Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Mr_Shiftright · July 2018

abacomike said:

cdnpinhead said:

Some of us used to be important where we work(ed), some still are and others think they were or are. Keep the stories and responses coming. Each of us views them differently, but they're interesting for sure.

I've pretty much given up on retaining any self-respect, given the large corporate nature of where I work, but it's always interesting to see how the titans of industry or civil service on here see things.

The only people I knew, or know, who exhibited behaviors that they were overly important suffered from delusions of grandeur. No one is irreplaceable or so important that no one else could do their job as well, if not better, than they could. Happens every day in business, government, education, religion and even marriage - whenever a vacancy occurs - kind of like survival of the fittest. Just when you think you’re too vital or important in your position, you end up on your derrière.

Quote from Charles DeGaulle: "But Monsieur, the cemetery is filled with indispensable men..."

ab348 · July 2018

Speaking of corporate things I see where FCA and Ferrari have new CEOs because Sergio Marchionne has apparently suffered major complications after surgery a couple of weeks ago and is now in dire condition. Quite unexpected and sad to hear. The official statement said he would be unable to return to his former role which makes me wonder if he had a stroke. Tragic regardless of what it is. You don’t expect such things after a shoulder operation.

xwesx · July 2018

driver100 said:
Wow....a chance to escape Alaska and you are dithering

Hah! Yes, I am. I've pretty much written it off after talking with my wife. If I do this, I'm going alone. LOL

stickguy · July 2018

Geez. I could use some old friends calling with nice job offers with raises, in locations I like!

snakeweasel · July 2018

driver100 said:

Got into Nashville yesterday, trip was pretty uneventful except for a bottleneck in KY due to construction and some guy in a Chevy pickup that kept passing me and being passed by me even though I was on cruise control. In the Opryland hotel right now, if any of you get near here you have to stop by and walk through it. Got tickets for the Opry later tonight and on to Orlando tomorrow.
I love Opryland. Not my first favorite music, but, they put on a great show. And the performers are warm and talented. The audience is great too.....real nice people.

i spent many of my teenage years in Nashville only 10 minutes away from Opryland. All I can say is you can't go home again, and if you do you find that they built a mall there.

bwia · July 2018

GG, very interesting story---is this young woman, per chance, be the scammer Elizabeth Holmes the founder of Theranos looking for another round of financing? On the other hand scheduling a face to face meeting with you was a clever way of auditioning for a job at your company or better yet her way of trying to recruit you to her company.

driver100 · July 2018

GG I just got to the airport, only to find out my flight home is cancelled
And 11 p.m. is the next flight out, which means it’s a red-eye.

I’m livid!

RbWhat a moron.

Come on, there is no way GG is a moron!

driver100 · July 2018

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:
Got into Nashville yesterday, trip was pretty uneventful except for a bottleneck in KY due to construction and some guy in a Chevy pickup that kept passing me and being passed by me even though I was on cruise control. In the Opryland hotel right now, if any of you get near here you have to stop by and walk through it. Got tickets for the Opry later tonight and on to Orlando tomorrow.
I love Opryland. Not my first favorite music, but, they put on a great show. And the performers are warm and talented. The audience is great too.....real nice people.

i spent many of my teenage years in Nashville only 10 minutes away from Opryland. All I can say is you can't go home again, and if you do you find that they built a mall there.

Once we had a great house in the country.....the living room was a 150 year old log farmhouse, and the modern house was built around that. We sold it and we had to go there one day to deliver something. They would walk on carpets with muddy boots, the 3 car garage was filled with junk, there was all kinds of junk left in the driveway, the curtains were dangling. My wife was very upset, she designed the house......so true, better to remember it the way it was.

snakeweasel · July 2018

driver100 said:

driver100 said:

