Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100 · February 2019

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:
People in FL get what they pay for, maybe like that part of the country in general. Low taxes, low amenities, other issues. I like in an area invaded by transplants, and I know nobody who moved to FL and didn't come running back.

stickguy said:
nice house. and cheap per Zillow. I can see why people move to FLorida if can get that house for that price, and negligible property taxes (and cheap state taxes). I just know that my wife would never live there year round.

Strange, I know nobody who moved to Florida that didn't stay.

A few quarterbacks. They come from New York to Florida, find it too hot, move back 1/4 of the way, Carolina's usually.

driver100 · February 2019

isellhondas said:

driver100 said:

isellhondas said:

berri said:
How does Scandinavia do it? They seem to have a good medical system and happy citizens.
How? Simple! They tax their citizens to death! Simple to do this!
The citizens don't mind paying, for all the security it provides.
How long to you wait for non critical procedures?

None critical can take time.....but, would you rather pay $200000 or wait for 6 to 9 months for something not critical? If it is critical you will be checked immediately.
If you don't want to wait you can go to another country and pay, Costa Rica has great doctors mostly trained in the US who will do the work for 1/3 the cost.
As to Canadians not happy with the system, probably less than 10% but most Canadians really value their healthcare, and very few would want to give it up....even with the problems.
If you have serious health problems through no fault of your own....is it fair that you could be wiped out financially?

Check this:
The United States spends much more money on healthcare than Canada, on both a per-capita basis and as a percentage of GDP.[6] In 2006, per-capita spending for health care in Canada was US$3,678; in the U.S., US$6,714. The U.S. spent 15.3% of GDP on healthcare in that year; Canada spent 10.0%
Compare health care systems in Canada and U.S

berri · February 2019

Well considering that as much as 40% or more of wage earners pay no income tax, the lower 50% pay less than 4% of all income taxes collected and the upper 1% pay more than the lower 90% it's hard to do a tax cut that doesn't impact the rich more than the middle and lower classes.

Is that before trusts, tax loopholes, deferred income etc? I understand how bank trust departments work, how much of the very wealthy live off of investments and their tax advantaged capital gains and qualified dividends, move money around through trusts and then pass it on with often little or no estate taxes. Basically, I see it more that the working middle class percentage wise got some crumbs, while the very wealthy got prime rib. Grouping working middle class with poor skews your result because it includes things liked earned income credits that the middle class doesn't get. btw, where did you get the 40% of wage earners pay no tax? Even dependent children working generally pay income tax.

oldfarmer50 · February 2019

houdini2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
The Swiss system seems to work pretty well. It's not cheap (I think about $225 USD per month per person with a high deductible) and you pay out of pocket first and then get re-imbursed. But Swiss taxes are low, (varies depending on your Canton) and the health care is extremely good. Of course, it's a pretty rich country. One nice perk is that you stay locked into one rate no matter how old or sick you get.

My wife and I are on medicare and we pay almost that much each month, also with big deductibles. Medicare is not free. The higher your income, the more you pay. It is held out of your SS payment each month. In addition to medicare, we could buy a supplemental plan that would eliminate most out of pocket expenses, but that would run an additional $300. or so each month. We don't buy that, but if we were in bad health we might consider it.

I pay $135 for Medicare B and about $60 for part D prescription. There are co pays but so far they’ve been very reasonable. Care is the same as with my pre retirement private insurance and a bit less in cost.

Switching subjects, has anyone heard of Rally Road Investments which sells shares in classic cars? I can’t see it as an investment and who would want to put money into a car you can’t drive?

Sounds worse than a time share.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/rally-rd-the-app-that-lets-you-invest-in-classic-cars-raises-7m-series-a/

ronsteve · February 2019

28firefighter said:

I maintained our tax withholding at the same level as last year. Looks like we’ll save about $2,000 over last year. Not nothing but meh.

Didn't change any withholding status because we initially took a hurry up and wait approach.

I could be a low information voter and yell and scream that I went from a $550 refund last year to owing $400 this year, but the reality is that our income was up $7k and our actual federal income tax was down $1k. The benefit of owning a modest home in a low cost, low tax area, aka not that much in itemized deductions.

ab348 · February 2019

I had hoped we had put the healthcare debate to bed.

fintail · February 2019

People under ~60?

