Stories from the Sales Frontlines

abacomike

A woman was putting on her makeup the other day and very nearly swerved into my lane. Scared me so bad that I dropped my cell phone...

I know you meant the above as a bit of satire, but many of us are just as guilty as that woman.

Before I leave the house each morning, the first thing I do is turn on my Bluetooth and then I put the phone in my belt case. It stays there until I get back to the house. If I'm walking in the mall and I get a tone that an email has arrived, I just ignore it until I get home.

Just today, I was waiting at a light at the Turnpike exit. It turned green and the woman in front of me did't move. I have her 10 seconds, then honked my horn. So did the 5 cars behind us. Still she didn't move. After getting honked for almost 20 seconds, she gave me the "bird" and slammed her accellerator to the floor. She was talking on her cell phone.

That happens to me as often as 10 or 15 times a week - not the "finger", just sitting at a green light and the car in front of me doesn't move. Isn't it time that legislatures started dealing with this? Even when they are doing 70 mph, you invariably see drivers passing you with their phones "glued" to their ears or their eyes looking at a smartphone "texting" with absolutely no interest in what is going on in their environment.

Something just has to give!!!!!!!!!

houdini1

Whenever I get into my car with my cell phone, my bluetooth automatically picks up the signal, beeps, and a readout on the nav display reads "Bluetooth connected". Sort of like those automatic headlights. Nothing to turn on.

abacomike

Whenever I get into my car with my cell phone, my bluetooth automatically picks up the signal, beeps, and a readout on the nav display reads "Bluetooth connected". Sort of like those automatic headlights. Nothing to turn on.

What I was trying to convey is that I "enable" Bluetooth on my iPhone in the morning. I don't keep Bluetooth enabled on the phone unless I am going to use the car. Having Bluetooth enabled all the time is a very heavy drain on the phone's battery. So when I get home, I disable it.

Yes, as soon as I start the car on the morning, it automatically connects with my phone. But since I don't have it turned on in my phone all the time i order to lengthen battery charge life each day, I manually turn it on each morning before leaving the house.

It adds about 2 hours of battery time each day by not having it turned on all the time. If I left it on all the time, I would never have to do anything to connect to the car.

Do you see what I am trying to say?

murphydog

Interesting -

On my iPhone I have bluetooth and wi-fi set up and on all the time - never turn them off - always connects to bluetooth in the car, and wi-fi where I have configured it

I use the phone pretty heavily, usually checking/posting to facebook, following college football and general news, plus a few instagram photos.

Occasionally I am down to 15% or so by bed time, but I charge my phone every night as well.

For me that is far easier that trying to remember to turn bluetooth on and off through out the day....but then again I am getting old... :shades:

imidazol97

>dropped my cell phone. It knocked the donut out of my other hand and it fell into the cup of coffee I was holding between my knees

At least you were able to keep your cigarette under control clamping it between your lips.

houdini1

Funny you should mention that because this is true story.

Back in 1978 I had a job transfer to San Francisco. We bought a house north of S.F. in Sonoma County. I had a Opel Manta as my commute car and back then I smoked those nasty cigarettes.

On one of my first trips into work in S.F., I was right in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge, about 8 lanes of commuter traffic, and a darn wasp started buzzing around my head.

I started fighting it off, and while I was thrashing around, I knocked the fire off the end of my cigarette. It fell down between my legs and rolled right under my butt.

I envisoned the headline, "Hick from Oklahoma Drives off Golden Gate Bridge". Somehow I made it across, halfway standing up in that tiny little car.

houdini1

Yes Mike, now I understand. If that saves battery life I might give it a try.

abacomike

Yes Mike, now I understand. If that saves battery life I might give it a try.

Yes, Bluetooth, when activated in your phone, puts a heavy drain on the phone's battery, whether it is connected to the car or not. If it is not connected, it continues to search for a connection.

I leave it on once I leave the house in the morning and don't turn it off until I get home. Once home, I usually don't go out again - but if I do, I just enable it in the phone. It only takes 2 seconds to enable Bluetooth on my phone.

abacomike

Here on the east coast, The Sees Candy Company does not sell their product. They limit their sales to the west coast and parts of the southwest.

Has anyone ever heard of Sees Candies? They have a plant in San Francisco and Las Vegas and have been in business for over 100 years. Their candy is better than Godiva or any other candy I have ever tasted - and quite expensive I might add.

