Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

carnaught · December 2018

jmonroe1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
The Kona EV won't be available until 2019.
You'll have to tell Hyundai about that. When I go to the Hyundai site and select 2019 Kona, they only show various gas engines for all Kona trim levels. Maybe Hyundai knows I don't buy Hyundai anymore since I dumped them when I moved up the chain to the Genesis company.

jmonroe

You can do it. I went from a Lexus back down to a Toyota

.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2018

stickguy said:
yes and no. no, if the car business let him establish the rest of that stuff.

maybe his LT play was to get it up and running, sell off the car making part to someone like GM, and then just support the whole industry. Makes sense to then license the supercharger technology to other makes too to leverage that network.

Possibly, although the Gigafactory isn't currently (haha) producing very much. It's not even getting much power from the solar arrays--it still relies mostly on the local grid. There are big plans afoot, no doubt, but also huge challenges. Even if Tesla manages to corner the battery market, it still has to ship those around the world--or build factories around the world--and it still has to cope with the present tariff wars.

If the plan is to tell off the car division, it's still a long way off from being able to afford to do so.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

I just got my first “your car is just what we want” from the Ford dealer where I bought the Mustang. They are saying that even though I have 20 payments left (about $8500), they can put me in a new Mustang for the same monthly amount.

How is that possible, extend the loan from 60 months to 84? Magic? Maybe give me $8500 off the new car?

I must admit, this kind of finance is beyond me.

tifighter · December 2018

Mr_Shiftright said:

stickguy said:
yes and no. no, if the car business let him establish the rest of that stuff.

maybe his LT play was to get it up and running, sell off the car making part to someone like GM, and then just support the whole industry. Makes sense to then license the supercharger technology to other makes too to leverage that network.
Possibly, although the Gigafactory isn't currently (haha) producing very much. It's not even getting much power from the solar arrays--it still relies mostly on the local grid. There are big plans afoot, no doubt, but also huge challenges. Even if Tesla manages to corner the battery market, it still has to ship those around the world--or build factories around the world--and it still has to cope with the present tariff wars.

If the plan is to tell off the car division, it's still a long way off from being able to afford to do so.

The planned Gigafactory completion is still 2 years away-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uutpyRhKNko

Re: tariffs, they aren't building GF3 in Shanghai by accident. And they're the first company allowed into China without being forced into a joint venture. I'm more confident that Tesla will be around in 10 years than I am some other companies, like a Mazda, for example.

henryn · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

I could live with 5000 miles a year since that’s more than we put on my wife's car. Between 4 vehicles I only drive about 12,000 miles a year.

I put about 5k miles a year on my T&C, and about 3 to 4k per year on the truck. I used to average quite a bit more, but now that I live inside the loop, everything is much closer. Sometimes takes a lot longer to get there, due to traffic, but the miles are low.

henryn · December 2018

ab348 said:
As far as Fiat goes, I have low regard for what they are selling in North America at the moment. EXCEPT, I would love to drive a 500 Abarth. There are a couple zipping around here and I love the exhaust note and what seems like pretty good performance.

I haven't seen a 500 Abarth, so can't comment. I do see Fiat 500's, man those things are tiny. The only thing I ever see that is smaller is a "Smart Car". A Honda Fit looks big by comparison to a Fiat 500.

I almost bought a Honda Fit for a commute car, but the Honda dealer wouldn't negotiate on the price. I tried 3, all wanted MSRP, and 2 had dealer addons attached to every one in stock. Which shifted my attention to the Kia Soul, which was quite a bit better deal. But I finalized on the T&C minivan, and I'm glad I did.

Next month I will have owned the T&C for 2 years, which is a long time for me. And I wouldn't think of replacing it with anything other than another minivan, and most likely another Mopar because of the Stow-and-Go middle seats. I keep mine permanently folded away, and have a large rubber mat covering the entire middle section. Great for hauling dogs to the vet, and the sliding side doors make it very easy to load up the dogs.

benjaminh · December 2018

I like Tesla's designs, and apparently there's some good engineering underneath, although also some things that could be improved according this this 5-minute video on an engineering tear down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj1a8rdX6DU&t=62s

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I could live with 5000 miles a year since that’s more than we put on my wife's car. Between 4 vehicles I only drive about 12,000 miles a year.
I put about 5k miles a year on my T&C, and about 3 to 4k per year on the truck. I used to average quite a bit more, but now that I live inside the loop, everything is much closer. Sometimes takes a lot longer to get there, due to traffic, but the miles are low.

