Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100 · April 2022

I saw a new Avalon today.....what were they thinking when they came up with that front grill?

How ugly can we make this car look? If we make it ugly enough maybe they will upgrade to a Lexus?

Michaell · April 2022

Our local MB dealer uses European style plates for their dealer advertising.

Even though CO mandates a front plate, many of their customers leave them on, to promote that faux Euro look.

carnaught · April 2022

driver100 said:
I saw a new Avalon today.....what were they thinking when they came up with that front grill?

How ugly can we make this car look? If we make it ugly enough maybe they will upgrade to a Lexus?

“I had pony…I loved pony.”

tjc78 · April 2022

@driver100 said:
I saw a new Avalon today.....what were they thinking when they came up with that front grill?

How ugly can we make this car look? If we make it ugly enough maybe they will upgrade to a Lexus?

I’ve been complaining about that when it came out a few years ago. It’s a great car and I would have certainly considered one if the front wasn’t so ugly. 2022 is the last year for the Avalon. Another sedan bites the dust.

graphicguy · April 2022

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:
@graphicguy
Nice to have you back....I enjoyed your comments and experiences with different cars and dealerships. Not used to too much car talk, mostly a/cs, dishwashers and TVs lately.
He ain’t back. He’s turned into one of those hit-and-run posters.

jmonroe

That’s what she said!

cdnpinhead · April 2022

fintail said:
Amazing that the dealer had the chutzpah.

C'mon, man (quoting the guy who got elected), you know better than that. There are several reasons I only buy a car every ten or fifteen years, and that sort of thing definitely factors in.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:
I saw a nice MB behind me today with what appeared to be European Union plates. What do you think, someone who is in the country for business and loves his car that much that he’d pay to ship it over?
How did they look....something like one of these:

Maybe he couldn't get an MB here so he went to Germany to pick it up.

Not quite it was a long plate with probably 7 or 8 letters. White background and I think black edge trim.

roadburner · April 2022

graphicguy said:
Been out for a while. Enjoying traveling. Too many places to list. But, I’ve been north to Alaska, South to the Caribbean/Bermuda, West to Sonoma, East to Portland.

In short, been out and about since that darned COVID thing seems to be under control.

Stopped by to say “hi”. Hope everyone’s well.

TJC….loving the Easter Pies. My sister will be serving those later on today for Easter Celebration.

Jipster….geez-Louise. That’s quite a bit of damage. Hope everything gets worked out with minimal hassle for you and your family.

Still have the TLX…about 13K miles. Had to do it’s “A1” service (oil change, tire rotation, inspections) a few months ago. Aside from that, it’s been exemplary. Averaging about 23 MPG in mixed driving (mostly city). I’m good with that.

@kyfdx …put in bids on two homes down by you (Covington)….giving asking price, cash deal, inspection required. Was out bid on both. Still refuse to get into a bidding war. One came back to me when the buyer’s financing fell through. To spite myself I came back with an offer lower than my original offer. That was not received well.

Son is thinking of selling his GTI. We went out yesterday to look at Accord 2.0 Sports. The one dealership we visited had about 7-8 1.5 cars. Sales guy explained that all their cars come with a “flashing brake light” installed at an up charge of $599. Son said it was not interested in that. Sales says they are installed on all Hondas. Son asked to see where that showed up on the MSRP. Finally, sales said it’s a dealer installed option. Still, the 1.5l tis not what he wants. Sales guy comes back with a list of 2.0s headed to the dealership in the next 2 weeks (maybe a dozen or so). Says for $500 deposit he’d hold one for my son. Son states he might as that would allow him to get a car without the $600 flashing brake lite. Sales guy went back to they all come that way.

We left without even giving our name to him….just stood up and walked out. Are we really back to playing these games, still?

We also drove a Bolt. Dang….that’s an impressive car from Chevrolet. It had all the goodies (with the exception of AWD), seemed built well and tight as a drum. Instant torque was quite cool. Plus, they’re installing the “fast chargers” for free on them. Road well. Was surprised how comfortable it was for such a small car.