Well, we were taking our daily walk at the mall in Boca Raton and came upon a kiosk with 3 or 4 salespeople selling Sees Candy. They are primarily know for their chocolates. My favorite is their chocolate toffee - $20.00 for a small hermetically sealed can. They had just opened this morning and were sold out of the toffee. I ordered 4 tins from them which should be in tomorrow. The air ship, overnight, from San Francisco every day. The manager said they may be opening a satellite store here in Florida, possibly in Miami, this year.

They said they do so much business in Boca Raton that the will keep a kiosk open every year from early November through New Years every year, and are even thinking of opening again for Easter.

If you are familiar with the candy quality, would love to hear you comments, especially their chocolate toffees with nuts. I'm going to get quite a bit for Thanksgiving to bring up to my brother's place in Ponte Verdra.

My mouth is already watering in expectation of my delivery tomorrow.

I asked why they weren't considering opening in the Boca Town Center, and they said the mall has a limit on the number of chocolate shops they allow, and right now they have Palm Beach Confections, Godiva and another. I'd love a Sees Candy Store locally, but I'd die of high blood sugar if they did. They were giving out samples, and event Dad said it was the best chocolate he's ever tasted.

driver100

Bluetooth, when activated in your phone, puts a heavy drain on the phone's battery, whether it is connected to the car or not. If it is not connected, it continues to search for a connection

Good useful information. Since we got the Passat, my wife has been in the car for long periods of time and her phone was getting run down a lot faster than usual. That explains why, it never occured to either of us.

Thanks, that is helpful. We'll have to make sure her phone is charged up before any long trips.

Me, I don't need a phone down here, the less I am called the better!

mako1a

Although I've never tried it myself, we had a girl in the travel dept that made no secret of the fact that if she received a box of Sees Candy from a traveler their next trip to San Diego would have rewards. Godiva is the best chocolate I've ever enjoyed.

abacomike

Although I've never tried it myself, we had a girl in the travel dept that made no secret of the fact that if she received a box of Sees Candy from a traveler their next trip to San Diego would have rewards. Godiva is the best chocolate I've ever enjoyed.

Once you've tried various varieties of Sees Candy, you'll think Godiva is on a par with Nestlé!

abacomike

Thanks, that is helpful. We'll have to make sure her phone is charged up before any long trips.

What's interesting about that is that Mercedes's in-car connection for the iPhone does not only sync with the Aps program, but it also charges the phone. So I no longer need the iPhone car charger since I connect to the iPod/iPhone connector right on my console. Great for long trips so you never run down the phone's battery since if you stay connected, you end up running the phone off the car's internal electricity, not the phone battery.

driver100

Mercedes's in-car connection for the iPhone does not only sync with the Aps program, but it also charges the phone

I wonder if MB is the only one with that feature? I also wonder, who thinks this stuff up? And, how is a senior citizen supposed to keep up with all this technology?

abacomike

I don't know how my fellow posters feel about this, but without getting political about it, this could be bigger than Watergate or even the Rosenberg spy scandal back in the 50's.

This seems to have webs from the military, the White Hose, the FBI, Libya and Benghazi, the Justice Department, the CIA, just to name a few.

A true shame that one of our greatest American Generals got mixed up into a monumental scandal.

How did his x-mistress know about Libyans being held at the CIA compound in Benghazi by CIA operatives, which may have been the real impetus for the Benghazi attack? She supposedly had access to the General's personal email accounts and who knows what else - what a mess.

And the no information was shared with the congressional and senatorial committees as required by law!

This is going to be a true fiasco on the coming months it is going to take to get to the bottom of this - if anyone can ever get to the bottom of this!

Stay tuned for more revelations!

And note, I did not get political!

abacomike

I wonder if MB is the only one with that feature? I also wonder, who thinks this stuff up? And, how is a senior citizen supposed to keep up with all this technology?

As a fellow senior, my response is simple - you go with the flow!

In order to drive the Mercedes, you don't need to bother with all of its inherent technology. But to drive the Lexus GS 350, you need to know how to use the technology in order to drive the car safely.

As an example, to engage the parking brake on the MB, you step on the pedal with your left foot and release it by pulling the release handle. On the Lexus, you first need to know where the parking brake mechanism is and then you need to realize it is electronic and requires quite a bit of knowledge about the buttons and which one is the auto set for the brake and the manual set for the brake.

That is why I disliked the GS - it was too technologically advanced and too distracting with the use of a computer mouse.

