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This is a thread dedicated to general vehicle related things. There were some interesting articles in the electric vehicle thread, no need to restrict the subject. I'll kick us off with an article about an inexpensive back-up camera that installs like a license plate frame and is wireless.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/09/fensens-ces-2019/
Here is an article about a camera system that makes your trailer see through. The original idea this stemmed from seems even more dangerous!
https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/07/valeo-xtravue-camera-makes-trailer-disappear/
Great-Kazoo
01-10-2019, 03:13
Was looking at that device, the other day. For the money I'd slap one on the assault van.
Still have to invest in a dash cam, the scenery around here is camera worthy.
ChickNorris
01-10-2019, 07:39
I like vehicles. Know a bit about them. Always wanted to make my own but doubt I'll ever have the garage space... not until each of my beautiful outbuildings is bigger than the house... that's a while off, if ever... but a girl can dream to have a dedicated building for each speciality workshop, riiight?
A lot of the articles I've been seeing have been coming out of the latest CES trade show in Vegas. I was reading something about a new material from North face that is supposed to be the most breathable waterproof fabric yet. In that article they mentioned using said fabric for tents. Apparently BMW got them to win a mini camp trailer, and now I want one.
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/consumer-electronics-show/bmw-has-tried-fix-caravans
Great-Kazoo
01-10-2019, 09:07
I like vehicles. Know a bit about them. Always wanted to make my own but doubt I'll ever have the garage space... not until each of my beautiful outbuildings is bigger than the house... that's a while off, if ever... but a girl can dream to have a dedicated building for each speciality workshop, riiight?
Absolutely. IF the shop ever gets built, we have enough outbuildings to use them for dedicated things. Like turn 1 in to the meat processing & curing shed, guest house in another.
ChickNorris
01-10-2019, 09:11
Since its the vehicle thread... GARAGE
there. Back on topic
wctriumph
01-10-2019, 09:28
I need a new vehicle, mine is 19 years old and just went past 259000 miles. But I need a new job to afford a new vehicle. Facing age discrimination at this point but still pushing forward. Maybe I will win the lotto or PCH!!!
Then I can have a BIG garage and workshop.
I'm hoping to get my van past 250,000 miles before I get something else. Shouldn't take too long since I'm at 218,000 now. Van is only 8 years old though.
I'd maybe get them to move this to the general information section, will stay on front page a lot longer rather than disappear 5 pages back without a bump in a couple days.
Might be a pipe dream after I saw how bad house prices even out east in severance/eaton were. (trying to find something in the sticks around fort collins but needs to have paved road at least once off property)
But one of my priorities is a true 3 car. (Been seeing some of these 2 cars being advertised as 3 wtf), or ideally just get my first garage structure so I have room to actually do some work on my vehicles in a covered area and store all the bikes. Wife will hate a house downsize but don't need a massive house for 2 people + dogs.
I'm sure way out of my price range, but one of the members here near brighton was a very cool housing area where they had attached garages that were like 1.5 stories high, what I'd call a 2.5 car garage width, but massively long front to back.
It can be stickied if it's popular. We already had car thread of a sort, but it got closed.
Apparently there is very cheap property way out East, but it'd be total remodel situations.
Great-Kazoo
01-10-2019, 09:40
I'd maybe get them to move this to the general information section, will stay on front page a lot longer rather than disappear 5 pages back without a bump in a couple days.
Might be a pipe dream after I saw how bad house prices even out east in severance/eaton were. (trying to find something in the sticks around fort collins but needs to have paved road at least once off property)
But one of my priorities is a true 3 car. (Been seeing some of these 2 cars being advertised as 3 wtf), or ideally just get my first garage structure so I have room to actually do some work on my vehicles in a covered area and store all the bikes. Wife will hate a house downsize but don't need a massive house for 2 people + dogs.
I'm sure way out of my price range, but one of the members here near brighton was a very cool housing area where they had attached garages that were like 1.5 stories high, what I'd call a 2.5 car garage width, but massively long front to back.
Look at the side x side connex containers used for garages.
buffalobo
01-10-2019, 10:27
Vehicles are PIA.
We went the storage container/conex route for increased storage and shop space.
1 for shed/yard/garden tools
1 for toys and general storage
1 for machine shop/metal fab and reloading/gun shop.
Mrs bo has expressed desire for one more to store tractor and old pickup which I doubt I will live long enough to restore.
Did not make Thanksgiving deadline for completion of project so not sure when I will finally have my wood shop back to wood shop and reloading equipment set up.
