Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

graphicguy

abacomike said:

graphicguy said:

abacomike said:

I went out for dinner last night at NYY Steakhouse at the casino.  Food was excellent as always.  Had a 10 oz. filet mignon and a Caesar salad - nothing else.  

My usual waiter told me he had just bought a black on black Cadillac CTS.  He said he loves it.  It's the 3.6 turbo - MSRP was in the mid to high $50,000 range according to him.  He's had it for 2-weeks and has over 1000 miles on it already.  He said it's the nicest car he's ever owned.

I did not ask him what kind of deal he got, but he said it was the best price of the three dealerships he visited.  I wished him luck and great motoring.

Good to hear some positive responses from a new Cadillac owner. 

His MSRP was in the $60s on that car, and that's with no options.

Maybe he has the 4 cylinder engine, then. He said it was in the upper fifties, so it couldn't be the 6 cylinder engine.

That is entirely possible.

driver100

This guy probably fell asleep at the half time show - I am sure a lot of people here were surprised when they woke up this morning:

"Bacon Sports
‏@BaconSports

"I'd like to congratulate the Atlanta Falcons on winning the Super Bowl"

sda

I had not planned to watch the game but my wife and daughter wanted to see Lady Gaga's halftime show. What a game! It reminded me of watching the Carolina Panthers. Get a good lead in the first half and let it unravel in the second. Sudden death OT, wow.

abacomike

Atlanta's defense used up their energies and stamina during the first half - they were relentless and fast - jumping on the Patriot's front offensive line quickly and purposefully.  By the time the second half started they were spent/exhausted IMO.  But the Patriots also used halftime to study the Atlanta defensive strategies and literally mauled that defense.

Brady is a true pro - never felt defeated or overwhelmed.  He is the best quarterback in NFL history - even surpassing Manning and Marino.  He really deserved the MVP award, but understandable why they gave it to the Atlanta QB.

dino001

abacomike said:

Atlanta's defense used up their energies and stamina during the first half - they were relentless and fast - jumping on the Patriot's front offensive line quickly and purposefully.  By the time the second half started they were spent/exhausted IMO.  But the Patriots also used halftime to study the Atlanta defensive strategies and literally mauled that defense.

Brady is a true pro - never felt defeated or overwhelmed.  He is the best quarterback in NFL history - even surpassing Manning and Marino.  He really deserved the MVP award, but understandable why they gave it to the Atlanta QB.

Montana was the best QB before Brady, not Manning or especially Marino. That's just my humble opinion.

1. Brady
2. Montana
3. Pick whoever you like (possible candidates: Bradshaw, Elway, Manning) .

sda

dino001 said:

abacomike said:

Atlanta's defense used up their energies and stamina during the first half - they were relentless and fast - jumping on the Patriot's front offensive line quickly and purposefully.  By the time the second half started they were spent/exhausted IMO.  But the Patriots also used halftime to study the Atlanta defensive strategies and literally mauled that defense.

Brady is a true pro - never felt defeated or overwhelmed.  He is the best quarterback in NFL history - even surpassing Manning and Marino.  He really deserved the MVP award, but understandable why they gave it to the Atlanta QB.

Montana was the best QB before Brady, not Manning or especially Marino. That's just my humble opinion.

1. Brady
2. Montana
3. Pick whoever you like (possible candidates: Bradshaw, Elway, Manning) .

A lot of bias here, I graduated from Tennessee, Manning

ab348

driver100 said:

I am almost thinking the game was fixed.....how could you make it any more exciting or unbelievable! You couldn't have planned a more exciting ending. and what a comeback.

In the first half Brady looked like he was paid to throw the game, missing passes and looked like he wasn't trying. Then, he does the impossible!

I may take my wife to Denny's tonight to celebrate!

You can't fix a game where a team has over 40 players and dozens of coaches.

Atlanta was great but their defense wore itself out by the end. Patriots are the best at making halftime adjustments.

The reception given to the Commissioner by the crowd was priceless.

