>Your logic is a bit off using your example while you are driving 7.7% faster you are using fuel 11.2% faster (2.26 gallons/hour as opposed to 2.03 gallons/hour). 70 is less efficient.
If I follow your reasoning, idling will be the most fuel efficient as the gallon/hour consumption will be the lowest, even though my mpg is 0 ?
mpg is more a bottom line for me than whether I use fuel quickly or not
Why taking more time doing one same thing would reduce the work load?
Here is the thing, your commute time is non productive. If you work 8 hours a day you work 8 hours a day regardless of if it takes you 30 minutes or 45 minutes to get to work.
I could well say that spending 33% more time on the road is likely to yield 33% more deaths.
You could say it but studies disprove that.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If I follow your reasoning, idling will be the most fuel efficient as the gallon/hour consumption will be the lowest, even though my mpg is 0 ?
No that is wrong. If you follow my logic you will see that you are driving 100% slower but your fuel consumption drops way less than that (maybe drops 75%?). For a slower speed to be more efficient the % drop in fuel usage (gallons per hour) should be greater than the % drop in speed. So using my logic for idle to be more efficient it has to create gas.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
No, no.... I think my root point was misunderstood. I am not looking at total fuel consumption, I am looking at time savings versus fuel savings. Sure, you may or may not be consuming more fuel as the speed of the vehicle changes, but until the rate of fuel consumption increases faster than the rate of time savings, my opinion is that the "optimum speed" has not been reached.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I don't think the upper-uppers would curtail their yachting/learjets/etc - nor would they have to, and I sincerely doubt the oil companies would pull governmental puppet strings enough to mandate such low consumption.
I understand what you are saying, I just don't agree with the logic. If you are looking at speed (distance traveled per period of time) you should be comparing it against a similar metric or in this case fuel used per same time period.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Oh...... right, right. I was comparing a metric like mpg directly rather than accounting for the fact that more or less distance is covered and therefore more or less fuel is used... regardless of MPG. In other words, I had left the time component out of the fuel side of the comparison, which I had not intended to do.
I would define "optimum" speed for a vehicle the speed at which a % increase in speed causes a greater net % decrease in fuel economy over a given amount of time.
Thanks!
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I was just in Pigeon Forge, TN, a recreation/vacation area. There are all these gocart tracks with gocart motors idling all day long just waiting for someone to come ride them. Talk about air pollution and talk about excess use of fuel!!!
The optimum speed, in terms of fuel usage per unit of time is obviously 186,000 miles per second: the speed of light. This is because as your speed approaches light velocity, time slows. :P
Wish the supersonic jets were still operating... that was one fun ride (actually 3 times)... 53,000 ft. up, 1,400 miles per hour... London to New York in 3 hrs. Those were the days!
-mark156
2010 Land Rover LR4, 2013 Honda CR-V, 2009 Bentley GTC, 1990 MB 500SL, 2001 MB S500, 2007 Lincoln TC, 1964 RR Silver Cloud III, 1995 MB E320 Cab., 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach
This thread was on topic 25 posts ago... and that one was about a bicycle.
Dunno if it's bad enough to count, but today someone ruined my shortcut to work by driving 25-30mph on a 35 that's very wide and empty, on which you expect to do 45. They looked lost. The street is full of tech company parking lots - pull off and find your bearings and let us go!
....this is pretty interesting. Approaching a stop light I noticed that the car I was pulling up next to had the fuel door open and the gas cap hanging by its tether. I honked my horn and tried to get this ladies attention to let her know what the situation was. She ignored me and went on when the light turned green.
Next light, same thing with me trying to get her attention. Again she ignored me and when the light turn green she started off like a bat out of hell trying to get away from me. Not sure what she thought I was trying to do.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I have one too and its not as accurate as people tend to think. One thing is that you have to keep it up to date as roads change. I know until an update is issued it will tell me to go down a road that doesn't exist to get to my wifes friends house, the city recently permanently removed the road.
Secondly these systems use a logic that may or may not give the best route. Going from my house to a friends house every mapping sytems and navigation system gives the longest route (both in distance and in time). We both live just off the same U.S. highway which is a direct route. But every mapping system has you take the interstate which take you way out of your way (almost 25 miles and 10 minutes longer plus 2 tolls).
