Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

imidazol97 · December 2015

bwia said:

suydam said:
Bwia: It's probably not a virus but a phishing scam. Turn the phone off and back on and see if it goes away.
Thanks suydam. I tried that but it does not work.

Try installing AVG App from Google Playstore on your phone. It has
very good ratings on the 1-5 scale from those who downloaded it
and it's had lots of downloads.

My son's been using it for almost a year with no complaints. I see
Norton also has a mobile app I would trust.

carnaught · December 2015

bwia, I'm no I.T. guy, but it's my understanding that if you get a message, you're already infected with a virus, and they're looking to get your data with phishing. Certainly, don't go to their site, probably from Russia, E. Europe, China or N. Korea. If it were me, I'd do the factory reset.

carnaught · December 2015

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, Happy Festivus, and Happy Holidays to all us car buddies!

PF_Flyer · December 2015

Some big Festivus celebrations around. They were even delivering the town poles by rail

bwia · December 2015

Thanks Imid - that seems to have done the trick - but I am not sure. I can now surf the net but with trepidation.

bwia · December 2015

carnaught said:
bwia, I'm no I.T. guy, but it's my understanding that if you get a message, you're already infected with a virus, and they're looking to get your data with phishing. Certainly, don't go to their site, probably from Russia, E. Europe, China or N. Korea. If it were me, I'd do the factory reset.

carnaught, I may do the factory reset later but I am not sure how to save of my data.

imidazol97 · December 2015

bwia said:
Thanks Imid - that seems to have done the trick - but I am not sure. I can now surf the net but with trepidation.

If that installing the AVG App worked, I would go into the browser(s) on the phone and clear the history.
My phone, LG Tracfone, has a standard browser and Google both. I have had a few things lock up my phone trying to paste up a page and insisting I click on it to go to some place for a program or something. Restarting the phone would delay it popping up again, but the ad came back. Clearing the history stopped it. That had happened 3 times.

carnaught · December 2015

bwia said:

carnaught said:
bwia, I'm no I.T. guy, but it's my understanding that if you get a message, you're already infected with a virus, and they're looking to get your data with phishing."......"...If it were me, I'd do the factory reset.
carnaught, I may do the factory reset later but I am not sure how to save of my data.

If Imid's suggestion did not work, if you have an android phone, an sD card can be used to save your data. If you use this method, I would install anti-virus software, save data to the card and scan the card before using.

28firefighter · December 2015

Merry Christmas to all of you here celebrating. To everyone else, enjoy a quiet couple of days with your families.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

I'm trying to help SFPD to ID a hit and run car--if you guys have any idea after looking at the rather poor video capture, let me know. HERE'S THE PHOTO TOPIC

berri · December 2015

Have you ever considered that you are only seeing those tiny driver because all us tall people are dying early?

Hey it's Florida - you shrink when you get old

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

I did it purposely. I went to Height Watchers. Lost 3 inches

Michaell · December 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my on-line friends here at Edmunds!

tjc78 · December 2015

Wow, the 2017 Lacrosse looks beautiful in my opinion. If we didn't need an SuV I would seriously consider it. My wife and I both loved our 2012 Lacrosse, we just needed more room. The only real complaint I had about that car was because it was so heavy it never really felt like 303 hp, although it was plenty quick.

tjc78 · December 2015

While I'm here everyone have a happy holiday and safe travels if you are on the road. We have a house full tonight for the tradional Italian 7 fish dinner. It's way warm here in Jersey for December and I just clicked the AC on. This may be a first. Gotta go three pounds of shrimp to bread and fry!

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

Great. Makes up for that last crappy winter you had!

snakeweasel · December 2015

mako1a said:
Snake, the Mustang is sold by packages. Base is the same on 6 cyl or 8 cyl. Premium can be had on either as well. Premium has SYNC, Shaker stereo and bluetooth. Non premium has basic stereo, cloth seats, less chrome. They both look and function similarly. I started with a 6 cyl and traded it for a GT (Both premium interiors) within 4 months. Lost very little on the trade. Wife heard the 6 start up in the garage and said "it doesn't sound like a Mustang". Next day I had the GT and never looked back.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if there were any viable differences between the two except for the engine. But for me the extra power alone doesn't justify the additional expense. A few thousand difference I might consider but not the one we are talking about.

snakeweasel · December 2015

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michaell said:

At some point I'd love to get a Mustang GT and put a nice sounding exhaust system on it. Doesn't have to be new - heck, it doesn't even have to be the 5.0. I'd take the 4.6. I don't need 400+ HP - 300 would be just fine.
I am thinking that a Mustang could be my next car but not the GT. The V-6 is plenty powerful enough and I cannot justifying spending $10K+ more for power that I would only use 0.1% of the time.
Consider the Ecoboost. You can always say you care about the planet. With the V-6 people will always be asking you to take dictation.