Then again, escaping Chicagoland might be the answer, while it seems everyone still wants to move to the PNW, often for reasons that might be tenuous.

snakeweasel said:

Strange, I know nobody who moved to Florida that didn't stay.

snakeweasel · February 2019

berri said:
Well considering that as much as 40% or more of wage earners pay no income tax, the lower 50% pay less than 4% of all income taxes collected and the upper 1% pay more than the lower 90% it's hard to do a tax cut that doesn't impact the rich more than the middle and lower classes.

Is that before trusts, tax loopholes, deferred income etc? I understand how bank trust departments work, how much of the very wealthy live off of investments and their tax advantaged capital gains and qualified dividends, move money around through trusts and then pass it on with often little or no estate taxes. Basically, I see it more that the working middle class percentage wise got some crumbs, while the very wealthy got prime rib. Grouping working middle class with poor skews your result because it includes things liked earned income credits that the middle class doesn't get. btw, where did you get the 40% of wage earners pay no tax? Even dependent children working generally pay income tax.

That is actual taxes paid after all credits apply.

As for the 40% figure many tax groups have made that estimate. But consider this, a married couple with 2 children will have the first $24k of their income exempt from taxes. Then there is a $4k child tax credit against the taxes on income over $24k. This means that there is a considerable amount of income that couple wont pay taxes on.

suydam · February 2019

Umm, maybe because those earners don’t make enough $ to be taxed (federally — they still pay other kinds of taxes).

driver100 · February 2019

ab348 said:
I had hoped we had put the healthcare debate to bed.

isell deserved a reply.
Putting healthcare to bed sounds like it is being continued.

bwia · February 2019

isellhondas said:

That didn't answer my question! I have talked to Canadians who were VERY vocal about their dislike of Canada's medical situation. Lots of horror stories. Then there are those who are happy. Go figure! Either way, somebody pays! I do agree we need a well designed sensible system. Obamacare wasn't it!

The Massachusetts universal health plan, as originally conceived by Mitt Romney was darn near a perfect plan.

There was buy-in from companies in the private and public sectors and those who earned too little or were unemployed were covered by Mass Health (public insurance.) And for those on welfare were covered by Medicaid. Basically everyone in the state was covered.Then Romney left, ran for president, and lost.

Obamacare was supposedly based on the MA plan but as they say...the rest is history.

qbrozen · February 2019

They will have to add in a higher horsepower model to get me interested in the A-class.

stickguy · February 2019

we all liked it. My son's comment was he will look at one when the G70 lease is up, if they come out with a hot rod version (AMG43 style) in it.

qbrozen · February 2019

Sure, an AMG would be great, but I'd even be satisfied with the 255hp 2.0L from the C class.

snakeweasel · February 2019

suydam said:
Umm, maybe because those earners don’t make enough $ to be taxed (federally — they still pay other kinds of taxes).

That's my whole point, when people's earnings are low enough they either pay little or no taxes and the more they earn the more they pay. In our tax system the bulk of income taxes is paid by the wealthiest people, hence tax breaks will always benefit the richest due to the fact that they pay the taxes. And we are talking only income taxes.

berri · February 2019

Do away with loopholes and trusts, and I'm fine with that. I don't believe in gouging any particular income class, just fairness. Personally, I think the latest tax cut is not going over as well as expected due to probably two reasons. 1. It was oversold. While the standard deduction was almost doubled, the elimination of personal exemptions reduced that delta from previous years. The hype made average Americans over expect the result. This may be why many didn't think they had to adjust withholding. 2. The drastic reductions in things like estate taxes for the wealthy, while capping previous write-offs such as home taxes and interest, creates an image of pro well to do, anti middle class - rightfully so, or not. After all, while some working Americans had their previous housing deductions capped, no cap was applied to capital gains or qualified dividends advantageous treatment.

stickguy · February 2019

just went in and adjusted my W-4. whatever I thought I did last year, I didn't. Oh well. Still annoyed it was such a jump in taxes due for a not that big change in taxable income.

imidazol97 · February 2019

The problem behind all of this is that the US tax code has slowly slid into the income redistribution business. The lower wage earners (and maybe others) have earned income payments. Those were doubled a few years back.
So they aren't paying any taxes: they get tax money back and more than they used to. After the doubling, the huge billboards from tax services in the urban parts of Dayton increased saying come in and we'll find money for you. Currently there are ads on TV promised refunds up to $6000 from tax services. Some services are offering $200 for switching to them from another big box tax service. There's money to be had in doing taxes for the lower income end of the spectrum in the urban areas.

