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It's the little tthings I don't understand, that's all.
Funny you would ask about power liftgates.
Up until last year, only the Touring Odysseys had these as standard equipment. They weren't available in the other models.
I had at least two customers that I can think of that bought Tourings ONLY because of this!! ???? They paid thousands of dollars more for extras they probably didn't care about just for the power liftgate!!
Starting last year, the EXL's have these as standard equipment.
Another extra I could care less about. Opening my liftgate is an easy thing to do.
I've owner two MG's A 1962 MGA and a 1973 MGB.
I'm not that tall but I'm too tall to drive a Midget. I tried.
More to follow.
We were in Atlanta for a few days and we got a ride to the airport in a Lincoln Town Car. I have to admit, it is nice and comfortable. Beautiful leather, lots of room. Nothing wrong with one of those, if that's your thing.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Like my wife had to get a 335 instead of a 328 because she wanted Homelink. Car costs $4000 more and goes 2 miles less per gallon, but if it keeps her happy.........
Note to JM: I think those ladies at work just appreciate good engineering
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Snake, are you still not wearing your seatbelt?
Talking on the phone, going 75 mph, and not wearing your seatbelt is not a good combination, no matter how good a driver you are.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
If this is the case why are the roads getting safer when cell phone usage is going up?
Lots of information to support it:
Some studies have shown the increased likelihood of an accident to be four times the normal rate when a driver is using a cell phone. A large part of this dangerous distraction involves the need to physically handle the phone. Activities such as reading the display screen, pressing buttons and holding the phone to the ear all require the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel or their eyes off the road.
accidents caused by cell phone use
Just check google "percentage of accidents caused by cell phones". The numbers are staggering, and hands free doesn't help. Also, reaction time is slow when using a cell phone and it causes other people to get into an accident.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Even if it is, "Bring home some bread"?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
PS The celica was a blast to drive but it would lock brakes reliably on anything but bone dry roads.
But you wouldn't know that until you have taken the call.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
lol over that right now, BUT, what did we do before cell phones....or do we just have way more crisis situations these days?
I am betting 80% of the calls that come from a family member are not crisis situations, and be handled without needing an immediate response.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Well, we are home and all is well. My wife and two of the kids went home in the Camry with no incident other than getting lost on the way to the Thruway... Since we weren't trading anything we returned in two cars. I didn't fins out about the lost detour until I was a good 15 minutes down the road.... This would not be the me car (the Mazda 6 might have been) but it's great for her and as a family car. JBL stereo. Way nice. Quiet without being a bank vault.
I had been telling her things heading up to the dealer (it's about a two hour drive). I mentioned a couple of domestics that might have done the job for her. At one point I mentioned the Grand Marquis and what a huge trunk it had. I told her she shouldn't have one because it's big enough to put a body in. She's a hospice nurse and bring enough of her work home with out that.....
My 8 year olds were insanely well behaved considering we took their whole day to get everything done. Had their older sisters and usual babysitter not been unavailable they'd have been spared....
Though the word "crisis" has probably been dumbed down beyond recognition, I would not take that bet. Better than 99.9% of the phone calls I take are not crises.
P.S. I never use a cell phone while driving.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I think those trunks are a little awkward because they had to move the gas tank up and out of the way because of police cars catching on fire after being rear ended.
All I know is we put our carry on suitcase in that big massive trunk and it looked lonely.
If anyone really loves Grand Marquis, this review of a 2005 model gives an enjoyable realistic outline of what they are really like.
http://www99.epinions.com/review/pr-Cars-2005 GM LS
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
*Cell Phones, Text Messaging, and Car Accident Information for All Drivers
Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
*One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
*In 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured in crashes related to driver distraction.
*4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.
*Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.
*People who text while driving are 23% more likely to be in a car accident.
*A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73% talk on cell phones while driving. The same 2007 survey found that 19% of motorists say they text message while driving.
*In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 10% of drivers are on handheld or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.
*A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
*In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cellphones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.
*According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18% slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17% longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked
*Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85% said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30% use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27% use them during half or more of the trips they take.
84% of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.
*The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.
T
*he number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
*Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
See the whole article:
statistics about cell phone use while driving
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Again, one of those features I never thought about before, but truly appreciated once I had it.
I used to criticize power windows as unnecessary problem causes because of failure rates. Now I love them.
I thought HUD was totally trivial. Now I have had one for years on my LeSabre, I want one on the next new car. The Cobalt doesn't have it, but my next purchase will if it's another new car.
I have Homelink in the Buick, and it's really nice not to have the door opener on the sun visor for someone's head to hit in an accident, if worse comes to worse.
I didn't find OnStar particularly exciting although I kept it for a couple extra years on the 2003 Buick. But on the Cobalt it paid for itself when our son laid his Cobalt keys down in the backseat of our car when we took food out last summer during the marching band practice. He called 40 minutes later saying he needed the microphones and field commander equipment that were in the trunk of the locked Cobalt and his keys were in our backseat. We were 20 minutes away headed for a large cruise-in at the next county. OnStar unlocked the car for us after about 10 minutes -- it wasn't an emergency for them since human life (or pet life wasn't involved :P ).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I can see that other stuff like Homelink is certainly not as important, and should be more compromisable (that a real word?). But, that's why there are so many different options out there, and why cars come in different configurations.
To me, the driver's seat is the biggest deal breaker. Doesn't matter how perfect the car is otherwise, if the driver's seat doesn't work for me, it is a no go.
One of the big reasons I got my Accord instead of the Civic (new style) I went in to look at. Hated the CIvic front seat. Just did not fit me at all. Actually, I think the reason I never got a mazda 3 was related to the driver's seat too (dumped you too far forward), but that might have been fixable with some shims.
