Bluetooth streaming, online radio app. There's lots of diverse content out there, and it is virtually free. That and German language hip hop music I enjoy while driving.
Funny enough, the lyrics sometimes mention cars, especially Maseratis and somewhat older Lambos, along with a BMW or MB mention. Cool music, but I like how the languages sound, and I understand a mildly passable amount of German.
What a day, what a Monday. My rental is now this thing:
Because this happened:
Maybe a borderline total, depending on if the frame is damaged. Not my fault of course. I was on a 30 mph residential street, one lane in each direction. I was turning right, the other car was racing behind me at maybe 50+, I suspect they were on something (I could smell it in their car, I took a peek, being from Seattle I know some smells), and I think to try to avoid rear ending me they swerved to the right, and got clipped. At that speed, a clip is significant. The other car, an Escape, fared much worse - front end effectively gone, complete airbag deployment. A testament to modern cars, no real injuries.
The nice and cool Milwaukee cop said I had nothing to worry about, and I don't think I am injured - although I have a feeling I will be reliving my hockey days and wake up sore after walking it off the day of.
Funny thing (I need something to laugh at), the car that hit me was also from Hertz. Driven by an unauthorized driver, and I will wager they didn't take the insurance. I have the Citi insurance along with my own, should there be any hassles, so I am not sweating it. Onwards and upwards, it's over now, can't change it, on with my journey. And a nice note, the people in the house next to where the cars landed (the Escape was in their side yard) were genuinely nice, offered me a chair or to go inside and warm up.
On to the new rental. Sorento V6, basic rental spec - no nav, basic controls, no sunroof, FL plates, 45K miles on it with the kind of cosmetic patina one expects on a 45K mile rental car. Is it a CVT? It seems to drone a bit. It's an appliance, I am sure it has been thrashed, and is still going fine. I will be back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon, and plan on swapping it out at ORD for something closer to my original rental class.
Maybe the other guy was enjoying some Milwaukee brewed beer while tuning in a Polka hip hop radio station
Glad no significant injuries. btw - I never got anything decent from Hertz at MKE. Best I could do was a 4-Runner (of course that works in winter up there).
Indeed, ab, I won't be forgetting Milwaukee anytime soon. The rental agent told me the Sorento was their last available car - and I believe it, as I heard chatter on the 2-way radios about being out of cars. But still, maybe it is punishment for bringing back a really nice car that was mangled. A shame, too, I was kind of liking the Jeep - somewhat big for my general tastes, but quite comfy, and with enough toys to keep me happy. I'll miss that heated steering wheel - something I always saw as a dorky gimmick, but I used it a bit. Sad to see a nice car ruined for such a dumb reason.
I didn't expect MKE to be so small. I got to go through the rental holding area with the tow truck driver when he was dropping off the Jeep. I didn't see much of interest, but did spot a Continental among the sea of Hyunkias and Nisyotas. Maybe a 4Runner back there too. I'll see if I have to sweet talk my way into something nice at ORD - I know they have stuff hanging around somewhere, I can be patient and wait
I remember when I was young, having morning after soreness. I am twice as old now, I guess we'll see what happens. I didn't want to visit a hospital or anything today, as I felt nothing out of place other than the adrenaline.
Your Sorento is not a CVT, we have many in our fleet and a co-worker owns the 6 cylinder model and they drive like a regular vehicle. Happens a lot, at the body damage areas in Miami and Lauderdale, have a lot of vehicles in similar or worse condition. Guess they total the ones that have too much damage to fix and they go off to the junk yards. I remember when they got my new rear door in March, they got it from a place they use in Ft. Pierce Florida that takes totaled vehicles and sells what they can. The obviously took the door frame and put the interior of my old door in as the tint is still on the windows and the interior is the same beige color.