I am not to sure about that, I picture the people taking dictation being the ones driving sports cars with turbo 4 bangers.

The ecoboost provides about 3% more HP and slight better gas mileage ( which vanishes due to PUG being recommended) for several thousand more. I wouldn't say it would be cost effective.

snakeweasel · December 2015

abacomike said:

nyccarguy said:

snakeweasel said:

nyccarguy said:

I don't care how "good" the turbo 4 or the V6 is on a pony car. If I'm going for it, then I'm going to swing for the fences. Go with the V8 or go home. Jalopnik gave the new V6 Camaro an excellent review.

I'll never come close to using the capability of my Legacy's 175 hp 4cyl. Doesn't mean I don't want MORE POWER! ARGH ARGH ARGH!
When you go to the movies do you buy the extra large drink and extra large popcorn knowing full well that you will only consume half of it and throw away the rest?

No, but I've always wanted a V8 powered car. If I buy the small popcorn & want more I can always get it or get a bigger one the next time I go to the movies.

We're only rationalizing buying a V6 over a V8 or vise versa. "If I find I would rather have the V8, I can get it next time!"

My suggestion is to carefully analyze the options, drive both cars (V6 and V8), determine which fits your desires, then buy that one. It's an expensive decision if you end up buying a car that is less satisfying.

I had a CLS550 in 2014. I found the 402 hp to be a bit overpowered for my tastes and needs - they did not have a V6 twin turbo at the time in their lineup. When I drove the 2016 CLS400, I found the 330 hp and 354 ft lbs of torque to be fast and powerful enough for my needs - it has the punch I like when I need it and moves off the line faster than most cars.

I certainly would never have bought the CLS550 again. Additionally, 31 mpg highway and 20 mpg city is much more economical. Too bad they didn't have the CLS400 back in 2014.

If I was going to buy a Mustang, only the Premium GT V8 would be acceptable - that's why you buy a Mustang - RAW POWER! Just my opinion.

If you want raw power from Ford wait for the new GT, it's supposed to produce more than 600 HP.

snakeweasel · December 2015

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

When you go to the movies do you buy the extra large drink and extra large popcorn knowing full well that you will only consume half of it and throw away the rest?
Nope- I eat/drink it all and then go back for refills; a ponycar without a V8 is an automotive crime against nature- one almost as bad as a Miata with an automatic. If I do get a ponycar it will take at least 425hp to catch my eye...

I would think a crime against nature would be driving a 425 HP ponycar either in traffic that takes 20+ seconds to get to 45 MPH or on the highway at a study 70-80 MPH. In either situation you would never come close to using all that power.

snakeweasel · December 2015

suydam said:
They've got to be pretty old. everyone I know from the Boomer generation grew up driving smaller cars as adults. Midsize is as big as we get and those are starting to look too large to me. I think the ancient seniors driving boats are starting to leave the planet.

Related to that, leaving the gym yesterday I noticed that every single vehicle parked on the street was a compact or smaller SUV. Among others I saw a Rogue, a couple of CRVs, 2 Ford Escapes, a Saturn VUE, a CX5, and of course my Encore.

Can you give me some comments on that Encore. She who must be obeyed has gotten on that "we need an SUV" kick again and is getting serious about it. We actually looked (didn't test drive yet) the Santa Fe which she sort of liked. I started looking online and have looked at the Encore and my wife found it interesting.

snakeweasel · December 2015

Mr_Shiftright said:
Well, a lamp post is technically "off road". So you're good.

It is until you hit it.

snakeweasel · December 2015

Oops, not sure what happened my my reply was posted without my comment so I just deleted it and wrote this meaningless drivel instead.

snakeweasel · December 2015

berri said:
I was driving down I-88 through Northern Illinois

I know that stretch of Interstate. It's the one that is often very empty, but loaded with Illinois State Police cars...and they wonder why the state is almost bankrupt

IIRC that part of I-88 is Tollway which means the state police are paid out of collected tolls and not the states general fund.

snakeweasel · December 2015

driver100 said:

Then there is a lawyer who will help you no matter what kind of record you have or how many crimes you have committed. I think his motto is you're not guilty until they find you guilty.