My work is only 6 miles away and the rest is mainly grocery runs. I think I put about twice as many miles on Enterprise cars than I do on my own.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

henryn said:

ab348 said:
As far as Fiat goes, I have low regard for what they are selling in North America at the moment. EXCEPT, I would love to drive a 500 Abarth. There are a couple zipping around here and I love the exhaust note and what seems like pretty good performance.
I haven't seen a 500 Abarth, so can't comment. I do see Fiat 500's, man those things are tiny. The only thing I ever see that is smaller is a "Smart Car". A Honda Fit looks big by comparison to a Fiat 500.

I almost bought a Honda Fit for a commute car, but the Honda dealer wouldn't negotiate on the price. I tried 3, all wanted MSRP, and 2 had dealer addons attached to every one in stock. Which shifted my attention to the Kia Soul, which was quite a bit better deal. But I finalized on the T&C minivan, and I'm glad I did.

Next month I will have owned the T&C for 2 years, which is a long time for me. And I wouldn't think of replacing it with anything other than another minivan, and most likely another Mopar because of the Stow-and-Go middle seats. I keep mine permanently folded away, and have a large rubber mat covering the entire middle section. Great for hauling dogs to the vet, and the sliding side doors make it very easy to load up the dogs.

I really like the T&C’s cousin, the Dodge Caravan. The auto press trashes it as low rent but even in rental car trim it has comfortable seats, nice road manners and that 3.6L Penstar engine has plenty of pep. I drove a well-miled example down from Burlington VT Monday and enjoyed it.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

benjaminh said:
I like Tesla's designs, and apparently there's some good engineering underneath, although also some things that could be improved according this this 5-minute video on an engineering tear down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj1a8rdX6DU&t=62s

Video says it’s blocked.

henryn · December 2018

If you're shopping in the used market, the Town and Country and the Grand Caravan are very similarly priced. Which makes it a no brainer to get the more nicely equipped T&C. The used market is almost all ex-rentals, but that isn't necessarily such a bad thing. My T&C was an Enterprise rental unit for the first 11 months and 34k miles, but it was in very nice condition when I bought it for a very hefty discount.

explorerx4 · December 2018

Stow and Go seats are great unless you have to sit in them.

benjaminh · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:
Video says it’s blocked.

If you click on the link you should be able to watch it directly on youtube.

benjaminh · December 2018

"VW has 800 million reasons to consider an Audi plant in the U.S.
December 5, 2018 @ 12:29 pm
Christoph Rauwald Bloomberg
FRANKFURT -- Making Audis in the U.S. could help Volkswagen Group protect almost $800 million in profit that its luxury-car unit reaps from the world’s second-biggest automotive market....About 700 million euros of the brand’s earnings before interest and taxes, or 15 percent of its total, comes from the U.S., estimates Michael Dean, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. The sum would be essentially wiped out if President Donald Trump followed through with a threat to impose a 25 percent duty on automotive imports from the European Union, BI estimates. VW Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess and other German car executives met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday in a bid to prevent the move.

Diess floated a number of options to increase U.S. output, including building a new plant or locating some production in Ford Motor Co. factories. Volkswagen is in advanced negotiations to expand the work at its plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., which still has extra capacity, but there are other options as well, Diess said.

"We need additional capacity here in the United States,” Diess said Tuesday. “We need an additional car plant for Volkswagen and Audi combined.”...."

http://www.autonews.com/article/20181205/OEM01/181209849/audi-trump-profits-production-mexico

imidazol97 · December 2018

benjaminh said:
I like Tesla's designs, and apparently there's some good engineering underneath, although also some things that could be improved according this this 5-minute video on an engineering tear down.

Interesting video. The presenter seems to have facts and have no bias for or con the Tesla.

imidazol97 · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:
As far as Fiat goes, I have low regard for what they are selling in North America at the moment. EXCEPT, I would love to drive a 500 Abarth. There are a couple zipping around here and I love the exhaust note and what seems like pretty good performance.
I haven't seen a 500 Abarth, so can't comment. I do see Fiat 500's, man those things are tiny. The only thing I ever see that is smaller is a "Smart Car". A Honda Fit looks big by comparison to a Fiat 500.

I almost bought a Honda Fit for a commute car, but the Honda dealer wouldn't negotiate on the price. I tried 3, all wanted MSRP, and 2 had dealer addons attached to every one in stock. Which shifted my attention to the Kia Soul, which was quite a bit better deal. But I finalized on the T&C minivan, and I'm glad I did.