The top small percentiles of taxpayers pay most of the income tax. And, as correctly pointed out, they have various many kinds of escapes--depends on how good their tax lawyers are. With all the fuming over how those wealthy people need to pay more taxes, increasing their taxes more covers little of the spending from Congress. And don't think the Congress folk don't have all kinds of escapes to hide monies, above board and below board. They don't represent us middle income folk.

When there is talk of raising taxes for the wealthy, it's almost always a cover for the taxes being raised on the middle class earner. Because a tax increase on them is applied to so many more folks than those who have to suffer a high income tax increase, the tax increase on the middle income folks raises a whole lot of money for Congress to do with. Almost everything spun out as news about the money is to make people look at the guy over there behind the tree doing whatever--don't look at us here doing what we're really doing.

I've tried to keep this apolitical, so any inference is not intended. That is other than I think Congress folks are the problem. They've discovered there's money to be had being in Congress. Hence they spend millions to get elected to a seat that pays a paltry $150,000/annum. What they do has little to do with benefiting the residents of the country in total for the future. The lobbyists run Congress.

imidazol97 · February 2019

Sorry to go off topic. But I've been watching since the discussion by Driver100 about needing red light cameras because of so many locals running the lights. The folks here running the lights and stop signs aren't necessarily the older folks like I think are described in Florida. But the running late on yellow and through the 4-red hold is bad enough. Stop signs are just a hint to many if they don't see a car coming that might be one of the police vehicles. I just saw a pickup run the stop sign as I was coming home for coffee.

A few days ago a foreign SUV came out of a side street onto our road making a left turn in front of me, and almost made me hit them. They realized at the last minute there was a car coming and stayed mostly on the left side of the road. I never got a look at the driver. Should I suspect cell phone use midday?

I had a Honda suv pull out of a new shopping plaza making a left turn to where I was going. She came over into my lane partly and I hit the horn and the brakes. Instead of stopping to let me through in my lane, she hit the accelerator to continue cutting me off. Did I mention there was an FOP medallion clipped to the corner of the rear license plate--probably a get out of jail free card in her purse.

An older man in a Buick Enclave came out of the florists driveway in from of me on Valentine Day. I blew my horn. He continued on but went slow then stopped in the middle of the road, as if I had done something wrong by blowing my horn or being on the street? Then kept going slow and speeding up. I followed since I was going same direction to see if he were intoxicated at 10 am possibly. Not sure. I should have called him in to the dispatch desk.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
The Swiss system seems to work pretty well. It's not cheap (I think about $225 USD per month per person with a high deductible) and you pay out of pocket first and then get re-imbursed. But Swiss taxes are low, (varies depending on your Canton) and the health care is extremely good. Of course, it's a pretty rich country. One nice perk is that you stay locked into one rate no matter how old or sick you get.

My wife and I are on medicare and we pay almost that much each month, also with big deductibles. Medicare is not free. The higher your income, the more you pay. It is held out of your SS payment each month. In addition to medicare, we could buy a supplemental plan that would eliminate most out of pocket expenses, but that would run an additional $300. or so each month. We don't buy that, but if we were in bad health we might consider it.
I pay $135 for Medicare B and about $60 for part D prescription. There are co pays but so far they’ve been very reasonable. Care is the same as with my pre retirement private insurance and a bit less in cost.

Switching subjects, has anyone heard of Rally Road Investments which sells shares in classic cars? I can’t see it as an investment and who would want to put money into a car you can’t drive?

