Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100 · October 2016

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:
My question is that blind spot warning supposed to act like that and why?
The blind spot warning is a solid orange when the car is stationary and up to 30 mph (you were still observant to say 20 mph).

That's a strange way for the blind spot warning to operate. Why wouldn't it turn off if there's no one in the danger area?

My '14 Malibu's blind spot is off until there's someone in the adjacent lane, then it turns on solid. If I start to change lanes the lane control beeps and the light in the mirror flashes. If I turn on my turn signal and there's someone in the blind area, the light in the mirror flashes like crazy, whether I wander over the lane markers or not.

Sitting still there's no orange light blinding me from the mirror if the lane's empty.

My guess is that by being on...just an orange light, it shows it is operating. If the light was off, you may think the blind spot device has been deactivated.

I like it the way it is. If I am stopped at a light with cars on both sides of me, I don't need the flashing light or a constant orange light to tell me there are cars next to me, I am not going to be changing lanes anyway.

It is just an orange light.....doesn't blind.....looks like an orange dot on the mirror. I have never thought it was a problem and wouldn't want to change it........I like it this way better personally.

It is like locking your doors with a key FOB, it seems American cars have a honking horn when you lock your cars with the FOB. It seems to me most European cars just blink their lights to signify the car is locked......do we really need the horn honking? I see people turn and look or jump in the air, just because someone locks their car.

ab348 · October 2016

driver100 said:

It is like locking your doors with a key FOB, it seems American cars have a honking horn when you lock your cars with the FOB. It seems to me most European cars just blink their lights to signify the car is locked......do we really need the horn honking? I see people turn and look or jump in the air, just because someone locks their car.

With every car I've had with a remote lock fob, the signal is configurable. I note very few people here seem to use the horn signal, it is almost always just a flashing of the lights, regardless of the make of car.

roadburner · October 2016

I always said that I'd prefer to drive my dad's 1972 Cub Lo-Boy tractor rather than a Chevette; the Cub had an equivalent levei of engineering sophistication- plus you could also mow the grass with it.

stickguy · October 2016

Not all Euros just flash lights. On our VWs, when you lock it, the horn honks. Loud. And on both Jettas, it is NOT configurable to turn off. I asked. Very annoying when one of the kids is home and comes in after we are in bed, since out room is right in front of the driveway. I imagine the people who live by my daughter's apartment appreciate it too@!

my other cars just flick the lights and give some small chirp (one of them does). You also hear the locks go, which is pretty noticeable.

graphicguy · October 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:

You mean someone did that to their car on purpose? They should have driving priviliges revoked for 5 years for putting that monstrosity on the roads.

snakeweasel · October 2016

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:
I do have a question for the Mercedes crowd here. On the way to work this morning I got behind a Benz SUV. While stopped in traffic for a series of lights I could easily see the drivers side mirror and I noticed that the blind spot warning light was on when we were stopped. I found this very odd as we were in the left lane with a wide raised divider separating us from oncoming traffic so there was nothing there that would set it off. As we drove off it stayed on until we hit about 20 MPH then went off. It seemed to come on again once the speed went below 20 MPH. All this time s/he was in the left lane with nothing to his/her left to set it off.

My question is that blind spot warning supposed to act like that and why?
The blind spot warning is a solid orange when the car is stationary and up to 30 mph (you were still observant to say 20 mph)
When you reach 30 mph the orange light goes off. Then it will flash if there is a car in your blindspot.
If you put your signal light on, and if there is a car in your blindspot, there will be a loud beeping noise.

I think it was designed this way because at low speeds you could have all kinds of cars next to you, and they would make the blindspot warning meaningless....so it really starts once you reach 30 mph.

It seems totally useless to be on all the time at low speeds and when stopped. It does no good any anyone would likely treat it as it was off, as being on and being off are basically the same thing.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

I think it's a manifestation of the attitude: "I paid for it, and I can do whatever I want to it".

stever · October 2016

I kind of like it. Reminds me of people who buy very high end bikes and then rattle-can them day-glow orange to make 'em look junky and not worth stealing.

snakeweasel · October 2016

stickguy said:
I've mentioned this story before but heck, I am old, so will repeat myself.

I had driver's ed when the downsized FS chevy's were fairly new (it was 1978). At that point, all my driving was in a Beetle and a Volvo 144. Both sticks, manual steering and brakes. So, I had developed certain "habits".

first time I drove the Chebby, teacher had us go from one telephone pole, and stop at the next one. Well, starting was fine, I knew how ATs worked. But, power brakes were a new concept. Get to the next pole, and mash the brake pedal. I think I bounced the front bumper off the road it stopped so hard. Had to adjust the touch after that.

Hey, you try stopping a 4 wheel disk manual brake 69 Volvo without some serious pressure on the pedal. It ain't happening!