Next month I will have owned the T&C for 2 years, which is a long time for me. And I wouldn't think of replacing it with anything other than another minivan, and most likely another Mopar because of the Stow-and-Go middle seats. I keep mine permanently folded away, and have a large rubber mat covering the entire middle section. Great for hauling dogs to the vet, and the sliding side doors make it very easy to load up the dogs.
n the other foreign brand they have available. I said I wanted the most cargo room with 3 people in the car.

I really like the T&C’s cousin, the Dodge Caravan. The auto press trashes it as low rent but even in rental car trim it has comfortable seats, nice road manners and that 3.6L Penstar engine has plenty of pep. I drove a well-miled example down from Burlington VT Monday and enjoyed it.

The doors are easy to open from remote, or the overhead console, or the handles. I was amazed at how easily various seats collapsed into the floor. No wonder the manager at the Enterprise store said I wanted one of those rather than the other brand they had on the lot. At 25000 miles, tight. I think the tires had been replaced however.

The Dodge Caravan we rented to get to Dublin for son's wedding was great. It had good seats. No, great seats. Things were more or less ergonomically well done. I tried not to have Malibu bias. Some more cupholders in the driver door might have helped like the Malibu has. Handling, ride, economy was great for vehicle that size. I'd rent one for a trip to Gatlinburg as long as I could turn on the SiriusXM ($6.95/da). My wife had little trouble climbing in and out with her bad back.

I'd suggest some kind of warning system that side doors OR rear hatch is open when car is put into any gear. If there is one of those warnings, I didn't notice it. Because the doors and hatch can be closed from the remote, or by hand, or from the overhead console, I started to leave the airport with the rear hatch up after sister-in-law hurried in catch a jumpseat ride to Chicago. But noticed it in time.

driver100 · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
I can't imagine why a knowledgeable mechanic would say that Nissans are junk. Very few mainstream cars built today are junk.
"Junk" is a vague and relative word that can mean different things to different people. What someone might consider junk today might have been considered top of the line 50 years ago. It's pretty much a judgment call but almost any car today will hold up for some time and deliver decent service for many years.
Making a blanket statement that a Nissan is "junk"is disrespectful to a brand of car that many people buy and like. I don't think a really good mechanic would make such a statement. People buy cars for various reasons. He has his preconceived ideas about Nissans and MBs, I don't think the kind of mechanic I would be looking for would make these sweeping unsubstantiated claims....how many Nissans has he worked on and how many Mercedes for one thing?

One car I would never buy is a Fiat....they seem to be flimsy and the past record has not been sterling. My friend got one as a winter beater when he didn't want to drive his Maserati in the snow. He loved that it could turn on a dime, easy to find a parking space, didn't worry about where he parked it. I wouldn't call a Fiat junk, there are people who buy them and like them.
Scotty Kilmer thinks Fiats are junk too. He cites initial sales figures of 50,000 units shrinking to 5,000 as proof.

As to Nissan, judge for yourself.

https://youtu.be/8h_r_OuJU-w

What he says may be true or maybe it isn't. Because of the way he talks and because of his anecdotal reasons for why a Nissan is junk I don't think Scotty has much credibility. I would be more inclined to trust CR or J D Powers if I was doing research about a particular brand.

qbrozen · December 2018

explorerx4 said:

Stow and Go seats are great unless you have to sit in them.

True. But at least they recline. And ours are heated, too.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

henryn said:
If you're shopping in the used market, the Town and Country and the Grand Caravan are very similarly priced. Which makes it a no brainer to get the more nicely equipped T&C. The used market is almost all ex-rentals, but that isn't necessarily such a bad thing. My T&C was an Enterprise rental unit for the first 11 months and 34k miles, but it was in very nice condition when I bought it for a very hefty discount.

I would think a minivan would be among the least abused rentals.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

explorerx4 said:
Stow and Go seats are great unless you have to sit in them.

Agreed. The middle seats are the worst in the vehicle. When riding in the chase vehicle I much prefer the third row.

imidazol97 · December 2018

The SXT we had showed no upholstery scuffs or damage inside. Might not be the showiest materials--the kind that the elite term "hard plastics," but was nice enough I'd welcome it to my garage if I needed one. The engine was great.
Six speed trasmission was a little too much in higher gears quickly or in "sport" mode (they had a different name, maybe it was normal and the soft version was "eco") it was really great.

imidazol97 · December 2018

Re the tear down analysis of the Tesla...
I saw tear downs of the AC compressors displayed at a GM related facility. You'd be amazed how junky some of the brands of auto AC compressors were back in the 2000 era. It's a wonder they worked at all when you'd see the parts spread on a display. The GM compressor showed the engineering in the variable compressor at that time.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

imidazol97 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:
As far as Fiat goes, I have low regard for what they are selling in North America at the moment. EXCEPT, I would love to drive a 500 Abarth. There are a couple zipping around here and I love the exhaust note and what seems like pretty good performance.
I haven't seen a 500 Abarth, so can't comment. I do see Fiat 500's, man those things are tiny. The only thing I ever see that is smaller is a "Smart Car". A Honda Fit looks big by comparison to a Fiat 500.

