Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

laurasdada

Considered that, but her family experience suggests that is an even longer route.
Certainly a prettier route.
I'm just the driver.

suydam

That’s what we did.

stickguy

Miles wise it is longer. Time wise can go either way but normally is pretty close. But way less stressful usually.

laurasdada

Both GPS recommended the route we took, except the Lincoln tunnel was advised. But the Holland is what her family always uses, and the MIL freaks out regarding anything new to her.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
Take 84 to 684 and the tappan Zee bridge and the palisades parkway down. Skip NYC entirely.

This - it’s worth the extra 20 miles every single time

Michaell

laurasdada said:

Both GPS recommended the route we took, except the Lincoln tunnel was advised. But the Holland is what her family always uses, and the MIL freaks out regarding anything new to her.

I can't imagine any GPS taking you through the heart of Manhattan...

But, what do I know? We drive 2 hours for good tacos here in the West.

oldfarmer50

sb55 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Hopefully all the tractor trailers will be home eating turkey and you won’t have to follow them all the way.😬

The milk trucks don’t get a day off:(. But at least the hay wagons should be done.

The manure spreaders are the worst.😫

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

sb55 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

On our trip to Burlington VT this morning we had a nice view of the snow covered mountains across the lake in NY. This picture doesn’t do it justice. It was a more brilliant white in person.



In the afternoon we were down in Monticello NY near the casino and they must have still had 6” of snow in some places.

Our run of unusually nice weather is over.🥲

Here's the view of Mt. Mansfield from out lakefront. I know that @Michaell will scoff that it's only 4500' high, but it is higher than the lake, so it looks impressive from here.

Yeah, let him come back after 500 million years of erosion and say that!🤣🤣🤣🤣

That’s a beautiful picture, you’re lucky to live there.

That is after 500 million years of erosion.

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

‘Tis the season -

I once again broke the internet by explaining to Gen Z that Die Hard, Trading places and Gremlins are all Christmas movies.

Is the Battle of the Bulge a Christmas movie?

oldfarmer50

I just got an email from Ford with some incentives for buying an EV. 0% for 72 months and $5000 cash back. They also offer a free charger with “standard installation” which sounds good but at my house I would need substantial upgrades to my service to the tune of $10k which I’m sure is not “standard”.

It’s certainly an indication of the desperation EV makers are experiencing.

corvette

I don't think a service upgrade is included with "standard installation," probably just the bare minimum of a new circuit and up to X feet of wiring. Most homes with 100 amp or greater service can handle a level 2 charger, because you're not likely to be using all of your appliances at the same time.

suydam

EV makers aren’t desperate, and many of them will help with installing level 2 chargers at a basic level to aid folks in the transition.

nyccarguy

@suydam said:
EV makers aren’t desperate, and many of them will help with installing level 2 chargers at a basic level to aid folks in the transition.

They are desperate. Look at the values of used EVs & PHEVs (besides the RAV4 Prime). Look at how many EVs are piled up on dealer lots. Look at the incentives being passed on from different manufacturers to consumers.

cdnpinhead

Interesting. The next year or two will bear watching.

driver100

laurasdada said:

Michaell said:

@laurasdada - I’m sorry, but the combination of snow, gravity, and trees does not make for a good time.

Ask Sonny Bono. Or the Kennedy progeny who died in a skiing accident.

They are adding an extra lane to I-70 in the mountains to help alleviate the congestion to and from the ski resorts, however.

Au contraire, mon frere. Don't knock it till you've tried it!
More dangerous to be on the roads, likely.
But, to each.

introduced the wife to skiing. She enjoyed, but is hesitant to go to the top of the mountain. Even though I told her there are easy trails from the top (I just want her to see the beauty). But she wants to jump out of an airplane...
To each.

I go along with what Joan Rivers said, "I never do any sport where there is an ambulance waiting for you at the bottom of the hill".

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

Booked a D-car from Thrifty for my trip to LA later this week. Here's hoping it's a VW Jetta (as suggested) and not an "or similar" (Sentra, Corolla, etc.)... Either that, or they give me an upgrade. Was considering booking a full size, but "Malibu or similar" did not make me reach for my credit card.

You should have booked with Enterprise, you could have gotten an Aston Martin, Maserati or Jaguar with an exotic rental available at LAX.🚗

A big discount if you tell them you were sent by oldfarmer.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

@suydam said:

EV makers aren’t desperate, and many of them will help with installing level 2 chargers at a basic level to aid folks in the transition.

