This parking lot nonsense is silly. Join a union = give up your civil liberties?
It's called supporting your employer. Microsoft doesn't allow iPhones, Androids or Blackberries to be used by their employees while in their buildings.
And in the early years there were still issues, along with the amusing story of pictogram style signs being needed as there were literacy gaps, to put it nicely. But now the plant exports to Europe, and Germans are VERY picky about assembly quality, so it must be OK now.
I tell ya, anyone trying to dictate to me what car I'm allowed to buy is going to have a VERY thin time of things. I don't care WHO it is.
Me too, me too!
Unless of course..... .they pay for it..... in which case, beggers can't be choosers. But if it's my money, your thoughts on what I buy should be limited to opinions and advice. The best advice is the kind of advice that takes into account MY best interests at heart, and is based on sound principles and facts.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Oh, I know. I have tow American cars - an Accord and a Solara.
I didn't know the Solara had been built in the 'States...that, or it had low NA-content. I know when it was dropped, the Camry line shot up the NA-content list.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
This parking lot nonsense is silly. Join a union = give up your civil liberties?
Parking lots haven't had civil liberties in a long time. Non-Disabled people have been discriminated against parking in certain prime parking spots for decades now thanks to the ADA.
Furthermore, recently a Prius can park where a non-hybrid can't! Pretty soon if you don't drive a zero emissions vehicle you might be forced to park in the street rather than the lot!!!! :sick:
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
It's called supporting your employer. Microsoft doesn't allow iPhones, Androids or Blackberries to be used by their employees while in their buildings.
That's lame. When I worked for a bank (other than BofA) I talked to two other employees (longer term than I) and both of them had BofA accounts.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
It's called supporting your employer. Microsoft doesn't allow iPhones, Androids or Blackberries to be used by their employees while in their buildings.
There's a big difference between Microsoft allowing someone to use an iPhone in the building, and telling Microsoft employees they aren't allowed to OWN iPhones.
Couldn't find American content on the Solara vs the Camry. Toyota called the Solara its first all American car - meaning it was designed here for only the American market and only built in Georgetown, KY.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Solara was basically just a Camry coupe, so I'm not sure its content would be any different. The only thing really unique was that the convertible production would farmed out to some specialist shop in the US.
I always wondered how, exactly, they enforce what a "compact" car is. Does anybody actually have the authority to give you a ticket or have you towed because you parked something too big in a "compact only" spot?
If it's a pull-in spot, width really matters more than length, and some modern compacts are as wide, or wider than some older midsized cars. For instance, the old Celebrity, Fox-based LTD, and Dodge 600 were all fairly narrow inside. Even a 1980 Malibu is only about 72" wide, and I'm sure some modern compacts are pushing that.
What if a car is advertised as a compact, such as the Dart or Cruze, but the EPA classifies them as a midsize? Or, vice versa, a car that seems big is actually classified as a compact? According to the EPA standards, my buddy's 230" long Mark V is a midsize, because they go by interior volume and not exterior bulk. I've never seen an official interior volume published for my '76 LeMans, but it might actually be a compact by EPA standards.
For the most part, the EPA defines a midsized car as having 110-120 cubic feet of combined passenger/trunk volume. The tables I've found only go back to 1978. A 1978 Fury/Monaco coupe is rated at 95/15, 110 combined, while a Charger/Magnum is 97/16 and a Cordoba is 95/16 An LTD-II coupe is rated at 94/16, a T-bird at 95/16, and a Cougar XR-7 at only 93/16.
I dunno why what essentially amounts to the same car would have that much discrepancy, unless one has thicker door panels or thicker seats or something, that might make a difference. But anyway, I think my LeMans is pretty similar in design to those other cars, and I think it only has a 15 cubic foot trunk. So, it the passenger compartment is less than 95 cubic feet, it's a compact! :P
By the later years the Solara convertibles were built as convertibles from the start - unlike my Celica where they cut the top off a coupe, reenforce the sides for rigidity - all by ASC in California.....
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I went to the EPA's website expecting them to actually classify it as a subcompact! It's basically a 2+2, so even if the front seat is roomy, that marginal back seat is still going to bring your overall interior volume down.
Surprisingly though, the 6-series coupe has a fairly large, 16 cubic foot trunk, coupled with its 87 cubic feet of interior volume, so with 103 combined, it makes the compact cut (100-110 cubic feet).