Greatest Of All Time.

carnaught

Denny's: the last time Mrs. Carnaught and I were there, we both got sick afterwards. I remember Sambo's years ago in Coral Gables, Miracle Mile, the best pancakes.

uplanderguy

I'm late to the game here, but someone above posted that during the Cobalt's recall on ignitions, GM said to park the cars and don't drive them. What wasn't said was that GM would pay for a rental car, no questions asked, until the recall could be completed. I told an elderly friend of mine about that--he owned an HHR--and he got one for a couple months while his HHR sat. (He was a Studebaker-Packard-MB dealer, by the way!).

I had two Cobalts. I never felt any stiffness getting the keys out, or any 'slop' in the switch, which supposedly were the clues. I didn't bother getting rental cars, even though they were free. I had a switch replaced on my '08 when I first felt the tiniest bit of 'stickiness' getting the key out--this was pre-recall and only when a 'campaign' was out there, to replace the switch for ten years and 150K miles I think it was. My other Cobalt, bought used, had had a similar replacement done prior to my ownership, when the dealer ran the VIN.

What hurt doubly for GM was that the replacement switches apparently weren't given a new part number, so when the recall happened, supposedly there wasn't a way to tell if the replacement switches were new inventory or old inventory, so my cars got the switches again.

uplanderguy

As far as warranty claims, I'm a fussbutt. I always find something, although three weeks into the '17 Cruze, I haven't found a thing. This surprises me, but CR says it's the second best-testing compact out of 23 they tested, and that the redesign shows "Much Better Than Average" reliability. Truth be told, if it's as reliable as the car I traded in, I'll be happy.

Go Lordstown.

abacomike

carnaught said:

Denny's: the last time Mrs. Carnaught and I were there, we both got sick afterwards. I remember Sambo's years ago in Coral Gables, Miracle Mile, the best pancakes.

Miracle Mile - now that's a place from my childhood memories.  My grandparents had a home in Coral Gables in the 1948-1955 time frame which was about a mile from Miracle Mile.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with that area of Coral Gables, it was the very first "shopping center" in Florida.  It was on Coral Way - about a mile-long strip of upscale stores and shops- both sides of the street.  It had diagonal pull in parking (with meters I might add) throughout the strip.  I might even say it was "exclusive" because these were not bargain merchants.  The strip ended at the courthouse.

I used ride my bike to the "Miracle Mile" with my friends from school - I was living there for about 3 months and attended a Catholic School in 3rd grade which made the year I lived there 1952 or 1953.  My grandfather drove a 1949 Oldsmobile 98 sedan and my grandmother drove a 1949 fastback Chevrolet 2-door coupe.  It was a 3-speed stick (she hated automatic transmissions) and I remember the starter was just above the center hump to the right of the gas pedal.  To start that car, you put the front of your foot on the starter and the heel of your foot on the gas pedal.  Trickey yet interesting to watch grandma stretch to start that car.  It had manual choke and manual throttle which she used when the car was cold (early morning).

Boy, those were great memories.  

sda

It's been a long time since I've had to use a manual choke. Depending on how finicky the car was, it was a real skill to keep it running without belching black smoke or general rough running. Our '71 Datsun 510 didn't like cold mornings and was a bugger to keep going until it warmed up. Modern cars have taken all the fun out of any manual involvement of keeping a car running, lol.

uplanderguy

Our old '62 Ford Fairlane had a manual choke. I was surprised later to learn that the same year's Studebaker Larks even had an automatic choke.

After the Fairlane, our next car, a new '67 Chevelle six with 3-speed, had an automatic choke.

driver100

uplanderguy said:

I'm late to the game here, but someone above posted that during the Cobalt's recall on ignitions, GM said to park the cars and don't drive them. What wasn't said was that GM would pay for a rental car, no questions asked, until the recall could be completed. I told an elderly friend of mine about that--he owned an HHR--and he got one for a couple months while his HHR sat. (He was a Studebaker-Packard-MB dealer, by the way!).

I had two Cobalts. I never felt any stiffness getting the keys out, or any 'slop' in the switch, which supposedly were the clues. I didn't bother getting rental cars, even though they were free. I had a switch replaced on my '08 when I first felt the tiniest bit of 'stickiness' getting the key out--this was pre-recall and only when a 'campaign' was out there, to replace the switch for ten years and 150K miles I think it was. My other Cobalt, bought used, had had a similar replacement done prior to my ownership, when the dealer ran the VIN.