Last week I had to go to a court hearing and my nav system gave out a less than direct route. Although it looked good using the interstate and a major U.S. highway it wasn't as direct as using the state highway. I can give enough examples of me thinking "why am I going this way, another way is so much better" that I don't use my nav system except to see if it will tell me to go a different route.
Sorry but I will trust maps and my knowledge of the roads and conditions.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
>highway it wasn't as direct as using the state highway. I can give enough examples of me thinking "why am I going this way, another way is so much better" that I don't use my nav system except to see if it will tell me to go a different route.
I have wondered how they do relative to short vs easy driving or major road vs locals. Thanks for the info. I have thought about buying one of the after market versions to play with.
It sounds like they do what mapquest often does-picks the major roads.
Sorry but I will trust maps and my knowledge of the roads and conditions.
I think you have a subpar unit or something. In mine, you can choose your route based on least/most use of highways and least time. It has taught me a few roads in my neck of the woods that I did not know existed. Moreover, it has a detour feature that lets you use the back roads for a specified # of miles when the freeway is clogged. It has never failed yet.
It is impossible to keep all that knowledge in your head or look at the map to determine the best route to go around an obstacle when you are alone, driving. It is also invaluable when you are taking a day trip of 500 miles+ to find out restaurants/hotels/points of interest along the way and detours. I was in Baltimore one day when I-95 got closed and this thing took me out of that place using backroads and I have never been inside Baltimore city in my life! Maybe you can figure it all out in an instant by reading a map but I can't.
Finally I love the feeling of landing in a strange city and drive like a native and enjoy my favorite cuisine at night for dinner!
I am not asking anyone to use it, just stating that it is an indispensable tool for me. YMMV. It is, of course, an aid to navigation, which means common sense applies at all times.
PS PF must be on vacation. All these off topic posts and not a sound from him! Happy holidays, PF!
It sounds like they do what mapquest often does-picks the major roads.
I do believe that the logic used is basically the same. Every now and again something like this will show up on the internet (I think this is an extreme example):
No mine allows for the same thing, no matter what I did it sent me on routes that I knew (from experience) were longer in both time and distance. This route is just one of those flukes that pop up every now and again, but its enough to make me question the accuracy.
It is impossible to keep all that knowledge in your head or look at the map to determine the best route to go around an obstacle when you are alone, driving.
Oh I don't know, I know Northern Illinois well enough to get around just about any obstacle. I also know a few others that know it just as well.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Oh I don't know, I know Northern Illinois well enough to get around just about any obstacle.
So, do you ever go to southern Illinios? :P Or, do you know it just as well?
I see now. Unlike you, I am always travelling and do not know how to get around at every place. I have the magellan roadmate 760 and do not have experience with any other brand. I have heard though, that the built in units are inferior.
Just curious, if you know everything so well, why did you invest in one?
Not that anybody asked me, but, I have had really good luck with the OEM unit that was in my 2002 ML500 and now in the 2006 Land Rover. I'm still learning the system in the Land Rover and it is much more advanced.
The ML was amazing especially in Los Angeles. No Navigational system is perfect but both systems that I have experienced seem really good. The ML had a 9 disk system whereas the LR has one universal disk under the drivers seat that never needs to be changed unless there is an update.
I know there are selections for avoiding toll ways and interstates if any of you didn't know about that and selecting the shortest route and/or fastest route.
Mark156
2010 Land Rover LR4, 2013 Honda CR-V, 2009 Bentley GTC, 1990 MB 500SL, 2001 MB S500, 2007 Lincoln TC, 1964 RR Silver Cloud III, 1995 MB E320 Cab., 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach
Almost ran into, literally, a non-thinker behind the wheel today. :mad:
The setup: A two lane rural road running through a cluster of homes on both sides, no shoulder, no sidewalks, no place to go but front yards, 30MPH limit. One car going west, me, one going east, both going the speed limit.
Enter the squirrel, crossing the eastbound lane. Eastbound driver looks at me, then swerves into my lane ... TO AVOID A SQUIRREL!!
Not the last of the left-handed, tool using squirrels, but just one of the gazzilion rats with long fuzzy tails that inhabit this neck of the woods
Just a word of advice... when it comes down to people and cars vs wildlife, trust that the squirrel is quick enough to get out of the way.