My experience was just the opposite, the cars I learned on in drivers ed had power steering and power brakes. My dad had a Maverick with manual brakes and steering. Man was that a shock when I first started driving that car.

Now my main problem in drivers ed was that our school had one drivers ed car that had hand controls for students that were disabled. Well in my class we had a paraplegic who was taking drivers ed the same time I was but in a different class. They set the seat in that car for him and told all the classes that if they used that one car they couldn't change the seat settings. Guess which 6 foot 2 poster in this forum got assigned that car. Talk about getting wedged into a seat, I am still not sure how I was able to get in there are actually drive that car.

snakeweasel · October 2016

rf/'90hb

Sorry that above is the wit and wisdom of my 8 month old grandson who is over here now. My wife placed him on my lap when I was sitting at my computer. he started banging on the keyboard and did a bunch of stuff to my computer including that little gem above and posted it somehow.

murphydog · October 2016

As I continue to look at convertibles, I ran a search on 2015+ Mustang GT drop tops. Seems like a heck of a deal. I found page after page on auto-trader under 10,000 miles and in the low $30's for price. Typically they are very nicely equipped.

Seems like this might be something to seriously start looking at come spring.

snakeweasel · October 2016

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:
My question is that blind spot warning supposed to act like that and why?
The blind spot warning is a solid orange when the car is stationary and up to 30 mph (you were still observant to say 20 mph).

That's a strange way for the blind spot warning to operate. Why wouldn't it turn off if there's no one in the danger area?

My '14 Malibu's blind spot is off until there's someone in the adjacent lane, then it turns on solid. If I start to change lanes the lane control beeps and the light in the mirror flashes. If I turn on my turn signal and there's someone in the blind area, the light in the mirror flashes like crazy, whether I wander over the lane markers or not.

Sitting still there's no orange light blinding me from the mirror if the lane's empty.

My guess is that by being on...just an orange light, it shows it is operating. If the light was off, you may think the blind spot device has been deactivated.

I like it the way it is. If I am stopped at a light with cars on both sides of me, I don't need the flashing light or a constant orange light to tell me there are cars next to me, I am not going to be changing lanes anyway.

It is just an orange light.....doesn't blind.....looks like an orange dot on the mirror. I have never thought it was a problem and wouldn't want to change it........I like it this way better personally.

It is like locking your doors with a key FOB, it seems American cars have a honking horn when you lock your cars with the FOB. It seems to me most European cars just blink their lights to signify the car is locked......do we really need the horn honking? I see people turn and look or jump in the air, just because someone locks their car.

I look at it this way, most people lock their doors with their fob as they walk away from their car. The horn honking will let you know the car was locked, if you just have the lights flash you wouldn't know unless you turned around and looked when you did it.

snakeweasel · October 2016

stever said:
I kind of like it. Reminds me of people who buy very high end bikes and then rattle-can them day-glow orange to make 'em look junky and not worth stealing.

I think they paint them day-glow green in order to be better seen.

snakeweasel · October 2016

murphydog said:
As I continue to look at convertibles, I ran a search on 2015+ Mustang GT drop tops. Seems like a heck of a deal. I found page after page on auto-trader under 10,000 miles and in the low $30's for price. Typically they are very nicely equipped.

Seems like this might be something to seriously start looking at come spring.

Might be able to get better deals now seeing that people tend not to look at convertibles during fall and winter.

nyccarguy · October 2016

I saw this camo wrapped Acura TL SH AWD on my way home a few weeks ago

nyccarguy · October 2016

ab348 · October 2016

snakeweasel said:

I think they paint them day-glow green in order to be better seen.

I thought that was the reason they took the mufflers off?

driver100 · October 2016

snakeweasel"

I look at it this way, most people lock their doors with their fob as they walk away from their car. The horn honking will let you know the car was locked, if you just have the lights flash you wouldn't know unless you turned around and looked when you did it

.

And the point being it is just too difficult to bend your head a bit to see if the lights flash when you point your key FOB at the car.

It is better to scare little old ladies and wake up sleeping babies with a honking horn?

driver100 · October 2016

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:
I do have a question for the Mercedes crowd here. On the way to work this morning I got behind a Benz SUV. While stopped in traffic for a series of lights I could easily see the drivers side mirror and I noticed that the blind spot warning light was on when we were stopped. I found this very odd as we were in the left lane with a wide raised divider separating us from oncoming traffic so there was nothing there that would set it off. As we drove off it stayed on until we hit about 20 MPH then went off. It seemed to come on again once the speed went below 20 MPH. All this time s/he was in the left lane with nothing to his/her left to set it off.

