Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

stickguy · July 6

Maverick invoice to MSRP spread is pretty small. Based on when I bought mine. The dealer I got it at took orders at some amount below invoice and he listed it all on the buyers order. I took his word on it since at the time other dealers acted like they were doing you a favor taking an order at sticker that they might not ever be able to fill.

stickguy · July 6

@sda said:
DM Sound just did an audio review on the base 6 speaker in the 25 Maverick. It got a D minus.

I’ve had both. The base system was pretty weak but the B&O is much better. May not be audiophile standards but sounds good to me.

roadburner · July 6

stickguy said:

@sda said:

DM Sound just did an audio review on the base 6 speaker in the 25 Maverick. It got a D minus.

I’ve had both. The base system was pretty weak but the B&O is much better. May not be audiophile standards but sounds good to me.

That's the long time BMW strategy- make the base audio system sound so pathetic that nobody wants it.

tjc78 · July 6

Audio is so subjective…. I’ve read some of the reviews for the 19 speaker Harmon Kardon in my truck. I have to wonder if they are listening to the same system I am, or just playing garbage MP3s or XM radio.

Some of the comments -

“System has no low end”… my observation is you can feel the bass and it vibrates the mirrors

“System sounds dull and I need to turn treble and mid all the way up” … my listening actually has to tame the treble down a bit with the EQ because IMO it’s overly bright at times. Mid all the way up is crazy talk.

“The original system in my 76 Oldsmobile sounds better” … I mean obviously troll post

sda · July 6

Savage Geese claimed the base audio in the Arteon was the worst he ever experienced. He said it was so bad it hurt his ears and had to turn it off. I admit, it is not great, but NOT that bad. I have found certain XM stations sound better than others, HD FM stations sound decent. I miss the ability to play CDs.

tjc78 · July 6

I know there are a lot of XM fans here.., but the audio quality is terrible.

imidazol97 · July 6

Yes.

Michaell · July 6

I know we share a lot in this discussion ... discussions about appliances, yard work, and, occasionally, about cars.

And, we celebrate and mourn the comings and goings of friends and family.

This is a story of the latter (feel free to skip).

His name was James Daniel, but that was quickly shortened to J.D., and eventually he just became Jay. His dad and my dad were good friends at the FD, so it was natural that their kids grew up together. I have many memories of spending time at their house as a kid, as our dads slowly but methodically remodeled pretty much every room in the house. The four kids (Jay, his sister, my sister and me) would play in the oversized yard and, at the end of the day, the adults would grill dinner and we'd share it at the picnic table on the back patio. That backyard also served as the reception venue for my first wedding.

I've mentioned my cross country trip (CA to MI, and back), in the fall of 1986. Jay was my co-pilot for the trip, I suspect because my mom wasn't keen for me to make the drive by myself so she and his mom "arranged" for Jay to accompany me. Jay had just graduated HS, so off we went. I have many, many, many memories of that trip, and somewhere in the basement are pictures of Jay and myself on the road, somewhere in mid-America. He was wearing oversized Ray Bans and a huge grin on his face. Even though he was underage, we were able to get him into some of the bars we frequented in Michigan, with my cousin. We stopped in both directions in Childress, TX (100 or so miles SE of Amarillo) so we could visit with his grandparents, who welcomed us into their home.

After that, Jay joined the Air Force, and I remember meeting up with him in the greater Seattle area on one of my business trips. Jay joined UPS after being discharged, and was a driver for them for, gosh, I don't know how many years. His route was in and around Santa Barbara, about a 30-45 minute drive (each way) from where they lived. He got married and had two kids. They lived just a couple of minutes from my mom and dad's house, and Jay's wife helped my mom in an unofficial aide capacity when my mom's health faltered, and before we moved her out to the assisted living facility. I last saw him a couple of years ago at my mom's funeral services.

Jay got sick a few weeks ago, and the more the doctors looked, the more they found wrong. He got on a list for a liver transplant, and one had been found, but it was ultimately deemed unacceptable for him. His body just failed him after that, and he died peacefully, surrounded by his family, yesterday morning. He was 57.

When we were growing up, his parents were always "Aunt" and "Uncle" to us, so the kids became sort of de facto cousins. But, in thinking about it, we may have been closer than that, due to the fact that our fathers put their lives on the line with each shift they worked. He lived a fulfilling life, cut short all too soon.

I write this only to get the words onto the screen. I'm sad because he's gone, I'm sad because his kids (ages 23 and 20), lost their father much too soon, and I'm sad because I will miss his high pitched giggle when he laughed, which was often.