Got into Nashville yesterday, trip was pretty uneventful except for a bottleneck in KY due to construction and some guy in a Chevy pickup that kept passing me and being passed by me even though I was on cruise control. In the Opryland hotel right now, if any of you get near here you have to stop by and walk through it. Got tickets for the Opry later tonight and on to Orlando tomorrow.
I love Opryland. Not my first favorite music, but, they put on a great show. And the performers are warm and talented. The audience is great too.....real nice people.

i spent many of my teenage years in Nashville only 10 minutes away from Opryland. All I can say is you can't go home again, and if you do you find that they built a mall there.
Once we had a great house in the country.....the living room was a 150 year old log farmhouse, and the modern house was built around that. We sold it and we had to go there one day to deliver something. They would walk on carpets with muddy boots, the 3 car garage was filled with junk, there was all kinds of junk left in the driveway, the curtains were dangling. My wife was very upset, she designed the house......so true, better to remember it the way it was.

In this case Opyland was this great amusement park that was centered around shows, some of which were Briadway quality in their production. Since we lived so close and had season passes we went there very often, sometimes just to eat there since getting in cost us nothing. Had great memories of the place.

They tore it down and put up a large shopping mall.

driver100 · July 2018

I have been to the original building downtown, but the new auditorium we went to was called the Gaylord Auditorium I believe, and we stayed in the attached hotel which was beautiful. Is that Auditorium now called Ryman?
Whatever it is called, I'd like to go back one day.

bwia · July 2018

I am watching Tiger Woods making a comeback at the British Open. Go Tiger.

suydam · July 2018

I’m watching a lot of great players at the Open, including Tiger Woods. It’s going to be a great finish!

houdini1 · July 2018

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

houdini1 said:

Don't be surprised if she complains to your boss that you insulted her !!
Hopefully that would be all she does. In today's climate, all sorts of career-limiting complaints are possible.
Ain't that the truth. I was thinking the same thing.

Sexual harassment has always been something you had to be aware of but it is out of control today. It has gotten to the point that I sometimes think the only reason some people go to work is to see how much trouble they can create.

Here is a little story from my past that, if this was today, I'm not so sure I would have done this but I did know who I was talking with.

Back in the late 70's before I was coerced into management our group secretary, who had been recently divorced less than a year because of an unfaithful husband, came to me one day because she knew I dabbled with home maintenance and wanted some advice since she wanted to save the cost of hiring a plumber. She had come to me several times before and she was getting pretty good with things around the house from what she was telling me over the past several months. But now she wanted to know how to remove and replace a shut off valve in her basement that led to the outside hose bib. It was leaking and wouldn't shut off the water to the bib. She had already found that the screw that held the washer in place was corroded and could not be removed so that she could just replace the washer. Fall was coming and she knew she had to shut off the water so that the bib didn't freeze with winter coming. The bib was not leaking, only the shut off capability of the inside shut off valve which was about a foot from the basement concrete block wall and was connected with copper tubing. Like I said, she was getting pretty good at things around the house and knew what had to be done. OK, that's the lead-in to the story which I will tell via my conversation method:

She comes into my cube one morning and said.

Her: Hey jmonroe, I want you to tell me how to sweat.

Me: Run around the building a couple times at lunch time. That otta do it.

Her: No damn it, I'm serious.

That is when she told me what she wanted to do.

Me: I could tell you but it probably won't help you very much because that is something you have to see done a few times before you try it yourself.

Just as I'm about to tell her I can come over and do it, she said.

Her: I sorta thought that, so maybe I should take up my neighbors offer to do it. He said he's done it a couple times and has been successful sweating copper tubing but I didn't want to bother him.

Me: As long as you're confident that he can help, that might not be a bad idea.

Her: I might as well since I really can't afford a plumber right now.

I guess this is the time to say she is about my age, pretty attractive with 2 kids about my kids age. So, to have some fun I say.

Me: Are you sure he just wants to be helpful and doesn't want something else.

She is still sensitive about her divorce and says in an irritated voice.

Her: DAMN IT JMONROE, IS THAT ALL YOU GUYS EVER THINK ABOUT?