German cars tend to be much more user friendly than the Japanese luxury vehicles.

My headlights are clear and simple to use and are labeled appropriately on the instrument part of the dash. The GS required me to manipulate several gadgets and turn several switches to set the lights properly. Even the wiper controls were more difficult to manipulate.

So, we seniors have to select the cars that do not require lots of tech knowledge and experience in order to drive the car from one place to another. And German cars tend to be more user friendly.

imidazol97

>this could be bigger than Watergate or even the Rosenberg spy scandal back in the 50's.

Naaaah. The mainstream media has ignored Benghazi for weeks because it's not important.

As for the sexual titillation the media seems to get about talking on and on about his affair, that's been know for a year and reported to the WH last summer, it's also not important. When there was another person, a president, with access to top secret knowledge, perhaps broader than that of the general's, who had at least one affair, the media said it was personal and not a matter or public knowledge.

So I consider this all just chicken fodder.

oldfarmer50

"...stay tuned..."

Smells fishy to me. Think Nixon in 1972 except no one got killed in that scandal.

driver100

German cars tend to be much more user friendly than the Japanese luxury vehicles.

That has been my impression all along. Just an observation, but, in my opinion, Europeans will only accept a certain standard of handling and performance...they expect a car to have good handling, be intuitive as to using it, want it designed ergonomically for maximum comfort, expect the latest innovations in safety.

Many cars today are made to meet a price point, or are just designed without these values being of much importance.

I find the Passat is almost refreshing to drive in that it has all the basic latest technology you need - blue tooth, digital controls, auto headlights, trip odometer, gas use and mileage readouts, but, it is pretty basic. Kind of like, if you are on vacation, it is a nice break to get away from too much technology too.

graphicguy

First, there's tech....then there's tech done well. I know BMW's first iterations of iDrive were woeful. So is their current implementation of the start/stop feature.

Now, iDrive (at least the version in my '11 BMW) is among the best pieces of tech I've ever used in a car. It took them a few years to get it right, but they finally did. I do think BMW can be obstinant in holding to tech that just doesn't work (and going deaf on owners' complaints). But, they get it eventually.

Not familiar with what Lexus is doing. Although, a few years ago, when test driving an IS350 with Nav, I found that version infuriating.

The tech in the S4 is top notch, too.

All that said, I'm in the tech field, so it doesn't take long for me to grasp the manufacturers intent and process while implementing their top technology in their cars.

Stayed out of the debate regarding the election.

But, we've seen the Patreus story over and over. It's the oldest story in the world. Politician gets found out regarding their salaciousness. What did Kennedy tell Marilyn Monroe? What did Clinton tell Monica Lewinsky? I suspect nothing. Why would state secrets be shared in the throes of ecstasy?

Bottom line, nothing comes out of those sordid stories. The participants were involved for reasons that had nothing to do with sharing state secrets.

In two months, this will be back page news....if it's in the newspaper at all.

dino001

What did Kennedy tell Marilyn Monroe? What did Clinton tell Monica Lewinsky? I suspect nothing

You're most likely right, but there was a woman named Mata Hari, so I'd say things like that have to be looked into. Unfortunately in politics and security business what could (could have) happen (state secret breach, extortion exposure, etc.) is as important as what actually happened (most likely nothing).

The sanctimoniousness of the electorate (and media) bothers me a lot, we (as a public) apply those impossible standards of conduct and then act suprised and shocked when almost nobody can live up to them and those who do, most likely don't want to have anything to do with politics, or we find their politics unacceptable for other reasons.

Perhaps if we did not require them to be so "family values role models" at the first place and allowed them openly live their live (just like rest of us does), we would have fewer scandals overall and even less exposure to third party influences. But again, perhaps it is necessary to apply stricter rules to some. After all nobody NEEDS to be a politician or national security oficer.

In other words, I'm ambivalent. I'd be for "public secret" kind of standard, where everybody who needs to know about private life of an oficial, knows, but we don't really run front page stories and act all shocked and outraged when somebody doesn't live up to a conduct we find desirable. Kennedy situation was probably just fine.

imidazol97

It's all part of the coverup for the Benghazi truth and the 4 deaths. There's something big there, but the sexual connections in our rather puritanical society lets the mainstream media feed us all sorts of breathless details about sex before the CIA era of the General as important, while details of the illegal detentions at Benghazi or the gun sales to Syria or whatever was being done is still overlooked by the MSM, along with the WH coverup being overlooked.