Remember that lawyers are not there to determine right and wrong but to argue their clients case.

snakeweasel · December 2015

isellhondas said:

I think that movie we all watched was Red Ashphalt and it WAS pretty gory.

I remember it being "Bloody Asphalt" but then again I had trouble remembering my nieces name yesterday so don't trust my memories from 40 years ago. But yes it was gory, or is that my memory failing yet again? I can't remember.

snakeweasel · December 2015

stickguy said:
at the 76 station over the weekend RUG was at $1.67.9

O gotta move it's still just over $2/gallon here. :@

snakeweasel · December 2015

qbrozen said:

abacomike said:
Just turned over 400 miles on the CLS400's odometer - and the car is 4 weeks old today. I went up to the Boca Mall and stopped into Apple to get a new USB 6 foot cable to charge my phone. The 2 foot cable is starting to fray a little which is a problem with the Apple cables. They last about a year.

The mall was empty at 9:15 this morning.
FYI, I have had really good experience so far with the Amazon-branded iphone cables. Cheaper and sturdier and no compatibility conflicts. I think the one in my car is about 2 years old now and still looks new. I also have one on my nightstand for nighttime charging. The kids use that one alot, too, and that's also still perfect. My wife, on the other hand, has managed to break the ends off the 2 she has, although they still function. Not sure what she does to them. But, this is the same woman who could destroy an Apple-brand cable in about 3 months.

It is definitely not a "you get what you pay for" situation for a lot of things. many people pay top dollar for pretty much crap with a name. Look at things like Beats headphones, you can get better for less than half the price.

snakeweasel · December 2015

berri said:
Its just as likely the medical world and nursing homes will grab most of it...

The kids have instructions that when it's time to put in in a nursing home that they have to shoot me instead.

snakeweasel · December 2015

imidazol97 said:

fezo said:
OK, ignore previous car statement. Now I don't understand this but the insurance company is ready to cut me a check for more than what the body shop is ready to fix it for. Why they would not just pay the guy and save themselves some money I don't know but I'll take it..
Sound like the insurance company actually expects overruns on the repair costs if the insurance company is paying. They'd rather just give you a little more and not be responsible for those extra cost items that get discovered at the shop.

It is more likely that the insurance company is using a standard, or average, rate for the area and that the shop being utilized is low for the area. I can't see an insurance company adding funds just in case.

snakeweasel · December 2015

houdini1 said:
That is true. Each state gets you one way or the other. Some just more than others. The biggest cost, for me, to live in
Florida would be the heat, humidity, and bugs !

Don't forget hurricanes, sink holes, alligators, real old people driving, tourists and in my case relatives.

The daughter and SIL are seriously thinking of moving to Florida. He is currently in the Army but is getting out in a few months, he was injured in the ME and is being retired on a disability and is not happy about it. Anyway they want nice warm weather and a rodent as a neighbor (yes they are going to Orlando).

snakeweasel · December 2015

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

qbrozen said:
Property taxes in our homes are $17k for our primary and $9k in the rental. I also pay pretty steep state income tax, plus 7% sales tax, plus real estate transfer tax, plus, plus, plus.
And, that is why I keep telling my wife we need to move, now that our youngest is out of HS. We paid through the nose all those years for the schools, and now I see no reason to keep paying for what we don't need!

thankfully we are closer to your old house than the new one, but still over 10K.

It's just so out of control here. I pay over 6k for a modest rancher on a tiny lot.

We are about 8K, 2340 sqft house with basement on a 1/4 acre on the retention pond.

abacomike · December 2015

snakeweasel said:

That is true. Each state gets you one way or the other. Some just more than others. The biggest cost, for me, to live in Florida would be the heat, humidity, and bugs !
Don't forget hurricanes, sink holes, alligators, real old people driving, tourists and in my case relatives. The daughter and SIL are seriously thinking of moving to Florida. He is currently in the Army but is getting out in a few months, he was injured in the ME and is being retired on a disability and is not happy about it. Anyway they want nice warm weather and a rodent as a neighbor (yes they are going to Orlando).

Orlando is a hotspot, to be sure - but the traffic is even worse there than gown here on the southeast coast. It's a 2 hour drive there.

snakeweasel · December 2015

graphicguy said:
So, think I mentioned that while the wife is away in China for an extended stay, I was going to take a cruise, which I did, last week.