I almost bought a Honda Fit for a commute car, but the Honda dealer wouldn't negotiate on the price. I tried 3, all wanted MSRP, and 2 had dealer addons attached to every one in stock. Which shifted my attention to the Kia Soul, which was quite a bit better deal. But I finalized on the T&C minivan, and I'm glad I did.

Next month I will have owned the T&C for 2 years, which is a long time for me. And I wouldn't think of replacing it with anything other than another minivan, and most likely another Mopar because of the Stow-and-Go middle seats. I keep mine permanently folded away, and have a large rubber mat covering the entire middle section. Great for hauling dogs to the vet, and the sliding side doors make it very easy to load up the dogs.
n the other foreign brand they have available. I said I wanted the most cargo room with 3 people in the car.

I really like the T&C’s cousin, the Dodge Caravan. The auto press trashes it as low rent but even in rental car trim it has comfortable seats, nice road manners and that 3.6L Penstar engine has plenty of pep. I drove a well-miled example down from Burlington VT Monday and enjoyed it.
The doors are easy to open from remote, or the overhead console, or the handles. I was amazed at how easily various seats collapsed into the floor. No wonder the manager at the Enterprise store said I wanted one of those rather than the other brand they had on the lot. At 25000 miles, tight. I think the tires had been replaced however.

The Dodge Caravan we rented to get to Dublin for son's wedding was great. It had good seats. No, great seats. Things were more or less ergonomically well done. I tried not to have Malibu bias. Some more cupholders in the driver door might have helped like the Malibu has. Handling, ride, economy was great for vehicle that size. I'd rent one for a trip to Gatlinburg as long as I could turn on the SiriusXM ($6.95/da). My wife had little trouble climbing in and out with her bad back.

I'd suggest some kind of warning system that side doors OR rear hatch is open when car is put into any gear. If there is one of those warnings, I didn't notice it. Because the doors and hatch can be closed from the remote, or by hand, or from the overhead console, I started to leave the airport with the rear hatch up after sister-in-law hurried in catch a jumpseat ride to Chicago. But noticed it in time.

There’s a button behind the third row which will close the hatch. You’re right about no warning light, many times the chase driver started to drive with the hatch wide open.

What other brand minivan did Enterprise have? I’ve only seen Chrysler products.

oldfarmer50 · December 2018

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
I can't imagine why a knowledgeable mechanic would say that Nissans are junk. Very few mainstream cars built today are junk.
"Junk" is a vague and relative word that can mean different things to different people. What someone might consider junk today might have been considered top of the line 50 years ago. It's pretty much a judgment call but almost any car today will hold up for some time and deliver decent service for many years.
Making a blanket statement that a Nissan is "junk"is disrespectful to a brand of car that many people buy and like. I don't think a really good mechanic would make such a statement. People buy cars for various reasons. He has his preconceived ideas about Nissans and MBs, I don't think the kind of mechanic I would be looking for would make these sweeping unsubstantiated claims....how many Nissans has he worked on and how many Mercedes for one thing?

One car I would never buy is a Fiat....they seem to be flimsy and the past record has not been sterling. My friend got one as a winter beater when he didn't want to drive his Maserati in the snow. He loved that it could turn on a dime, easy to find a parking space, didn't worry about where he parked it. I wouldn't call a Fiat junk, there are people who buy them and like them.
Scotty Kilmer thinks Fiats are junk too. He cites initial sales figures of 50,000 units shrinking to 5,000 as proof.

As to Nissan, judge for yourself.

https://youtu.be/8h_r_OuJU-w
What he says may be true or maybe it isn't. Because of the way he talks and because of his anecdotal reasons for why a Nissan is junk I don't think Scotty has much credibility. I would be more inclined to trust CR or J D Powers if I was doing research about a particular brand.

He has a video trashing the various “book” valuation tools because of their various interlocking corporate ownerships. According to him J D Powers owns some of the well known valuation services. His position is why would you trust advertising agencies or car sellers as to what the value of a use car is.