Thanks for letting me pour my heart out. I know most of us know each other only through this discussion board, but for some reason I'm comfortable sharing this with you.

corvette · July 6

@Michaell - sorry for your loss! That sounds like a sudden turn of events.

nyccarguy · July 6

@Michaell

Beautifully written memories about your friend JD. I’m truly sorry for your loss.

suydam · July 6

I’m so sorry for your loss. What a beautiful tribute! As the recipient of a miracle kidney transplant I feel so sad when people die for the lack of one. There just aren’t enough people who think to add that check to the box when they get their drivers license. May your friend’s memory always be for a blessing.

oldfarmer50 · July 6

57 is too young. Sorry for your loss.

jmonroe1 · July 6

@Michaell, your words of love were said perfectly. Thanks for thinking enough of us to share your love of your friend with us. May he always have peace.

jmonroe

stickguy · July 6

sorry to hear Michael. way, way too young. Stories like this make me realize not to put off things figuring will get to them eventually.

roadburner · July 6

@Michaell The loss of close friends and family is always terrible- especially someone so young. Prayers sent.

Michaell · July 6

Thank you all, for the kind words. I've been composing this post in my head for the last week or so, when it was apparent that Jay was not going to survive. The family made the decision to remove him from care on Friday night.

I don't have a full picture of what exactly happened, and I suspect I never will. The last month was filled with many ups and downs, as related to me by his sister (and my sister, who was in contact with Jay's wife). He was transferred from his local hospital to USC medical center in LA, where they performed a full evaluation and found more issues - heart lesions, liver and kidney issues, etc. They weren't even sure he would be eligible for a transplant at one point.

@suydam - two of my wife's uncles have had liver transplants (some sort of hereditary condition, I've been told), so I'm familiar with the luck involved in finding a matching donor.

@stickguy - yes, one's future is never promised to us. Has me rethinking my priorities in life, and what I want to do with whatever time is left.

One car related story, that I know I've told before here. Jay's dad was the one who won the CA mini lottery - something like $350K back in the late 90's or early 00's. Took some of his winnings and bought the classic Corvette he always wanted - and put the vanity plate of "6TWON" on it.

Jay owned a big pickup and a hybrid sedan that he commuted in.

ab348 · July 6

@Michaell - that was a touching reminiscence and very well written. I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.

explorerx4 · July 6

@michaell,
Sometimes it harder to lose a friend because that was a relationship you both chose.
Remember the good times.

28firefighter · July 6

So sorry for your loss, @Michaell. May his memory be a blessing.

sda · July 7

Sorry for you loss @Michaell. I lost my best friend by a freak accident in 2016. Truly sad and painful. I cherish the good memories of him and his family.

graphicguy · July 7

@Michaell ...so very sorry about the loss of your friend.

graphicguy · July 7

Test drove these two Mavericks on Saturday. Impressed. Now, I have to convince myself I need a truck.

https://www.northgatefordcincinnati.com/new/Ford/2025-Ford-Maverick-cincinnati-oh-046baf15ac182b320507142b72899021.htm

They had new leftover 2024 Bronco Sports. Big discounts. I liked this one all loaded up. But again, I'm trying to talk myself into needing it.

https://www.northgatefordcincinnati.com/new/Ford/2024-Ford-Bronco-Sport-cincinnati-oh-a3fd0afeac180bb65658874b8c6d7d7a.htm

LOL!

graphicguy · July 7

May go back today to test drive this one, which was sitting in a whole row of Broncos. Didn't know it was a '24 leftover until I saw it on line when I got home.
https://www.northgatefordcincinnati.com/new/Ford/2024-Ford-Bronco-cincinnati-oh-b401b2f5ac18218819a9d6be049c3d3b.htm

sda · July 7

What did you think of the Maverick? Did you listen to the audio?

tjc78 · July 7

@Michaell
So nicely written, I’m very sorry for loss. Like others have said way too young.

laurasdada · July 7

Condolences @Michaell.
As a man of a certain age (and all of us having lived through a certain age), I've experienced similar in the last few years.
A lovely memorial.

roadburner · July 7

graphicguy said:
May go back today to test drive this one, which was sitting in a whole row of Broncos. Didn't know it was a '24 leftover until I saw it on line when I got home.
https://www.northgatefordcincinnati.com/new/Ford/2024-Ford-Bronco-cincinnati-oh-b401b2f5ac18218819a9d6be049c3d3b.htm

I'd definitely get the Bronco; the Bronco Sport is just an Escape in drag.

stickguy · July 7

I put mine to work today hauling 16 bags of mulch home. And I like the guy in front of me with a new palisade getting 8 bags I didn’t make a mess in the cabin!