Wanted to drop by to see how my Edmund’s friends are doing (although, seems more like I wanted to drone on and on about what I’ve been doing). LOL!

Welcome back! As for the flashing brake light, the last thing I want is some minimum wage "tech" hacking into the factory harness with 3M suitcase connectors. What dealer was that?

henryn · April 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:
I saw a nice MB behind me today with what appeared to be European Union plates. What do you think, someone who is in the country for business and loves his car that much that he’d pay to ship it over?
How did they look....something like one of these:

Maybe he couldn't get an MB here so he went to Germany to pick it up.
Not quite it was a long plate with probably 7 or 8 letters. White background and I think black edge trim.

I just saw one of those on a Mercedes Benz. It was parked one block over from my house. It was on the rear, it was far wider than a standard Texas license plate, and had more letters / numerals.

You might get away with something fanciful on the front (although Texas does require front license plates, they're usually not that strict at enforcement). But you're not likely to get away with something like that on the rear, which does make me wonder.

fintail · April 2022

I think it's more like trying to prove to the masses that the car isn't boring - also see so many overstyled Toyotas. The brands got a boring rep, which must have offended some suits, so here we are.

driver100 said:
I saw a new Avalon today.....what were they thinking when they came up with that front grill?

How ugly can we make this car look? If we make it ugly enough maybe they will upgrade to a Lexus?

fintail · April 2022

Fortunately, I haven't seen the gimmick/profit center on any new cars I'd really consider buying.

cdnpinhead said:

fintail said:
Amazing that the dealer had the chutzpah.
C'mon, man (quoting the guy who got elected), you know better than that. There are several reasons I only buy a car every ten or fifteen years, and that sort of thing definitely factors in.

driver100 · April 2022

The picture I used was actually fairly kind....this one really shows it off;

It is too bad because the rest of the car is fairly conservative and has nice lines;

@tjc78 I think the Avalon could be on my list of possibles...but, I don't think I could buy a car with that front end.
@fintail That's a good guess, they probably think it looks more edgy, and will attract younger buyers.

abacomike · April 2022

So nice to see Jordan Spieth win the RBC Heritage tournament in Hilton Head. He’s worked so hard at getting back to where he was 2-3 years ago. Congrats, Jordan!

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

driver100 said:
The picture I used was actually fairly kind....this one really shows it off;

It is too bad because the rest of the car is fairly conservative and has nice lines;

@tjc78 I think the Avalon could be on my list of possibles...but, I don't think I could buy a car with that front end.
@fintail That's a good guess, they probably think it looks more edgy, and will attract younger buyers.

I’ve driven one or two Avalons in our fleet and I liked the ride. Very comfortable and sedate. That front end is so jarring that it just doesn’t go with that image. In fact I can’t think of any car that front would look good on.

graphicguy · April 2022

roadburner said:

graphicguy said:
Been out for a while. Enjoying traveling. Too many places to list. But, I’ve been north to Alaska, South to the Caribbean/Bermuda, West to Sonoma, East to Portland.

In short, been out and about since that darned COVID thing seems to be under control.

Stopped by to say “hi”. Hope everyone’s well.

TJC….loving the Easter Pies. My sister will be serving those later on today for Easter Celebration.

Jipster….geez-Louise. That’s quite a bit of damage. Hope everything gets worked out with minimal hassle for you and your family.

Still have the TLX…about 13K miles. Had to do it’s “A1” service (oil change, tire rotation, inspections) a few months ago. Aside from that, it’s been exemplary. Averaging about 23 MPG in mixed driving (mostly city). I’m good with that.

@kyfdx …put in bids on two homes down by you (Covington)….giving asking price, cash deal, inspection required. Was out bid on both. Still refuse to get into a bidding war. One came back to me when the buyer’s financing fell through. To spite myself I came back with an offer lower than my original offer. That was not received well.