They are desperate. Look at the values of used EVs & PHEVs (besides the RAV4 Prime). Look at how many EVs are piled up on dealer lots. Look at the incentives being passed on from different manufacturers to consumers.

A guy at work finally sold his Polestar2 and he said he took a real bath due to depreciation. Of course he ran right out and bought another Volvo. Gas powered this time.

I think dealers may be getting anxious across all lines of vehicles. I’m constantly getting offers with large incentives and favorable rates. Nothing quite as generous as the Ford EV offer though.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

Booked a D-car from Thrifty for my trip to LA later this week. Here's hoping it's a VW Jetta (as suggested) and not an "or similar" (Sentra, Corolla, etc.)... Either that, or they give me an upgrade. Was considering booking a full size, but "Malibu or similar" did not make me reach for my credit card.

You should have booked with Enterprise, you could have gotten an Aston Martin, Maserati or Jaguar with an exotic rental available at LAX.🚗

A big discount if you tell them you were sent by oldfarmer.

Actually….half off if I rent it, 1/3 off for friends and family.

jmonroe1

suydam said:

EV makers aren’t desperate, and many of them will help with installing level 2 chargers at a basic level to aid folks in the transition.

————————————————
When a dealer/manufacturer offers more than the normal incentives, they are desperate and help with installing chargers is being desperate.

jmonroe

driver100

Many car makers have a huge supply of unsold cars and trucks. Ford sales are off big time, they even have brand new 2023 F-150s in stock. Big discounts on Lightening F-150s.

The companies with more than a 60 day supply of new cars are discounting cars and trucks, as sales are stagnating.

roadburner

cdnpinhead said:

Interesting. The next year or two will bear watching.

Automakers that bet everything on the assumption that EVs would dominate the automotive market by 2030 definitely want governments to force the issue- whether consumers want EVs or not. At least a few automakers had the foresight to design vehicle platforms that can accommodate IC, electric or PHEV powertrains.

corvette

The Silverado EV struck me as an EV that was engineered around a 400 mile driving range, and then they had to beef up the structure to carry such a large battery, and then they had to increase the size of the battery to offset the range loss from the weight gain of the structure (and the larger battery)... And suddenly, the truck weighs 9,000 pounds.

snakeweasel

Happy day all you turkeys..... I mean happy Turkey day to all my posting buddies out there.

Got up early today to get our 21 pound turkey in the oven intime to get it out and let it rest before company arrives.

Anyway enjoy your Thanksgiving.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

Happy day all you turkeys..... I mean happy Turkey day to all my posting buddies out there.

Got up early today to get our 21 pound turkey in the oven intime to get it out and let it rest before company arrives.

Anyway enjoy your Thanksgiving.

I’m having the best Thanksgiving possible….at someone else’s house.😃

roadburner

imidazol97

No guests arriving. We got up at 8 am to put our 8 pound breast of turkey into the oven, peel potatoes, and mix the dressing. Everything was laid out last night by my wife, for whom it's a struggle. The dressing was in the pan and then egg added and mixed this morning.

Enjoying shrimp cocktail and coffee with french vanilla added. Kids are in Houston with DIL's twin sister, and they are planning sister's wedding for next summer. We had a lunch on Sunday as faux Thanksgiving.

qbrozen

@corvette said:
The Silverado EV struck me as an EV that was engineered around a 400 mile driving range, and then they had to beef up the structure to carry such a large battery, and then they had to increase the size of the battery to offset the range loss from the weight gain of the structure (and the larger battery)... And suddenly, the truck weighs 9,000 pounds.

And THIS is exactly why electric big rigs just can’t work. My father and I had that very discussion many years ago when Elon first claimed he would make them and suckered big shippers into making deposits.

Michaell

Happy Thanksgiving to all you dues paying members (and for those of you in arrears, we know who you are).

Small gathering today - me, wife and her two kids. Bird is not yet in the oven, though scratch made cinnamon rolls are baking currently.

Hope everyone enjoys their day.

imidazol97

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@corvette said:

The Silverado EV struck me as an EV that was engineered around a 400 mile driving range, and then they had to beef up the structure to carry such a large battery, and then they had to increase the size of the battery to offset the range loss from the weight gain of the structure (and the larger battery)... And suddenly, the truck weighs 9,000 pounds.

And THIS is exactly why electric big rigs just can’t work. My father and I had that very discussion many years ago when Elon first claimed he would make them and suckered big shippers into making deposits.