Oh yeah sandy/drivingfool, the Sorento has FL plates. Maybe you shuttled it sometime. I am sure it is a useful transportation object, but the Jeep was a lot more enjoyable
One of my kids got a new Corolla after graduating from college. Within a few months some guy t-boned it while speeding and messing with the radio. Looked quite fixable and no side airbags deployed, but the body shop guy bet me it would be totaled out because the shape of all the undamaged parts was worth more than the car (despite its newness). The body shop guy was right. The body shop guy also said we were fortunate it was a Toyota, because that and Honda Civics were worth much more than most other compacts in that situation. I believe the new, identical, Corolla only ran something like just under a grand including tax. btw - big ripoff how insurance companies hit you with depreciation within a few months and low mileage, but lawyer told us a dispute was basically not winnable.
Echo the other comments, glad you're OK but definitely a downgrade from the JGC. I contemplate them as a replacement for the Touareg now and then, but as I told @michaell I already have a mid sized SUV with questionable reliability.
Yes, those Jeeps are sure nice, especially the new Compass model for 2019. They did an outstanding job on this new Compass and have enjoyed my few times behind the wheel of them. Still sucky mpg's but guess all Jeeps are a bit thirsty and one knows that going forward on a lease/purchase. Daylight savings time really is something the US needs all year round. Last night it got dark around 5:45 and we were still moving vehicles. Harder to see now at that time which stinks. And going home in the dark is lousy and a bit dangerous to be honest.
Definitely. I can't imagine driving the fintail in a city in this area at all, where the road conditions alternate between Beirut 1983 and Berlin 1945.
Back in Chicagoland now, stopped off at ORD to switch out the Sorento. I got used to it today on the long backroads drive, but I rented something in a higher category, and as I have 10 days left in the rental, wanted to make use of that. Funny thing, ORD is such a busy location and reasonably well organized, that cars are returned and put back in service immediately. I spotted the Sorento back on the lot around 45 minutes after I dropped it off, and soon after, someone chose it and drove away. They got clean interior glass compliments of me. With turnaround like that, no wonder the cleaning can be iffy.
I waited around a bit, as they had nothing available in my original category. Apparently Tuesdays are quite busy. I got to talk with the young guy/kid I dealt with when I picked up the Jeep. He offered me some upgrades - they had a trio of SLC300s, but all painfully basic, and no room for my checked bag. Also offered an Avalon, but I balked - fleet spec old style car, and a normal Cherokee, but I didn't want an SUV. He then offered a pick from a pair of Challengers - I first hesitated because of mpg, but when they finally got a car in my category, it was another painfully basic car (apparent zero option 300), so I took him up on the Challenger.
Here it is:
It's a Scat Pack. Man does it sound good, man does it ride rough. Mileage seems not much different than the JGC. We'll see if I can live with the ride, and hopefully it won't get snowy - if we have a chance of ice, and if those are summer tires, I will exchange it again.
Definitely. I can't imagine driving the fintail in a city in this area at all, where the road conditions alternate between Beirut 1983 and Berlin 1945.
Back in Chicagoland now, stopped off at ORD to switch out the Sorento. I got used to it today on the long backroads drive, but I rented something in a higher category, and as I have 10 days left in the rental, wanted to make use of that. Funny thing, ORD is such a busy location and reasonably well organized, that cars are returned and put back in service immediately. I spotted the Sorento back on the lot around 45 minutes after I dropped it off, and soon after, someone chose it and drove away. They got clean interior glass compliments of me. With turnaround like that, no wonder the cleaning can be iffy.
I waited around a bit, as they had nothing available in my original category. Apparently Tuesdays are quite busy. I got to talk with the young guy/kid I dealt with when I picked up the Jeep. He offered me some upgrades - they had a trio of SLC300s, but all painfully basic, and no room for my checked bag. Also offered an Avalon, but I balked - fleet spec old style car, and a normal Cherokee, but I didn't want an SUV. He then offered a pick from a pair of Challengers - I first hesitated because of mpg, but when they finally got a car in my category, it was another painfully basic car (apparent zero option 300), so I took him up on the Challenger.
Here it is:
It's a Scat Pack. Man does it sound good, man does it ride rough. Mileage seems not much different than the JGC. We'll see if I can live with the ride, and hopefully it won't get snowy - if we have a chance of ice, and if those are summer tires, I will exchange it again.
