the buyer that it was damaged in transit. The cynic in me says they patch them up and dump them on some sucker as a "demo".

tjc78

Odyssey's are great vans and I'm sure by now they have sorted out the transmission issues. We had a guy who had an early one at work. He claimed how great it was except for the fact it had three transmissions installed. Two under warranty and one on his own dime. I have to think if my car while under warranty puked two transmissions I'd dump it as soon as the warranty was up.

explorerx4

@jmonroe, Obviously your son's wife appreciates the RWD feel those Explorer/Mountaineers have. I feel like I tolerate FWD, but prefer RWD. The automatic AWD is nice when it gets slippery out.

carnaught

Mike, truly enjoyed your "pre-New Years party" story, and LMAO. Another exerp from a chapter in "a typical day in the life of Mike". I look forward to many others!

driver100

Good point carnaught....I wonder if Mike saw the naked guy at the party.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Huge changes coming in the automotive business according to Top Gear - BBC

A few points;

Between the bookends of January and December were major deals that underlined the new adapt-or-die approach sweeping across motor manufacturing.
General Motors bought a small three-year-old San Francisco company specialising in autonomous driving technology, Cruise Automation, for more than $1bn.
GM also invested $500m in on-demand taxi-hailing business Lyft, a rival to Uber, and reportedly tried to buy the whole thing for $6bn.
Why buy?
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles teamed up with Alphabet to collaborate on the development of self-driving minivans.
Ford, whose chief executive Mark Fields now refers to the company that made the first mass-produced vehicle as a "mobility services provider", pushed deeper into connected-car technology.
This included investment in a San Francisco cloud-based software and data analytics company, Pivotal, in which Microsoft also has a stake.

And there is now evidence of consumers deferring car buying because of the growth of taxi-hailing and car-sharing services,

FULL ARTICLE

Sounds as if companies like Uber might have a short life span as yet more people are replaced by machines.

As for me, they won't remove me from my car until they pry my cold dead fingers from the steering wheel.

While this is just an anecdotal observation, given I travel quite a bit, you can already see one industry gasping for breath....that is Taxis. For example, a little over a month ago, I flew into San Francisco (SFO). Just last year, there were taxis swarming SFO. Today? I think I saw just one.

Spent part of last week in Chicago visiting friends and family. Stayed over by the Water Tower area. UBER and LYFT outnumbered Taxis 10-1. Not hard to see why. Parking at my downtown hotel was $70 for overnight. From the same hotel to the Field Museum was $17. Took UBER from the Museum back to the hotel....total cost $8.

UBER and the like are displacing Taxis. Makes sense that the variable in all of this are the drivers. If you can do away with the drivers (which self-driving cars would do), then you'll have total control of the on demand car services.

I don't think UBER, et al will go away. They will be the conduit for GM, Ford, etc to sell more (self driving) cars.

I still don't believe people will give up their own cars for driverless cars. But, you never know.

graphicguy

abacomike said:

During my walk at the Mall this morning, I had an urge for an iced Starbuck's Latte with three shots of espresso. I put my artificial sweetener in, stirred, and went to "heaven"! There is nothing like a Starbuck's latte or cappaccino - it has to be the quality of the coffee beans they use. For $4.95, it better be.

I then stopped off to look at some 55" HD TV's. There are so many different ones, it started to blow my mind. I've had a 30" Toshiba for 6 years now, and it has performed perfectly without a single flaw. They had one for $399 - and with installation and wall bracket, etc., it came to $650 plus tax. I decided to wait and not make the purchase now. I wanted to do some more research on pricing as well as quality. I know many of you guys have LG's and SONY's, any suggestions on pricing and where to get the best deal on one?

Mike.....my recommendation, while not cheap, offers the best picture quality in the industry right now is the LG OLEDB6P....sizes run from 55" on up.

Here's what my 65" puts out......