What hurt doubly for GM was that the replacement switches apparently weren't given a new part number, so when the recall happened, supposedly there wasn't a way to tell if the replacement switches were new inventory or old inventory, so my cars got the switches again.

GM's policy is the dealer is empowered to offer a loaner if a customer has to wait for a part. This segment from a Canadian show called Marketplace shows a couple who bought an HHR, which was recalled twice in a row. The dealer tried to charge them $75 for a new ignition switch which should be replaced for free, and they didn't offer a loaner car....until the TV show intervened.

The expert tells you why car companies avoid recalls if they can....just as we suspect, they don't want to lay out any money if they don't have to.

RECALL RANTS 6 MIN, GM starts at 2min 30 second mark)

jmonroe

Hey @abacomike, there is a Miracle Mile Shopping Center that dates back to the mid '50's just outside the Burgh. So that is what I think of when I hear "Miracle Mile". You didn't, and still don't, have to pay to shop at that place, just park for free in the mile long parking lot.

You can't get too many cheapos around these parts to pay when they are shopping, which explains why I don't go into the downtown area of the Burgh to shop or to go to a restaurant, especially since there in no Outback in downtown Burgh..

Free is always better, all other things being equal.

jmonroe

suydam

Does the great Italian cook and PBS cooking expert Lidia Bastianich have a restaurant in Pittsburgh? I always wanted to go there.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

uplanderguy said:

I'm late to the game here, but someone above posted that during the Cobalt's recall on ignitions, GM said to park the cars and don't drive them. What wasn't said was that GM would pay for a rental car, no questions asked, until the recall could be completed. I told an elderly friend of mine about that--he owned an HHR--and he got one for a couple months while his HHR sat. (He was a Studebaker-Packard-MB dealer, by the way!).

I had two Cobalts. I never felt any stiffness getting the keys out, or any 'slop' in the switch, which supposedly were the clues. I didn't bother getting rental cars, even though they were free. I had a switch replaced on my '08 when I first felt the tiniest bit of 'stickiness' getting the key out--this was pre-recall and only when a 'campaign' was out there, to replace the switch for ten years and 150K miles I think it was. My other Cobalt, bought used, had had a similar replacement done prior to my ownership, when the dealer ran the VIN.

What hurt doubly for GM was that the replacement switches apparently weren't given a new part number, so when the recall happened, supposedly there wasn't a way to tell if the replacement switches were new inventory or old inventory, so my cars got the switches again.

GM's policy is the dealer is empowered to offer a loaner if a customer has to wait for a part. This segment from a Canadian show called Marketplace shows a couple who bought an HHR, which was recalled twice in a row. The dealer tried to charge them $75 for a new ignition switch which should be replaced for free, and they didn't offer a loaner car....until the TV show intervened.

The expert tells you why car companies avoid recalls if they can....just as we suspect, they don't want to lay out any money if they don't have to.

RECALL RANTS 6 MIN, GM starts at 2min 30 second mark)

Shocking, just SHOCKING !

Another shortie just for you.

jmonroe

jmonroe

suydam said:

Does the great Italian cook and PBS cooking expert Lidia Bastianich have a restaurant in Pittsburgh? I always wanted to go there.

I don't know for sure but if I had to guess I'd say no, because I never heard anyone mention it.

It would be tough for an outsider to barge into the Italian market around here with all of the good mom and pop places.

jmonroe

abacomike

sda said:

It's been a long time since I've had to use a manual choke. Depending on how finicky the car was, it was a real skill to keep it running without belching black smoke or general rough running. Our '71 Datsun 510 didn't like cold mornings and was a bugger to keep going until it warmed up. Modern cars have taken all the fun out of any manual involvement of keeping a car running, lol.

My 1974 Triumph TR6 had a manual choke (and throttle, IIRC). Every morning when I first started the car up, I had to use the manual choke to get it running. After about 2-3 minutes, I reduced the choke and eventually, after about 5 minutes, I didn't need the choke anymore. But in the winter, the choke was pulled for over 10 minutes until that engine started to warm up.

abacomike

jmonroe said:

Hey @abacomike, there is a Miracle Mile Shopping Center that dates back to the mid '50's just outside the Burgh. So that is what I think of when I hear "Miracle Mile". You didn't, and still don't, have to pay to shop at that place, just park for free in the mile long parking lot.