Howmlink though was not a deal breaker, since I had it in my Maxima, and not in the 2 cars since.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Now mine.
I have had Homelink on my last 3 cars and I like it. Probably wouldn't let the lack of it keep me from buying another car but the cars I want will more than likely have it.
I never had satelite radio until the Genny purchase but I like it and just renewed the subscription (over the objection of 'you know who') but it's my car so it's my call.
Here's the tale about that:
XM sent a letter with my options for renewal a few weeks ago (car was about to have it's first birthday). I wasn't going to fall for those prices so I was going to look into what was posted here about renewing but didn't get a chance. Two days later they call while I'm at work and Mrs. j calls me to tell me about it. I go home and they call again. This is on the verge of harrasment and I told them that and that I'm still thinking about it. About two days after that they call while neither of us is home and leave a message.
I finally put an end to this crap by calling them a few days later after I found the post. I said I would renew but only for the $77 annual rate. They said, "OK, we'll give you that rate one time but then it would renew at the going rate next year automatically on my CC". I said, "I don't like that idea" and then she said, "if you're willing to pay $2 for a bill in the mail for this renewal we can do it like that and you don't have to put it on your CC". I agreed because I don't like the idea of anyone having my CC number at their disposal for something like that.
Just yesterday, I get another call asking me to renew and I told the young guy that I've already renewed, weeks ago. :mad: He looked it up and said, "oh, I see it here and I'll note it in the system so that you don't get another call". I said "it's already in your system, you just saw it so why did I get this call"? He didn't have an answer for that, only an apology.
Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right hand does...XM is the living model of this.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
*4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.
Driver distraction can include cell phone usage but also includes many other things.
I would also disregard the 2002 and 2005 info; BlueTooth was not common on cell phones of that era. The hands-free headsets from then were and are somewhat cumbersome by comparison; no wonder people would just opt to hold the phone to their ears instead.
Anyway, I'm not disputing that cell phone usage and texting are distractions; just that the data needs to be relevant to the times and specific to cell phones themselves. And I maintain my position that these Luddite Laws are redundant.
A good article that covers almost everything on this topic:
mobile phones and driving safety
Driving while using a handsfree cellular device is not safer than using a hand held cell phone, as concluded by case-crossover studies.[15][16] epidemiological,[5][6] simulation,[8] and meta-analysis[10][11]. The increased "cognitive workload" involved in holding a conversation, not the use of hands, causes the increased risk
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Wow, that means that 16 out of 15 accidents (113%) are caused by those two reasons. I wonder what causes the rest of them. 16 out of 15 doesn't leave much wiggle room. !!
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The rest is just conjecture, but lets just say that anything combined with driving 75 is not a good combination since driving 65 with that combination is safer.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Yes I have seen a lot of those studies. The major issue with them is that they were done by groups who already decided the outcome. When a group has a mission to tell all about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving and does a study on the effects of using a cell phone while driving what do you think it will find? They were hardley unbiased studies.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
A lot of husbands found out as soon as they got home that they had to go right out and pick up some bread.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If this is the case, why bother doing studies at all?
Not really. You could always become an unguided missile and hit someone.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
Lets look at this first. Can we look at traffic accident rates from say 1990 and today? If that is true then the accident rate today should be about 25% more today than in 1990. I don't think that the statistics support this claim.
In 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured in crashes related to driver distraction.
But driver distraction can come from anything, a kid yelling in the back, talking to another passenger, a bee flying into the car, fiddling with the radio (FWIW they had this debate when radios first appeared in cars), taking a look at that fancy exotic sports car that just drove by, that nice looking woman in the shorts and bikini top walking along the street, and on and on.
4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.
That would mean that 2 out of every 15 accidents are caused by a distracted drunk driver. Actually this statistic appears made up as they are attributing 113% of all accidents to two causes when there are many causes for accidents that do not include the two things listed above such as excessive speed, weather conditions, mechanical issues, aggressive driving and the like.
A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
See my first statement.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Yes, self interests can twist the facts to probe one's point but this doesn't necessarly have to be the case.
There are independant studies too.
I'm sure you have an argument for the merits of not wearing one?
I told her next time I'm flying out to Seattle and driving back! You just have to figure out how to register a car in NJ from Washington.
There are a lot of people who feel about turn signals the way that snake views seat belts. They don't think anyone should make them use them.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Yeah, I was in a very serious accident some 30+ years ago and wasn't wearing one. I walked away from an accident that crushed the drivers seat. If I was in that seat I would at the very least been seriously injured.
Anyway the logic in it is that its my choice and I am the only one that suffers if things go bad.
Anyway it is hard to talk logic to someone who doesn't believe that people should have a choice on how they live their lices.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I was wondering about Bill. Is he healthy?
I lost a good friend in high school. The car she was riding in rolled over in a culvert and she was thrown out. Teh car rolled on top of her and crushed her.
Her name was Karen. Beautiful blond with blue eyes and a dazzling smile. A cheerleader and A student. Her parents were my parent's best friends.
Karen didn't die right away. It took her several days. Nothing the docs could do. She was able to look into the faces of her family and tell them..." I know I'm dying, I love all of you...goodbye.
The police said that with a belt on she probably wouldn't have been hurt.
Snake, I know nobody will be able to convince you that your experience was a fluke. I know I'm not going to try.
Hopefully your family members wear theirs.
In that respect he's like me - if you had all these maladies you'd think you were in bad shape but for me everything is relatively under control and I'm not expecting to check out any time soon.
He says we're going to be doing a car auction together at one point. Of course he first said that in 1998....
He also mentioned that during cash for clunkers every time he had to seize the engine on a Windstall he'd say "this is for you, Fezo!"