Doesn’t matter, in NY as of Jan. 1st. Sellers of diesel trucks have to sell one EV for every 7 fossil fueled units sold. Eventually it will be up to 40% EV trucks. Meanwhile there is not one truck charger on the whole length of the NYS Thruway.

corvette

Sounds like buyers of diesel trucks will just go to another state to make their purchase.

oldfarmer50

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette said:

The Silverado EV struck me as an EV that was engineered around a 400 mile driving range, and then they had to beef up the structure to carry such a large battery, and then they had to increase the size of the battery to offset the range loss from the weight gain of the structure (and the larger battery)... And suddenly, the truck weighs 9,000 pounds.

And THIS is exactly why electric big rigs just can’t work. My father and I had that very discussion many years ago when Elon first claimed he would make them and suckered big shippers into making deposits.

Doesn’t matter, in NY as of Jan. 1st. Sellers of diesel trucks have to sell one EV for every 7 fossil fueled units sold. Eventually it will be up to 40% EV trucks. Meanwhile there is not one truck charger on the whole length of the NYS Thruway.

That’s what I plan to do when they outlaw ICE lawnmowers in a few years.

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

————————————————
Yes, and we have a lot to be thankful for. As best as I can tell, again, none of the turkeys in here made it to the carving board.

jmonroe

laurasdada

Hope all had a good Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow we reverse course and head north. Let's see where gps sends us this time!

ronsteve

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

xwesx said:

snakeweasel said:

I, at times, check the life expectancy of my stuff. I tend to take it as a challenge.

Same!

I am still proud of the eleven years we got out of the last battery on our Forester. Usually, as long as you're paying attention to the details, you'll know when "it's time" without it surprising you with a straight-on failure.

I got over 10 years out of the OEM battery in the Club Sport; I replaced it before it failed because the OEM batteries would fail with absolutely no warning and I didn't want to be caught out.

In the old days batteries would give you some warning before failure and if they got too weak you’d be able to jump them once or twice to at least drive somewhere to get them replaced. Modern batteries don’t give much warning in my experience and when they die the are real dead. I had that happen on one car after 5 years and the car had to be towed. More recently the battery died on my son’s car but fortunately, AAA now offers a battery replacement service right in your driveway.

Getting the battery out of the engine bay seems to increase longevity. The battery in several Chryslers was located in the front fender and one lasted 9 years. It was still good when the car was junked.

OEM battery in my Volvo was in the back, and I had it replaced after 9 years when its voltage had dropped enough that I was getting error messages about the airbag.

OEM battery in the Jetta was under the hood, and failed without any warning at all after 7 years. AAA could only jump-start me that morning because the battery I needed wasn't one they had on the truck. I had to get it jumped again that afternoon to get it to a shop.

ronsteve

tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:

@tjc78 said:

My wife and daughter want so bad to see the Eras tour. I looked at the Toronto show and it’s about 8K for 4 nosebleed seats. That’s about what we are paying for our cruise next year…..

I have to say we watched the video version they release of the concert in our theater room. I had it extremely loud (100 DB+ to simulate being there) and I actually enjoyed it. Incredible concert whether you like her or not. Vocals and arrangements spot on and the whole production is like nothing I’ve ever seen.

My guess is it sounded better there than it will in person.

Possibly! It certainly was more comfortable and drinks were cheaper!

Yep I am catching up with a lot of these tonight...

We went to Night 1 in Indianapolis at the beginning of this month. Paid way too much for seats in the 600-level, but after canceling stuff left and right this summer due to some health issues that took too long to shake, we weren't going to let that stop us.

Being a bit of a music snob, I can see where people might talk it down a bit as a *concert* but as a show/production it's unparalleled. What you don't get is the energy of 70K people shout/singing some of the bridges and breakdowns with her.

Not to mention that there's a strong sense of community and overall positive energy surrounding the whole event. The police and security personnel working the event were even into it. My introverted wife was exchanging friendship bracelets with nearby Swifties during the intermission between the opening act and Taylor, and stacks of stickers were being passed down the rows like you might see a certain homemade cigarette being passed at other shows.

I didn't totally immerse myself and we didn't decorate the Tiguan, but I had just enough help from my better half and my running partner. Closing in on 54, but feeling 22 for a night.

ronsteve

driver100 said:

I like when they tell you it is compulsory to pay an 18% tip which they add to your bill.....and I was going to leave 20%!

We actually found a lot of that in Detroit, and it was tricky to navigate. One place we went to added 18% "service charge" to all dine-in tabs. At that point it's tricky to know if that's actually tipping anyone out, or if it's like the "delivery charge" on a pizza. That one, I signed the slip and left an additional cash tip, which was less than I would normally tip if I was deciding how much.