Go down a nice long side street with plenty of stop signs following some guy (gal?) in a Honda with a manual tranny. Evidently this person was very unfamiliar with a manual as at every stop sign when the started out the car lurched a few inches and stalled. After two or three attempts they would get the car going only to do it again at the next stop sign. :sick:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Having been a newbie to stick once (MANY moons ago) I'm willing to give someone like that a LITTLE slack. They get caught in that horrible place where they've stalled it once in traffic, and now the pressure is on. They lose their focus on just driving and get reall worried about getting in folk's way... which of course they do MORE :P
Reminds me of a similar situation I was in just outside Nashville TN. But the guy aimed for the squirrel. The guy got him stopped the car went back and, I kid you not, grabbed this fresh road kill and threw it into his trunk.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
This particular one, though, was still transit-taped on the hood, roof, and trunk, did not have ANY identifying paperwork (like a temp tag, plate, dealer plate... anything). The driver was obviously taking it back to the dealership, but must have had it home overnight at least (my guess is an employee). And, of course, the driver was behaving just shy of reckless... weaving in and out of traffic, running lights (the whole turn-red-part-way-through bit) at which it should have stopped, etc. Seems odd that someone would behave that way when there is only one dealer of such cars in Fairbanks and it can be so readily identifiable with the employer. That's certainly bad advertising! :P
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I have a friend that had that problem with a 70's era Volvo. Every time he stopped he had to shift it into neutral and play with the choke to keep it from stalling. One day he accidently put it into park and came to a sudden stop, we were lucky no one rear ended us.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I saw a dealer-plated Lexus RX hybrid driven like that a few weeks back. The guy even pulled right into the dealer lot. Some people...not happy with his employer I guess, or the owner's son maybe.
Today I had a nice one...I was driving on a 2 lane in each direction suburban road with a turn lane in the middle, posted at 30. The long light ahead of me was red, so I was coasting and maybe going 30 on the nose, tops. From a parking lot on my left an old man wearing a Gilligan hat in a red 05 Civic coupe pulls out right in front of me, not into the turn lane (people here use them as merge lanes) but right into my lane! I had to slam on my brakes...he was lucky I was going slow. He never once looked back or checked his mirror, either....I had my eye on him. I know my shiny car with headlights on must have been hard to see. He better beware, pull something like that in front of some big dumpy SUV instead of a car with good handling, and your driving days might end.
I learned to drive a stick in a 68 Fairlane which also lacked manual steering or brakes. Driving that thing in town was more of a workout than anything I ever did playing any sports. The clutch also needed some kind of adjustment, and the take-up point almost seemed random. I stalled it many a time, or ground it. It was embarrassing. Sticks can be fun in no traffic, or in an area with no hills...but where I live, I am more than happy with a slushbox.
I remember that story of yours. At least that RX had plates of some kind.... I do not think it is even legal to have a vehicle on the road with no identification, is it? When I took an '06 Subaru Outback ltd on a test drive a couple weeks back they stuck a "dealer plate" on it (literally... with some well-used duct tape!) because otherwise it would have had no ID at all. Interesting to me, because that was the first time I'd ever test-driven a new car. *shrugs*
I swear the most dangerous place to drive is on residential roads... simply because people have such engrained expectations that they often do not look around. I was almost creamed by a Ranger last week when I was driving up my road and this guy just flys out from a blind driveway without ever looking back. If I had not been "with it" that morning, he would have flat smushed me into ditch! He NEVER looked back. just whipped right out and kept going as if nothing happened. Then, annoyingly enough, he pulls up the very next driveway, stops, starts to back up, and then finally stops when I swerved to avoid him and hounded the horn! Grr...... :mad:
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
Yeah, I think that car had a dealer plate on it, or the paper tag they use...I can't recall. I doubt it is legal to drive a car with no ID...I test drove a car last summer, and the dealer plate was affixed by kind of a rubber rope that hung out of the trunk, very weird. But being illegal never stops most people.
People like that guy in that Ranger end up getting shot at in some locales, and then people whine and wonder why. IMO, some people need such a wakeup call, and are victims of nothing but their own ignorance. They don't deserve to be shot of course...just shot at...flat tire etc. I will say I prefer driving on a freely moving interstate than being caught in the urban/suburban jam, or in the suburbs with the airheads and octogenarians.