You can't get too many cheapos around these parts to pay when they are shopping, which explains why I don't go into the downtown area of the Burgh to shop or to go to a restaurant, especially since there in no Outback in downtown Burgh..

Free is always better, all other things being equal.

jmonroe

The Miracle Mile shopping area is still in existence, believe it or not, and it still has some upscale stores - but that area of the Gables has changed markedly over the years.

jmonroe

Dammit I was wrong about Lidia's.

http://lidias-pittsburgh.com/about-us/

This is not going to be a good year. I'm wrong already this year and it's only February. I went all the way until November last year before I was wrong. :@

But I still maintain I ain't heard of the joint. I ought to at least get partial credit for that.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

While I'm not terribly happy with the outcome, that was a great game. A tale of two halves - first went to the Falcons, the second to the Patriots.

When Atlanta went up 28-3, I thought it might be over. But NE kept chipping away and taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

A well played game, and the first OT Super Bowl.

What I want to know is why Lady Gaga was leading an aerobics class that was on fire?

GEEZ, gimme that good 'ol rock and roll.

tjc78

abacomike said:

I'm far from a food snob, but Dennys I just can't bring myself to do.  Living in the diner capital of the world may be part of the reason. 

@abacomike
Sounds like you really like that steak house!  We went to out favorite little Italian place last night with the kids and my mom.  Great time and tons of leftovers.  3 of us and two kids for $90 with tip. (Well $100 if you count the bottle of Chianti I brought), we love BYOB.  

They have BYOB at many restaurants here, but there is a corking charge of $25 usually. My brother does that all the time. He brings a couple of bottles of wine from home when he takes me out for dinner up at his place. He is more than willing to pay the $35 corking charge per bottle in that Ruth's Chris charges over $200 per bottle for what he has at home and has shipped from Napa Valley and he only pays half that amount.

There is no corking charge since they don't serve alcohol at all.  I've known people to do what your brother does.  

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright said:

Michaell said:

While I'm not terribly happy with the outcome, that was a great game. A tale of two halves - first went to the Falcons, the second to the Patriots.

When Atlanta went up 28-3, I thought it might be over. But NE kept chipping away and taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

A well played game, and the first OT Super Bowl.

What I want to know is why Lady Gaga was leading an aerobics class that was on fire?

GEEZ, gimme that good 'ol rock and roll.

I'm with you other than when the halftime began I turned off the Super Bowl and watched something I taped for about 25 minutes. Then I switched back to the Super Bowl. I'm tired of all of the Super Bowl halftime hoopla. Just give me the game, that is all I want.

I wouldn't know Lady Gaga if she rear ended my Genny but once learning who she was, I'd have the worlds worst back and neck pains. Might even have a limp too.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

Not sure what will happen as these Half Time Producers keep upping their game. Maybe some fighter jets to strafe the stadium? Human sacrifice?

uplanderguy

jmonroe, I grew up between Pittsburgh and Erie in a little town called Greenville. Thiel College is there; Pymatuning State Park is ten miles north of there. I'd retire there, rather bucolic even though most heavy industry has left, but my wife says if I do that I'm going without her. You know, there's gotta be chain retail for her....zzzzzzzzz!

Amazingly, I still bump into more people I know there than where I've lived for thirty years, here.

Went to college, 100 years ago, at Clarion.

andres3

qbrozen said:

The only vehicle that ever aggravated me with its issues was the 135i. Our T&Cs haven't been the best, but since nothing ever caused problems with driving, it didn't irritate us terribly. The '08 had accessory issues such as the power third row eating itself, the DVD player crapping out, and finally the AC giving up the ghost at 80k miles. The '14 just had the chronic headlight issue, which seems to finally be resolved, at least for now.

Totally agree with imid about some fans adamantly denying problems. On the other side, though, there have been minor issues in history where people come to forums and totally bash the brand and state how its the worst vehicle ever and they are switching to XYZ brand. I often argue(d) with those people how every brand has its issues and, seriously, your brake pads wearing out in 30k miles or a mystery squeak in the interior is far from a problem in life.