What did Clinton tell Monica--he had the highest security clearance...

graphicguy

dino....with power comes some.....ummmmm.....different behavior.

Personally, I couldn't care less about who is sleeping with whom. It's none of my business. The thought of anyone divulging top secret information to another just to have relations is highly unlikely. Power is highly seductive. These people don't need to divulge state secrets to satisfy their wants. There are plenty who would give Patreus (or anyone else with lots of power) anything they want, just for the asking. No security needs to be breached to get what they want.

Truth told, I wish Patreus wouldn't have resigned. He is/was much too valuable to our military, and I'm sure to the CIA. He's catching hell at home. That should be his "reckoning".

As much as I admired Reagan, Nancy's foray into astrology to guide his decisions bothered me more than anyone having an affair.

Back to sales stories.....I can't understand it, but my 200K mile Accord generates more interest than our other daily drivers. Seems as if there are quite a few people who have told me that they'd buy it once I decided to sell it. It even seems my $2K goal isn't a stumbling block, either.

Neither the BMW nor the Audi generates that kind of interest. Go figure! :confuse:

imidazol97

My older car (14 years and 200,000 miles) is in my driveway being checked for where the starting problem is by me. Won't crank. There are times I've considered pushing it to the junkyard as is and replacing. Not the starter. Something in the two circuits needed for starting.

Cruze? Malibu? Both built and designed here by US car company. Fusion is too Sonatalike. Corolla? Camry? Foreign company, assembled here of parts...

Two mechanical neighbors yanked starter off before I did my troubleshooting, and the starter checked okay at the OReilly, but is defective now. They were here before the two truck got the car dropped. That's being neighborly and I appreciate their help. But there's a failure in the start circuit: theft system, a relay, ignition switch contact, or the transmission P-N start switch.

Oh, the starter after being tested at the store, then drained my battery over 24 hours. So I get to take it off myself to replace under warranty.

stickguy

I can tell you that if it was mine, it would be heading out the door already. At a certain point, it is just not worth the time/trouble/money to deal with.

and reliability is a big factor. If I can't trust a car, it goes.

my wife has a 1 strike policy. If the car strands her, she won't drive it again. No, she is not someone that is interested in saving money by buying older cars and driving them into the ground!

abacomike

Bottom line, nothing comes out of those sordid stories. The participants were involved for reasons that had nothing to do with sharing state secrets.

In two months, this will be back page news....if it's in the newspaper at all.

That is doubtful. Have you heard the latest about General Allen being involved now? And thousands upon thousands of emails?

This is what happens when no one is overseeing what is happening! It was known for months and months that Patraeus was involved with someone, but no one did anyting about it! Now, we have another high ranking General involved.

Between Benghazi, the lack of protection provided the Benghazi Consulate, Patraeus, Allen, women, FBI agents, etc., this is going to find a life of its own.

Like I said, more and more is to come yet!

abacomike

Naaaah. The mainstream media has ignored Benghazi for weeks because it's not important.

Think so? When you finish reading the latest headlines about Benghazi, the consulate, General Petraeus, General Allen, the women involved, the FBI, the CIA, you will see what I meant.

This is going to get a life of its own, as I posted before.

Just wait - more and more it yet to come out of this mess involving eveyone from the President down to the women involved!

driver100

and reliability is a big factor. If I can't trust a car, it goes.

I have seen it happen so many times...keep pouring money into a car that is constantly breaking down.

Unfortunately, the money thrown into the car pit, could have made a nice downpayment on a newer car.

I'm with you stick.....I'll allow one strike depending on how serious, but probably two is my max. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with deadbeat cars.

isellhondas

Of course I've heard of See's. We have one in our town and they are the BEST anywhere! Too bad they are only on the West Coast!

graphicguy

Mike.....I'm the type that thinks the General needs to have an opportunity to repair his relationship with his wife. I'm also the type of person who will not "ding" him for this, given his many years of service to his country. That should not be discounted.

I don't need to see the "thousands" of emails....especially since I would imagine the vast majority of them would be of the very personal types of communiques.

Probably some media outlets will try to snag them. As they say, "sex sells". But, it's my hope that his privacy is respected so he can get his family life back on track.

abacomike

Of course I've heard of See's. We have one in our town and they are the BEST anywhere! Too bad they are only on the West Coast!