On to the new rental. Sorento V6, basic rental spec - no nav, basic controls, no sunroof, FL plates, 45K miles on it with the kind of cosmetic patina one expects on a 45K mile rental car. Is it a CVT? It seems to drone a bit. It's an appliance, I am sure it has been thrashed, and is still going fine. I will be back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon, and plan on swapping it out at ORD for something closer to my original rental class.
Sorento has an 8-speed auto. I thought it was a little shift-happy when I had one as a rental in June, so I actually threw it in manual mode once I got to Interstate speeds, and I dare say it pulled a lot of hills in 8th that were just steep enough to have it hunting between 6th and 7th if I had just left it in D. Only actually dropped it down into 7th a handful of times. Most of my Interstate was I-25 between Denver and Casper. The one I drove definitely was not thrashed, 10 miles on it when I picked it up.
Yes, those Jeeps are sure nice, especially the new Compass model for 2019. They did an outstanding job on this new Compass and have enjoyed my few times behind the wheel of them. Still sucky mpg's but guess all Jeeps are a bit thirsty and one knows that going forward on a lease/purchase. Daylight savings time really is something the US needs all year round. Last night it got dark around 5:45 and we were still moving vehicles. Harder to see now at that time which stinks. And going home in the dark is lousy and a bit dangerous to be honest.
As dangerous as school kids catching the bus in the dark for half the school year? Here in Louisville, sunrise was after 0800 before we fell back, and will again be after 0800 for most of the first half of January. That would move to 0900 if DST was year-round. Pick your poison.
It's a big difference living at the west end of the time zone vs. the east end. If you live on the West side of Indiana, the sun rises (and sets) 50 minutes later than in Boston, even though both are in the Eastern time zone.
In the old days when planes flew faster, I remember flying from Cleveland to ORD at around 5pm in winter (OK, 1700 for the aviation enthusiasts). It was dusk at 5 est out of CLE, but fairly dark landing at ORD at 5 cst. So I totally agree kyfdx.
In the old days when planes flew faster, I remember flying from Cleveland to ORD at around 5pm in winter (OK, 1700 for the aviation enthusiasts). It was dusk at 5 est out of CLE, but fairly dark landing at ORD at 5 cst. So I totally agree kyfdx.
They don't fly that much slower now, and 60 min from CLE-ORD is still easy to make. What you do see is airline schedules that are padded, because they publish gate-to-gate, which can sometimes include allowances for long taxi times and/or just plain slop in case they're delayed on departure.
And to this av/weather-geek, it's 22Z (well, 1700 EST anyway, 1700 CST is 23Z).
The one I had seemed to rev a bit but not pick up speed in some gears - kind of that rubber band feeling. But this was a car with 45K hard miles on it, maybe that didn't help. I didn't seem short on power, and I even chirped the tires a couple times on accident when accelerating from a stop at a metered ramp, as throttle tip-in was very touchy.
Speaking of flights, SEA-ORD arrived like 30+ minutes ahead of schedule, I think we made it in like 3 and a half hours.
Sorento has an 8-speed auto. I thought it was a little shift-happy when I had one as a rental in June, so I actually threw it in manual mode once I got to Interstate speeds, and I dare say it pulled a lot of hills in 8th that were just steep enough to have it hunting between 6th and 7th if I had just left it in D. Only actually dropped it down into 7th a handful of times. Most of my Interstate was I-25 between Denver and Casper. The one I drove definitely was not thrashed, 10 miles on it when I picked it up.
Funny you mention that. A few times I've wished I was in my own car, as the controls are so familiar to me, they seem to work better than anything else. I wouldn't want my car on these roads, though. I will say Uconnect seems to be very user-friendly, I had no issues with it.
The Challenger is fun to drive - the noise is wonderful, and it will move. It gets a little attention. It does feel a little heavy, but the horsepower can help with that. Visibility is iffy at best - that's the downfall, the camera is low resolution, and parking in tight spots requires care.
I've noticed some longer range weather forecasts are toying with snow in some areas around Friday/Saturday, and next week. Saturday morning I am driving to Indiana, then Ohio, then will be in Detroit next week. The Challenger isn't something I want to risk in snow - RWD with what appear to be non-traction tires.