I would agree complaining about brake pads that don't last or wiper blades that wore out after a year to be pointless. Wear items are exactly that, wear items. Unless you are buying a low price leader, I don't think maintenance costs are a big enough factor as compared to the purchase price to matter all that much.

I just bought premium 91 octane gas for 16 cents more than regular 87; hardly a reason to choose one car over another unless your splitting hairs.

A single squeak or rattle might bother me though. Usually they come in pairs though. Also would depend how new the car was.

Funny that people would complain about such trivial things when I was having head gasket, transmission, Air Conditioning, and other major failures in the late 90's and early 2000's.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not sure what will happen as these Half Time Producers keep upping their game. Maybe some fighter jets to strafe the stadium? Human sacrifice?

I miss the good old days of Up With People as the halftime show.

andres3

I lied about the new AllTrack having a VIN starting with 4, that's the Kia Optima.

Correction:

Golf Sportwagen VIN did start with a 3 for Puebla Mexico.

Golf AllTrack VIN also starts with a 3 for Puebla Mexico.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

I'm far from a food snob, but Dennys I just can't bring myself to do.  Living in the diner capital of the world may be part of the reason. 

@abacomike
Sounds like you really like that steak house!  We went to out favorite little Italian place last night with the kids and my mom.  Great time and tons of leftovers.  3 of us and two kids for $90 with tip. (Well $100 if you count the bottle of Chianti I brought), we love BYOB.  

They have BYOB at many restaurants here, but there is a corking charge of $25 usually. My brother does that all the time. He brings a couple of bottles of wine from home when he takes me out for dinner up at his place. He is more than willing to pay the $35 corking charge per bottle in that Ruth's Chris charges over $200 per bottle for what he has at home and has shipped from Napa Valley and he only pays half that amount.

There is no corking charge since they don't serve alcohol at all.  I've known people to do what your brother does.  

I looked up that restaurant you recommended. Sounds really good. We might pop down and try it out this weekend!

stickguy

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

But does it?

I look at it this way: Even at a low 20 mpg and even at a high 20,000 miles per year, a 30 cent delta comes to $300/yr. If you bought a car that requires premium, I'd say there is a good chance you care about performance. I can't even get a custom tune on a car for $300, so I consider the premium fuel delta to be about the cheapest performance mod you can buy.

tjc78

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

I'm far from a food snob, but Dennys I just can't bring myself to do.  Living in the diner capital of the world may be part of the reason. 

@abacomike
Sounds like you really like that steak house!  We went to out favorite little Italian place last night with the kids and my mom.  Great time and tons of leftovers.  3 of us and two kids for $90 with tip. (Well $100 if you count the bottle of Chianti I brought), we love BYOB.  

They have BYOB at many restaurants here, but there is a corking charge of $25 usually. My brother does that all the time. He brings a couple of bottles of wine from home when he takes me out for dinner up at his place. He is more than willing to pay the $35 corking charge per bottle in that Ruth's Chris charges over $200 per bottle for what he has at home and has shipped from Napa Valley and he only pays half that amount.

There is no corking charge since they don't serve alcohol at all.  I've known people to do what your brother does.  

I looked up that restaurant you recommended. Sounds really good. We might pop down and try it out this weekend!

Great, let me know how you like it.

graphicguy

My first (and rare) forray into classic car ownership was a 1969 MGB GT that I bought in the early '80s with what amounted to my entire savings I had not even a full year out of college. It was my daily driver. Big mistake. My first clue should have been the owner gave me a whole set of tools with the car.

It was beautiful....one owner, red, real wire wheels, real wood dash. 4 speed w/electric overdrive. It was low mileage. I soon realized why. It was damned difficult to keep on the road.

Manual Choke. In the winter, you did have to really yank on it back and forth for 10 minutes until the engine heated up. But, that wasn't the real problem....that was reserved for the confounding Brittish electronics, and trying to keep the side draft carbs adjusted.