I've got an itch for a new vehicle, but honestly I don't want all the bells and whistles the new vehicles come with. SO, with that said, when it comes to my next "new" vehicle, it will be a used vehicle, once again. I've only ever bought one brand new vehicle, and that was my 86 Ford Ranger.
All the new features are making too many people rely on "tech" instead of their ability to pay attention. Too many distractions inside the vehicles, as far as I'm concerned. Heck, just the other day I was walking through a parking lot headed to my vehicle, when a lady started backing out of her parking spot. She not once looked around outside of her vehicle, her eyes were glued to the dash on the back up screen I suspect. Talk about not being aware of surroundings, or unaware as it were. I wonder how many mirrors on new vehicles get knocked off from people backing out of their garages and not paying attention to anything other than the back up screen on the dash?
New Avalanche pickup at work flashes "possible ice on road" every time the temp gets to 33 degrees. Really!!! Last I checked to have ice on the road there needed to be moisture of some sort. Stupid. Wonder how many drivers pay attention to that. And don't get me started about the tire pressure warning. Couple of our work trucks constantly telling us to "relearn tire position", or some crap. Tell me I have a low tire only if and when it's critical, not when it's 1 psi low of recommended. Cold day, low tire pressure, next day is a warmer day and no low tire warning.
I guess it's progress, but I am having a hard time accepting all the tech crap.
One issue is while we would love a tiny bit of land enough to shoot on and have the garage. A lot of options either leave way too much gravel road to get to pavement. (motorcycles), or ideally I think we'd like to avoid being more than an hour away from town as that's our current commute. Fortunately if she is able to xfer both of us would just have to only get to edge of town on prospect/mulberry, hence looking north or east. Kinda concerned weather will be so bad that it is a mistake vs just dealing with the traffic coming up from Frederick.
I've got an itch for a new vehicle, but honestly I don't want all the bells and whistles the new vehicles come with. SO, with that said, when it comes to my next "new" vehicle, it will be a used vehicle, once again. I've only ever bought one brand new vehicle, and that was my 86 Ford Ranger.
All the new features are making too many people rely on "tech" instead of their ability to pay attention. Too many distractions inside the vehicles, as far as I'm concerned. Heck, just the other day I was walking through a parking lot headed to my vehicle, when a lady started backing out of her parking spot. She not once looked around outside of her vehicle, her eyes were glued to the dash on the back up screen I suspect. Talk about not being aware of surroundings, or unaware as it were. I wonder how many mirrors on new vehicles get knocked off from people backing out of their garages and not paying attention to anything other than the back up screen on the dash?
New Avalanche pickup at work flashes "possible ice on road" every time the temp gets to 33 degrees. Really!!! Last I checked to have ice on the road there needed to be moisture of some sort. Stupid. Wonder how many drivers pay attention to that. And don't get me started about the tire pressure warning. Couple of our work trucks constantly telling us to "relearn tire position", or some crap. Tell me I have a low tire only if and when it's critical, not when it's 1 psi low of recommended. Cold day, low tire pressure, next day is a warmer day and no low tire warning.
I guess it's progress, but I am having a hard time accepting all the tech crap.
I love the tech on my new H2 motorcycle, but that's my complaint, from like 37 downwards it starts flashing ICE at me. I can clear it but then it will show back up a few minutes later and covers some of my dash info....
This is a thread dedicated to general vehicle related things. There were some interesting articles in the electric vehicle thread, no need to restrict the subject.
What, nothing about ladder mounts? [LOL]
Martinjmpr
01-10-2019, 13:22
After considering a new(er) tow vehicle I have now decided to "double down" on my old (2004) Suburban. It "only" has 180,000 miles on it now and I seem to put between 11,000 - 14,000 miles a year. My plan is to keep it 3 more years until I turn 60 and start drawing my military retirement.
We camp a LOT during the Summer (often every other weekend and sometimes we'll go 2 or 3 weekends in a row) so getting a new vehicle in the middle of Summer isn't an option. Our camping season starts in April and usually doesn't end until October or November (last year our final trip was over Thanksgiving week.)
The cost of new vehicles is high but what really gets me are the tax and registration fees. Over $2500 in taxes & registration fees on a typical vehicle purchase seems to be the norm and that's just hard to swallow. Hell, the only major failure I've had in 3 years of owning the Suburban is the transmission and that was $2k to fix, good as new. Other problems (brakes mostly, from pulling heavy trailers up and down the mountain passes) have been <$1k to fix. Less than taxes and WAAAY less than having a car payment.