Not wanting to sound like she has intimidated me I pause to calm myself and say.

Me: Ah, ahhh...no, but it beats the hell out of everything that's in second place.

No harm done because I knew who I was talking to. FWIW, she had her neighbor replace the valve and she told me she could not have done it herself with just verbal instructions but now that she saw it done, she thinks she could do it herself. However, I never heard her say she ever did it, so not sure about that.

Again, you have to know who you are talking to.

jmonroe

OK, you got me monroe. Start off with something interesting, me thinking you might have been compromised, and then on to a very dull, drab, ending. You're getting good at this. Fooled me into reading a long post !!

graphicguy · July 2018

bwia said:
GG, very interesting story---is this young woman, per chance, be the scammer Elizabeth Holmes the founder of Theranos looking for another round of financing? On the other hand scheduling a face to face meeting with you was a clever way of auditioning for a job at your company or better yet her way of trying to recruit you to her company.

Thanks for letting me vent, guys.

@bwia ....funny you should mention that. I emailed my trip report to my boss yesterday (along with my expense report for the trip). He emailed his reply which is almost the same as your assessment. He said not to be surprised if she asks for an intro to the hiring manager at my company, or to offer another “meet and greet” to try and recruit me.

I told her that there were holes in her business plan. A VC or angel investor would have probably picked up on that if I was able to, as I’m not a person who deals in business plans on a daily basis.

Funny, I got an email from her yesterday asking me to sign an NDA....AFTER THE FACT!. I’m not allowed to sign NDAs without passing it through my legal dept, which usually takes months, and certainly don’t come out in tact.

That’s just bad business...sharing your company business plans and tech without having an NDA in place....BEFORE HAND!

Clearly she’s doing a doggy paddle in the deep end. Either her lack of experience or arrogance is not helping her in this situation.

And no, not Elizabeth Holmes, although they share some silimar traits.

graphicguy · July 2018

RB...those a beautiful cars. Looks like a fun day.

graphicguy · July 2018

@snakeweasel ....Nashville is one of my favorite U.S. cities. Have stayed at the Gaylord. It’s beautiful, even if you just walk through without staying there.

@driver100....like you, I’m not a big country music fan. But, if you hit some of the tiny bars on Broadway, you’ likely to find some good music of all stripe, performed by talented folks who toil away in the hopes they can make the leap to the next level. I’ve heard some really good talent on some dives on Broadway.

ab348 · July 2018

suydam said:
I’m watching a lot of great players at the Open, including Tiger Woods. It’s going to be a great finish!

I'd love to see stats on how much air time NBC gave to other top players vs. Mr. Woods. Justin Rose just made birdie on 18 to take the lead in the clubhouse and I don't think I saw him today previously. I get that a lot of people are fans of and want to see Woods win again but really, NBC.

suydam · July 2018

He was playing well ahead of the leaders. It’s been pretty well split between the 7 who are all on the leaderboard. Awesome performance by Rose the last 3 days.

cdnpinhead · July 2018

Unlike anyone else, when Mr. Woods is in contention TV ratings skyrocket. He did more for golf than anyone in recent history -- a couple of names come to mind as runners-up, but that's exactly what they are (Palmer, Nicklaus). It'd be interesting to plot TV ratings over the past 20 years. While Tiger had lost his groove, I'm guessing they dove.

Perhaps not.

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

What, you guys aren't getting paid for your long posts like jmonroe and I are? Turn your bills in to Edmunds at once! If we break 500 words we get $100 extra, right, jmonroe?

I want an airplane hangar of cars like Jay Leno has. Gonna be tough to catch him, but I can get behind anything!

Mr_Shiftright · July 2018

We pay by the click, not the word. So it pays to be interesting around here.

suydam · July 2018

Golf is doing just fine. So many fine younger players now, like Justin Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Ricky Fowler. And congrats to a great win today by Francesco Molinari!

imidazol97 · July 2018

But golf courses here have been closing for years now. Aging players. Younger folks not interested. Interest in watching golf on TV may be different, but the game itself is on the down trend. Anyone want to buy a set of used clubs?

