Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78 · June 2022

@jmonroe1 said:
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If the old sailor was right you’re going to have a nice day tomorrow.

jmonroe

Not this time. Pretty crappy today!

oldfarmer50 · June 2022

I hope you guys buying houses don’t run into this scam:

bwia · June 2022

@oldfarmer50 said:
One convenience store chain where we gas up and get coffee has started allocating some of their limited parking to charging stations. Evidently, no one wants to hang out at the Quicky Mart for an hour or more so the stations are never used. This results in other customers parking on the grass, sidewalk, in front of the air pump or other inappropriate places.

There is a business model in the EV charging biz for entrepreneurs. Unlike the government that is unable to build small and medium sized charging stations, there is unlimited opportunity for small operators who can build small clusters of charging stations near apartment complexes, office buildings, and even in some urban areas for those who do not have the ability to charge at home.

ab348 · June 2022

bwia said:

There is a business model in the EV charging biz for entrepreneurs. Unlike the government that is unable to build small and medium sized charging stations, there is unlimited opportunity for small operators who can build small clusters of charging stations near apartment complexes, office buildings, and even in some urban areas for those who do not have the ability to charge at home.

What's their markup on a kw/h, any idea?

henryn · June 2022

This ongoing conversation about charging stations started me thinking about whether I had ever noticed any charging stations. The only one that comes to mind was dead square in front of the showroom at a Ford dealership. There may have been a lot more that I simply didn't notice, but off hand I would say there are few to no charging stations at places that I routinely go.

kyfdx · June 2022

graphicguy said:
@kyfdx …had a group dinner down your way last night.

https://pompilios.com/

Haven't been in awhile, but used to go a lot. 2 miles from my house.

But, I was in Fort Wayne, last night.

imidazol97 · June 2022

tjc78 said:
Toyota has paint problems too, especially with white. Previous generation RAV4’s are known to have the paint come off in sheets.

Now I remember seeing mostly Corollas in this area with that problem. I wonder where the plant is that built the Corollas, compared to the other vehicles.

driver100 · June 2022

Charging stations in the future will probably have coffee shops and places to shop etc. Just what I need, another place to buy some junk food to eat while my car is getting charged up!

oldfarmer50 · June 2022

imidazol97 said:

tjc78 said:
Toyota has paint problems too, especially with white. Previous generation RAV4’s are known to have the paint come off in sheets.

Now I remember seeing mostly Corollas in this area with that problem. I wonder where the plant is that built the Corollas, compared to the other vehicles.

For some reason a lot of car makers have had trouble with white. My GM cars were prone to it peeling in sheets suitable for a bed.

stickguy · June 2022

so IOW they are making rest stops on or just off the highway with charging stations, not just gas pumps. seems simple enough.

driver100 · June 2022

stickguy said:
so IOW they are making rest stops on or just off the highway with charging stations, not just gas pumps. seems simple enough.

Well, they know it could take a while to charge your car, so they want to give you a reason to stop and shop.
I would guess, that the current gas stations which have large lots, a store, food etc could easily adapt to adding charging stations......that is probably part of their game plan, they can't be thinking EVs will take over one day!

stickguy · June 2022

the rest areas on interstates already have restaurants. So set up for people to stay a while. Probably need to add some sort of lounge area for people who are charging to hang out in.

ronsteve · June 2022

@stickguy said:
the rest areas on interstates already have restaurants. So set up for people to stay a while. Probably need to add some sort of lounge area for people who are charging to hang out in.

On the major or legacy toll roads they do, but most Interstate rest areas, not so much.

stickguy · June 2022

sounds like a business opportunity to me!

jmonroe1 · June 2022

tjc78 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————-

If the old sailor was right you’re going to have a nice day tomorrow.

jmonroe

Not this time. Pretty crappy today!

————————————————-
That sailor could have been drunk. They have been known to close a lot of parties.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · June 2022

stickguy said:
sounds like a business opportunity to me!

————————————————-
Too bad you’re all tied up with moving. Somebody is going to eat your lunch.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · June 2022

stickguy said:
the rest areas on interstates already have restaurants. So set up for people to stay a while. Probably need to add some sort of lounge area for people who are charging to hang out in.

Have you stopped at a rest stop on I-87 on your way up here? I’m not sure Roy Rogers chicken and Cinnabon would keep me hanging around very long.

graphicguy · June 2022

The vast….VAST majority of charging will be done at the EV owner’s home. Big difference between having to travel somewhere to fuel up at a traditional gas station vs charging at home, where vehicles spend most of their time, idle.