Another establishment tacked on 20% but actually called it a gratuity. That should leave a lot less gray area, but who knows?

Hopefully my servers were taken care of at both places!

tjc78

Hope everyone had a great day!

We spent it with our very good friends who cooked an amazing meal for us. The kids swam in their indoor pool while we sampled their insane bourbon collection. Good times!

Saturday we do it all again for my sister in laws at our house. Somehow that has ballooned to 30 people! Some will also stay so we will have a house full!

Gonna need to fast for a week after this!

oldfarmer50

Uninvited guest:

explorerx4

Glad this didn't happen when I was a kid.
We all had small yards so we used to play in the street.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPWY9Mka4Io

sda

What started out as a rainy morning turned into a beautiful carolina day of sunshine and 70 degrees. While my wife and SIL prepared the Thanksgiving dinner, yum, I took the opportunity to wax the Arteon. Now, almost ready for winter.

kyfdx

Looks great!

imidazol97

ronsteve said:

We went to Night 1 in Indianapolis at the beginning of this month. Paid way too much for seats in the 600-level, but after canceling stuff left and right this summer due to some health issues that took too long to shake, we weren't going to let that stop us.

Being a bit of a music snob, I can see where people might talk it down a bit as a *concert* but as a show/production it's unparalleled. What you don't get is the energy of 70K people shout/singing some of the bridges and breakdowns with her.

Not to mention that there's a strong sense of community and overall positive energy surrounding the whole event. The police and security personnel working the event were even into it. My introverted wife was exchanging friendship bracelets with nearby Swifties during the intermission between the opening act and Taylor, and stacks of stickers were being passed down the rows like you might see a certain homemade cigarette being passed at other shows.

I didn't totally immerse myself and we didn't decorate the Tiguan, but I had just enough help from my better half and my running partner. Closing in on 54, but feeling 22 for a night.

How good were the acoustics in Lucos Oil arena? We were there many times for high school marching band competitions and the acoustics for that were just marginal, IMHO. And they had the north side curtained to block off the echoes from the seats on that side, using only one side and ends of the arena.

I understand wanting to go to some performance like this. I always wanted to see Elvis in concert from my youth. One of my ex girl friends from high school did get to an Elvis show in Nashville when she was working for Lilly in Indianapolis.

Worst performance acoustics I ever saw was a broadway type touring company musical in Wright State University's fieldhouse. Best was at Butler University's Clewes Hall for A Chorus Line.

kyfdx

The majority of concerts I attended in the '70s and '80s were at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. It's still there, but now known as Heritage Bank Arena.

Acoustics didn't matter so much, as most of the bands could make your ears bleed.

What's nice about that arena (also for basketball and hockey) is that given the construction in the '70s, any suites are at the very top of the arena. The very highest seat in the top deck is about like being in the front row of the second deck at the KFC Yum center in Louisville, which has a double stack of suites, between the two decks.

But, I think I've only been to two concerts there, in the last 10 years.

Mostly attend at outdoor venues, now, or smaller theaters during the colder months. A lot of nostalgia shows with the artists older than I am. Some great... some not so great.

imidazol97

kyfdx said:

The majority of concerts I attended in the '70s and '80s were at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. It's still there, but now known as Heritage Bank Arena.

Acoustics didn't matter so much, as most of the bands could make your ears bleed.

Attended many ice skating shows there through the years. Had seats near the ice and the house speaker system was great.

Also heard Michael Buble there with seats near bottom level but behind all the floor seats and that sound was great. Of course it was not a super loud performance. I recall the warmup act was worse than awful. BTW, Buble was not my choice, but my wife's choice. LOL But he was still great!

stickguy

We survived thanksgiving at the new house. 17 of the 18 people expected
Showed up. The weather was
Awful and timing of it terrible. But at least someone showed up to plow our road!

stickguy

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

Uninvited guest:

————————————————
Lucky bird.

jmonroe

ronsteve

@imidazol97 said:
How good were the acoustics in Lucos Oil arena? We were there many times for high school marching band competitions and the acoustics for that were just marginal, IMHO. And they had the north side curtained to block off the echoes from the seats on that side, using only one side and ends of the arena.

I understand wanting to go to some performance like this. I always wanted to see Elvis in concert from my youth.

You know, Elvis played his very last show at the old Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

The acoustics at Lucas Oil didn’t really stand out compared to any other stadium shows, but for me that’s not a very high bar. I thought my ears might bleed with the sheer LOUDNESS during the first couple songs.

corvette

I wore earplugs during the TS performance. Didn’t need them during Gracie Abrams.