Mr_Shiftright · July 2018

Golf just isn't cool anymore I guess.

ab348 · July 2018

I’m old enough to remember when Jack Nicklaus was at his peak and don’t recall the level of hype that the networks now give to Tiger applied to him. They treat him like a Kardashian.

suydam · July 2018

That’s because he is the greatest golfer ever. PLAYING golf is down in the US, but not in the rest of the world. WATCHING golf is different. I think if we had more 9 hole courses like they do in Europe it would be different. Here it’s a commitment a lot of people don’t have time for.

houdini1 · July 2018

Amateur golf is doing well where I live. Most of my current good friends are people I met playing golf. I love the game and have been playing since my teens, so over 50 years. Shot my age at 72 in 2015 and have shot my age or better at least once every year since then. Great hobby and gives my wife some relief when I am away playing and out of her hair.

jmonroe · July 2018

iluvmysephia1 said:
What, you guys aren't getting paid for your long posts like jmonroe and I are? Turn your bills in to Edmunds at once! If we break 500 words we get $100 extra, right, jmonroe?

I want an airplane hangar of cars like Jay Leno has. Gonna be tough to catch him, but I can get behind anything!

I hate to be the one to tell you this @Iluv but you must have joined Edmunds when the union was weak. My 500 word bonus is $150.

jmonroe

jmonroe · July 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:
We pay by the click, not the word. So it pays to be interesting around here.

Just like me, huh?

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

Yes, much like you, jmonroe!

fintail · July 2018

Golf is still big out here, many of my co-workers are really into it. It just becomes a drinking game for me

My grandma is also into it, she likes to watch it on TV with the sound muted.

ab348 · July 2018

suydam said:
That’s because he is the greatest golfer ever.

I would suggest not, but there is really no way to determine that.

suydam · July 2018

No one has broken his record of 18 major victories yet. Not even close.

ab348 · July 2018

suydam said:
No one has broken his record of 18 major victories yet. Not even close.

Ummmm...

"Jack Nicklaus has won the most majors, achieving 18 victories during his career. Second on the list is Tiger Woods, who has won 14 majors to date; his most recent major victory was at the 2008 U.S. Open. Walter Hagen is third with 11 majors; he and Nicklaus have both won the most PGA Championships with five."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_men's_major_championships_winning_golfers

suydam · July 2018

Yes, only Tiger Woods has a prayer and at his age that’s very unlikely. AND “Additionally, Nicklaus shares the record for the most U.S. Open victories with Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan, each winning four times.[8] Harry Vardon holds the record for the most Open Championship victories, winning six times during his career.[9] Nicklaus, Woods, Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen are the only golfers to have won all four of the majors during their career,[10] thus achieving the so-called career slam.” He also won the PGA 5 times, a record he shares with Hagen, and won the Master’s 6 times. It is so unusual for sports records to hold up this long.

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

I'm still searching. I found a 2017 Nissan Sentra S in Aspen White at Bill Luke Tempe selling for $12,500. That's if I finance the purchase through Bill Luke. The price jumps to $13,500 if you bring in your own bank financing.

BASIC INFO
Body: 4D Sedan
Mileage: 5,964
HWY: 37 MPG†
Based on 2017 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
City: 29 MPG†
Exterior: Aspen White
Interior: Charcoal
Engine: 1.8L 4-Cylinder DOHC 16V
Trans: 6-Speed Manual

It is a stick and these cars look good in white to me. Less than 6,000 miles? It is a one-owner and the Car Fax is clean.

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

https://youtu.be/vHCan0NM9jE

While I search for Sentra's I'm watching YouTube videos on the 2013 Ford Focus ST. The reviews are very complimentary of the car's power and actually it's overall build quality. The '13 Ford Focus ST in Tangerine Scream is still for sale for $11,500 in Alamo with 61,000 miles on it.