Son is thinking of selling his GTI. We went out yesterday to look at Accord 2.0 Sports. The one dealership we visited had about 7-8 1.5 cars. Sales guy explained that all their cars come with a “flashing brake light” installed at an up charge of $599. Son said it was not interested in that. Sales says they are installed on all Hondas. Son asked to see where that showed up on the MSRP. Finally, sales said it’s a dealer installed option. Still, the 1.5l tis not what he wants. Sales guy comes back with a list of 2.0s headed to the dealership in the next 2 weeks (maybe a dozen or so). Says for $500 deposit he’d hold one for my son. Son states he might as that would allow him to get a car without the $600 flashing brake lite. Sales guy went back to they all come that way.

We left without even giving our name to him….just stood up and walked out. Are we really back to playing these games, still?

We also drove a Bolt. Dang….that’s an impressive car from Chevrolet. It had all the goodies (with the exception of AWD), seemed built well and tight as a drum. Instant torque was quite cool. Plus, they’re installing the “fast chargers” for free on them. Road well. Was surprised how comfortable it was for such a small car.

Wanted to drop by to see how my Edmund’s friends are doing (although, seems more like I wanted to drone on and on about what I’ve been doing). LOL!
Welcome back! As for the flashing brake light, the last thing I want is some minimum wage "tech" hacking into the factory harness with 3M suitcase connectors. What dealer was that?

Thanks. Always love chatting with my Edmunds friends.

It was Performance Honda. I used to like them and have actually bought a few cars from them. That they’ve stooped to this level means we (my son and I) won’t be back.

The sales person acted put out that we just didn’t roll over. I left him with…..”so, you want us to give you a $500 deposit, on a car we can’t see (it was incoming) or test drive, that has $600 of worthless pack? No thanks!” That’s when we walked out.

ab348 · April 2022

Thankfully that flashing brake light scam has not yet made its way here. The worst we seem to get is "mandatory" locking lug nuts or some sort of paint protection. I heard the other day from a friend about a friend of his who bought a Tesla recently and paid an extra $1500 to have a protective film installed on the front of it. I guess buyers of those aren't really concerned about prices.

One thing about that flashing 3rd brake light I don't understand: I would think that with today's technology it would be pretty easy to make a LED bulb that replaces the existing 3rd brake light lamp which would have that flash capability built right into it, so there would be no need to hack into wiring, etc.

driver100 · April 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:
The picture I used was actually fairly kind....this one really shows it off;

It is too bad because the rest of the car is fairly conservative and has nice lines;

@tjc78 I think the Avalon could be on my list of possibles...but, I don't think I could buy a car with that front end.
@fintail That's a good guess, they probably think it looks more edgy, and will attract younger buyers.
I’ve driven one or two Avalons in our fleet and I liked the ride. Very comfortable and sedate. That front end is so jarring that it just doesn’t go with that image. In fact I can’t think of any car that front would look good on.

The Avalon looks sleek - except for that front end - and it is a reliable luxury car. If I had problems with my Euro cars I would consider a Lexus next....and an Avalon would certainly be on my list. It seems that they sell in small numbers, but the price seems reasonable for a high quality luxury car;

Toyota sold 19,460 Avalon in 2021. In 2020, Toyota sold 18,421 Avalon. They sold 1,039 more units in 2021 compared to 2020 with a percent gain of 5.64% YoY.

Pricing for the 2022 Toyota Avalon starts at $36,375 MSRP and goes up to $43,075 fully loaded.

jmonroe1 · April 2022

ab348 said:
Thankfully that flashing brake light scam has not yet made its way here. The worst we seem to get is "mandatory" locking lug nuts or some sort of paint protection. I heard the other day from a friend about a friend of his who bought a Tesla recently and paid an extra $1500 to have a protective film installed on the front of it. I guess buyers of those aren't really concerned about prices.

One thing about that flashing 3rd brake light I don't understand: I would think that with today's technology it would be pretty easy to make a LED bulb that replaces the existing 3rd brake light lamp which would have that flash capability built right into it, so there would be no need to hack into wiring, etc.