Here's an interesting magic trick though. The convertible version actually has a slightly LARGER interior, at 89 cubic feet! The trunk is understandably smaller, at 12. But I wonder how they managed to make a convertible with a larger passenger cabin than its coupe counterpart? Maybe the convertible roof is taller in back than the coupe, so it give a bit more headroom, perhaps?
Also, I didn't realize they recently redesigned the 6-series. I remember the previous model seeming pretty small inside. And having a bad seating position, where the steering wheel was off-center compared to my body. I haven't sat in the new one yet.
Scary how fast the time goes by...I keep thinking of this revived 6-series as a fairly new car, yet they've been out long enough that I see a fairly ratty looking one every once in awhile on my way to work.
There's a big difference between Microsoft allowing someone to use an iPhone in the building, and telling Microsoft employees they aren't allowed to OWN iPhones.
I don't think fezo said he couldn't own a non UAW vehicle. They just didn't want him to park one at work.
I used to work across the street from a Teamster hall. The had two parking lots and although I didn't see signs, there was a definite segregation of what parked in each lot.
In the lot closest to the building were only domestic vehicles - those typically made with UAW labor. The other lot was everything else.
With the modern era, you have cheap and easy availability of tiny small devices that can record video/audio; take pictures, and the like, I don't think vandalism or other unofficial enforcement techniques in UAW parking lots would work as well as it did in the past. :P
It would be worth someone doing it (vandalizing my car) if I could catch them doing it on video.
Which reminds me, I need to master my Iphone so that the next time I get pulled over I can record it with expertise.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
In the lot closest to the building were only domestic vehicles - those typically made with UAW labor. The other lot was everything else.
When I visited the Corvette plant in Bowling Green in '07, I saw signs saying "Imported Car Parking" with an arrow, pointing away from the spaces closest to the plant. I don't have a problem with that at all .
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Toyota used to combine Camry sedan and Solara coupe and convertible as "Camry" production and "Camry" NA-parts content. I do know that once the Solara was gone, "Camry" shot up the NA-content list. I don't know particulars though.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I don't think fezo said he couldn't own a non UAW vehicle. They just didn't want him to park one at work.
You really think someone, even a union worker, has the money to buy a second car just for the purposes of going to their Union job and being able to park?
You really think someone, even a union worker, has the money to buy a second car just for the purposes of going to their Union job and being able to park?
Nope. But keep this in mind:
People in the trades have a choice - either work in a union shop or not work in a union shop.
If they decide to work in a union shop and one of the suggestions is that they drive a union made vehicle, then so be it.
It isn't like anyone is forcing them to take the union job.
Actually, generally, you don't have that much of a choice, not in an economy like today's. You take what jobs you can get. And unions aren't helping themselves when they do that, because few people are going to take a hit on their ride just for the privilege of working in a union shop.
Josh is going with the Union shop is considerably more money once he's through school. Enough so that it's worth it for him. He'll be trading in an old Acura CL for a small pickup before long.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Oh, there is a funny story about his car. He ought this because his dad said to buy this car. Apparently it belonged to a friend of his dad's. Almost immediately it dumps the transmission. Josh want to take it and get it fixed and dad forbids it because the friend says he will fix it. We're 8 months and three attempted repairs down the road and counting. Now the deal is to get a tranny in there that functions as quickly as possible and use the car as a trade in on a small pickup.
There is hope for action now because now that Josh is officially in need of a vehicle every day he's driving his dad's Sentra while dad is now pushed into some van or another and noticing gas prices more....
I really like this kid but it sounds like his dad is nuts.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
There is that. I would have done that - in the late 60s very early 70s.
I'd include earlier but only drove a few earlier - a 56 Crown Vic with a Thunderbird engine which was a hoot and a 56 Buick special which was my play toy for a year or so in the mid 70s.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Philadelphia-made buses start trip to Cuba – Built by ACF Brill Motors. This was when Philadelphia was still the "Workshop of the World!" I bet these buses are still going strong in Cuba. A lot of these buses were still in service in the late 1970s in Philly.
to avoid certain cars because of a bad experience 10 or 20 years ago, but I don't think so.
If someone had bought 2 or 3 GM cars back in the 80s, 90s and beyond, and had major trouble with all of them, I think it is quite rational to want to avoid that carmaker completely...just because they SAY they have reformed does not mean they have, and you still have the same UAW workers, like it or not, and nobody with a sane mind could say that the UAW has improved for the better, considering that they wanted to strike as soon as their company made a dollar in profit (after losing many billions in the years before)...