I completely agree as to "the very best" chocolatier in our country. Once people taste their chocolotes, they always agree.

I just picked up 10 boxes and containers of chocolates this morning from the kiosk they set up at the Boca Town Center Mall. I'm bringing some up to my brother's house for Thanksgiving and some for my neighbors for Christmas. The rest? Well, I can't say what will happen to the rest - just going to "do it" regardless of the consequences. I'll be taking extra insulin this week, that's for sure!

abacomike

Mike.....I'm the type that thinks the General needs to have an opportunity to repair his relationship with his wife. I'm also the type of person who will not "ding" him for this, given his many years of service to his country. That should not be discounted.

I couldn't agree with you more! I have nothing but respect and admiration for General Petraeus and General Allen!!!

I did not post this stuff to be political - quite the contrary, I am "apolitical" when it comes to this.

But his involvement with that woman has obviously left "droppings" for many, many others. General Allen starts sending emails; Petraeus sends emails; these two women get involved; the FBI was involved from the beginning but never notified anyone (or so they say); the CIA must have been involved at some point before this broke; the Congress was left in the dark; supposedly the White House was left in the dark (which I very, very seriously doubt); the FBI agent(s) who got involved and then invovled others.

Like I said, unfortunately (or fortunately, only time will tell) General Petraeus and his mistress started all this stuff.

Now his mistress is claiming that the CIA (according to a speech she gave a week or so ago) had been holding Libyian nationals/terrorists/etc., at the CIA headquarters in Benghazi, a mile from the consulate. CIA denies this - but I believe they are denying it because they know they cannot hold foreign nationals any longer per executive orders.

I am just going to sit back and see this all develop over the coming weeks and months. Because this is just not going to defuse itself. Too many people and too many agencies are involved in this - congress will be investigating this for quite awhile - and much of it will never be known by the public.

I don't want to know the "steamy" specifics of the relationship(s) between the Generals (Petraeus or Allen), but I am intrigued by the seemingly idiotic ways this was handled by the FBI, the CIA, and probably the senior administrative staff who had to know what was going on. Remember, the affair had ended months and months ago - why did it just come out right after the election? Why not months ago after the investigation of Petraeus had ended? Why was Petraeus asked to resign by Clapper and/or his staff well after the horse had left the barn? Did it have anything to do with the upcoming Benghazi hearings and testimony?

Who knows the anwers to these questions. But they have to be asked and investigated - not the affair(s), but the ineptness with which this was carried out.

stickguy

I am mostly interested to know (if we ever will) exactly how much the timing of all this was orchestrated to happen after a certain "big day" last week.

abacomike

I am mostly interested to know (if we ever will) exactly how much the timing of all this was orchestrated to happen after a certain "big day" last week.

I just want to be assured that someone is in charge of things as well as "on top of things"! I truly wonder if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, or vice versa, if you know what I mean! Those are my ONLY concerns!

graphicguy

Looks like Panetta, maybe Kerry gets to deal with this.....Stay on top of this. Let's not spend a lot of tax money on what amounts to a cat fight between some scorned women. It sounds like everyone fom DC to LA had an affair with the principals.....LOL!

Kirstie_H

A reporter is looking to talk with anyone whose car suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy and received push-back from an insurance company about the claim. Any tips on how to have a seamless experience filing a car insurance claim after an act of nature would also be appreciated. Please email PR@edmunds.com no later than Friday, November 16, 2012 and include your daytime contact information and a few lines that help the reporter understand what information you can share.

oldfarmer50

"...starter drained my battery..."

That's a puzzler. Strange battery drains are like a good murder mystery, lots of detective work. Rewarding if you solve them. The 93 Caddy seems to have developed a battery drain again after being solved two years ago. At that time my mechanic disconnected the security module which seemed to solve the problem. Recently, it started killing the battery if not started at least once a week. Starts with a jump and runs fine but is drained again in a week. Battery could be bad but it was new two years ago and I don't feel like hauling it out to be tested. Car is off the road until next year so not a real big problem.