That would take all the fun out of screwing up the wiring harness for techs that have thumbs that work like toes.

jmonroe

imidazol97 · April 2022

ab348 said:
Thankfully that flashing brake light scam has not yet made its way here. The worst we seem to get is "mandatory" locking lug nuts or some sort of paint protection. I heard the other day from a friend about a friend of his who bought a Tesla recently and paid an extra $1500 to have a protective film installed on the front of it. I guess buyers of those aren't really concerned about prices.

One thing about that flashing 3rd brake light I don't understand: I would think that with today's technology it would be pretty easy to make a LED bulb that replaces the existing 3rd brake light lamp which would have that flash capability built right into it, so there would be no need to hack into wiring, etc.

When I'm behind one of those obnoxious "flashers," I blink my high beams 3 or 4 times rapidly every time
the dang things flash in my face. I hope a few of the owners are smart enough to figure out their "flasher" is obnoxious and a driving distraction.

I consider the strobing a medical danger because some can cause epileptic seizures in sensitivie people.
Same with flashing lights on the front of motorcycles, but there are very few of those today compared to 5 years ago.

driver100 · April 2022

Why pay $500 for blinking strobe lights when you can get them for less than $15 CDN at Walmart? And these blink 8 times to give the guy behind you a massive headache or lead him to road rage.
2X 1157 Red Flashing Strobe Blinking Rear Alert Safety Brake Tail Stop Lights

Clear out deal
$14.56

carnaught · April 2022

Hey how about one of those Avalon XSE’ s as pictured with the flashing strobe lights?

Haven’t had this much fun since my posting “buddies” made fun of my Lexus grill - geez
😵‍💫.

driver100 · April 2022

carnaught said:
Hey how about one of those Avalon XSE’ s as pictured with the flashing strobe lights?

Haven’t had this much fun since my posting “buddies” made fun of my Lexus grill - geez
😵‍💫.

Carnaught.....to be fair, I for one said the Lexus grill looked better in person than it does in pictures.
Did the guys here make you trade-in the Lexus for the bmw?
Like I said, if I wanted luxury and dependability, I'd probably go with a Lexus, I can live with the grill even if it isn't the best looking, but I don't know if I could live with the Avalon grill.

jmonroe1 · April 2022

driver100 said:
Why pay $500 for blinking strobe lights when you can get them for less than $15 CDN at Walmart? And these blink 8 times to give the guy behind you a massive headache or lead him to road rage.
2X 1157 Red Flashing Strobe Blinking Rear Alert Safety Brake Tail Stop Lights

Clear out deal
$14.56

If someone installed a pair of those doflickies and was asked what they were how in the hell could anyone remember what they are called.

jmonroe

andres3 · April 2022

ab348 said:
Thankfully that flashing brake light scam has not yet made its way here. The worst we seem to get is "mandatory" locking lug nuts or some sort of paint protection. I heard the other day from a friend about a friend of his who bought a Tesla recently and paid an extra $1500 to have a protective film installed on the front of it. I guess buyers of those aren't really concerned about prices.

One thing about that flashing 3rd brake light I don't understand: I would think that with today's technology it would be pretty easy to make a LED bulb that replaces the existing 3rd brake light lamp which would have that flash capability built right into it, so there would be no need to hack into wiring, etc.

With an LED brake light and Costco size battery packs of CR2023 batteries you could have a lifetime supply for a lot less than $600 just by making it battery operated which avoids the harness tampering issue for power, now the signal on the other hand....does it need to work?

driver100 · April 2022

Since it is a slow day here, and the rec centers are closed here for Easter Monday, I saw a Ford Tempo the other day, and it was in perfect shape. I couldn't believe it could last that long....they drove like a lumber truck even when they were new. It felt like driving a wagon, not much of a suspension. Everything was minimal too, it was just made to get you from A to B with minimal comfort. They were around from about 1985 to 1990 I guess;

henryn · April 2022

I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle a few days ago about credit card skimmers at gas stations. They had very specific information from the Houston Police Department.

At empty gas stations across Houston late at night, it takes only a few minutes for thieves to open a gas pump and attach the ribbon cable of a credit card skimmer inside. Once installed, the devices collect and wirelessly transmit credit card information that the thieves can often harvest simply by driving past the station.