Edmunds was not mentioned.

henryn · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

I would think a minivan would be among the least abused rentals.

That wouldn't appear to be the case. I went down the Enterprise sales lot, off the Gulf Freeway here in Houston, to look at their stock of minivans. Mostly Chrysler T&C, but they also had Toyota Siennas and Nissan Quests. No Hondas, of course. And every single one they had on the lot was abused. Interior pieces missing, windshields cracked, seats visibly scuffed and scarred. And the only thing they were willing to even discuss fixing was the cracked windshield.

I had much better luck at various new car dealerships, from the used department. And they were all or nearly all ex-rentals that had been through auction. Either Enterprise auctions off the better ones, and sells the more abused ones themselves. Or else the dealerships fixed them up after buying at auction, which I strongly doubt.

If you were speaking of "abused" as the driver hot rodding, then you're probably right. But I'm speaking of someone going on a vacation road trip with a car load of rug rats.

bwia · December 2018

Here is quick spin of the Honda Kona EV. The 64Kw battery has a range of 300 miles but an observed 270 miles. Price in Europe is approximately 30,000 Euros but the starting price for Kona equipped with the 39Kw battery is about 24,000 Euros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Y8Er6pxC8&t=28s

berri · December 2018

What will happen to battery performance in cold northern winters or hut, humid Florida summers. I suspect performance and longevity will both be affected.

bwia · December 2018

Edit

driver100 · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
I can't imagine why a knowledgeable mechanic would say that Nissans are junk. Very few mainstream cars built today are junk.
"Junk" is a vague and relative word that can mean different things to different people. What someone might consider junk today might have been considered top of the line 50 years ago. It's pretty much a judgment call but almost any car today will hold up for some time and deliver decent service for many years.
Making a blanket statement that a Nissan is "junk"is disrespectful to a brand of car that many people buy and like. I don't think a really good mechanic would make such a statement. People buy cars for various reasons. He has his preconceived ideas about Nissans and MBs, I don't think the kind of mechanic I would be looking for would make these sweeping unsubstantiated claims....how many Nissans has he worked on and how many Mercedes for one thing?

One car I would never buy is a Fiat....they seem to be flimsy and the past record has not been sterling. My friend got one as a winter beater when he didn't want to drive his Maserati in the snow. He loved that it could turn on a dime, easy to find a parking space, didn't worry about where he parked it. I wouldn't call a Fiat junk, there are people who buy them and like them.
Scotty Kilmer thinks Fiats are junk too. He cites initial sales figures of 50,000 units shrinking to 5,000 as proof.

As to Nissan, judge for yourself.

https://youtu.be/8h_r_OuJU-w
What he says may be true or maybe it isn't. Because of the way he talks and because of his anecdotal reasons for why a Nissan is junk I don't think Scotty has much credibility. I would be more inclined to trust CR or J D Powers if I was doing research about a particular brand.
He has a video trashing the various “book” valuation tools because of their various interlocking corporate ownerships. According to him J D Powers owns some of the well known valuation services. His position is why would you trust advertising agencies or car sellers as to what the value of a use car is.

Edmunds was not mentioned.

Scotty is probably right to say Nissan doesn't make the best cars in very many categories. This U.S. news article made 20 comparisons between Toyota and Nissan vehicles in different categories. Toyota won in almost every category, with a few exceptions, but not many.
Nissan vs. Toyota: Battle of the Brands
Performance - Winner: Tie
Interiors - Winner: Tie
Reliability - Winner: Toyota
Price - Winner: Toyota
Safety - Winner: Nissan
Pickup Trucks - Winner: Toyota
Small SUVs - Winner: Nissan
Midsize SUVs - Winner: Toyota
Large SUVs - Winner: Toyota
Small Cars - Winner: Toyota
Midsize Cars - Winner: Toyota
Large Cars - Winner: Toyota
Hybrids - Winner: Toyota
Minivans - Winner: Toyota
Sports Cars - Winner: Toyota
Vehicle Lineup - Winner: Toyota
The cars were rated and tested. And, even though Toyota won in almost every category, I think Scotty loses all credibility when he refers to Nissans as junk. That is as unprofessional just like Scotty sounds. Iluv would be very upset.
FULL ARTICLE

Many articles rate Nissan much higher than average in many categories. This article says:
In a recent Telegraph survey, Nissan came tenth in the most reliable cars of 2017, with 98 problems per 100 vehicles.