Given I didn't have any money, I learned very quickly how to fix it myself, with a little help from a local garage who specialized in TRs and MGs. I couldn't afford to pay them to fix it, but they were more than generous with their advice on how to fix it myself (plus, I was buying a lot of parts from them). In the brief time I had it, I redid the brakes, replaced all the wiring, replaced the batteries (x2), seemed like I was re-working the carbs at least every weekend. I'm sure there was much more I did, but I've forgotten over time.

I probably had it about 18 months, when I went to a mall near where I was living at the time. Came out to my MGB, and there was a note on the windshield that said......"love this car, if you ever want to sell it, I'd be interested in buying it". There was a name and a number on the note.

I couldn't call quick enough....went back into the mall to the nearest phone booth (remember those?). Called. The guy who answered had just arrived home from the mall and was surprised to hear from me. He asked if he could drive it. I told him if he wanted to drive it NOW to just come back to the mall. He seemed a bit taken aback at how quickly I was willing to contact him and then allow for a test drive. But, he came right to the mall.

Luckily for me, on that day, the MGB was running well. We did a little back and forth, but ended up at a price we both felt was fair. Was living with my girlfriend at the time. I called her and told her to meet me at the mall with the title. He went to the bank in the meantime. He gave me the cash, I signed the title over, and I promptly took the girlfriend out on the town.

Was never so happy to get rid of a car in all my life.

andres3

abacomike said:

Atlanta's defense used up their energies and stamina during the first half - they were relentless and fast - jumping on the Patriot's front offensive line quickly and purposefully.  By the time the second half started they were spent/exhausted IMO.  But the Patriots also used halftime to study the Atlanta defensive strategies and literally mauled that defense.

Brady is a true pro - never felt defeated or overwhelmed.  He is the best quarterback in NFL history - even surpassing Manning and Marino.  He really deserved the MVP award, but understandable why they gave it to the Atlanta QB.

Maybe your right that Atlanta's defense was tired and got shredded in the 2nd half. However, how do you explain their Offense only showing up for the first 30 minutes of a 60 minute game?

Terrible coaching. The writing was on the wall as I could see it happening. All they had to do was score 3 points and no OT and a win for Atlanta. Reminded me of Marty ball. Atlanta definitely choked.

I don't really give Brady credit, NE defense more deserving. Ryan looked like Cutler in the 2nd half.

driver100

jmonroe said:

Dammit I was wrong about Lidia's.

http://lidias-pittsburgh.com/about-us/

.

jmonroe

How come I am not surprised!

I must admit, Pittsburgh went from near the bottom of the scale to being ranked extremely high on the scale for nice restaurants since the rebuilding of the city......according to our guide that explained the restoration of the city on our visit last June.

*Sorry JM, I had to shorten your post to make room for my valuable thoughts.

driver100

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

But does it?

I look at it this way: Even at a low 20 mpg and even at a high 20,000 miles per year, a 30 cent delta comes to $300/yr. If you bought a car that requires premium, I'd say there is a good chance you care about performance. I can't even get a custom tune on a car for $300, so I consider the premium fuel delta to be about the cheapest performance mod you can buy.

I wonder too, how many more miles to the gallon you get because the car uses premium fuel. If the mileage is increased by 10% because the engine runs more efficiently, the extra cost of premium fuel becomes even less of a factor.

The C250 gets just under 30 mpg, and it has adequate power. I would take more hp but don't need it. There is some turbo lag but once it catches up it can really go.

stickguy

The only car I have had recently that even recommended premium is the RDX. I have tried RUG, premium, and midgrade. Have never been able to tell any difference. Still a hotrod on RUG, and actually got a few of my best travel tank MPGs that way. So I mix it up, depending often on how cheap premium is.

actually, my TL did not like RUG. My sister (original owner) tried it, and it did not run well. but was just fine on mid grade, so she only used that. When I got it, I did the same (tossed in premium on occasion). Still ran like new at 175K when I sold it, so could not have hurt it too much!

maybe on a small engined, high strung car you would notice a difference (like a small displacement turbo where they dialed way back on the power) but not on a big, overpowered V6 like the Acuras have.

uplanderguy

RE.: Brand fanboys/haters on forums--I've long-thought that things that happened a good while ago usually weren't either as bad or as good as people tend to remember them.