[Deleted User]

Just a couple of clarifications. Cruze was designed outside the US, mostly in Korea though it's a world car from multiple design centers. Tranny is European, but the rest is US built, even the new diesel coming out. Camry is assembled of mostly US-built parts.

roadburner

I drove the 2002 to work today, and loved every minute. It spent @1 hour on the interstate at a constant 75-80 mph- and returned 24 mpg. Not bad for a 35 year old car with a three speed slushbox and a 2V downdraft Weber. My dealer gave me a new 328i loaner while my son's X3 was getting front pads and rotors(they lasted 84K miles, so I'm not complaining) and I can state without any hesitation that the '02 is a much more satisfying drive...

driver100

The Passat is really a gem for driving pleasure. Nice handling, takes bumps well, in the European tradition of knowing the road is bumpy, but, not really feeling the bumps.

Mileage was a respectable 30 mpg on the first tank, though that usually gets better over time.

The engine is nicely shielded and is nice and neat, even the battery is encased in a felt material case. Oil and anti-freeze are nicely marked.

The engine hums, in a good way, smooth and quiet, with some exhaust note sound, and the manual shifter is really pleasant.

All the car needs is a turbo-charger!

graphicguy

RB....I'd be interested to hear more in-depth impressions you have of the 328i. I'm not in the market now, but probably will be in the next 18-24 months, given that's when the warranty runs out on my 335i.

graphicguy

All the car needs is a turbo-charger!

Well.... that would make it pretty close to an A4, wouldn't it? :shades:

Curious, there were reports of the 2.0L using lots of oil. Is that your experience?

ray80

Oldfarmer50, I had a similar thing with battery in vehicle not driven very often (or started for that matter). When battery was new it might go 2 or 3 weeks before 'always active' electronic stuff would drain it. But as time went on it was less likely to hold a charge for that long. I think the more times it gets drained the more trouble it has, even if battery is still good as far as age is concerned.

roadburner

RB....I'd be interested to hear more in-depth impressions you have of the 328i.

I was able to make a true A-B comparison since I drove the F30 328i back-to-back with my wife's E90 328i.

Exterior: I like both about the same. BMW did an excellent job with the E90 LCI(facelift).

Interior: I've never been a great fan of the E90 interior; it lacks the traditional BMW driver-focused feel. The F30 interior is very nice except for the "beer tap" automatic shifter- why replace something that works perfectly well with a non-intuitive mechanism that requires additional thought and effort? The standard information screen in the F30 looks like it should retract- but it doesn't. I like the oil temperature gauge in the F30; the E90 328i has no temperature gauge of any kind. Seats are adequate in both; the F90 has more rear seat room and a larger trunk.

Drivetrain: You simply can't beat the E90's BMW inline six. It sounds and feels infinitely better than the F30's four(as a matter of fact, the four in my 1995 ti also sounds and feels smoother). And while the turbo four in the F30 may be faster on paper, it sure doesn't feel faster. On top of that, the auto-stop feels pretty crude. Both transmissions are excellent.

Brakes: Both cars have decent feel and modulation, with a slight edge to the E90.

Steering/Suspension: The E90 is a much nicer drive. The F30 steering is better than the numb tiller in the F10 5er, but not by much. The car's are approximately equal in terms of grip, but the E90 gives you a much better idea of what is happening at the four contact patches.

Frankly, I can see no reason why a driving enthusiast would pick an F30 over an E90- and Car and Driver apparently shares my opinion; here's what they said in the November 2012 issue:

Our grave concern here is that, with each new car it introduces, BMW seems to wrap more padding around the sensations and feel that make them great—while its competitors only zero in more tightly on those same attributes. (We’re convinced that the E90 would handily win a comparison test against the F30.)

As a matter of fact, after I dropped off the F30 and drove away in the X3, I noticed how much better the X3's steering performed. It felt like I was actually driving a BMW again...

dino001

I think F30s steering is very close to an unmitigated disaster in terms of the driver's feel. It feels like Buick and that is NOT a good think for ELLPS. It does its job well and I'm sure one can get used to tight cornering without steering feedback, just as pilots of modern fighters can steer their planes with fly-by-wire controls (modern planes have to use computer aid, as they are inherently unstable objects in the air due to their shape and would tumble down if steering was left to the pilot feel), but why mess up the good thing? The answer is probably in gas mileage and mechanical losses due to one system vs. another.

I wonder if those guys aren't working on electronic feedback system that improves the sensation, even if artificially, similar to high-end joysticks systems.

driver100

RB....I'd be interested to hear more in-depth impressions you have of the 328i.

GG, If I may comment, I seriously suggest you compare the 328 to an Audi A4.