Since 2018, Houston police have found nearly 630 skimmers at gas stations, convenience stores, banks, and other places across the city, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of police data. The problem is part of a worsening nationwide trend, said Michael Osina, a Houston Police Department lieutenant who works on the cases.

At one location, a gas station in southeast Houston, officers have removed 27 skimmers since 2018. At another station, police recovered four skimmers that had been operating for two years.

The vast majority of devices – 475 in total – were found at gas stations, but not all are equally vulnerable. Smaller, individually-owned stations with fewer customers made easier targets than larger corporate-owned locations, Osina said.

Police data reveals about half of the skimmers were found within a day of being installed. Still, 264 devices remained hidden for over a week, and skimmers found by police had been running nearly two and a half months on average.

All of which is making me feel a little paranoid.

sda · April 2022

driver100 said:
Since it is a slow day here, and the rec centers are closed here for Easter Monday, I saw a Ford Tempo the other day, and it was in perfect shape. I couldn't believe it could last that long....they drove like a lumber truck even when they were new. It felt like driving a wagon, not much of a suspension. Everything was minimal too, it was just made to get you from A to B with minimal comfort. They were around from about 1985 to 1990 I guess;

That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

venture · April 2022

A beautiful Spring day in central Pennsylvania. Looking out my bedroom window.

jmonroe1 · April 2022

venture said:
A beautiful Spring day in central Pennsylvania. Looking out my bedroom window.

So, what do you call ugly?

This Winter, while not a record setter for low temps here in my area, just refuses to go away.

jmonroe

carnaught · April 2022

@driver100, I had 3 cars after the Lexus, 2 Mercedes, then returned to “ugly” with the Avalon Hybrid. The BMW is the most current dd.

tjc78 · April 2022

@sda said:
That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

Oh yeah!! 140 HP of Vulcan power!

roadburner · April 2022

@graphicguy said:
Thanks. Always love chatting with my Edmunds friends.

It was Performance Honda. I used to like them and have actually bought a few cars from them. That they’ve stooped to this level means we (my son and I) won’t be back.

The sales person acted put out that we just didn’t roll over. I left him with…..”so, you want us to give you a $500 deposit, on a car we can’t see (it was incoming) or test drive, that has $600 of worthless pack? No thanks!” That’s when we walked out.

My nearest Ford dealer is the store that my father always patronized- from 1967 to 1991. All the people he worked with have long since retired and now all the new and used cars get those stupid flashing CHMSL. The last time I stopped in the young salesman I talked to played the hoary old “What can I do to put you in a car today?” game.
Unbelievable.

roadburner · April 2022

Today we had some excitement in the morning docket. A guy had missed a court date but turned himself in; his attorney was asking to have the bench warrant recalled. The judge was asking him why he missed his court date and he was giving one inconsistent excuse after another. I didn’t really care, so when the judge asked me if the Commonwealth objected to the recall I said “Well, I probably should, but I won’t.” I guess the guy misunderstood me, as he turned around and started to run out of the courtroom. Before he got to the door one spectator stuck his leg out and tripped the guy and another spectator held him down.
So now, instead of just getting a new court date and going home the judge gave him 30 days for contempt of court.
Another knucklehead who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

sda · April 2022

roadburner said:
Today we had some excitement in the morning docket. A guy had missed a court date but turned himself in; his attorney was asking to have the bench warrant recalled. The judge was asking him why he missed his court date and he was giving one inconsistent excuse after another. I didn’t really care, so when the judge asked me if the Commonwealth objected to the recall I said “Well, I probably should, but I won’t.” I guess the guy misunderstood me, as he turned around and started to run out of the courtroom. Before he got to the door one spectator stuck his leg out and tripped the guy and another spectator held him down.

So now, instead of just getting a new court date and going home the judge gave him 30 days for contempt of court.