I lived in a very salty, damp area. Vegas rusted, but I studied the cars (!), and I never saw rustouts "within one year" as people have posted. Similarly, I doubt the old "I had 350,000 miles and didn't even have to change the spark plugs" on a (insert a foreign name here)", LOL.

My opinion only. Your results may vary.

roadburner

Michaell said:

While I'm not terribly happy with the outcome, that was a great game. A tale of two halves - first went to the Falcons, the second to the Patriots.

When Atlanta went up 28-3, I thought it might be over. But NE kept chipping away and taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

A well played game, and the first OT Super Bowl.

My son put a few dollars on New England at halftime and wound up with $100. He told me he was virtually certain that the Pats would come back so he thought it a safe bet.

ab348

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

Dammit I was wrong about Lidia's.

http://lidias-pittsburgh.com/about-us/

.

jmonroe

How come I am not surprised!

I must admit, Pittsburgh went from near the bottom of the scale to being ranked extremely high on the scale for nice restaurants since the rebuilding of the city......according to our guide that explained the restoration of the city on our visit last June.

I've seen her PBS show. Wasn't ever one of my favorites but with the decline of America's Test Kitchen this year I may give her another chance.

The reviews of her Pittsburgh place on Yelp are surprisingly meh. Those Burghers are a tough bunch.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/lidias-pittsburgh-2

sda

The '06 Passat 2.0T that I had required premium. It ran great on it. When we had the gas shortage and only regular was available for a period of time I could tell the difference. It seemed sluggish, and didn't run as smoothly. I was concerned that engine damage could result, but I had no choice. Thankfully it was only two or three full tanks and premium again became available.

stickguy

technology for dealing with octane has come a long way though. But of course, different cars will react differently.

andres3

sda said:

The '06 Passat 2.0T that I had required premium. It ran great on it. When we had the gas shortage and only regular was available for a period of time I could tell the difference. It seemed sluggish, and didn't run as smoothly. I was concerned that engine damage could result, but I had no choice. Thankfully it was only two or three full tanks and premium again became available.

I think repeated use of 87 octane on a 2.0T VAG engine would result in greater deposits, gunk, and more frequent intake fuel system cleanings. I do remember a recommended cleaning of my old A3 made it seem like a new car afterward. However, I will add they also fixed a coding re-circulation valve on the turbo at the same time. 3 hours labor, $100 part.

driver100

I liked the looks of the Alfa Romeo's in the Super Bowl ads...made me want to go out and buy one!
https://youtu.be/1uF81gmh9IQ

houdini1

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

While I'm not terribly happy with the outcome, that was a great game. A tale of two halves - first went to the Falcons, the second to the Patriots.

When Atlanta went up 28-3, I thought it might be over. But NE kept chipping away and taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

A well played game, and the first OT Super Bowl.

I thought it was a great game.

It says a lot when a team is behind by 25 points and they can get their opponent to choke. Not even scoring a point in the second half is choking. They made a fool out of Matt Ryan. 3 sacks on third down and to be sure he wasn't sacked again on third down he decides to screw it up on second down by fumbling. The Falcons were afraid to play football, they just wanted the clock to run down but they couldn't even do that.

It looked to me like the Falcons just couldn't stop looking over their shoulders wondering when the Patriots were going to make their move. Even though they were looking they couldn't see it coming.

I think the Patriots sent a message to the rest of the NFL that you can't score enough points early to beat us. It should be interesting to watch the Patriots get in the heads of their opponents next year after they watched this Super Bowl.

If there is a better team than the Patriots or a better quarterback than Brady, I'm watching the wrong game of football.

jmonroe

I felt the same way, and trying to play "not to lose" is a pet peeve of mine. 80% of the time, the team that does this TOO EARLY will lose. You can usually see it coming from a mile away, football and basketball. A team lets up, stops doing the things they were doing to give them the lead, loses all their momentum and just hands BIG MO to the other team...and if both teams are good, that is a Big mistake. Some coaches never learn though.