Reliability Index have put Nissan ninth out of 32 brands for reliability, with a reliability index of 88. This is much better than the industry average (the lower the score, the better the reliability). Nissan have also put several Nissan models in their top 100 most reliable models, including the X-Trail, the Qashqai and the Micra

Cheatsheet also score Nissan highly, reporting that Nissan models can reach 195,593 miles before hitting zero value. This puts them sixth in their table. This study was carried about by Mojo Motors who used an algorithm to work out how many miles a vehicle could do before it lost all of its value. They looked at more than 500,000 models from between 1994 and 2014. So Nissan did pretty well in that study.

FULL ARTICLE
Once again, not the best, but, NOT junk!

graphicguy · December 2018

Going WAY off the tracks....anyone buy a mattress from one of the online retailers (Saatva?, Caspar?, Purple?, Nectar?, etc?). Thoughts?

28firefighter · December 2018

We ordered the Nest Alexander Signature series last year and we absolutely love it. Crappiest thing was lugging it up the stairs, but beyond that was a piece of cake to order and setup.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

snakeweasel said:

tyguy said:
This is a huge statement from VW:

https://yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-says-next-generation-combustion-engine-cars-last-201413027.html

Essentially they'll be wrapping up their ICE R&D very soon and transitioning to other technologies. I didn't think a major manufacturer like VW would move so fast.
Would this be a prediction like the flying cars we were supposed to have by now? I really don't see the ICE going away anytime soon.

Huh? When did one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers state they were ceasing production of ground-based cars? Never as far as I know. VW just stated they’re wrapping up ICE development and moving on to new tech. Vehicles last a long time these days so no doubt ICE will be around for decades to come, but I expect the R&D dollars will not be directed there much longer, at least not at VW.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

bwia said:
My son in law, who owns a Tesla Model X is pressuring me to join the EV bandwagon. He sends me tons of materials on the Jaguar I-Pace and says it is the perfect vehicle for a retired gent like myself as it is a perfect example of Jaguar's slogan: grace, space and pace.

Not withstanding its fugly front end and boxy styling I told him that a Hyundai Kona EV was a better deal than the I-Pace in terms of price, range and quicker charging times. Was I flippant in my response or was I making a convincing case for the Kona?

Do what makes you happy. Definitely test drive first and then determine if you’re ready for EV. Neither Jag nor Hyundai have a fast charging network, so long trips will be a pain. You’ll definitely want at least a 220V 50A circuit at home for regular charging. We were going to look at a Kona EV, but Hyundai appears to be using it as a compliance vehicle in the US with very limited availability, which is a shame since it seems like a great option.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

berri said:
What will happen to battery performance in cold northern winters or hut, humid Florida summers. I suspect performance and longevity will both be affected.

Cold temps have a bigger impact on range than heat does. It’s still new tech and auto manufacturers are attacking it in different ways. Tesla uses a liquid circulation system to both warm and cool the battery, and that battery management system is why they’re seeing service life in the 100s of thousands of miles. The Nissan Leaf is a different story. They don’t liquid cool the battery and owners in places like Arizona have seen huge hits to their range.

Like a cold ICE, Tesla will reduce performance until the battery warms up after a cold start. Tonight, when my Model 3 was about 25 degrees, the regen was limited for the first few miles, and then returned to normal after the battery packed warmed up.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

graphicguy said:
Going WAY off the tracks....anyone buy a mattress from one of the online retailers (Saatva?, Caspar?, Purple?, Nectar?, etc?). Thoughts?

Purple. I’m laying on it right now. It’s awesome like their hilarious commercials. You can return it if you don’t like it. One warning: you need stretchy sheets to make the most of the tech.

andres3 · December 2018

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

So the TTS dominated again at the local 1/8 mile drag strip set up on Friday Nights by Race Legal at Qualcomm Statdium's parking lot.

No one could beat me. Thought there were faster cars there, I just happened to never get lined up next to any of them.

Next time I'll take the All Track to give people a chance.

This next weekend is an HDPE track weekend.

Pretty sure I could never go to a dragstrip in NJ and not get line up with a new mustang GT or Camaro SS at least a couple of times.

Although, unless equipped with a very good driver, your quattro and DSG on an 1/8-mile is still likely the winner against even those.

The Mustang GT's and Camaro SS's were fodder for my TTS. They just can't hook on 2WD unless they have some fat drag slicks. Remembger, Qualcomm is more of a bombed out parking lot than a real drag strip race track.

In fact, a Hellcat run turned out with me reaching the finish line .001 seconds ahead of them, but they won with a better reaction time. My final speed was somewhere around 88 MPH at the 1/8 mile end line, and the Hellcats was somewhere in the triple digits already. Talk about the turtle and the hare doing a switcharoo somewhere around the 1/16th mile mark.

andres3 · December 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:
So the TTS dominated again at the local 1/8 mile drag strip set up on Friday Nights by Race Legal at Qualcomm Statdium's parking lot.