My question is that blind spot warning supposed to act like that and why?
The blind spot warning is a solid orange when the car is stationary and up to 30 mph (you were still observant to say 20 mph)
When you reach 30 mph the orange light goes off. Then it will flash if there is a car in your blindspot.
If you put your signal light on, and if there is a car in your blindspot, there will be a loud beeping noise.

I think it was designed this way because at low speeds you could have all kinds of cars next to you, and they would make the blindspot warning meaningless....so it really starts once you reach 30 mph.
It seems totally useless to be on all the time at low speeds and when stopped. It does no good any anyone would likely treat it as it was off, as being on and being off are basically the same thing.

By being on it made you think trying to figure out why it was glowing orange. The more your brain has to work the less chance of dementia later in life.

houdini1 · October 2016

Too late for most of us !

fintail · October 2016

Plate reminds me of one of the few tolerable stick figure sticker themes:

re: MB mirror warnings, I will keep an eye on mine next time I drive, keep forgetting.

nyccarguy said:
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oldfarmer50 · October 2016

nyccarguy said:

Is that your new ride? If it is I want to be your new best friend.

explorerx4 · October 2016

My ex neighbor has the same car(Z06/Z07). I saw it at a local car show last spring. He has 3 pretty much grown up kids. Maybe he sold it. How many of those can there be in CT?

ab348 · October 2016

I stumbled onto this 1987 film by Citroen titled Citroen CX Coast to Coast. It has not a single word of dialog but some cool music and scenery, a handsome guy and a very pretty lady, and a pair of Citroen CX sedans in all sorts of settings. I found it quite entertaining for both the film itself and the '80s image of cutting-edge automotive tech!

https://youtu.be/zBVIBW3fdLM

driver100 · October 2016

ab348 said:
I stumbled onto this 1987 film by Citroen titled Citroen CX Coast to Coast. It has not a single word of dialog but some cool music and scenery, a handsome guy and a very pretty lady, and a pair of Citroen CX sedans in all sorts of settings. I found it quite entertaining for both the film itself and the '80s image of cutting-edge automotive tech!

https://youtu.be/zBVIBW3fdLM

I skimmed through a bit, my impressions;
*How in the world did you come upon it?
*What are they doing driving Citroens across America.....what if they needed service?
*It was well done and the music was really nice
*I am glad those two hit it off....at least they have something in common, they both love driving Citroens
*Makes me want to buy a Citroen!

driver100 · October 2016

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

Is that your new ride? If it is I want to be your new best friend.

I feel terrible, but, that Corvette does absolutely nothing for me. I know I am a dinosaur, not fond of change, but that car has odd angles going all different ways, the grill looks really ugly.

Call me an old fossil, but, I like this Vette much more;

berri · October 2016

I kind of like the Corvette's from around 61 through 67 personally.

ab348 · October 2016

driver100 said:

I skimmed through a bit, my impressions;
*How in the world did you come upon it?
*What are they doing driving Citroens across America.....what if they needed service?
*It was well done and the music was really nice
*I am glad those two hit it off....at least they have something in common, they both love driving Citroens
*Makes me want to buy a Citroen!

Someone else posted the link on Twitter. Don't know how he found it. With only 1200 views not many had.

I imagine they had a factory van full of parts and techs nearby. Hard to understand the rationale since these were not sold in the US at the time AFAIK.

The CX was a very futuristic-looking car and had all sorts of cool features, some useful, some less so. I know little about them but I gather they did not sell many and it had some issues with rust and things breaking. I like the part where they cross the rocky washout using the adjustable ride height. And how the young lady had her car up to 180 km/h at one point!

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Well they ended up in perhaps the only place in America you could actually get a Citroen repaired. Good move!

cdnpinhead · October 2016

The thing I like most about the Corvette is the license plate.

fintail · October 2016

There was a couple private importers of CX during the 80s - a moderate handful were actually sold in the US. The design goes back to 1975, pretty remarkable for that. A labor of love to keep going today, no doubt.

oldfarmer50 · October 2016

Speaking of Corvettes...

I went out with my niece to look at cheap cars today. I guess I'm the "car guy" in my family now. Her father is not and wanted nothing to do with it. Me, I love car shopping and spending other people's money. So we end up in the woods about 30 minutes away looking at a 2001 Sentra with 89k miles. While we're checking it out the owner opens up his garage and there's a C5 Vette convertible inside. Red on black interior. Sweet. I like the style of the C5s better than newer models. We start swapping Corvette stories to the point I almost forgot what I came to do. Turned out he worked at my old Alma Mater. What a small world.

Anyway the Sentra was a little rusty underneath and had a warped front rotor but was in darn good shape for a 16 yo car. We agreed to a $1000 price and the niece is dancing on air. Book was between $1400 and $1700.