I learned stick by driving farm tractors... most of whose clutches worked intermittently at best! My first intro to a passenger vehicle was a '79 F150. About the same time, I also was able to drive a 50s vintage dump truck w/ hi-lo range. That was interesting.... I felt like I did nothing BUT shift that stupid thing! It was fun though. Driving a large variety of vehicles so early on gave me a unique appreciation for understanding exactly the size of the vehicle driven. I scare my wife because of it sometimes though... if I'm 6 inches away from something then I know I'm that far away and I do not hesitate to go. In the meantime, she's wishing she had a couple extra grab handles!
I am not sure if I would find a manual to be tedious in day to day use. The only manual I currently have is on my '69 Chevy C20 and I do not drive it but for working it any more. I find it highly enjoyable to drive between the MT and the highly responsive handling (when it is running empty!).
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
Nope the only options were an engine block heater and upgraded tires. Everything else was standard, including the nav system.
But, fair enough. I like NAVs, you do not.
I am not saying I don't like them, just that they are not the cats meow that many make them out to be and they do have their drawbacks. I actually like the handheld. GPS thing I have that I use a lot for hiking. It gives distance traveled average speed, altitude and even tracks the path I took so I can back track if I get lost. But I also carry a map and compass and am very good with them too.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I'm driving my E430 down a major road, 7 lanes, middle lane for turns. A lady in a 2005 white BMW 3 series takes off very slow at lights and stops 20 ft. from the intersection. I'm thinking what is going on? :confuse:
I pull up next to her and she has her cell phone in one had while holding an address book flipping pages trying to find a phone number. Once I passed her, I could see her driving while trying to punch the numbers weaving in and out of her lane. The lanes on this street are narrow to accommodate all 7 lanes. I wish a cop was there to see how she was driving.
About Nav... I would much rather have the nav going vs. trying to read a map. It's not safe to drive while trying to read the small print. One advantage of the nav is that it speaks the directions.
Nav systems are not 100% which has been mentioned but boy do they come in handy especially when I'm driving across the country and looking for certain hotels or certain type of restaurants... those establishments are hard to find that on a map! :P
In large metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, my experience is that my OEM units have worked beautifully.
Happy motoring .. M156
2010 Land Rover LR4, 2013 Honda CR-V, 2009 Bentley GTC, 1990 MB 500SL, 2001 MB S500, 2007 Lincoln TC, 1964 RR Silver Cloud III, 1995 MB E320 Cab., 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach
My new truck I wanted Nav, but it seems that *most* automakers don't offer Nav here in Alaska. Sooooo, I'm real good at reading maps and sometimes drag my computer and gps along, it'll talk to me and tell me where to go.
As for women and cars not mixing........careful there buddy, last accident I had was caused by a MAN!!! :P
Comments
If I follow your reasoning, idling will be the most fuel efficient as the gallon/hour consumption will be the lowest, even though my mpg is 0 ?
mpg is more a bottom line for me than whether I use fuel quickly or not
Here is the thing, your commute time is non productive. If you work 8 hours a day you work 8 hours a day regardless of if it takes you 30 minutes or 45 minutes to get to work.
I could well say that spending 33% more time on the road is likely to yield 33% more deaths.
You could say it but studies disprove that.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
No that is wrong. If you follow my logic you will see that you are driving 100% slower but your fuel consumption drops way less than that (maybe drops 75%?). For a slower speed to be more efficient the % drop in fuel usage (gallons per hour) should be greater than the % drop in speed. So using my logic for idle to be more efficient it has to create gas.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
roomthread of your own.I second this proposal.
yachting, boating, private flying, NASCAR, etc (get my drift)
rationed to four gallons of gas per week and lastly
50 or 55 mph national speed limit.
What's to prevent the above from happening?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I would define "optimum" speed for a vehicle the speed at which a % increase in speed causes a greater net % decrease in fuel economy over a given amount of time.
Thanks!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
ET, phone home.
-mark156
Dunno if it's bad enough to count, but today someone ruined my shortcut to work by driving 25-30mph on a 35 that's very wide and empty, on which you expect to do 45. They looked lost. The street is full of tech company parking lots - pull off and find your bearings and let us go!