Thinking about this, and wanting to be prepared, I realized I'd be in Oak Park this afternoon. That's not too far from ORD. A full day in the Challenger on city streets (where you feel every bump) made me realize it is just too harsh for my upcoming trip, and might be troublesome later on. So I went back to ORD and switched again - they don't seem to care, takes no more than a minute to generate a new contract, the employees I dealt with didn't bat an eye. Here's the new rig:
It makes short work of Chicago road conditions and is quite comfortable. I've called these the "developing world special", as they are effectively a Nissan Patrol, something seen in dashcam videos all over the old Soviet Union, something a corrupt official trying to lay low would drive. Not a bad lucky pick from PC - they had a few other oddballs too - a couple of Hemi Ram trucks and a Titan in the same area, a couple Siennas, and in the prestige area, a Range Rover and C63.
Picked up some new Chevy's at MIA this afternoon. I got a 2019 Malibu with 238 miles on it. All told, we got 2 Malibu's, 2 Tahoe's and an Impala. All 2019 models which is nice to see. This morning, we picked up 5 2019 Chevy Equinox's also from MIA. For the last month or so, a lot of new 2019 models have come into Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and have been put onto the road as quickly as they can. Have also brought in a lot of turnback's and wholesale units but many of those wholesale units go into Lyft service. But always busy this time of year with new arrivals coming in daily. Since I'm a driver with them, we get called to pick up as many as we can. Was supposed to leave around 12 today but since we were so busy, they asked me to stay all day which was no issue. I never make any plans on work days if I can help it because this same scenario plays out, a lot. They asked three of us to stay with two of us agreeing to. We were busy all day and had to leave one last run for tomorrow since it was about 6 pm and we were still in North Miami. Got back and clocked off around 6:45, Monday night it was closer to 7 pm. But hey, I'm not complaining here as I really want 30 hours/week if possible. As long as I keep my yearly pay under $17K, all is well. But usually don't make anywhere north of $12K and this year should be a repeat even though I was out sick for 6 weeks in May due to my gall bladder surgery and will be taking about 12 days off starting next Tuesday for moving duty.
Funny thing, I was thinking the reps/employees were going to cut me off and put a stop to it, but nope - didn't blink an eye at the request for an exchange. I am quite pleased with the customer service at ORD, I've had to talk to a few people, and all were pleasant. On that note, I haven't heard a peep about the Jeep either, not from Hertz nor my insurance. As the cop was pretty nonchalant about it not being my fault, maybe it will all just go away easy enough - I hope.
Didn't drive the Armada today, it was all L and Metra for me. Kind of relaxing after the past few days.
Speaking of rentals, there's an Enterprise next door to my hotel here. They had a ton of Caravans out front this morning, I suspect for a group who rented a few at once. Also saw a rental XTS, possibly Hertz too given it was parked on the same block.
I like the L from where I am (Evanston) as it is a direct line to the loop, where I can quickly get to touristy stuff. Metra seems to have a detour, unless I am reading the map wrong. I had no issues today, and I used both to get to different places.
I think the Metra train station is west of you in Wilmette, but I'm more familiar with the west and northwest routes. The Metra will cost you more than the L, plus station parking.
I am within walking distance to both L and Metra (Davis), but L seems to have more direct routes (when purple line is running anyway). I might take both tomorrow, if I want to come back before 330 or so.
The one I had seemed to rev a bit but not pick up speed in some gears - kind of that rubber band feeling. But this was a car with 45K hard miles on it, maybe that didn't help. I didn't seem short on power, and I even chirped the tires a couple times on accident when accelerating from a stop at a metered ramp, as throttle tip-in was very touchy.
My RDX does some weird little blips during light-throttle highway cruising, which seem to be the VCM cutting cylinders on and off, but nothing to the point of "rubber band." Maybe the price we pay to get decent MPG out of powerful NA V6 engines? And there's definitely a point on tip-in where the assumption is that you want to GO! Definitely a different feeling coming out of my Volvo or the wife's Jetta. And the SorRental I drove just felt on the big side, but not as annoyingly big as the Explorer that my office has.
I wonder if it is VCM, I never thought of that. There seemed to be a little flat spot where the engine would spool up a bit but not gain speed.