Hopefully the guy last week that stuffed bags in the hatch and back seat of an Impreza that was on the bump stops (couldn’t see the tops of the tires they were so far up in the wheel well) made it home ok.

explorerx4 · July 7

That Bronco is a pretty base model. Not sure if Graphicguy would be happy about the lack of features.

explorerx4 · July 7

Crazy crash at the Nurburgring on a Tourist Day.
https://packaged-media.redd.it/fyx871fyfbbf1/pb/m2-res_1272p.mp4?m=DASHPlaylist.mpd&v=1&e=1751922000&s=f8d399c659208e878852edd7ddcfbb5e8b3627e5

sda · July 7

That's horrific. Fatalities?

stickguy · July 7

That bronco would be cool if it had a manual trans. I like the 2 door much better. The 4 door is too big and looks awkward to me.

xwesx · July 7

explorerx4 said:
Crazy crash at the Nurburgring on a Tourist Day.

All because the numb-nuts in the blue car failed to yield the track to the overtaking car. Sad stuff.

xwesx · July 7

graphicguy said:
Test drove these two Mavericks on Saturday. Impressed. Now, I have to convince myself I need a truck.

They had new leftover 2024 Bronco Sports. Big discounts. I liked this one all loaded up. But again, I'm trying to talk myself into needing it.

LOL!

Here's your excuse: You're still here to enjoy it!

nyccarguy · July 7

stickguy said:
That bronco would be cool if it had a manual trans. I like the 2 door much better. The 4 door is too big and looks awkward to me.

A friend of mine in High School had a 4 Door Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport. He was obsessed with it. Painted the wheels black, had the windows tinted way too dark. I think he had the GTS black out covers for the tail lights. Anyway, one day we saw a 2 door Celebrity. He had the only 4 door car among us and always wanted a 2 door. He's checking this thing out like it was a Ferrari F40. He said to us: "How awesome would this be guys?" Another friend looked him with a straight face and said to him: "Andrew. I like the 4 Door Celebrity MUCH better." It is literally the running inside joke between 2 of us every time we see a car thats offered in 2 door or 4 door.

driver100 · July 7

@Michaell Sorry for the loss of your good friend. A bit of light shone through for me, many of my friends are getting on, after reading your heartfelt tribute I made a promise to myself to appreciate them as much as possible while I still can, and while they are still here.

explorerx4 · July 7

Supposedly, both drivers in that crash are OK.

sda · July 7

@explorerx4 said:
Supposedly, both drivers in that crash are OK.

Wow, very lucky

benjaminh · July 7

A few days ago I learned that a childhood friend passed away in his mid 50s. We hadn't been close since we were kids, but once in a while I saw his fb posts, the last one just three weeks ago.

Anyway, for me this reminder of mortality does relate in a way to my car. It's a cliché, but for those of us fortunate to afford a nice and reliable car, it kind of represents a form of freedom. It's more possible to do those bucket list things, to go on trips, both long and short, and just go for joy rides. My car is definitely good for my mental and physical health, since I enjoy sight-seeing, going to museums in other cities, and also use my car at least a few times a week to reach good places for scenic walking and bike riding.

Since I was a kid I've been interested in not just cars, but in how they are made, and that's one of my next bucket list things. I had a book about the Model T when I was a kid, and looked at the pix and descriptions of the Ford factories with fascination. Unless something gets in the way, in about ten days my wife and I have an appointment to visit the big Subaru factory in Indiana, where her new Outback was made about a year ago. It'll be my first time touring a car factory.

sda · July 7

@benjaminh I have toured the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC several times. Always fascinating. Enjoy.

stickguy · July 7

I would love doing that.

my wife would hate it. I should take my son instead.

jmonroe1 · July 7

explorerx4 said:
Supposedly, both drivers in that crash are OK.

————————————————
That’s just dumb luck. The blue car was not yielding and was wondering. The car trying to pass the blue car should have seen how the blue car was not in control, so he should not have attempted to pass.

Once again this is what happens when you have 2 idiots trying to occupy the same space at the same time. Physics says this is impossible.

All that said, they should be thankful they are still on this earth.

jmonroe

corvette · July 7

@benjaminh - you would probably enjoy a trip to the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village in Dearborn. I've been twice, and it was excellent, both times. The Corvette Museum and factory tour is not too far down the road from us.