Another knucklehead who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

You need to write a book with a serious and comedy theme.

roadburner · April 2022

sda said:

roadburner said:
Today we had some excitement in the morning docket. A guy had missed a court date but turned himself in; his attorney was asking to have the bench warrant recalled. The judge was asking him why he missed his court date and he was giving one inconsistent excuse after another. I didn’t really care, so when the judge asked me if the Commonwealth objected to the recall I said “Well, I probably should, but I won’t.” I guess the guy misunderstood me, as he turned around and started to run out of the courtroom. Before he got to the door one spectator stuck his leg out and tripped the guy and another spectator held him down.

So now, instead of just getting a new court date and going home the judge gave him 30 days for contempt of court.

Another knucklehead who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

You need to write a book with a serious and comedy theme.

I really do with wish that I had kept a diary from my first day on the bench; I would have tons of material.

fintail · April 2022

tjc78 said:

@sda said:

That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

Oh yeah!! 140 HP of Vulcan power!

That was a big deal in a 92 Tempo!

I remember when I was a teen, a local rental car office received an assortment of V6 Tempos. I wanted to try one out and compare it with our 4cyl version.

Michaell · April 2022

fintail said:

tjc78 said:

@sda said:

That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

Oh yeah!! 140 HP of Vulcan power!

That was a big deal in a 92 Tempo!

I remember when I was a teen, a local rental car office received an assortment of V6 Tempos. I wanted to try one out and compare it with our 4cyl version.

The Sentra SE-R had the same output from 4 cylinders; and, I'll guess, a much higher redline.

driver100 · April 2022

Since it is a slow day here, and the

sda said:

driver100 said:
Since it is a slow day here, and the rec centers are closed here for Easter Monday, I saw a Ford Tempo the other day, and it was in perfect shape. I couldn't believe it could last that long....they drove like a lumber truck even when they were new. It felt like driving a wagon, not much of a suspension. Everything was minimal too, it was just made to get you from A to B with minimal comfort. They were around from about 1985 to 1990 I guess;

That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

Nice detective work!

driver100 · April 2022

carnaught said:
@driver100, I had 3 cars after the Lexus, 2 Mercedes, then returned to “ugly” with the Avalon Hybrid. The BMW is the most current dd.

@carnaught Not trying to be a troublemaker but what was your impression of the Avalon front end when you bought it? They sell about 20000 a year so either some people like it or it doesn't register in their mind. Also, what are your general impressions of the 4 different makes....and what is the top pick for your next car....if you were to buy one in the next year? You don't see that much variety very often.

jmonroe1 · April 2022

sda said:

roadburner said:
Today we had some excitement in the morning docket. A guy had missed a court date but turned himself in; his attorney was asking to have the bench warrant recalled. The judge was asking him why he missed his court date and he was giving one inconsistent excuse after another. I didn’t really care, so when the judge asked me if the Commonwealth objected to the recall I said “Well, I probably should, but I won’t.” I guess the guy misunderstood me, as he turned around and started to run out of the courtroom. Before he got to the door one spectator stuck his leg out and tripped the guy and another spectator held him down.

So now, instead of just getting a new court date and going home the judge gave him 30 days for contempt of court.

Another knucklehead who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

You need to write a book with a serious and comedy theme.

That’s old school. He should just have his phone set up to catch all the follies. Hint: start the day with a fully charged battery.

jmonroe

graphicguy · April 2022

henryn said:
I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle a few days ago about credit card skimmers at gas stations. They had very specific information from the Houston Police Department.

At empty gas stations across Houston late at night, it takes only a few minutes for thieves to open a gas pump and attach the ribbon cable of a credit card skimmer inside. Once installed, the devices collect and wirelessly transmit credit card information that the thieves can often harvest simply by driving past the station.

Since 2018, Houston police have found nearly 630 skimmers at gas stations, convenience stores, banks, and other places across the city, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of police data. The problem is part of a worsening nationwide trend, said Michael Osina, a Houston Police Department lieutenant who works on the cases.

At one location, a gas station in southeast Houston, officers have removed 27 skimmers since 2018. At another station, police recovered four skimmers that had been operating for two years.