Or, better yet, buy a navigation system and never get lost!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Next light, same thing with me trying to get her attention. Again she ignored me and when the light turn green she started off like a bat out of hell trying to get away from me. Not sure what she thought I was trying to do.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Secondly these systems use a logic that may or may not give the best route. Going from my house to a friends house every mapping sytems and navigation system gives the longest route (both in distance and in time). We both live just off the same U.S. highway which is a direct route. But every mapping system has you take the interstate which take you way out of your way (almost 25 miles and 10 minutes longer plus 2 tolls).
Last week I had to go to a court hearing and my nav system gave out a less than direct route. Although it looked good using the interstate and a major U.S. highway it wasn't as direct as using the state highway. I can give enough examples of me thinking "why am I going this way, another way is so much better" that I don't use my nav system except to see if it will tell me to go a different route.
Sorry but I will trust maps and my knowledge of the roads and conditions.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I have wondered how they do relative to short vs easy driving or major road vs locals. Thanks for the info. I have thought about buying one of the after market versions to play with.
It sounds like they do what mapquest often does-picks the major roads.
How often are updates available? Cost?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think you have a subpar unit or something. In mine, you can choose your route based on least/most use of highways and least time. It has taught me a few roads in my neck of the woods that I did not know existed.
Moreover, it has a detour feature that lets you use the back roads for a specified # of miles when the freeway is clogged. It has never failed yet.
It is impossible to keep all that knowledge in your head or look at the map to determine the best route to go around an obstacle when you are alone, driving. It is also invaluable when you are taking a day trip of 500 miles+ to find out restaurants/hotels/points of interest along the way and detours. I was in Baltimore one day when I-95 got closed and this thing took me out of that place using backroads and I have never been inside Baltimore city in my life! Maybe you can figure it all out in an instant by reading a map but I can't.
Finally I love the feeling of landing in a strange city and drive like a native and enjoy my favorite cuisine at night for dinner!
I am not asking anyone to use it, just stating that it is an indispensable tool for me. YMMV. It is, of course, an aid to navigation, which means common sense applies at all times.
PS PF must be on vacation. All these off topic posts and not a sound from him! Happy holidays, PF!
I do believe that the logic used is basically the same. Every now and again something like this will show up on the internet (I think this is an extreme example):
http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/mappoint.asp
How often are updates available? Cost?
My guess it would be yearly and I am not sure about the cost since I haven't updated mine.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
No mine allows for the same thing, no matter what I did it sent me on routes that I knew (from experience) were longer in both time and distance. This route is just one of those flukes that pop up every now and again, but its enough to make me question the accuracy.
It is impossible to keep all that knowledge in your head or look at the map to determine the best route to go around an obstacle when you are alone, driving.
Oh I don't know, I know Northern Illinois well enough to get around just about any obstacle. I also know a few others that know it just as well.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So, do you ever go to southern Illinios? :P Or, do you know it just as well?
I see now. Unlike you, I am always travelling and do not know how to get around at every place. I have the magellan roadmate 760 and do not have experience with any other brand. I have heard though, that the built in units are inferior.
Just curious, if you know everything so well, why did you invest in one?
The ML was amazing especially in Los Angeles. No Navigational system is perfect but both systems that I have experienced seem really good. The ML had a 9 disk system whereas the LR has one universal disk under the drivers seat that never needs to be changed unless there is an update.
I know there are selections for avoiding toll ways and interstates if any of you didn't know about that and selecting the shortest route and/or fastest route.
Mark156
Updates are available from Honda for (gulp) about $180 plus shipping.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Once every other blue moon. The times I went I used something called a map. Thousands of $'s cheaper and easy to use.
I see now. Unlike you, I am always travelling and do not know how to get around at every place.
No I travel a lot myself, but I can read a map.
Just curious, if you know everything so well, why did you invest in one?
Well even though my Nav system retails in the tens of thousands of dollars it did come with this nifty little accessory called a car.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The setup: A two lane rural road running through a cluster of homes on both sides, no shoulder, no sidewalks, no place to go but front yards, 30MPH limit. One car going west, me, one going east, both going the speed limit.
Enter the squirrel, crossing the eastbound lane. Eastbound driver looks at me, then swerves into my lane ... TO AVOID A SQUIRREL!!