I hesitate to buy another Buick, simply because of the trouble with my 1998 Regal...the A/C would not cool the FRONT seat in the summer (air hardly came out of the ducts even on high fan speed) and the ignition cut out for a moment at high speed (driving 70 mph and suddenly the engine goes silent for part of a second, the car nose dives, and then picks up in half a second...hardly reassuring to drive)...neither problem ever got fixed (if the front seat did not cool, you can imagine how hot it was in the back seat)...
Maybe I had a lousy dealer or maybe I had a lemon, but I may never buy another Buick in the next 50 years...am I irrational???...maybe you think so, but with all the other cars out there, what is wrong if I avoid Buick like the plague (and probably all GM cars)...maybe I am just afraid of a similar experience, no different than if I got sick from food poisoning after eating at a certain restaurant chain, I may never go back to that food chain again...should I give them another chance after such a bad expereince???...why, with all the other restaurants out there???...same with cars...with such a rotten experience with Buick, that may just be a corporation I need to avoid in the future...
Unless I take lemko with me to buy a GM car...he buys it in his name, so it is truly a lemko cream puff, and then I buy it from him the next day...then I would have the lemko cream puff, guaranteed to run trouble free for 250K miles, with only oil changes and gas fillups...even the tires last 250K miles...oh, and the car probably washes and HAND WAXES itself every 5000 miles...now THAT'S the car I want...
I'm not so negligent to only wash and wax my cars every 5,000 miles. I do it every week, weather permitting. No, tires don't last 250K miles. Everything else is possible.
I had no A/C issuews with any of my Buicks. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue still blew cold air after 22 years and still contained the original R-12 coolant as does my 1989 Cadillac Brougham.
I had a bad experience with Ford Credit, of all things. They gave me a really hard time when I tried to pay off my loan early (at 12%, what a rip off).
I think I'd try another Ford but I would either pay cash or go to my own Credit Union.
Ahh, so THAT'S the secret....GMs can't handle the extra weight of road dust that accumulates after a week...wash it off and it's fine, but if it carries it more than a week it'll fall apart.
that lemko garages his cars, and covers them with a cotton cloth, and STILL washes and waxes them once weekly...who knows, that cotton lint may ruin the finish and lower the mpg...:):):)
In thirteen new Chevrolets in 32 years, I've had two with AC issues. One was my '93 Caprice Classic when under warranty, and the other was my '02 Cobalt. I had it in under warranty for a funny A/C noise although it blew cold, and at 59K miles it crapped out. It was fixed free as a goodwill issue. And I didn't have an extended warranty.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
My son finally got his Yukon AC working after 4 shops messed with it. It took 4 days in our local shop to realize the guy at the first Napa Auto Care Center installed the seal incorrectly on the new compressor. Total cost to my son $1700. He is finally back on the road across the AZ desert with cold AC. Good thing as it was 105 degrees in Lake Havasu yesterday. He may have gotten a better job to start with at a GM dealer. However when he called them in Redding CA to get it in, they could not take him in for 2 weeks. Fortunately Napa Auto Care picked up the tab on most of the last 3 shops that worked on it. I think AC going out at 122k miles on a 10 year old vehicle is not what I would call reliable. But I have seen worse on my own GM vehicles. Engine still pulls strong and he is getting 18 MPG with a big rack packed on top. Much better than my Sequoia gets. My wife's 23 year old LS400 still blows cold air and NEVER been serviced. If it works don't mess with it.
"I had no A/C issuews with any of my Buicks. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue still blew cold air after 22 years and still contained the original R-12 coolant as does my 1989 Cadillac Brougham. "
My 1988 Oldsmobile 98 had the best AC I've ever had in any car. A wall of *ice cold* air would enter the car with power and conviction that I've never had on any car before or since. It also had digital climate control that worked quite well and would keep you at whatever temp you wanted. I think it must have been the same AC used on high end Buicks and maybe even Caddys. Those GM AC engineers knew what they were doing with their high end systems imho.
GM also made refrigerators, so I imagine a lot of experience was gained from their Frigidaire division. GM compressors were either Harrison or Frigidaire. I recall older Cadillac limousines that had separate air conditioning system for the front and back of the car.