Always fun, but a little different doing it solo. Interesting, though...how people react to you when they find out you're solo. Different story for a different time, however.

Anyway, got back last Saturday. I had cruised out of Bayonne, NJ. New ship (Anthem of the Seas), so it was beautiful. Itinerary wasn't so great (NJ to Cape Canaveral to Bahamas and back).

Those of you who have never cruised, while most food and entertainment is included, drinks and casino plar are/is not. Drinks are probably a bit overpriced, but aside from a couple of beers and some good bourbon at day's end, I wasn't the lush some onboard appeared to be.

Most cruise line offer a drink package where it's unlimited drinks for a set price.

graphicguy said:
Arrived back home and got a call a day later from AMEX questioning a charge I had made. I bought some Christmas gifts in the Bahamas and figured they were questioning those.

When we go we usually give our card issuer our itinerary so they know where we should be making charges on our trip.

snakeweasel · December 2015

abacomike said:
Scary about GG's experience. My Identity was stolen 8 years ago. Was lucky it was just a cable TV connection in Tallahassie. Then, someone tried to open a black AMEX card with my name. They denied it because I had a fraud alert on the credit reporting companies.

I check my credit cards and bank accounts twice a day to check on every charge or withdrawal to pay bills. You just can't be too careful these days.

You cannot try to open an AMEX black card for anyone else but yourself and only then when you are invited to by AMEX. To get the so called black card you have to have an AMEX platinum card, have a high income and net worth, spend a ton of money using the platinum card and be invited to apply.

suydam · December 2015

Snake: Regarding the Encore, what would you like to know? We like it so much that I'm seriously considering downsizing our second car now. It's just the perfect size for 2 plus a dog. Its also not bad for 2 adults to sit in the back now and then. It's quite versatile in terms of cargo capacity. Easy to park and maneuver in town. And very nice inside and very quiet on the road. Love the turbo engine, and it gets very good fuel economy. Any specific info you'd like?

snakeweasel · December 2015

andres3 said:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/1218/Should-driverless-vehicles-break-the-law-to-increase-safety

I know some of you consider this a dead horse, but this article linked above is about a new study that just recently came out showing driverless cars are getting into twice as many accidents as normal average drivers (albeit all not at fault accidents). The reason? Driving the speed limit. Going slower than the average pace of traffic does indeed lead to greater danger and accidents; double in this case. Yes, the Solomon curve still applies, and is proven yet again.

@snakeweasel might want to change is worldview in light of this new evidence that further establishes I was right on just about everything we argued about yet again.

A couple of things, first is that the number of driverless cars out there are extremely small, something like 0.001% of the cars on the road. Google earlier this year stated that their driverless cars traveled 700,000 miles in total which sounds like a lot until you figure in that Americans travel some 2,500,000,000,000 miles annually. This means that the sample is way to small to make such a determination.

As for the solomon curve, you forget that the solomon curve does not take into consideration of stopped and turning cars, when they are eliminated your going faster is safer falls on its face. Other studies show this but since it doesn't support your position you ignore them.

snakeweasel · December 2015

abacomike said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
Think of it as being stuck behind a Toyota Prius for eternity.
Another analogy would be, "...think of it as driving a car anywhere on the southeast coast of Florida!"

Better analogy would be driving down a Chicago Expressway during rush hour (or any very large American city)

abacomike · December 2015

@snakeweasel:

That's the problem, snake. I have a platinum card and charge everything on it, and I mean everything! My cell phone bill, my house telephone bill, my daily newspaper delivery, my utilities, food, clothes, etc. I have other cards, but I run zero balances on them. I once considered closing 4 credit cards, but I was told that it would negatively affect my FICO scores.

I did receive an invite for a black card (unlimited credit, from what it said) right about the time my identity was stolen 8 years ago, but it made no sense to me. I have even charged down payments on new cars with my AMEX - I charged $18,000 on the 2014 CLS 550, but I did get an immediate call from AMEX to make sure it was me charging that amount on the card. When I confirmed it was me, the charge went through.