2013 Ford Focus ST 6-speed

I finally spotted a defect on it's body. It's on the left rear qtr.panel just rear of the wheel well - it's a dinky scrape probably 3/4 of an inch long and it's black. I could just treat that one myself. The Recaro seats fit front two riders like a glove. The family Sentra S or the fast hatchback in Tangerine Scream? Both 6-speed sticks - the ghastly mileage would favor the Sentra S by about 5 mpg I would guess.

Or just hold with the '11 Kia Soul and continue paying the pup off in order to not have any underwater cash to finance with the purchase. The latter is no doubt my best route.

abacomike · July 2018

Let’s face it, Molinari was the best golfer at the Open today. Not as technical in his game as Spieth or Thomas or even Woods - but he was consistent and did not make errors. He played “his” game.

I am a fan of Woods because of his accomplishments. Spieth, Thomas, McElroy, and Fowler along with about 8-9 other twenty-somethings are the future of golf. Before Woods, I rarely watched golf on TV. Now, I watch it all the time.

Drives off the tee used to be 275-290 yards - now 320-350 yards is quite common. This younger generation of pro golfers concentrate on physical fitness and work out in the gym every chance they get along with their personal trainers. They use computer programs and cameras to evaluate their swings. They are technicians with an army of specialists coaching them on every motion. They are phenoms - but are superior in their game because of the technology, training and physical fitness which serve to expand their God-given skills and talents.

Woods grabbed the attention of the world because of his talent and the twenty-somethings have rekindled that attention to make golf a great spectator sport. I can’t play golf very well, but I love watching these guys play and am awed by their talents.

dino001 · July 2018

iluvmysephia1 said:
I'm still searching. I found a 2017 Nissan Sentra S in Aspen White at Bill Luke Tempe selling for $12,500. That's if I finance the purchase through Bill Luke. The price jumps to $13,500 if you bring in your own bank financing.

Big red flag. Expect bait and switch and all other tricks in the book. Proceed with extreme caution.

suydam · July 2018

@iluvmysephia1, I just don’t think the Sentra is going to make you happy.
@abacomike, totally agree that Molinari was the best golfer over the course this weekend. To play all bogey-free, plus 2 birdies, in that wind, on a Sunday, was phenomenal. And how exciting that he is the first Italian to win a major! A great golf tournament with so many amazing golfers all bunched together on the final day.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2018

suydam said:
No one has broken his record of 18 major victories yet. Not even close.

But you're only as good as your last movie, as they say in Hollywood.

suydam · July 2018

Well, that record has stood since 1986, and there have been many great golfers since then, so . . .

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

@iluvmysephia1, I just don’t think the Sentra is going to make you happy.

I think you might be right, suydam. That's why I'm looking in to the hot hatches. The '13 Ford Focus ST 6-speed goes head-ta-head against the Mazdaspeed3! and wins because they like it's suspension setup more and it's wonderful ability ta hold the corner going in to a turn fast. FWD torquesteer appears to have been mastered by Ford engineers with this car. Wonderfully entertaining video here.

https://youtu.be/OISFrU4I_7s

roadburner · July 2018

The ST may have a "wonderful ability," but it's not enough to keep the MS3 from beating it by nearly 1.5 seconds around VIR. A real LSD makes a huge difference. No knock on the ST for a street driven car, however.

roadburner · July 2018

One last shot from Keeneland- my Club Sport. I didn't trophy, but there's no shame in losing to a 507 and a 1600 GT...