Not the last of the left-handed, tool using squirrels, but just one of the gazzilion rats with long fuzzy tails that inhabit this neck of the woods
Just a word of advice... when it comes down to people and cars vs wildlife, trust that the squirrel is quick enough to get out of the way.
I gotta go do the laundry now!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Sometimes that learning curve is a bit steeper!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
This particular one, though, was still transit-taped on the hood, roof, and trunk, did not have ANY identifying paperwork (like a temp tag, plate, dealer plate... anything). The driver was obviously taking it back to the dealership, but must have had it home overnight at least (my guess is an employee). And, of course, the driver was behaving just shy of reckless... weaving in and out of traffic, running lights (the whole turn-red-part-way-through bit) at which it should have stopped, etc. Seems odd that someone would behave that way when there is only one dealer of such cars in Fairbanks and it can be so readily identifiable with the employer. That's certainly bad advertising! :P
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Today I had a nice one...I was driving on a 2 lane in each direction suburban road with a turn lane in the middle, posted at 30. The long light ahead of me was red, so I was coasting and maybe going 30 on the nose, tops. From a parking lot on my left an old man wearing a Gilligan hat in a red 05 Civic coupe pulls out right in front of me, not into the turn lane (people here use them as merge lanes) but right into my lane! I had to slam on my brakes...he was lucky I was going slow. He never once looked back or checked his mirror, either....I had my eye on him. I know my shiny car with headlights on must have been hard to see. He better beware, pull something like that in front of some big dumpy SUV instead of a car with good handling, and your driving days might end.
I swear the most dangerous place to drive is on residential roads... simply because people have such engrained expectations that they often do not look around. I was almost creamed by a Ranger last week when I was driving up my road and this guy just flys out from a blind driveway without ever looking back. If I had not been "with it" that morning, he would have flat smushed me into ditch! He NEVER looked back. just whipped right out and kept going as if nothing happened. Then, annoyingly enough, he pulls up the very next driveway, stops, starts to back up, and then finally stops when I swerved to avoid him and hounded the horn! Grr...... :mad:
People like that guy in that Ranger end up getting shot at in some locales, and then people whine and wonder why. IMO, some people need such a wakeup call, and are victims of nothing but their own ignorance. They don't deserve to be shot of course...just shot at...flat tire etc. I will say I prefer driving on a freely moving interstate than being caught in the urban/suburban jam, or in the suburbs with the airheads and octogenarians.
I am not sure if I would find a manual to be tedious in day to day use. The only manual I currently have is on my '69 Chevy C20 and I do not drive it but for working it any more. I find it highly enjoyable to drive between the MT and the highly responsive handling (when it is running empty!).
So you could not buy that car without a NAV?
But, fair enough. I like NAVs, you do not. I do not like to read maps and you do. No need to get sarcastic about it.
Nope the only options were an engine block heater and upgraded tires. Everything else was standard, including the nav system.
But, fair enough. I like NAVs, you do not.
I am not saying I don't like them, just that they are not the cats meow that many make them out to be and they do have their drawbacks. I actually like the handheld. GPS thing I have that I use a lot for hiking. It gives distance traveled average speed, altitude and even tracks the path I took so I can back track if I get lost. But I also carry a map and compass and am very good with them too.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I'm driving my E430 down a major road, 7 lanes, middle lane for turns. A lady in a 2005 white BMW 3 series takes off very slow at lights and stops 20 ft. from the intersection. I'm thinking what is going on? :confuse:
I pull up next to her and she has her cell phone in one had while holding an address book flipping pages trying to find a phone number. Once I passed her, I could see her driving while trying to punch the numbers weaving in and out of her lane. The lanes on this street are narrow to accommodate all 7 lanes. I wish a cop was there to see how she was driving.
About Nav... I would much rather have the nav going vs. trying to read a map. It's not safe to drive while trying to read the small print. One advantage of the nav is that it speaks the directions.
Nav systems are not 100% which has been mentioned but boy do they come in handy especially when I'm driving across the country and looking for certain hotels or certain type of restaurants... those establishments are hard to find that on a map! :P
In large metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, my experience is that my OEM units have worked beautifully.
Happy motoring .. M156
As for women and cars not mixing........careful there buddy, last accident I had was caused by a MAN!!! :P