I had a long drive in the Armada today, it is the size of a house, but I don't regret the choice on a cold and somewhat snowy day. Used a bit of fuel, but that's the price you pay for mass. On the pro side, the material quality seems decent for the brand, you can tell it has some premium roots. On the con side, the roots are old and feel it - the ICE is like going back in time a decade, and some of the interior design seems to be getting up there too.
My RDX does some weird little blips during light-throttle highway cruising, which seem to be the VCM cutting cylinders on and off, but nothing to the point of "rubber band." Maybe the price we pay to get decent MPG out of powerful NA V6 engines? And there's definitely a point on tip-in where the assumption is that you want to GO! Definitely a different feeling coming out of my Volvo or the wife's Jetta. And the SorRental I drove just felt on the big side, but not as annoyingly big as the Explorer that my office has.
I think the Armada might have hit 20 mpg on the long drive yesterday - I stayed off the interstates and took secondary highways, so I seldom exceeded 65 mph. It was mostly a relaxing drive, on lightly traveled roads through small towns, which was the intent. Gas is so much cheaper here than at home, I don't mind the consumption.
I've been staying at hotels for awhile now, rental cars everywhere. The usual sea of Nissan, Hyunkia, and GM, with a Ford and Toyota sprinkled in here and there. I've seen 2 other Armada rentals, maybe this is how they are moving them.
There's a Hertz (HLE I assume) next door to my hotel. I noticed they have 2 Escalades and a new Enclave. I bet there are decent rentals in Detroit area fleets.
Pros: lots of room, good interior build quality, decent sounding stereo, powerful
Cons: ancient looking and feeling ICE/infotaimnent, hilariously thirsty, unsupportive seats, sheetmetal seems thin
I suppose it is no worse than any other behemoth SUV, and these sell on value more than tech, I think. Not a bad rental, but I don't think I am going to be buying one.
Pros: lots of room, good interior build quality, decent sounding stereo, powerful
Cons: ancient looking and feeling ICE/infotaimnent, hilariously thirsty, unsupportive seats, sheetmetal seems thin
I suppose it is no worse than any other behemoth SUV, and these sell on value more than tech, I think. Not a bad rental, but I don't think I am going to be buying one.
How similar is it to the G-class you've talked about?
I expect a G would be a little thirstier, maybe a little smaller (especially inside), probably slightly better infotainment (the nav in the Armada is especially retro, but not in the most charming way), maybe rougher riding, but have better seats. Higher running costs, too.
I didn't hate the Armada - it was nice for long drives, some parts have a premium feel (Infiniti looks, decent interior) with cheap gas out here the thirst isn't as bad as it could be, and it was sometimes a little fun to drive a "truck", but if I was buying a new car, I'd want something that seemed new. I still have a little soreness from the drive, too, something I don't really get in the E.
The charges for my rental (was on points, but fees aren't covered) hit my card, and the sum was higher than I expected. I retrieved my invoice, and saw that I had $100 in fuel charges, from the Jeep, which of course wasn't returned full as it was returned with three wheels attached, on the back of a tow truck. I called Hertz, my call was answered immediately, and I was cheerfully told the charges would be credited. Hertz has been a positive experience in all of this - no hassles from the crash (18 days later, I haven't had to lift a finger), easy exchanges, eventually able to get into decent cars. Pretty good experience. Knock on wood that it continues.
Do they have some sort of device plugged into the OBD port? I completely forgot to get gas when I returned my last rental in Boston and right when they scanned the car in, they knew I used 8.5 gallons of fuel. Guy didn’t even get in the car.
This was Avis. They nailed me too. My boss was like, “why did you have a nearly $200 one day rental”. Oops. I’m so frugal usually so it was overlooked, but embarrassing. Probably cost nearly triple what filling up a station would have been.
OBD II has access to a really large amount of information, much more than most people appreciate. Many (most?) modern cars can display on the dash the gallons used, the average miles per gallon, the instantaneous mpg, the miles to empty, all kinds of information. And pretty much all of that is available through the OBD II port. They sell “tuners” for the diesel trucks that have a large display which can show you more about your truck than you might ever want to know. And all of that is obtained by just plugging into the OBD II port.