Sounds worse than a time share.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/rally-rd-the-app-that-lets-you-invest-in-classic-cars-raises-7m-series-a/

GEEZ, what a bad idea. I have witnessed the value of some classic cars drop 30% in 3 to 6 months. Some collectors have had to eat hundreds of thousands of dollars. I bet this idea came out of the board rooms of automobile auction houses. Classic cars, and in fact, most "toys", are very susceptible to economic panics.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Does anyone here have one of those full bed tonneaus on their pickup truck?

abacomike · February 2019

They just opened a brand new Costco about 2 miles from where one of my walking buddies lives - in Coral Springs just south of Parkland. The grounds are huge with lots of parking. I bought gas there after dropping him off at his house.

PUG was $2.49.9 which is 10 cents a gallon lower than the Costco close to me and 38 cents a gallon lower than the nearest competitor. I figured that since I was so close to the new Costco, why not fill up the tank - took 17 gallons.

BTW, it is 86 degrees right now with a feels like 95 degree - quite humid. Feels like summer - not ready for this kind of heat.

tjc78 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Does anyone here have one of those full bed tonneaus on their pickup truck?

My cousin puts one on every truck he buys. Swears by them. I have no idea what brand/model but they seem nice. He buys the soft type that can be rolled back fully to use the bed for large items.

explorerx4 · February 2019

I've had a tonneau cover on each of the trucks I have had.
First 2 were soft, latest is a rigid.
Next time, I would go back to soft. Last soft one had a frame so it would fold into 3 pieces. Rigid one weighs too much. and leaks like crazy.
They do improve fuel mileage, though. I would say at least 5%. Many claim 10%, but I kind of think that's too high.

qbrozen · February 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

Sounds worse than a time share.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/rally-rd-the-app-that-lets-you-invest-in-classic-cars-raises-7m-series-a/

I don't think it is a bad idea. I mean, it is no different from investing in real estate you can't live or work in. However, I don't understand how/why an investment company needs venture capitalist money. Where is THAT money going, if not into cars? I could be wrong because I really have no clue, but I always assumed, with something like real estate investment, the "organizer" or even the builder get their money from the sale/rental of the property. If a real estate deal goes sour, I still own a portion of that property (I think). My investment is somewhat protected. I'm pretty sure, if this car company goes belly up, that $7M seed money is going to take priority when the cars get liquidated.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

I suspect they are pitching it like a "managed portfolio". They would buy and sell cars within the portfolio depending on which cars have become, or failed to become, "flavor of the month". So the pitch might be: "Sell microcars! Buy 50s pickup trucks" for 2019 (not bad advice, actually).

My only real complaint about this not-so-new idea is that as an investment it is extremely volatile and risky.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

explorerx4 said:
I've had a tonneau cover on each of the trucks I have had.
First 2 were soft, latest is a rigid.
Next time, I would go back to soft. Last soft one had a frame so it would fold into 3 pieces. Rigid one weighs too much. and leaks like crazy.
They do improve fuel mileage, though. I would say at least 5%. Many claim 10%, but I kind of think that's too high.

So are the soft ones watertight? I wouldn't think so, but I dunno....I like the idea of quick-storage when you're shopping, etc, or easy removal so you can carry big things. The hard shell camper tops can be a real pain to get on and off, seems to me.

sb55 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:

explorerx4 said:
I've had a tonneau cover on each of the trucks I have had.
First 2 were soft, latest is a rigid.
Next time, I would go back to soft. Last soft one had a frame so it would fold into 3 pieces. Rigid one weighs too much. and leaks like crazy.
They do improve fuel mileage, though. I would say at least 5%. Many claim 10%, but I kind of think that's too high.
So are the soft ones watertight? I wouldn't think so, but I dunno....I like the idea of quick-storage when you're shopping, etc, or easy removal so you can carry big things. The hard shell camper tops can be a real pain to get on and off, seems to me.

I have a tri-fold soft one. It's easy to put on, take off and is quite waterproof in normal rain. Pressure washing will let some water in, but so will the tailgate gap. Mine is 9 years old and on it's 3rd truck. Highly recommend.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Thanks! I will check those out!

ab348 · February 2019

Both my brother and my buddy have the soft ones. They seem a bit fiddly but overall they like them and as was said, they do improve highway mpg.

graphicguy · February 2019

Always been a flat tax proponent. You make more? You pay more! That includes corporations.....Pretty simple. You get rid of ½ of the IRS by simplifying. Tax Attorneys and CPAs would have to find another area to ply their trade.