Bought my wife a 87 Buick Electra T-Type, new w/red leather,sunroof and all the goodies..The first 15k miles was okay,however I only drove it to the dealer and 2 round trips to Fla..Sold it to my neighbor and bought replaced it with a new 91 Caddy Deville Touring Sedan..Buick only had 40k miles but it was loosey/goosey on the road..Had a 81 Buick Rivera for 6 mos,crappy road car, gone after 20k miles,still had original breakin oil.. Bought a 92 Regal GS,went 95k, 4 sets of tires, and I only paid for 1 set, Goodyear covered the other three..Only repair was a water pump.
Last Buick was a 94 LeSabre,lasted 112k mi, traded on a 98 Olds Intrigue GLS which GM repurchased after 26K mi.another story.. The LeSabre was a no frill car and after the original tires were cupped out around 40k, I had 4 HD struts installed along with new tires and it handled 100% better, no other repairs other than brakes..
Buicks were always known for their "boulevard ride" long stroke suspension travel, not swift for high speeds..
Comments
It's called supporting your employer. Microsoft doesn't allow iPhones, Androids or Blackberries to be used by their employees while in their buildings.
Me too, me too!
Unless of course..... .they pay for it..... in which case, beggers can't be choosers. But if it's my money, your thoughts on what I buy should be limited to opinions and advice. The best advice is the kind of advice that takes into account MY best interests at heart, and is based on sound principles and facts.
I didn't know the Solara had been built in the 'States...that, or it had low NA-content. I know when it was dropped, the Camry line shot up the NA-content list.
Parking lots haven't had civil liberties in a long time. Non-Disabled people have been discriminated against parking in certain prime parking spots for decades now thanks to the ADA.
Furthermore, recently a Prius can park where a non-hybrid can't! Pretty soon if you don't drive a zero emissions vehicle you might be forced to park in the street rather than the lot!!!! :sick:
That's lame. When I worked for a bank (other than BofA) I talked to two other employees (longer term than I) and both of them had BofA accounts.
There's a big difference between Microsoft allowing someone to use an iPhone in the building, and telling Microsoft employees they aren't allowed to OWN iPhones.
If it's a pull-in spot, width really matters more than length, and some modern compacts are as wide, or wider than some older midsized cars. For instance, the old Celebrity, Fox-based LTD, and Dodge 600 were all fairly narrow inside. Even a 1980 Malibu is only about 72" wide, and I'm sure some modern compacts are pushing that.
What if a car is advertised as a compact, such as the Dart or Cruze, but the EPA classifies them as a midsize? Or, vice versa, a car that seems big is actually classified as a compact? According to the EPA standards, my buddy's 230" long Mark V is a midsize, because they go by interior volume and not exterior bulk. I've never seen an official interior volume published for my '76 LeMans, but it might actually be a compact by EPA standards.
For the most part, the EPA defines a midsized car as having 110-120 cubic feet of combined passenger/trunk volume. The tables I've found only go back to 1978. A 1978 Fury/Monaco coupe is rated at 95/15, 110 combined, while a Charger/Magnum is 97/16 and a Cordoba is 95/16 An LTD-II coupe is rated at 94/16, a T-bird at 95/16, and a Cougar XR-7 at only 93/16.
I dunno why what essentially amounts to the same car would have that much discrepancy, unless one has thicker door panels or thicker seats or something, that might make a difference. But anyway, I think my LeMans is pretty similar in design to those other cars, and I think it only has a 15 cubic foot trunk. So, it the passenger compartment is less than 95 cubic feet, it's a compact! :P
So *that's* how Microsoft phones have reached #3 behind Apple and Android.
Yet it's HUGE outside. Just try parking it there...
Surprisingly though, the 6-series coupe has a fairly large, 16 cubic foot trunk, coupled with its 87 cubic feet of interior volume, so with 103 combined, it makes the compact cut (100-110 cubic feet).
Here's an interesting magic trick though. The convertible version actually has a slightly LARGER interior, at 89 cubic feet! The trunk is understandably smaller, at 12. But I wonder how they managed to make a convertible with a larger passenger cabin than its coupe counterpart? Maybe the convertible roof is taller in back than the coupe, so it give a bit more headroom, perhaps?
Maybe the top is wider or taller, too allow for tension or folding? Strange indeed.
Scary how fast the time goes by...I keep thinking of this revived 6-series as a fairly new car, yet they've been out long enough that I see a fairly ratty looking one every once in awhile on my way to work.
Looks odd with the top up, though. Teeny little window in that cavity in the back.
I don't think fezo said he couldn't own a non UAW vehicle. They just didn't want him to park one at work.