The vast majority of devices – 475 in total – were found at gas stations, but not all are equally vulnerable. Smaller, individually-owned stations with fewer customers made easier targets than larger corporate-owned locations, Osina said.

Police data reveals about half of the skimmers were found within a day of being installed. Still, 264 devices remained hidden for over a week, and skimmers found by police had been running nearly two and a half months on average.

All of which is making me feel a little paranoid.

Seeing a lot of those credit card swipers going to “tap and go” (like Costco) or using a chip, which is more expensive for the credit card issuer, but cheaper than paying for fraud.

graphicguy · April 2022

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:
The picture I used was actually fairly kind....this one really shows it off;

It is too bad because the rest of the car is fairly conservative and has nice lines;

@tjc78 I think the Avalon could be on my list of possibles...but, I don't think I could buy a car with that front end.
@fintail That's a good guess, they probably think it looks more edgy, and will attract younger buyers.
I’ve driven one or two Avalons in our fleet and I liked the ride. Very comfortable and sedate. That front end is so jarring that it just doesn’t go with that image. In fact I can’t think of any car that front would look good on.
The Avalon looks sleek - except for that front end - and it is a reliable luxury car. If I had problems with my Euro cars I would consider a Lexus next....and an Avalon would certainly be on my list. It seems that they sell in small numbers, but the price seems reasonable for a high quality luxury car;

Toyota sold 19,460 Avalon in 2021. In 2020, Toyota sold 18,421 Avalon. They sold 1,039 more units in 2021 compared to 2020 with a percent gain of 5.64% YoY.

Pricing for the 2022 Toyota Avalon starts at $36,375 MSRP and goes up to $43,075 fully loaded.

I like the current iteration of the Avalon. It’s been over a year, but the last one I test drove reminded me a lot of the LExus ES. Replace the Toyota badging and replace it with Lexus badging and I doubt 9 out of 10 would be able to discern any difference while driving it.

Now, the one I tested was a “Touring”, which allegedly had better handling suspension (not sure what those parts would be), so maybe that’s the reason. Still overall, if you like the LExus drive, you’ll like the Avalon drive.

Appearance? Just swap out the Toyota grill for the Lexus grill, and the transformation would be complete. I’d bet the grill swap would have the same bolt holes and would line up the same, too.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

driver100 said:
Why pay $500 for blinking strobe lights when you can get them for less than $15 CDN at Walmart? And these blink 8 times to give the guy behind you a massive headache or lead him to road rage.
2X 1157 Red Flashing Strobe Blinking Rear Alert Safety Brake Tail Stop Lights

Clear out deal
$14.56

I don’t think I’ve ever seen those kind of lights. Maybe they’re illegal in NY like overly tinted windows.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

henryn said:
I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle a few days ago about credit card skimmers at gas stations. They had very specific information from the Houston Police Department.

At empty gas stations across Houston late at night, it takes only a few minutes for thieves to open a gas pump and attach the ribbon cable of a credit card skimmer inside. Once installed, the devices collect and wirelessly transmit credit card information that the thieves can often harvest simply by driving past the station.

Since 2018, Houston police have found nearly 630 skimmers at gas stations, convenience stores, banks, and other places across the city, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of police data. The problem is part of a worsening nationwide trend, said Michael Osina, a Houston Police Department lieutenant who works on the cases.

At one location, a gas station in southeast Houston, officers have removed 27 skimmers since 2018. At another station, police recovered four skimmers that had been operating for two years.

The vast majority of devices – 475 in total – were found at gas stations, but not all are equally vulnerable. Smaller, individually-owned stations with fewer customers made easier targets than larger corporate-owned locations, Osina said.

Police data reveals about half of the skimmers were found within a day of being installed. Still, 264 devices remained hidden for over a week, and skimmers found by police had been running nearly two and a half months on average.

All of which is making me feel a little paranoid.

And people think I’m crazy for only using cash.

That leads me to another thought. Many people use credit cards to get points or miles but does that outweigh the extra they pay for the gas? I was near a station yesterday that had the normal two tiered price sign for what I assumed was the discount given for the “smart pay” customers but it wasn’t. Instead they were posting a 10 cent cheaper price for cash vs credit. Many other stations offer similar cash discounts.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

venture said:
A beautiful Spring day in central Pennsylvania. Looking out my bedroom window.