It would cost me more. But, it would cost me less for accounting, financial planning and there'd be much less opportunity for the kinds of shenanigans where politicians and corporation pay NO tax. Then, we could all finance the important things with it (and we all know what those things are), I'd be first in line to vote for the person who is an advocate.

driver100 · February 2019

imidazol97 said:
Sorry to go off topic. But I've been watching since the discussion by Driver100 about needing red light cameras because of so many locals running the lights. The folks here running the lights and stop signs aren't necessarily the older folks like I think are described in Florida. But the running late on yellow and through the 4-red hold is bad enough. Stop signs are just a hint to many if they don't see a car coming that might be one of the police vehicles. I just saw a pickup run the stop sign as I was coming home for coffee.

There seems to be a new attitude......trying to get away with whatever you can do. Going through red lights, not coming to a reasonably full stop, zig zagging in and out of traffic....and a big one I have noticed is driving without insurance or driving while license is suspended - which is probably the same in most cases.

All the more reason to be more vigilant. As long as the speed limits are reasonable they could put cameras everywhere as far as I am concerned. In the Tampa area there seems to be a hit and run almost every day. I also would like to see traffic police that can give tickets with dashcam footage......these would be 1) a good way to make people drive more responsibly and 2) a great way to raise revenue.

driver100 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
The Swiss system seems to work pretty well. It's not cheap (I think about $225 USD per month per person with a high deductible) and you pay out of pocket first and then get re-imbursed. But Swiss taxes are low, (varies depending on your Canton) and the health care is extremely good. Of course, it's a pretty rich country. One nice perk is that you stay locked into one rate no matter how old or sick you get.

My wife and I are on medicare and we pay almost that much each month, also with big deductibles. Medicare is not free. The higher your income, the more you pay. It is held out of your SS payment each month. In addition to medicare, we could buy a supplemental plan that would eliminate most out of pocket expenses, but that would run an additional $300. or so each month. We don't buy that, but if we were in bad health we might consider it.
I pay $135 for Medicare B and about $60 for part D prescription. There are co pays but so far they’ve been very reasonable. Care is the same as with my pre retirement private insurance and a bit less in cost.

Switching subjects, has anyone heard of Rally Road Investments which sells shares in classic cars? I can’t see it as an investment and who would want to put money into a car you can’t drive?

Sounds worse than a time share.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/rally-rd-the-app-that-lets-you-invest-in-classic-cars-raises-7m-series-a/

GEEZ, what a bad idea. I have witnessed the value of some classic cars drop 30% in 3 to 6 months. Some collectors have had to eat hundreds of thousands of dollars. I bet this idea came out of the board rooms of automobile auction houses. Classic cars, and in fact, most "toys", are very susceptible to economic panics.

Worse than bitcoins.

explorerx4 · February 2019

My first 2 tonneau's covers were made by Extang.
Many manufacturers out a label on their covers, so you can just look at some trucks that have them.

imidazol97 · February 2019

abacomike said:
BTW, it is 86 degrees right now with a feels like 95 degree - quite humid. Feels like summer - not ready for this kind of heat.

I'm sorry to hear about your problem.

imidazol97 · February 2019

I was watching the end of the NASCAR race last night. Saw all the accidents.
I was watching how the drivers tailgate, which seems to be when some accidents occur (surprise
surprise).

Is this where some drivers on our roads get the idea it's okay to tailgate 2 feet off the
rear of someone who's in front of them? ...just because they are in front of them
and not going as fast as the follower would like to go? LOL

imidazol97 · February 2019

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:
Sorry to go off topic. But I've been watching since the discussion by Driver100 about needing red light cameras because of so many locals running the lights. The folks here running the lights and stop signs aren't necessarily the older folks like I think are described in Florida. But the running late on yellow and through the 4-red hold is bad enough. Stop signs are just a hint to many if they don't see a car coming that might be one of the police vehicles. I just saw a pickup run the stop sign as I was coming home for coffee.
There seems to be a new attitude......trying to get away with whatever you can do. Going through red lights, not coming to a reasonably full stop, zig zagging in and out of traffic....and a big one I have noticed is driving without insurance or driving while license is suspended - which is probably the same in most cases.