We were die-hard bmw fans, but, we both preferred the A4. Not saying everyone would think that, but both of us liked the 4 more, and it was about $10K less expensive!....BONUS!

driver100

Well.... that would make it pretty close to an A4, wouldn't it?
Curious, there were reports of the 2.0L using lots of oil. Is that your experience?

Not exactly....the Passat has a 5 cylinder engine, the A4 a 4.
The Audi would have cost about $10K more. Just not that important for the Florida car. The Passat does what it is supposed to do at a very reasonable price....gets us around in comfort and is nice to drive, and at a very reasonable cost.

I have no idea about oil yet, just have about 400 miles on it so far. I did buy a quart of oil from the dealer to have with me just in case. I have the impression VWs do use oil, but, they are well thought out cars. I am impressed with the details, engine layout, black carpet mats on beige carpet floors, all the roof panels inside and the seats all look like a much more expensive car.

nyccarguy

So a friend of my best friend is looking to replace their aging Jeep Grand Cherokee. The husband calls my friend and tells him he's looking for a bigger vehicle, with 3 rows of seats, that can still haul luggage with the 3rd row installed. This guy starts questioning my friend about his 2011 LTZ Tahoe (that my friend bought at the same time as my Dad). My friend knows these people are tight financially (they once told him they weren't going to drive from their house in SUffolk County, LI to his house in CT because they had no money for gas), and in certain ways steers them away from the Demo 2012 Tahoe they were looking at.

Now these people know NOTHING about cars. They expect to average the EPA highway MPG while doing mostly in town driving.

After a quick call to me, he asks me what I suggest. I say, "a Pilot of course." Ours is plenty big and drives great.

He calls the husband of his wife's friend back and suggests the Pilot. Tells them there is more useable room inside than the Tahoe and has a significantly lower MSRP.

Great, they go to the Honda dealer, check out the Pilot and like it. My friend asks about numbers and which model they drove. Like Craig ALWAYS says: they have to have EVERYTHING. All Pilots come with a backup camera. You want Leather and a Sunroof, ok. But they HAVE to have factory navigation & the dealer has a great deal on leftover 2012 TOURINGS, which also have DVD rear enntertainment. The husband tells my friend - we told them we want to pay $600 per month.

As my best friend is telling me the story, I say, the "deal" doesn't matter. As long as they're happy!

imidazol97

Car repaired. IT was the Vehicle Antitheft Module decided to work after years of being in failure mode #4 where it allowed car to start. When I put resistors across the key-reading wires to replace the key chip they couldn't read, car starter.

The starter draining the battery seemed to be one of those things that are idiopathic. I think the testing at the store somehow damaged something internally. The bendix didn't work so the starter just spun without engaging the flywheel.

It was very comforting to hear the starter engage after soldering in the resistor pack.

For your parked Cadillac, check into the switches that are on the battery to open the circuit when you park the car for a period of time. Then you'll have no drain. Just have to close the battery switch when ready to run.



http://www.amazon.com/Post-Battery-Master-Disconnect-Switch/dp/B001N729FS/ref=sr- _1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1352928907&sr=1-1

abacomike

Well, I finally had to take the Mercedes to the dealer for a problem. It seems that at least once a week, after driving the car for 18 miles and then parking it at the mall, when I try to start it up about 30 minites later, it starts, then immediately stalls. After restarting it, it will run rough for a few seconds and then it runs fine.

This has happened about 10-15 times in the past two months. This morning, it happened again, but upon restarting it, it ran rough for several minutes and then showed an error message "key not recognized". So I called the service manager and he told me to bring it right in and he would give me a C250 to drive.

That error message came up the very first time this morning, never before. Also, this problem only presents itself after the car has been driven for about 25 minutes and then shut off. It never happens in the morning when the car is cold.

At first, they thought it might be a problem with the Electronic Ignition System (not recognizing the key - remember, this is a Keyless-Go car so you don't put a key into the ignition to start it). The service manager called me and said he needed the second key and to bring it up tomorrow morning. Then, he just called me and said not to bother because the think it is a problem with either the fuel pump (I doubt that since it happens infrequently and only after the car is warmed up), or fuel line, or injection system. According to him, they've had a few of these problems on a couple of the cars and it was corrected by replacing one of those items. He said they will need the car for at least 2 more days.

But that new C250 he gave me to drive sure is a fairly nice car and fast enough, even with a 2.5 litre 4 cylinder engine. I was quite impressed with the car and am enjoying driving it.

Once they figure out what is wrong with it, he'll call me!