You can buy a little gizmo that plugs into the OBD II port and implements a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone, or tablet, or notebook computer. And then you run software on your smartphone, etc, which can show you everything I mentioned above, and a million other things. It’s a really neat toy, and only costs about $10.
One guy over on the Cadillac forums, a few years back, used this to try and dispel arguments about whether 93 octane would actually improve gas mileage. He drove the same road course with 93 octane and 87 octane, trying to duplicate the exact driving conditions and driving style. While recording, on his computer, the instantaneous mpg and the timing advance. Any possible increase in MPG would have to be tied to timing advance. He then plotted the results and overlaid the plots. No discernible difference.
This of course was only applicable to that one car, on that one occasion. But it does make you wonder about buying 93 octane.
Do they have some sort of device plugged into the OBD port?
A month ago I was to pick up the Dodge van at 12:00. The manager said it was on its way. He commented it only had 200 miles on it. Then he gave another number.
He was reading out the data as the previous renter was returning it 10 minutes late. It had 200 miles to empty. It had the other number somewhere in its record that I could get by pushing the DIC buttons. He had to ability to know what the vehicle was doing and probably exactly where it was located.
I thought he meant it was being sent over from the nearby airport location. Instead it was rented to another customer.
Do they have some sort of device plugged into the OBD port?
A month ago I was to pick up the Dodge van at 12:00. The manager said it was on its way. He commented it only had 200 miles on it. Then he gave another number.
He was reading out the data as the previous renter was returning it 10 minutes late. It had 200 miles to empty. It had the other number somewhere in its record that I could get by pushing the DIC buttons. He had to ability to know what the vehicle was doing and probably exactly where it was located.
I thought he meant it was being sent over from the nearby airport location. Instead it was rented to another customer.
Comments
I can only let my mind wander as to what the lyrics are about.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Because this happened:
Maybe a borderline total, depending on if the frame is damaged. Not my fault of course. I was on a 30 mph residential street, one lane in each direction. I was turning right, the other car was racing behind me at maybe 50+, I suspect they were on something (I could smell it in their car, I took a peek, being from Seattle I know some smells), and I think to try to avoid rear ending me they swerved to the right, and got clipped. At that speed, a clip is significant. The other car, an Escape, fared much worse - front end effectively gone, complete airbag deployment. A testament to modern cars, no real injuries.
The nice and cool Milwaukee cop said I had nothing to worry about, and I don't think I am injured - although I have a feeling I will be reliving my hockey days and wake up sore after walking it off the day of.
Funny thing (I need something to laugh at), the car that hit me was also from Hertz. Driven by an unauthorized driver, and I will wager they didn't take the insurance. I have the Citi insurance along with my own, should there be any hassles, so I am not sweating it. Onwards and upwards, it's over now, can't change it, on with my journey. And a nice note, the people in the house next to where the cars landed (the Escape was in their side yard) were genuinely nice, offered me a chair or to go inside and warm up.
On to the new rental. Sorento V6, basic rental spec - no nav, basic controls, no sunroof, FL plates, 45K miles on it with the kind of cosmetic patina one expects on a 45K mile rental car. Is it a CVT? It seems to drone a bit. It's an appliance, I am sure it has been thrashed, and is still going fine. I will be back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon, and plan on swapping it out at ORD for something closer to my original rental class.
I guess Milwaukee is now less famous for beer in your mind than for other intoxicating substances.
I suppose when a customer calls and says their Grand Cherokee is wrecked, a clapped out Sorrento is what one receives.
Hopefully you are able to swap into something better tomorrow. Watch out for the symptoms tomorrow.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Glad no significant injuries. btw - I never got anything decent from Hertz at MKE. Best I could do was a 4-Runner (of course that works in winter up there).
I didn't expect MKE to be so small. I got to go through the rental holding area with the tow truck driver when he was dropping off the Jeep. I didn't see much of interest, but did spot a Continental among the sea of Hyunkias and Nisyotas. Maybe a 4Runner back there too. I'll see if I have to sweet talk my way into something nice at ORD - I know they have stuff hanging around somewhere, I can be patient and wait
I remember when I was young, having morning after soreness. I am twice as old now, I guess we'll see what happens. I didn't want to visit a hospital or anything today, as I felt nothing out of place other than the adrenaline.