All the more reason to be more vigilant. As long as the speed limits are reasonable they could put cameras everywhere as far as I am concerned. In the Tampa area there seems to be a hit and run almost every day. I also would like to see traffic police that can give tickets with dashcam footage......these would be 1) a good way to make people drive more responsibly and 2) a great way to raise revenue.

I'm not comfortable with how the cameras are used here. But something is needed. Maybe it's cameras on intersections that are frequently mostly by locals and violated a lot rather than cameras on main roads where out-of-towners get speedtrapped.

henryn · February 2019

I have had a soft tri-fold cover on my last 3 pickups. I swear by them. I can remove it completely and store it in the garage in 5 minutes flat. Or, if I'm at Home Depot, and just need a little room, I can fold it to the front (covering only the front 1/3 of the bed) in about 2 or 3 minutes.

Waterproof, no. Water repellent, yes. Theft proof ? Absolutely not. But out of sight, out of mind does help. With a locking tail gate (nearly all new trucks have a locking tail gate), they will have to get out a knife and cut to get in. Which brings it up to "breaking and entering" rather than just casual pilfering.

Michaell · February 2019

graphicguy said:
Always been a flat tax proponent. You make more? You pay more! That includes corporations.....Pretty simple. You get rid of ½ of the IRS by simplifying. Tax Attorneys and CPAs would have to find another area to ply their trade.

It would cost me more. But, it would cost me less for accounting, financial planning and there'd be much less opportunity for the kinds of shenanigans where politicians and corporation pay NO tax. Then, we could all finance the important things with it (and we all know what those things are), I'd be first in line to vote for the person who is an advocate.

Steve Forbes for President!

I'm a big flat tax proponent as well.

Do your taxes on a post card!

It's all about finding the right rate.

berri · February 2019

It would cost me more. But, it would cost me less for accounting, financial planning and there'd be much less opportunity for the kinds of shenanigans where politicians and corporation pay NO tax. Then, we could all finance the important things with it (and we all know what those things are), I'd be first in line to vote for the person who is an advocate.

You could perhaps mitigate some of that disadvantage by having a tax free or low rate zone up to a certain amount. Don't have enough data to give precise estimates, but maybe something like the first $50 or $100K gets a break in rate and then anything above goes to the full flat rate. Still pretty simple, does away with other loopholes, preferences, etc. Need to throw out most trusts as well. A simple, fair plan will give citizens a less jaded attitude as well.

driver100 · February 2019

bwia said:
Some mentioned that the 2020 Mercedes Benz GLE is not all that new, but it is. Really. Thought I'd share a short 2.5 minute video courtesy of Motor Week. Prices start at $54K. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXlu3mQVL3E

Thanks for posting bwia...I finally got a chance to watch it...2 1/2 minutes. It is all new and looks impressive, I think it looks better than previous model and the technical features are a huge improvement on an SUV that has earned a good reputation.

stickguy · February 2019

speaking of taxes, daughter was off today so she came over and we did hers together. 6th year that she has filed, first time she ever saw them (first year she was not a student, and I didn't just do them). Really simple, and turbo tax improved their online version, so did not have to enter last year's info, and she was able to do federal and 3 states, including E file, for the grand total of, Free! Did not take long, and she was thrilled to be getting back a large chunk of change.

Even better, I ran them both ways and turns out it we come out way better having me claim her one last time. So I get back some of the haircut I took losing all the other deductions. So, a win win. Then she took a bunch of leftovers and went home!

explorerx4 · February 2019

Everyone talks about taxes. How about govt efficiency?
Who did the shutdown hurt? Mostly those who got delayed paychecks.

abacomike · February 2019

stickguy said:

speaking of taxes, daughter was off today so she came over and we did hers together. 6th year that she has filed, first time she ever saw them (first year she was not a student, and I didn't just do them). Really simple, and turbo tax improved their online version, so did not have to enter last year's info, and she was able to do federal and 3 states, including E file, for the grand total of, Free! Did not take long, and she was thrilled to be getting back a large chunk of change. Even better, I ran them both ways and turns out it we come out way better having me claim her one last time. So I get back some of the haircut I took losing all the other deductions. So, a win win. Then she took a bunch of leftovers and went home!