Brady is the King, no question. I hope he wins a couple more SBs. And that catch Edelman made was absolutely impossible !

roadburner

I'd lease a Quadrifoglio but I'm not brave enough to buy one. Depreciation, reliability, and the long-term prospects for FCA would keep me from putting a new Alfa in my name...

isellhondas

abacomike said:

carnaught said:

Denny's: the last time Mrs. Carnaught and I were there, we both got sick afterwards. I remember Sambo's years ago in Coral Gables, Miracle Mile, the best pancakes.

Miracle Mile - now that's a place from my childhood memories.  My grandparents had a home in Coral Gables in the 1948-1955 time frame which was about a mile from Miracle Mile.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with that area of Coral Gables, it was the very first "shopping center" in Florida.  It was on Coral Way - about a mile-long strip of upscale stores and shops- both sides of the street.  It had diagonal pull in parking (with meters I might add) throughout the strip.  I might even say it was "exclusive" because these were not bargain merchants.  The strip ended at the courthouse.

I used ride my bike to the "Miracle Mile" with my friends from school - I was living there for about 3 months and attended a Catholic School in 3rd grade which made the year I lived there 1952 or 1953.  My grandfather drove a 1949 Oldsmobile 98 sedan and my grandmother drove a 1949 fastback Chevrolet 2-door coupe.  It was a 3-speed stick (she hated automatic transmissions) and I remember the starter was just above the center hump to the right of the gas pedal.  To start that car, you put the front of your foot on the starter and the heel of your foot on the gas pedal.  Trickey yet interesting to watch grandma stretch to start that car.  It had manual choke and manual throttle which she used when the car was cold (early morning).

Boy, those were great memories.  

I hate to be nitpicky (yeah, I really do) but your grandmother's Chevy had to be older than a 1949. 1949 was the first year Chevy went from that floor starter to a push button that was located on the left side of the dash. The push buttons remained until 1953 when they included the starter into the ignition switch.

Sorry to be a pest! Aren't you all glad I'm "back"?

isellhondas

graphicguy said:

My first (and rare) forray into classic car ownership was a 1969 MGB GT that I bought in the early '80s with what amounted to my entire savings I had not even a full year out of college. It was my daily driver. Big mistake. My first clue should have been the owner gave me a whole set of tools with the car.

It was beautiful....one owner, red, real wire wheels, real wood dash. 4 speed w/electric overdrive. It was low mileage. I soon realized why. It was damned difficult to keep on the road.

Manual Choke. In the winter, you did have to really yank on it back and forth for 10 minutes until the engine heated up. But, that wasn't the real problem....that was reserved for the confounding Brittish electronics, and trying to keep the side draft carbs adjusted.

Given I didn't have any money, I learned very quickly how to fix it myself, with a little help from a local garage who specialized in TRs and MGs. I couldn't afford to pay them to fix it, but they were more than generous with their advice on how to fix it myself (plus, I was buying a lot of parts from them). In the brief time I had it, I redid the brakes, replaced all the wiring, replaced the batteries (x2), seemed like I was re-working the carbs at least every weekend. I'm sure there was much more I did, but I've forgotten over time.

I probably had it about 18 months, when I went to a mall near where I was living at the time. Came out to my MGB, and there was a note on the windshield that said......"love this car, if you ever want to sell it, I'd be interested in buying it". There was a name and a number on the note.

I couldn't call quick enough....went back into the mall to the nearest phone booth (remember those?). Called. The guy who answered had just arrived home from the mall and was surprised to hear from me. He asked if he could drive it. I told him if he wanted to drive it NOW to just come back to the mall. He seemed a bit taken aback at how quickly I was willing to contact him and then allow for a test drive. But, he came right to the mall.

Luckily for me, on that day, the MGB was running well. We did a little back and forth, but ended up at a price we both felt was fair. Was living with my girlfriend at the time. I called her and told her to meet me at the mall with the title. He went to the bank in the meantime. He gave me the cash, I signed the title over, and I promptly took the girlfriend out on the town.

Was never so happy to get rid of a car in all my life.

Having owned two MG's I know exactly how you feel!

qbrozen

driver100 said:

I liked the looks of the Alfa Romeo's in the Super Bowl ads...made me want to go out and buy one!
https://youtu.be/1uF81gmh9IQ

I'm anticipating 60% depreciation in 24 months and getting a good deal