Mentioned a neighbor whose wife has a VW ID.4. They also put solar cells on a back yard wooden shed where they store pool and lawn supplies/equipment. As it stands, they’re paying nothing to run the ID.4 and powering their house for free in the process.

stickguy · June 2022

the big utilities are going to hate it (and decisions makers in their pockets) but it makes a ton of sense for the future to have a big amount of POS generation (essentially micro plants). takes a lot of use out of the grid, and even puts energy back into it during peak generation times when it is needed. Solar on office buildings or warehouses is a logical way to do it. And of course everybody that puts it on their house is helping.

improved ST storage options is all that is really needed to make it really effective.

ab348 · June 2022

stickguy said:
the big utilities are going to hate it (and decisions makers in their pockets) but it makes a ton of sense for the future to have a big amount of POS generation (essentially micro plants). takes a lot of use out of the grid, and even puts energy back into it during peak generation times when it is needed. Solar on office buildings or warehouses is a logical way to do it. And of course everybody that puts it on their house is helping.

improved ST storage options is all that is really needed to make it really effective.

Interestingly enough, locally the electric utility is trying to get their tariff changed to significantly limit how much power customers can feed back into the grid or how much they have to pay back to them for those kw hours. Their argument is that paying customers a straight reduction in their bill at the same rate does not account for the costs of the grid they are using and is unfair. They also say that those solar kw are provided at times of day when they are not needed and that their generating capacity does not get reduced so it is mostly all costs for them and not so much for their solar accounts.

oldfarmer50 · June 2022

graphicguy said:
The vast….VAST majority of charging will be done at the EV owner’s home. Big difference between having to travel somewhere to fuel up at a traditional gas station vs charging at home, where vehicles spend most of their time, idle.

Mentioned a neighbor whose wife has a VW ID.4. They also put solar cells on a back yard wooden shed where they store pool and lawn supplies/equipment. As it stands, they’re paying nothing to run the ID.4 and powering their house for free in the process.

Did someone donate the solar panels and install them for free? There’s never a free lunch.

oldfarmer50 · June 2022

stickguy said:
the big utilities are going to hate it (and decisions makers in their pockets) but it makes a ton of sense for the future to have a big amount of POS generation (essentially micro plants). takes a lot of use out of the grid, and even puts energy back into it during peak generation times when it is needed. Solar on office buildings or warehouses is a logical way to do it. And of course everybody that puts it on their house is helping.

improved ST storage options is all that is really needed to make it really effective.

Solar panels have been getting more and more efficient. When I built my house in 1982 I sited it specifically for solar installation. At the time the economics didn’t work. Soon it could be a different story.

driver100 · June 2022

stickguy said:
the rest areas on interstates already have restaurants. So set up for people to stay a while. Probably need to add some sort of lounge area for people who are charging to hang out in.

Maybe for those long to charge cars they could have rest stop movie theaters.

mjfloyd1 · June 2022

Youngest daughter went to Orlando for club gymnastics national competition. She was second on floor, sixth on vault and eighth on beam. Could not be more proud. (She doesn’t compete on bars because she broke her wrist last year)

driver100 · June 2022

Like we said before, how do people who park on the street charge their cars? What about homes without garages? What about homes with old or minimal wiring? What about larger older apartments with underground parking?
What happens if I come home from work on empty, go to charge up, and find I have to go on an emergency trip of 200 miles?
If my car has a flat tire like it just did, happened on a Friday, didn't get fixed until Monday, and we had a trip to go on Saturday (my trip was 100 miles round trip - say it is 300 miles) I could take Mrs D100's gasser, but I might have to stop for a charge if she had an EV.
Questions Questions!

kyfdx · June 2022

The big utilities love it. Anything that puts off having to build more power plants is easier money.

laurasdada · June 2022

My PHEV is going to help me stay healthy; well that's my intent...
In our village, there's a fancy schmancy inn/spa. In the parking lot are two Tesla charge stations, one for the rest of us. So, I electrically drive down and, if available, plug in at the Inn (and, yes, i've cleared it with the Inn, they are for the general public, not just guests. Which we've stayed in a few times). Then, jog the .5 mile to the clubhouse gym, where i work out for ~40 minutes. Jog back to the car, time spent is usually good for half a tank of shock. So, I guess I could term this process for my health, "Shock Therapy."

roadburner · June 2022

mjfloyd1 said:
Youngest daughter went to Orlando for club gymnastics national competition. She was second on floor, sixth on vault and eighth on beam. Could not be more proud. (She doesn’t compete on bars because she broke her wrist last year)

Congratulations!

roadburner · June 2022

Watching the NASCAR race at Sonoma always takes me back to 1993, when a good friend shared his E30 M3 with me at what was then called Sears Point- and one of the best BMW CCA instructors showed me the fast way around.

stickguy · June 2022

cool on the gymnastics. for a few years my daughter did team competitive gymnastics. she was pretty good for her level but stopped before she got into HS. she was not good enough, or flexible, to compete at that high a level!