1. Glad you are ok
2. Better the JGC than the E or fintail
Enjoy the rest of your trip. Any chance you can swap out the Kia when you get to Chicago?
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Echo the other comments, glad you're OK but definitely a downgrade from the JGC. I contemplate them as a replacement for the Touareg now and then, but as I told @michaell I already have a mid sized SUV with questionable reliability.
Daylight savings time really is something the US needs all year round. Last night it got dark around 5:45 and we were still moving vehicles. Harder to see now at that time which stinks. And going home in the dark is lousy and a bit dangerous to be honest.
Back in Chicagoland now, stopped off at ORD to switch out the Sorento. I got used to it today on the long backroads drive, but I rented something in a higher category, and as I have 10 days left in the rental, wanted to make use of that. Funny thing, ORD is such a busy location and reasonably well organized, that cars are returned and put back in service immediately. I spotted the Sorento back on the lot around 45 minutes after I dropped it off, and soon after, someone chose it and drove away. They got clean interior glass compliments of me. With turnaround like that, no wonder the cleaning can be iffy.
I waited around a bit, as they had nothing available in my original category. Apparently Tuesdays are quite busy. I got to talk with the young guy/kid I dealt with when I picked up the Jeep. He offered me some upgrades - they had a trio of SLC300s, but all painfully basic, and no room for my checked bag. Also offered an Avalon, but I balked - fleet spec old style car, and a normal Cherokee, but I didn't want an SUV. He then offered a pick from a pair of Challengers - I first hesitated because of mpg, but when they finally got a car in my category, it was another painfully basic car (apparent zero option 300), so I took him up on the Challenger.
Here it is:
It's a Scat Pack. Man does it sound good, man does it ride rough. Mileage seems not much different than the JGC. We'll see if I can live with the ride, and hopefully it won't get snowy - if we have a chance of ice, and if those are summer tires, I will exchange it again.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
If you live on the West side of Indiana, the sun rises (and sets) 50 minutes later than in Boston, even though both are in the Eastern time zone.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
And to this av/weather-geek, it's 22Z (well, 1700 EST anyway, 1700 CST is 23Z).
Speaking of flights, SEA-ORD arrived like 30+ minutes ahead of schedule, I think we made it in like 3 and a half hours.
The Challenger is fun to drive - the noise is wonderful, and it will move. It gets a little attention. It does feel a little heavy, but the horsepower can help with that. Visibility is iffy at best - that's the downfall, the camera is low resolution, and parking in tight spots requires care.
I've noticed some longer range weather forecasts are toying with snow in some areas around Friday/Saturday, and next week. Saturday morning I am driving to Indiana, then Ohio, then will be in Detroit next week. The Challenger isn't something I want to risk in snow - RWD with what appear to be non-traction tires.
Thinking about this, and wanting to be prepared, I realized I'd be in Oak Park this afternoon. That's not too far from ORD. A full day in the Challenger on city streets (where you feel every bump) made me realize it is just too harsh for my upcoming trip, and might be troublesome later on. So I went back to ORD and switched again - they don't seem to care, takes no more than a minute to generate a new contract, the employees I dealt with didn't bat an eye. Here's the new rig:
It makes short work of Chicago road conditions and is quite comfortable. I've called these the "developing world special", as they are effectively a Nissan Patrol, something seen in dashcam videos all over the old Soviet Union, something a corrupt official trying to lay low would drive. Not a bad lucky pick from PC - they had a few other oddballs too - a couple of Hemi Ram trucks and a Titan in the same area, a couple Siennas, and in the prestige area, a Range Rover and C63.