Haircut? You merely took a haircut? Most experience the same thing only we call it a “scalping!”

oldfarmer50 · February 2019

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:
BTW, it is 86 degrees right now with a feels like 95 degree - quite humid. Feels like summer - not ready for this kind of heat.
I'm sorry to hear about your problem.

As I was sliding around in a snow storm today driving a convertible Mustang (don’t ask) I thought how much suffering Mike would have driving this car with the top down and the birds singing. Poor guy.

oldfarmer50 · February 2019

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:
Sorry to go off topic. But I've been watching since the discussion by Driver100 about needing red light cameras because of so many locals running the lights. The folks here running the lights and stop signs aren't necessarily the older folks like I think are described in Florida. But the running late on yellow and through the 4-red hold is bad enough. Stop signs are just a hint to many if they don't see a car coming that might be one of the police vehicles. I just saw a pickup run the stop sign as I was coming home for coffee.
There seems to be a new attitude......trying to get away with whatever you can do. Going through red lights, not coming to a reasonably full stop, zig zagging in and out of traffic....and a big one I have noticed is driving without insurance or driving while license is suspended - which is probably the same in most cases.

All the more reason to be more vigilant. As long as the speed limits are reasonable they could put cameras everywhere as far as I am concerned. In the Tampa area there seems to be a hit and run almost every day. I also would like to see traffic police that can give tickets with dashcam footage......these would be 1) a good way to make people drive more responsibly and 2) a great way to raise revenue.
I'm not comfortable with how the cameras are used here. But something is needed. Maybe it's cameras on intersections that are frequently mostly by locals and violated a lot rather than cameras on main roads where out-of-towners get speedtrapped.

How about built in dash cams as original equipment?

stickguy · February 2019

I am surprised some maker has not come out with that option yet. Cars are loaded with computers and cameras anyway, should be a piece of cake to make it happen.

driver100 · February 2019

explorerx4 said:
Everyone talks about taxes. How about govt efficiency?
Who did the shutdown hurt? Mostly those who got delayed paychecks.

One guy told me it should be senators and congress that should not be given pay checks....not regular working people...maybe they would try harder to come to a solution.

driver100 · February 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:
BTW, it is 86 degrees right now with a feels like 95 degree - quite humid. Feels like summer - not ready for this kind of heat.
I'm sorry to hear about your problem.
As I was sliding around in a snow storm today driving a convertible Mustang (don’t ask) I thought how much suffering Mike would have driving this car with the top down and the birds singing. Poor guy.

You can have that too....don't you have any crows around this time of year?

driver100 · February 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:
Sorry to go off topic. But I've been watching since the discussion by Driver100 about needing red light cameras because of so many locals running the lights. The folks here running the lights and stop signs aren't necessarily the older folks like I think are described in Florida. But the running late on yellow and through the 4-red hold is bad enough. Stop signs are just a hint to many if they don't see a car coming that might be one of the police vehicles. I just saw a pickup run the stop sign as I was coming home for coffee.
There seems to be a new attitude......trying to get away with whatever you can do. Going through red lights, not coming to a reasonably full stop, zig zagging in and out of traffic....and a big one I have noticed is driving without insurance or driving while license is suspended - which is probably the same in most cases.

All the more reason to be more vigilant. As long as the speed limits are reasonable they could put cameras everywhere as far as I am concerned. In the Tampa area there seems to be a hit and run almost every day. I also would like to see traffic police that can give tickets with dashcam footage......these would be 1) a good way to make people drive more responsibly and 2) a great way to raise revenue.
I'm not comfortable with how the cameras are used here. But something is needed. Maybe it's cameras on intersections that are frequently mostly by locals and violated a lot rather than cameras on main roads where out-of-towners get speedtrapped.
How about built in dash cams as original equipment?

The time has come....it would look so much better and it would be cheap if they built them in.

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