But man, she was in incredible shape from that practicing. really ripped.

mjfloyd1 · June 2022

Thanks

Second shameless plug - oldest received “most promising neuroscience student” award at her university. She was awarded a certificate and $500. They invited her to an awards banquet but she didn’t understand that that meant she was getting an award so instead she went to her sorority meeting 🤦‍♂️

An alum in her sorority established a “best sophomore gpa” award. She received $8750 for that.

Next semester is paid for along with her other scholarships!

tjc78 · June 2022

@mjfloyd1
My daughter just did her first dance and gymnastics recital today. Amazes me how well they can get six year olds to focus and do those routines.

mjfloyd1 · June 2022

Mine has been in gymnastics since she was two.

I remember those dance classes too. Some get it and some are like herding cats!

stickguy · June 2022

tjc78 said:
@mjfloyd1

My daughter just did her first dance and gymnastics recital today. Amazes me how well they can get six year olds to focus and do those routines.

want some (at one time quite expensive) leotards? one of the many things on our give away pile is a bunch from my daughters collection! She was a little older but always on the small side!

kyfdx · June 2022

Honey, I sold your old leotards to some old guy on the internet! 🙂

stickguy · June 2022

it's my daughter. she would only ask if she got a cut of the take.

driver100 · June 2022

I am very grateful that Amazon exists.
Yesterday I was typing on my keyboard and the keys kind of froze up....they became hard to press and the space bar required a lot of pressure.
I checked keyboards on Amazon, there must be over 100 shown, I chose one with 1000s of reviews and 4 1/2 stars, with a wireless mouse. I had a choice of colors and I chose silver with white keys....I liked the gold one but I didn't want black keys again.
It's a Joyaccess model, very light, the mouse is quiet with smooth operation, the keys need little pressure but are secure, not spongy, kind of like European handling.
Can you imagine how long it would take for me to get to a store to wait for someone to help me, stand in line, use $5 worth of gas, wait in a line to pay....etc etc.

henryn · June 2022

If you ever had the experience of using an IBM Selectric typewriter, and remember the distinctive key feel and the "click" sound, you should look into a keyboard with mechanical switches. They are truly the greatest thing since sliced bread.

snakeweasel · June 2022

driver100 said:
I am very grateful that Amazon exists.
Yesterday I was typing on my keyboard and the keys kind of froze up....they became hard to press and the space bar required a lot of pressure.
I checked keyboards on Amazon, there must be over 100 shown, I chose one with 1000s of reviews and 4 1/2 stars, with a wireless mouse. I had a choice of colors and I chose silver with white keys....I liked the gold one but I didn't want black keys again.
It's a Joyaccess model, very light, the mouse is quiet with smooth operation, the keys need little pressure but are secure, not spongy, kind of like European handling.
Can you imagine how long it would take for me to get to a store to wait for someone to help me, stand in line, use $5 worth of gas, wait in a line to pay....etc etc.

I would have just gone to the nearest Best Buy and found what I needed and gone home and start using the new keyboard. It would have cost me 50 cents in gas, or I could have walked there and gotten a bit of exercise.

tjc78 · June 2022

@kyfdx said:
Honey, I sold your old leotards to some old guy on the internet! 🙂

Hey I’m not old!!!

@stickguy
You aren’t kidding expensive… I think all in the recital with the outfit changes, flowers etc etc. had us over $300 all in.

driver100 · June 2022

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
I am very grateful that Amazon exists.
Yesterday I was typing on my keyboard and the keys kind of froze up....they became hard to press and the space bar required a lot of pressure.
I checked keyboards on Amazon, there must be over 100 shown, I chose one with 1000s of reviews and 4 1/2 stars, with a wireless mouse. I had a choice of colors and I chose silver with white keys....I liked the gold one but I didn't want black keys again.
It's a Joyaccess model, very light, the mouse is quiet with smooth operation, the keys need little pressure but are secure, not spongy, kind of like European handling.
Can you imagine how long it would take for me to get to a store to wait for someone to help me, stand in line, use $5 worth of gas, wait in a line to pay....etc etc.