Since I'm a driver with them, we get called to pick up as many as we can. Was supposed to leave around 12 today but since we were so busy, they asked me to stay all day which was no issue. I never make any plans on work days if I can help it because this same scenario plays out, a lot. They asked three of us to stay with two of us agreeing to. We were busy all day and had to leave one last run for tomorrow since it was about 6 pm and we were still in North Miami. Got back and clocked off around 6:45, Monday night it was closer to 7 pm. But hey, I'm not complaining here as I really want 30 hours/week if possible. As long as I keep my yearly pay under $17K, all is well. But usually don't make anywhere north of $12K and this year should be a repeat even though I was out sick for 6 weeks in May due to my gall bladder surgery and will be taking about 12 days off starting next Tuesday for moving duty.
The Sandman/Driving Fool
Didn't drive the Armada today, it was all L and Metra for me. Kind of relaxing after the past few days.
Speaking of rentals, there's an Enterprise next door to my hotel here. They had a ton of Caravans out front this morning, I suspect for a group who rented a few at once. Also saw a rental XTS, possibly Hertz too given it was parked on the same block.
I had a long drive in the Armada today, it is the size of a house, but I don't regret the choice on a cold and somewhat snowy day. Used a bit of fuel, but that's the price you pay for mass. On the pro side, the material quality seems decent for the brand, you can tell it has some premium roots. On the con side, the roots are old and feel it - the ICE is like going back in time a decade, and some of the interior design seems to be getting up there too.
I've been staying at hotels for awhile now, rental cars everywhere. The usual sea of Nissan, Hyunkia, and GM, with a Ford and Toyota sprinkled in here and there. I've seen 2 other Armada rentals, maybe this is how they are moving them.
Pros: lots of room, good interior build quality, decent sounding stereo, powerful
Cons: ancient looking and feeling ICE/infotaimnent, hilariously thirsty, unsupportive seats, sheetmetal seems thin
I suppose it is no worse than any other behemoth SUV, and these sell on value more than tech, I think. Not a bad rental, but I don't think I am going to be buying one.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
I didn't hate the Armada - it was nice for long drives, some parts have a premium feel (Infiniti looks, decent interior) with cheap gas out here the thirst isn't as bad as it could be, and it was sometimes a little fun to drive a "truck", but if I was buying a new car, I'd want something that seemed new. I still have a little soreness from the drive, too, something I don't really get in the E.
This was Avis. They nailed me too. My boss was like, “why did you have a nearly $200 one day rental”. Oops. I’m so frugal usually so it was overlooked, but embarrassing. Probably cost nearly triple what filling up a station would have been.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I think the "pay later" fee at ORD was over $9/gallon, yeah.
You can buy a little gizmo that plugs into the OBD II port and implements a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone, or tablet, or notebook computer. And then you run software on your smartphone, etc, which can show you everything I mentioned above, and a million other things. It’s a really neat toy, and only costs about $10.
One guy over on the Cadillac forums, a few years back, used this to try and dispel arguments about whether 93 octane would actually improve gas mileage. He drove the same road course with 93 octane and 87 octane, trying to duplicate the exact driving conditions and driving style. While recording, on his computer, the instantaneous mpg and the timing advance. Any possible increase in MPG would have to be tied to timing advance. He then plotted the results and overlaid the plots. No discernible difference.
This of course was only applicable to that one car, on that one occasion. But it does make you wonder about buying 93 octane.
A month ago I was to pick up the Dodge van at 12:00. The manager said it was on its way. He commented it only had 200 miles on it. Then he gave another number.
He was reading out the data as the previous renter was returning it 10 minutes late. It had 200 miles to empty. It had the other number somewhere in its record that I could get by pushing the DIC buttons. He had to ability to know what the vehicle was doing and probably exactly where it was located.
I thought he meant it was being sent over from the nearby airport location. Instead it was rented to another customer.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
A month ago I was to pick up the Dodge van at 12:00. The manager said it was on its way. He commented it only had 200 miles on it. Then he gave another number.
He was reading out the data as the previous renter was returning it 10 minutes late. It had 200 miles to empty. It had the other number somewhere in its record that I could get by pushing the DIC buttons. He had to ability to know what the vehicle was doing and probably exactly where it was located.
I thought he meant it was being sent over from the nearby airport location. Instead it was rented to another customer.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Yesterday I spotted another Armada identical to my rental, out of state frameless plates, I will wager an awful lot that it is a Hertz car.