I woke up to something similar this morning. Some places north of me got a foot. Heavy wet snow that’s bending tree branches. Similar to a storm we had in October 87’ when the leaves were still on the trees and devastated the area for a week.

We got lucky this time.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

tjc78 said:

@sda said:

That was a somewhat rare V6 model.

Oh yeah!! 140 HP of Vulcan power!

Not bad for an era when a Corvette only had 200.

oldfarmer50 · April 2022

Hooptie update.

That 2010 Elantra that my son has been babysitting for his Army buddy looks like it’s fixed. Seems from lack of use the shifter shaft going into the transmission got all rusty and wasn’t working properly. They had to hammer the old parts off to replace them. It also needed a new battery cable which might explain the no start condition. They’re going to do an oil and transmission fluid change as well for a total cost of about $450. That’s a bit less than the dealer’s estimate of $2000 plus $150 diagnostic fee.

It sure pays to have a “guy” for this kind of stuff.

henryn · April 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:
I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle a few days ago about credit card skimmers at gas stations. They had very specific information from the Houston Police Department.

At empty gas stations across Houston late at night, it takes only a few minutes for thieves to open a gas pump and attach the ribbon cable of a credit card skimmer inside. Once installed, the devices collect and wirelessly transmit credit card information that the thieves can often harvest simply by driving past the station.

Since 2018, Houston police have found nearly 630 skimmers at gas stations, convenience stores, banks, and other places across the city, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of police data. The problem is part of a worsening nationwide trend, said Michael Osina, a Houston Police Department lieutenant who works on the cases.

At one location, a gas station in southeast Houston, officers have removed 27 skimmers since 2018. At another station, police recovered four skimmers that had been operating for two years.

The vast majority of devices – 475 in total – were found at gas stations, but not all are equally vulnerable. Smaller, individually-owned stations with fewer customers made easier targets than larger corporate-owned locations, Osina said.

Police data reveals about half of the skimmers were found within a day of being installed. Still, 264 devices remained hidden for over a week, and skimmers found by police had been running nearly two and a half months on average.
All of which is making me feel a little paranoid.

And people think I’m crazy for only using cash.

That leads me to another thought. Many people use credit cards to get points or miles but does that outweigh the extra they pay for the gas? I was near a station yesterday that had the normal two tiered price sign for what I assumed was the discount given for the “smart pay” customers but it wasn’t. Instead they were posting a 10 cent cheaper price for cash vs credit. Many other stations offer similar cash discounts.

---------------------end quoted material-----------------------

Here in Houston, something like 9 out of 10 gas stations have similar practices for pricing cash vs credit purchases. Big sign up with prices, $3.59 and below that a similar sign saying $3.69. If you look at the smaller print below the numbers, it's cash vs credit.

One thing I like about the Murphy at WalMart, same price cash or credit. Also true at HEB. But Chevron, Mobil, Shell, Valero all do the 10 cent spread.

I remember a big fuss about all of this many years back. It's illegal to charge people for using a credit card, but you can offer a cash discount. Which is a difference without a difference.

explorerx4 · April 2022

wrong forum.

jmonroe1 · April 2022

oldfarmer50 said:
Hooptie update.

That 2010 Elantra that my son has been babysitting for his Army buddy looks like it’s fixed. Seems from lack of use the shifter shaft going into the transmission got all rusty and wasn’t working properly. They had to hammer the old parts off to replace them. It also needed a new battery cable which might explain the no start condition. They’re going to do an oil and transmission fluid change as well for a total cost of about $450. That’s a bit less than the dealer’s estimate of $2000 plus $150 diagnostic fee.

It sure pays to have a “guy” for this kind of stuff.

————————————————-

If you have to hammer off rusted on tranny shift linkage parts due to infrequent use, you’ve convinced me that youz guys have the nastiest salt in the country.

jmonroe

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