No one could beat me. Thought there were faster cars there, I just happened to never get lined up next to any of them.

Next time I'll take the All Track to give people a chance.

This next weekend is an HDPE track weekend.

Congrats! I don’t recall if you’ve added mods on that car. Or is it that fast out of the box?

It has a simple stage 1 tune that helps me not get caught up to at the finish line except by VERY VERY high horsepower cars. Other than the Stage 1 tune up, it's pretty much stock, though I am running a very nice set of forged OZ wheels with Michelin PS 4S rubber all around. Still, I wasn't lowering my pressures to 28 PSI as some suggested, nor was I running race fuel (100 octane). On a 1/4 mile track I think you need more than 4 cylinders to remain dominant, but on the 1/8th mile quattro & DSG shines.

andres3 · December 2018

Traffic Court Update:

Good lawyer batted a thousand, going 3 for 3 at getting positive results in my "Speeding ticket, failure to appear, failure to pay, license suspension, change of venue to County Seat, Case Dismissed" court saga.

I didn't get the paperwork yet, but got the phone call that at trial at the County Seat, the case got dismissed, so we can only assume with about 99.5% certainty that it was dismissed for lack of prosecution since I had said all along the case was won already when the Sheriff from Santee granted the County Seat at the time of writing the ticket. No way a Santee Sheriff goes out of their way to Kearny Mesa for a ticket they know they shouldn't have written in the first place.

It's a shame I had a to hire a lawyer to have a trial in the County Seat, but the net result was the same, the Court got $0.00 from me. In fact, I can only assume that they wasted postage on maybe 4 or 5 extra notifications, in addition to taking up maybe 5-10 minutes of the Court's time all together (95% of which was probably during the motion for change of venue).

Next up, the cheap "mr. ticket" lawyer and what he does to the "sign violation" citation case.

28firefighter · December 2018

So, what you’re saying is you have a budget for car payments, insurance, and your lawyer? You have to be into it for at least $2-$3k with your lawyer on this one.

andres3 · December 2018

28firefighter said:
So, what you’re saying is you have a budget for car payments, insurance, and your lawyer? You have to be into it for at least $2-$3k with your lawyer on this one.

Nope, they agreed to make the 3 appearances for $550. They are specialists in "traffic court" cases, and perhaps give an NMA referral discount (National Motorists Association).

I've at least bought/maintained a good driving record for at least one more 6-month insurance renewal coming up in January.

Mr. Ticket charges $99 per case, but he seems to do the bare minimum (and achieves bare minimum results). I'm hoping for better results this time around.

Drivingfool · December 2018

OF, how many days a week are you working? Just curious as I'm thinking of possibly leaving Hertz and giving Enterprise a try. Seems like you do mostly long distance driving which I miss. We usually stay in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area with a few trips to Stuart/West Palm during the busy times. Hate driving in Miami, absolutely hate it! When I interviewed, was told Enterprise has a team for each county...Miami/Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and one usually never leaves their county. They offered 25 hours/week but with my almost 30 at Hertz, was just too many. Now, am curious about a possible switch.
Do miss the driving over the state here but both of my original companies were really awful to work for as time went on and a lack of a schedule made me leave for Hertz. But again, not sure how much longer I intend to work as I'm hurting more and more as time goes on. But was curious if you're still at the 25 hours that they offered me?
Thanks and stay safe out there. Most folks don't realize that our job is a very dangerous one and we have to be super defensive because most other folks sure ain't!!!

The Sandman/Driving Fool

abacomike · December 2018

I haven’t seen PUG prices this low in quite some time at Costco. Costco continues to sell TOP TIER gasoline at 40 cents per gallon lower than any other retail gasoline station within 10 miles of where I live. $2.59.9 a gallon yesterday and this morning $2.55.9.

I pay $60 for the Costco membership per year. I purchase about 10 gallons per week at a savings of $4.00 per fill-up. So the savings in gas alone more than pays for the membership.

bwia · December 2018

Unbelievable! Alaskan road before and after 7.0 earthquake, The road was fully repaired just 4 days after collapse. Kudo's to the construction crew that pulled off that feat.

graphicguy · December 2018

bwia said:
Here is quick spin of the Honda Kona EV. The 64Kw battery has a range of 300 miles but an observed 270 miles. Price in Europe is approximately 30,000 Euros but the starting price for Kona equipped with the 39Kw battery is about 24,000 Euros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Y8Er6pxC8&t=28s

I’ve seen a couple of “pre-availability” reviews of the Kona EV. Impressive. Not sure I’m ready to make the jump into an EV as my primary driver just yet. But, their range is going up, and the prices are coming down. Maybe as a 2nd car? But, if it’s going to be a 2nd car, may as well get something like a Leaf, where they trade range for a lower price.