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

Yeah, they mention that the ST doesn't have LSD and the 3 does. Ford uses torque vectoring and these guys loved it's track manners better.

roadburner · July 2018

Again, it's not an issue on a purely street driven car, but on the track the ST will use up it's front brakes all too quickly. The front binders get really hot braking for a corner, then instead of getting a chance to cool they get used again when the driver accelerates out of the corner.

jmonroe · July 2018

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

houdini1 said:

Don't be surprised if she complains to your boss that you insulted her !!
Hopefully that would be all she does. In today's climate, all sorts of career-limiting complaints are possible.
Ain't that the truth. I was thinking the same thing.

Sexual harassment has always been something you had to be aware of but it is out of control today. It has gotten to the point that I sometimes think the only reason some people go to work is to see how much trouble they can create.

Here is a little story from my past that, if this was today, I'm not so sure I would have done this but I did know who I was talking with.

Back in the late 70's before I was coerced into management our group secretary, who had been recently divorced less than a year because of an unfaithful husband, came to me one day because she knew I dabbled with home maintenance and wanted some advice since she wanted to save the cost of hiring a plumber. She had come to me several times before and she was getting pretty good with things around the house from what she was telling me over the past several months. But now she wanted to know how to remove and replace a shut off valve in her basement that led to the outside hose bib. It was leaking and wouldn't shut off the water to the bib. She had already found that the screw that held the washer in place was corroded and could not be removed so that she could just replace the washer. Fall was coming and she knew she had to shut off the water so that the bib didn't freeze with winter coming. The bib was not leaking, only the shut off capability of the inside shut off valve which was about a foot from the basement concrete block wall and was connected with copper tubing. Like I said, she was getting pretty good at things around the house and knew what had to be done. OK, that's the lead-in to the story which I will tell via my conversation method:

She comes into my cube one morning and said.

Her: Hey jmonroe, I want you to tell me how to sweat.

Me: Run around the building a couple times at lunch time. That otta do it.

Her: No damn it, I'm serious.

That is when she told me what she wanted to do.

Me: I could tell you but it probably won't help you very much because that is something you have to see done a few times before you try it yourself.

Just as I'm about to tell her I can come over and do it, she said.

Her: I sorta thought that, so maybe I should take up my neighbors offer to do it. He said he's done it a couple times and has been successful sweating copper tubing but I didn't want to bother him.

Me: As long as you're confident that he can help, that might not be a bad idea.

Her: I might as well since I really can't afford a plumber right now.

I guess this is the time to say she is about my age, pretty attractive with 2 kids about my kids age. So, to have some fun I say.

Me: Are you sure he just wants to be helpful and doesn't want something else.

She is still sensitive about her divorce and says in an irritated voice.

Her: DAMN IT JMONROE, IS THAT ALL YOU GUYS EVER THINK ABOUT?

Not wanting to sound like she has intimidated me I pause to calm myself and say.

Me: Ah, ahhh...no, but it beats the hell out of everything that's in second place.

No harm done because I knew who I was talking to. FWIW, she had her neighbor replace the valve and she told me she could not have done it herself with just verbal instructions but now that she saw it done, she thinks she could do it herself. However, I never heard her say she ever did it, so not sure about that.

Again, you have to know who you are talking to.

jmonroe
OK, you got me monroe. Start off with something interesting, me thinking you might have been compromised, and then on to a very dull, drab, ending. You're getting good at this. Fooled me into reading a long post !!

I'll take that as a complement that I haven't lost my touch and can still keep my readers entertained. Maybe I should ask @driver100 to find me a publisher for my upcoming million word book. I figure he's got to know of at least one. Hell, he might even want to get back in the biz and peddle it or sell installments to Edmunds so everyone in here can enjoy it.

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1 · July 2018

If I were to want to take my Ford Focus ST to the track a lot that could be a concern, for sure.

snakeweasel · July 2018

driver100 said:

I have been to the original building downtown, but the new auditorium we went to was called the Gaylord Auditorium I believe, and we stayed in the attached hotel which was beautiful. Is that Auditorium now called Ryman? Whatever it is called, I'd like to go back one day.

The Ryman is the old building, but not the original stage. I think the new one is just called the Grand ole Opry house.

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