Have fun at the Subaru tour and let us know how it goes!

benjaminh · July 7

Yes, I went to the Corvette Museum about four years ago and enjoyed it. But didn't realize they also had a factory tour.

roadburner · July 7

I've done the Corvette Museum and plant tour as well as BMW Manufacturing. BMW has an adjacent museum called Zentrum. The BMW CCA Foundation also has a museum and gift shop nearby. The current exhibit is Alpina: 60 Years of Excellence.

roadburner · July 7

My dad told me that when I was asked about Christmas or birthday presents I said I wanted something with wheels on it. Watching Grand Prix in Cinerama back in 1967 sealed the deal. After that I read every car magazine I could get my hands on- from Hot Rod and Car Craft to Car and Driver, Road & Track, and Sports Car Graphic. That was the beginning of my interest in European sports cars and sports sedans.
While touring Europe in 1981 I was introduced to the Brit magazines Autocar and CAR. One night in Innsbruck I stepped outside of a restaurant and parked at the curb was 202 Turbo. The rest is history.

corvette · July 7

@roadburner - the BMW Manufacturing plant tour was pretty epic in the early 2000s. They had their own TV news channel (automotive focused) that was broadcast on monitors throughout the plant. Haven't been recently, but I'm sure it's still amazing.

Michaell · July 7

Long post in my FB feed about the Nurburgring accident video that was posted.

So about that big nasty Nürburgring crash... Full video you know where, but "in short":

I appreciate all your DMs asking whether I have seen it. Or any other NBR crash/incident/event. The locals see this stuff daily, but most of the times it stays within local WhatsApp groups or occassionally a picture gets posted on FB. Having said that: it's nothing special, this happens (almost) every day and crashes/incidents happen on almost every track day on every other track in the world. The "fireworks" of this one was of course quite big and massive thanks to today's safety standards for keeping everyone alive. In Porsche's case the driver had "just a few scratches", without helmet, HANS or any fire protective clothing.

Who is at fault? One more than the other. Public sessions are classified as public road and the rule is = slow traffic stays right, fast traffic passes on the left. As it is an unlimited speed section of "the road", everyone is required to check their mirrors for faster traffic. M2 clearly failed to do that, when the faster traffic was behind it first and shortly after next to it.

Rule Number 2: everyone is allowed to drive only as fast, as when they can make an immediate stop to avoid any accident. M2 turning in on you and you did not stop to avoid it? Own fault. Deer crossing the road and you hit it? Own fault. Asteroid fell out of the sky and hit you? Your own fault. Porsche driver COULD have anticipated that a foreign car is less experienced and may do silly things last moment. You can see the Porsche go off the gas earlier when M2 was on its line and started to accelerate when it moved out to the right. So there was no reckless behaviour from my point of view. Just very unfortunate split second wrong assumption and lack of awareness.

The other "interesting" question is who will pick up the bill. The barrier damage and other very expensive car. This is something for the authorities to decide - who is responsible for how much % of the accident and it may get nasty. The main reason I am mentioning this is a reminder that you are liable for yourself and others during the public sessions and some track days too. So be prepared and stay focused.

graphicguy · July 8

No punch!

That said, drove the Bronco, the Bronco Sport and the Maverick. Impressed with all of them.

The Bronco 2 door would b ideal for someone who is a SERIOUS off roader (of which I'm not). Little lite on features, but it's a base model. If your primary focus is off roading, those features probably wouldn't matter. For $40K it would fit the bill perfectly. Just not what I need nor want. Still, if I wanted to just look cool, it would suffice nicely.

The Bronco Sport....opposite of the Bronco. This one was all loaded up. AS @roadburner mentioned, it's clear it's based on whatever cute ute Ford makes these days. That said, I can see doing some lite off-roading with it. Probably be great in poor weather, too. It was quicker than I expected, also. Ford is clever in the way it disguised its cost cutting. Lots of plastic that the sales person who was riding with me pointed out would be easy to keep clean. Can't say as I let my vehicles get all that dirty to begin with. The price is the attraction here. Being a leftover '04 (did make me wonder if everyone else knew something I didn't given it was still on the dealer's lot), and being priced mid $30s, I can't see a downside to it. B&O stereo, while not class leading, was way better than I expected it to be.

The Maverick...star of the show. Clear to see why these are popular. This is a good looking truck. Less than $40K, all loaded up. Can do all the "trucky" stuff. Comfortable (in a truck sort of way). Quick. This one was also loaded up. Good looking truck to boot. This would be my choice over any SUV.

Spent nearly 3 hours at the dealership. Felt guilty telling the sales person I had to think on it. No hard press to buy, though. He called me last night asking if I had any further questions.

The question is.....do I want a truck? Or, do I need a truck? I really don't know the answer. OF course I can find use for a truck. But, do I really need one? Unless you're towing a horse trailer, a big camper, regularly hauling heavy loads, are a contractor carrying lots of tools, etc, I don't know how you can justify an F150 when the Maverick is around.

ab348 · July 8

graphicguy said:
The price is the attraction here. Being a leftover '04 (did make me wonder if everyone else knew something I didn't given it was still on the dealer's lot)

Must have been a showroom queen to still be there after 20 years.

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