Still, not ready to throw any money at them just yet.

I do like the Teslas. Just don’t want to drop that much cash on what might not be my primary car.

snakeweasel · December 2018

tyguy said:

This is a huge statement from VW: https://yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-says-next-generation-combustion-engine-cars-last-201413027.html Essentially they'll be wrapping up their ICE R&D very soon and transitioning to other technologies. I didn't think a major manufacturer like VW would move so fast.
Would this be a prediction like the flying cars we were supposed to have by now? I really don't see the ICE going away anytime soon.
Huh? When did one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers state they were ceasing production of ground-based cars? Never as far as I know. VW just stated they’re wrapping up ICE development and moving on to new tech. Vehicles last a long time these days so no doubt ICE will be around for decades to come, but I expect the R&D dollars will not be directed there much longer, at least not at VW.

I am just saying such predictions have a history of being wrong. The ICE will be around for a while and is not going away anytime soon. Currently the ICE has major advantages over just about any other fuel, and until those advantages disappear the ICE will be around.

This is not to say that we won't have a lot more vehicles that use other types of fuels and their numbers won't grow. Just saying that the ICE has plenty of life left in it.

cdnpinhead · December 2018

AK is full of "get it done" type people, in my experience.

snakeweasel · December 2018

graphicguy said:

Here is quick spin of the Honda Kona EV. The 64Kw battery has a range of 300 miles but an observed 270 miles. Price in Europe is approximately 30,000 Euros but the starting price for Kona equipped with the 39Kw battery is about 24,000 Euros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Y8Er6pxC8&t=28s
I’ve seen a couple of “pre-availability” reviews of the Kona EV. Impressive. Not sure I’m ready to make the jump into an EV as my primary driver just yet. But, their range is going up, and the prices are coming down. Maybe as a 2nd car? But, if it’s going to be a 2nd car, may as well get something like a Leaf, where they trade range for a lower price. Still, not ready to throw any money at them just yet. I do like the Teslas. Just don’t want to drop that much cash on what might not be my primary car.

I am very interested in an EV, not sure if the wife would be, but it would have to be as a second car. Even with a fast charger system I wouldn't want to drive one to see the kids in Florida.

[Deleted User] · December 2018

snakeweasel said:

I am just saying such predictions have a history of being wrong. The ICE will be around for a while and is not going away anytime soon. Currently the ICE has major advantages over just about any other fuel, and until those advantages disappear the ICE will be around.

This is not to say that we won't have a lot more vehicles that use other types of fuels and their numbers won't grow. Just saying that the ICE has plenty of life left in it.

I agree 100%. It's going to get interesting with battery EV, hydrogen, natural gas, and who knows what else they come up with. Battery EV seems to be taking a lead as the gas/diesel alternative but that could definitely change. And ICE will be around for many decades.

Beyond the environmental piece and sticking it to the oil producing countries, I'm now addicted to driving an electric vehicle. I love it. The instant torque, the smooth and effortless acceleration, no shift points or engine RPMs. Just smooth, quiet, and "OH MY GOSH THE TORQUE!!!!" Last night my daughter and I giggled, laughed, and gushed over how fun the car was to drive and ride in while I brought her home from swim practice. It's been a long, long time since I've looked for excuses just to go for a drive. "What, we're out of peanuts? Dang. Well, I'll just have to go to the store. Yeah, you're welcome, see ya' later."

Whatever the fuel/drive mix may become, I just hope there will be an abundance of vehicles with electric motors as primary propulsion. I don't want to give it up :-)

driver100 · December 2018

bwia said:
Unbelievable! Alaskan road before and after 7.0 earthquake, The road was fully repaired just 4 days after collapse. Kudo's to the construction crew that pulled off that feat.

Except the lane on the left side is way wider than the lane on the right......

venture · December 2018

driver100 said:

bwia said:
Unbelievable! Alaskan road before and after 7.0 earthquake, The road was fully repaired just 4 days after collapse. Kudo's to the construction crew that pulled off that feat.

Except the lane on the left side is way wider than the lane on the right......

It looks to me like it's a one lane ramp.

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