I used to work across the street from a Teamster hall. The had two parking lots and although I didn't see signs, there was a definite segregation of what parked in each lot.
In the lot closest to the building were only domestic vehicles - those typically made with UAW labor. The other lot was everything else.
It would be worth someone doing it (vandalizing my car) if I could catch them doing it on video.
Which reminds me, I need to master my Iphone so that the next time I get pulled over I can record it with expertise.
When I visited the Corvette plant in Bowling Green in '07, I saw signs saying "Imported Car Parking" with an arrow, pointing away from the spaces closest to the plant. I don't have a problem with that at all
You really think someone, even a union worker, has the money to buy a second car just for the purposes of going to their Union job and being able to park?
Nope. But keep this in mind:
People in the trades have a choice - either work in a union shop or not work in a union shop.
If they decide to work in a union shop and one of the suggestions is that they drive a union made vehicle, then so be it.
It isn't like anyone is forcing them to take the union job.
There is hope for action now because now that Josh is officially in need of a vehicle every day he's driving his dad's Sentra while dad is now pushed into some van or another and noticing gas prices more....
I really like this kid but it sounds like his dad is nuts.
I'd include earlier but only drove a few earlier - a 56 Crown Vic with a Thunderbird engine which was a hoot and a 56 Buick special which was my play toy for a year or so in the mid 70s.
Philadelphia-made buses start trip to Cuba – Built by ACF Brill Motors. This was when Philadelphia was still the "Workshop of the World!" I bet these buses are still going strong in Cuba. A lot of these buses were still in service in the late 1970s in Philly.
Here's a 1947 ACF-Brill trolleybus still in service in 1978. Had to post a URL because the image is too big.
If someone had bought 2 or 3 GM cars back in the 80s, 90s and beyond, and had major trouble with all of them, I think it is quite rational to want to avoid that carmaker completely...just because they SAY they have reformed does not mean they have, and you still have the same UAW workers, like it or not, and nobody with a sane mind could say that the UAW has improved for the better, considering that they wanted to strike as soon as their company made a dollar in profit (after losing many billions in the years before)...
I hesitate to buy another Buick, simply because of the trouble with my 1998 Regal...the A/C would not cool the FRONT seat in the summer (air hardly came out of the ducts even on high fan speed) and the ignition cut out for a moment at high speed (driving 70 mph and suddenly the engine goes silent for part of a second, the car nose dives, and then picks up in half a second...hardly reassuring to drive)...neither problem ever got fixed (if the front seat did not cool, you can imagine how hot it was in the back seat)...
Maybe I had a lousy dealer or maybe I had a lemon, but I may never buy another Buick in the next 50 years...am I irrational???...maybe you think so, but with all the other cars out there, what is wrong if I avoid Buick like the plague (and probably all GM cars)...maybe I am just afraid of a similar experience, no different than if I got sick from food poisoning after eating at a certain restaurant chain, I may never go back to that food chain again...should I give them another chance after such a bad expereince???...why, with all the other restaurants out there???...same with cars...with such a rotten experience with Buick, that may just be a corporation I need to avoid in the future...
Unless I take lemko with me to buy a GM car...he buys it in his name, so it is truly a lemko cream puff, and then I buy it from him the next day...then I would have the lemko cream puff, guaranteed to run trouble free for 250K miles, with only oil changes and gas fillups...even the tires last 250K miles...oh, and the car probably washes and HAND WAXES itself every 5000 miles...now THAT'S the car I want...
I had no A/C issuews with any of my Buicks. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue still blew cold air after 22 years and still contained the original R-12 coolant as does my 1989 Cadillac Brougham.
I think I'd try another Ford but I would either pay cash or go to my own Credit Union.
Makes perfect sense now.
My 1988 Oldsmobile 98 had the best AC I've ever had in any car. A wall of *ice cold* air would enter the car with power and conviction that I've never had on any car before or since. It also had digital climate control that worked quite well and would keep you at whatever temp you wanted. I think it must have been the same AC used on high end Buicks and maybe even Caddys. Those GM AC engineers knew what they were doing with their high end systems imho.
Last Buick was a 94 LeSabre,lasted 112k mi, traded on a 98 Olds Intrigue GLS which GM repurchased after 26K mi.another story.. The LeSabre was a no frill car and after the original tires were cupped out around 40k, I had 4 HD struts installed along with new tires and it handled 100% better, no other repairs other than brakes..
Buicks were always known for their "boulevard ride" long stroke suspension travel, not swift for high speeds..