I offered him another thousand for the Vette but he declined.

stickguy · October 2016

not bad looking for a grand. Hope the rust is not too bad, or making in structurally unsafe. Can do some reinforcement for not too much money if you aren't a perfectionist!

stickguy · October 2016

I saw a funny window cling (stick figure) decal today. On a modified (aren't they all?) Wrangler Unlimited.

said something like "no one cares about your stick figure family" and showed a Jeep plowing through a stick family and them flying all over.

Well, I found it funny. Maybe not very PC though.

oldfarmer50 · October 2016

stickguy said:
not bad looking for a grand. Hope the rust is not too bad, or making in structurally unsafe. Can do some reinforcement for not too much money if you aren't a perfectionist!

Nah, the rust will eventually eat into the sub frame just like on my son's old Caddy but this is no where near as bad. I figure she's got 3-4 good years of use. The drive train is flawless as far as my limited ability can judge. By then parents or future hubby will buy her another one. Being cute has it's advantages.

driver100 · October 2016

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:
not bad looking for a grand. Hope the rust is not too bad, or making in structurally unsafe. Can do some reinforcement for not too much money if you aren't a perfectionist!
Nah, the rust will eventually eat into the sub frame just like on my son's old Caddy but this is no where near as bad. I figure she's got 3-4 good years of use. The drive train is flawless as far as my limited ability can judge. By then parents or future hubby will buy her another one. Being cute has it's advantages.

Nice little car and for a $1000 if it lasts for 3 or 4 years it is the deal of the century. Good luck, hope the car holds up, because if there is a problem, you know who will be blamed

My experience is, if the car is good you will get an initial thank you, then you will never hear about it again, but, if the car is a lemon, you will never hear the end of it. Helping someone buy a car can be a thankless experience, unlees youo can accept you just feel good about it.

driver100 · October 2016

Mike update; Had the surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. Just came out of it 3 days ago. They got all the cancer. He will have a long slow recovery, first thing will be to start rehabilitation, walking in the hallways at the hospital. Could be some cardiac issues. Seems to have gone about as well as it could go for now. I will say hi from you all, I know you wish him all the best.

ab348 · October 2016

I was thinking about Mike earlier this weekend, was going to ask but figured you would post when you heard anything. Glad the cancer has been dealt with. He had cardiac issues prior so hopefully he'll wrestle those down too. My best wishes to him.

houdini1 · October 2016

ab348 said:
I was thinking about Mike earlier this weekend, was going to ask but figured you would post when you heard anything. Glad the cancer has been dealt with. He had cardiac issues prior so hopefully he'll wrestle those down too. My best wishes to him.

Ditto !!

driver100 · October 2016

ab348 said:
I was thinking about Mike earlier this weekend, was going to ask but figured you would post when you heard anything. Glad the cancer has been dealt with. He had cardiac issues prior so hopefully he'll wrestle those down too. My best wishes to him.

Perfect, couldn't have said it better myself....just glad it is going in the right direction.

driver100 · October 2016

Another thought, I like this more than the new Vette....may not be as fast, but, it just looks better to me.

stickguy · October 2016

I saw two of them this weekend. A red one, parked in a driveway, top up. Then today, driving around top down, and orange one. I do like these. If I had the money, would take a look!

oldfarmer50 · October 2016

driver100 said:
Mike update; Had the surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. Just came out of it 3 days ago. They got all the cancer. He will have a long slow recovery, first thing will be to start rehabilitation, walking in the hallways at the hospital. Could be some cardiac issues. Seems to have gone about as well as it could go for now. I will say hi from you all, I know you wish him all the best.

Hope it all works out for him.

oldfarmer50 · October 2016

driver100 said:
Another thought, I like this more than the new Vette....may not be as fast, but, it just looks better to me.

Cute

nyccarguy · October 2016

@explorerx4 - that was just a "plain" C7 Corvette. Not a Z06.

stickguy · October 2016

I remember seeing a white Vette like that last year parking in a lot near me. Driver that got out made me look young. Dude had to be pushing 70, and looked like he belonged parking in front of a medical arts building! As a customer.

driver100 · October 2016

stickguy said:
I remember seeing a white Vette like that last year parking in a lot near me. Driver that got out made me look young. Dude had to be pushing 70, and looked like he belonged parking in front of a medical arts building! As a customer.

Was he in the handicap spot?

imidazol97 · October 2016

stickguy said:
I remember seeing a white Vette like that last year parking in a lot near me. Driver that got out made me look young. Dude had to be pushing 70, and looked like he belonged parking in front of a medical arts building! As a customer.

That's a harsh stereotype of us older folks! I'm feeling really old. LOL

imidazol97 · October 2016

driver100 said:
Was he in the handicap spot?

If he can get in and out of a Vette or similar car, he's not handicapped. That's work. I tried it in a $106K Vette in the showroom at a dealer.

henryn · October 2016

+1 My best wishes to Mike. I do miss his posts.

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