I would have just gone to the nearest Best Buy and found what I needed and gone home and start using the new keyboard. It would have cost me 50 cents in gas, or I could have walked there and gotten a bit of exercise.

I had a full day and not enough time to go to BB and hope they had something I liked in stock. BB would be a 20 minute drive each way, try to find someone to help me, hard to compare with only a few on display compared to 100s on Amazon, plus I had reviews and ratings and comments to go by. Then, if I did purchase one drive back...20 minutes, it will take about an hour and a half, compared to 20 minutes....and I think I came out with one I will like better.

If something was wrong, I'd have to drive back to BB etc., wait in line, explain the problem, with Amazon I get a sticker and take it to the post office 5 minutes away.

ab348 · June 2022

kyfdx said:
Honey, I sold your old leotards to some old guy on the internet! 🙂

I must admit I found stick's suggestion a little cringey.

ab348 · June 2022

snakeweasel said:

I would have just gone to the nearest Best Buy and found what I needed and gone home and start using the new keyboard. It would have cost me 50 cents in gas, or I could have walked there and gotten a bit of exercise.

Maybe other folks have had better experiences with Best Buy than I have, but I absolutely hate going near them. Clueless staff who seem to only know how to sell extended warranties and the like, constant out-of-stock situations, and of course the pain of going there and back. I'm like @driver100 in that if I can avoid going into a physical store these days, I take that route. My experience with Amazon has always been pretty good.

ab348 · June 2022

henryn said:
If you ever had the experience of using an IBM Selectric typewriter, and remember the distinctive key feel and the "click" sound, you should look into a keyboard with mechanical switches. They are truly the greatest thing since sliced bread.

For years I kept an old IBM PC (or maybe PS/2) keyboard in service here just for that reason. Only when I could no longer find an adapter to let me connect it to a more modern machine did I grudgingly give it up. Those old clicky keys were great.

stickguy · June 2022

@ab348 said:
I must admit I found stick's suggestion a little cringey.

Parents with kids in the expensive sports have no problem sharing uniforms and such to save money.

roadburner · June 2022

I’ve always had good experiences with Best Buy. The only glitch I have had was getting our new stationary bike delivered but they took care of it.

graphicguy · June 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:
The vast….VAST majority of charging will be done at the EV owner’s home. Big difference between having to travel somewhere to fuel up at a traditional gas station vs charging at home, where vehicles spend most of their time, idle.

Mentioned a neighbor whose wife has a VW ID.4. They also put solar cells on a back yard wooden shed where they store pool and lawn supplies/equipment. As it stands, they’re paying nothing to run the ID.4 and powering their house for free in the process.
Did someone donate the solar panels and install them for free? There’s never a free lunch.

No disagreement. There’s some sort of mix of state and Federal rebates, including some sort of incentives from our local energy provider that offsets some of the cost. I guess he sells some of his excess electricity back to the energy provider. There are some sort of tax advantages, too. He explained it to me, but my eyes glazed over after couple of minutes.

I don’t think it’s free. But, he no longer has an electric bill. And, he’s running his wife’s car with no fuel charges, at all.

graphicguy · June 2022

henryn said:
If you ever had the experience of using an IBM Selectric typewriter, and remember the distinctive key feel and the "click" sound, you should look into a keyboard with mechanical switches. They are truly the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Being a “programmer” from way back, putting a bunch of coders in the same room, using that IBM keyboard, it caused quite the racket.

graphicguy · June 2022

Speaking of computers. Finally broke down and retired my 10 year old MacBook Pro. Apple no longer updates the OS on it. And, little things are starting to go wrong, sticky keys and a monitor that’s fading. Remedied both of those things by getting an external keyboard and monitor. But, now the battery is getting weak. May try to use it as a music server, though.

Anyway, got a refurb M1 iMac. DANG……this thing is fast. Really nice monitor, too. Not a lot of ports, but I can get some external ports to hook up.

tjc78 · June 2022

@graphicguy said:
Being a “programmer” from way back, putting a bunch of coders in the same room, using that IBM keyboard, it caused quite the racket.

When I ran a retail planogram department, I had a guy that managed all our data. He was beyond incredible with Visual Basic and did things in Excel, Access and Python that saved us one or two people. At any rate he was very fussy with his keyboard. It couldn’t be wireless and was very noisy.

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