Almost put $19,000 on the AMEX when I bought the 2016 CLS 400 last month, but the 1.75% simple interest loan for 60 months was so attractive, I decided to take out a loan. That same loan today would be over 2%, which still isn't bad considering it's a 60 month loan.

abacomike · December 2015

Air-Conditioning guy just left. He had to blow out the drain pipe between my kitchen and foyer walls. He said that if it happens again, they will have to replace the drain tank. But he said this should take care of it for a while. Let's hope so. I haven't had the air-conditioning on since yesterday and it was tough to breathe for these past 36 hours. It's been so hot down here during the day and even at night that I have to run the AC 24 hours a day. 86 degrees this afternoon and 77 degrees for a low last night. I really don't ever remember it being so hot at the end of December since I have been living here. Supposed to stay in the mid to upper 80's for the next week or so with lows in the 70's. I think we broke a record for the "highest low temperature" for the month of December on record.

Usually by this time of year, I wear jeans and a sweatshirt or sweater. But you guys up north have had record temps too.

henryn · December 2015

Mike, what you need to do is pour a cup of clorox down that drain pipe once a month. An AC repairman told me that trick many years ago, and it works very well.

stever · December 2015

snakeweasel said:
Can you give me some comments on that Encore.

Good thread here, starting with my brilliant missive.

We drove it back in August. It's still on our shortlist although I'm a bit dubious about our local dealer. My wife would enjoy it a lot.

nyccarguy · December 2015

Property taxes - I just got my bill. My damage for my 1,431 square foot ranch on a 1 acre piece of property here in the City of Stamford, Fairfield County, State of Connecticut is $9,179 for the year.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2015

I think you're 4th highest in the nation. New Jersey is tops.

roadburner · December 2015

snakeweasel said:

I would think a crime against nature would be driving a 425 HP ponycar either in traffic that takes 20+ seconds to get to 45 MPH or on the highway at a study 70-80 MPH. In either situation you would never come close to using all that power.

Believe me, where I live I'll easily find a place to use 400+ horsepower. On almost every drive. I can say that I had no problem giving my friend's 500+ hp AMG a proper workout(and that's not counting the 100foot burnout I performed-at said friend's request-pulling out of my driveway.
In contrast, if you actually DO live where it consistently takes 20 seconds to get to 45 mph due to traffic, I'd say you need to relocate; in that soul-killing environment I'd opine that driving a three cylinder Fiesta slushbox is probably overkill.

driver100 · December 2015

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

Then there is a lawyer who will help you no matter what kind of record you have or how many crimes you have committed. I think his motto is you're not guilty until they find you guilty.
Remember that lawyers are not there to determine right and wrong but to argue their clients case.

Yeh, that's just what they say to ease their conscience so they can live with themselves

Lawyers hate the death penalty.....then they lose a good client.

venture · December 2015

abacomike said:

Usually by this time of year, I wear jeans and a sweatshirt or sweater. But you guys up north have had record temps too.

I mowed the outfield grass at my baseball field this afternoon. It was in the 60's - the temperature, not the height of the grass.

This is in PA.

stickguy · December 2015

Watched the latest chasing classic cars yesterday. Wayne was exercising a hellcat. That looked like fun. And probably even too powerful for RB.

oldfarmer50 · December 2015

venture said:

abacomike said:

Usually by this time of year, I wear jeans and a sweatshirt or sweater. But you guys up north have had record temps too.
I mowed the outfield grass at my baseball field this afternoon. It was in the 60's - the temperature, not the height of the grass. This is in PA.

We had an all time record high of 72. That's not just a record for Christmas Eve but for the whole winter. It was only 70 on the 4th of July.

snakeweasel · December 2015

verdugo said:

imidazol97 said:
Gas pump skimmers have shown up in SW Ohio where graphicguy and I live. News stories alledge Cubans roaming the area.

We notified two credit cards that my son used when he traveled for training in recent months to be sure he didnt get blocked. One of his cards had automatically been blocked when he tried to make a purchase when he was finishing his degree at OSU. He switched to the other card to pay. I had used my card on that account to make a purchase at Wal-Mart and Kroger and he used his to make a purchase at Kroger near campus. Blocked.

Their algorithms determining if purchases are not typical have become really sophisticated.

One time when I was traveling abroad I called AmEx to give them a heads up. They thanked me for calling them, but then they said that they would do the same checking that they do if I hadn't called them.

In other words, calling them didn't do anything. I don't call anymore.

Many years ago my wife went back to the Philippines for an extended vacation. During the time there they took a side trip to Thailand so we tried to buy tickets for the trip from Manila to Thailand and our card issuer placed a block on our card for it. We had to call them up and be on the phone with them at the time we purchased the tickets for them to accept the transaction.

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