For me, a "new" vehicle would be one built this century. I'm semiactively looking for a Nissan Xterra to replace the wife's 195K mile 95 Rodeo, but having a hard time finding one with a manual transmission that the seller doesn't think is gold plated. Also semi-looking for a extended cab long bed pickup to replace my 89 F250. I'd love to have a manual in that as well, but they're rarer than unicorn poop.
On the other hand, I just got done repairing(NOT replacing) the heater blower motor in the 2008 Smart. Known issue, but Mercedes vehemently denies there's a problem, and refuses to do anything.
Today I'm finishing up the repairs to my truck after it lost several lug nuts then 8 studs then portions of the right rear rim, then the rim and tire. In that order. At 60mph. Up hill. Towing a 14k lbs trailer. In the middle of eastern oregon.
For my next trick I'll be repairing a trailer that ran over a tire mounted to a small portion of a rim. At 60 mph
My vehicle is not suitable for what I do.
Although I love what I drive, I might need to get something little more practical for my next vehicle.
Most likely used Santa fe size or similar size cheap and low maintenance would be priority.
What, nothing about ladder mounts? [LOL]
I started that thread, then took a hiatus from the site and never finished it.
I used to be super picky about keeping my vehicles clean and well maintained. Not sure what?s happened over the last ten years or so but now as long as they start and run and have decent tires I pretty much don?t care about anything else.
I?ve had a belt for my wife?s vehicle sitting on my toolbox for probably six or eight months and still haven?t gotten around to changing it.
My truck needs shocks and struts (why they put struts on a full size truck I?ll never know) but the whole strut thing has really sapped my motivation. Besides the fact that shocks and struts will likely set me back $500 I haven?t been terribly motivated to do the work.
Oh, and I don?t think any of my vehicles have seen a car wash in probably three months.
F**k me for being cheap and lazy I guess.
ChickNorris
01-11-2019, 08:08
Well, maybe. Priorities devolve too.
I did shocks and struts on my 2000 4Runner recently, I bought the parts online and my mechanic installed them. Now we're sorta looking for a 5th gen 4Runner. All the electronics are annoying, I see them as a result of "disposable" cars and the "put in gas and drive" mentality of so many people today.
StagLefty
01-11-2019, 08:45
I have a 2001 Ranger with 84K on it and keep my fingers crossed that it will last as long as me now. Thanks to always having company trucks mine stayed in the driveway except for weekends. I've learned how to do most of my own repairs in the last few years thanks to you tube haha.
I used to be super picky about keeping my vehicles clean and well maintained. Not sure what?s happened over the last ten years or so but now as long as they start and run and have decent tires I pretty much don?t care about anything else.
I?ve had a belt for my wife?s vehicle sitting on my toolbox for probably six or eight months and still haven?t gotten around to changing it.
My truck needs shocks and struts (why they put struts on a full size truck I?ll never know) but the whole strut thing has really sapped my motivation. Besides the fact that shocks and struts will likely set me back $500 I haven?t been terribly motivated to do the work.
Oh, and I don?t think any of my vehicles have seen a car wash in probably three months.
F**k me for being cheap and lazy I guess.
I feel you. I had to do some car work about a month ago and it was the first time ever I did not enjoy it. Still did it but was no fun. No idea why. Ironically my son is getting the car bug now that he can drive, so will have to keep at it.
General comment on rhe new cars though.
I don't hate them, they are are awsome especially if you need to commute 45min+ each way.
The wife got an older xc60 and I love that thing. Comfort and a turbo, in a car that emphasises safety. My wife is actually driving in snow again after being white knuckle scared when driving her van. The city safe sensors saved the front bumper once already when my kid misjudged when to stop while parking. Brakes went full, car stopped a few inches short of the next car. Thus saving a bumper and him from hetting a "beating".
Some of the features are excessive, but a lot of them are well thought out.
Now, am I looking forward to working on it if something goes wrong? Hell no. I hope to add 100k to it and sell it so I dont have to deal with getting software subscriptions to volvos diagnostic tools. 3 days are about $80 bucks, plus you need a laptop and a new type interface cable. As for the regular work, I can do the servicing and maintnance fairly ok.
GilpinGuy
01-11-2019, 09:35
Might as well combine a little prepper stuff with general vehicle stuff.
IMHO every vehicle should have one of these in the glove box or tool box: Victor 22-5-00106-8 Heavy Duty Tubeless Tire Repair Kit (https://amzn.to/2RHmj0d)
Plug a flat tire on the side of the road, pump it up enough with an emergency compressor and get home.
You get a "slow leak", it eventually turns into a flat. Fix it at home in 20 minutes for $1.50 and a little effort (check your brakes while the wheel is off). Or go to to the tire shop, wait an hour and have them tell you that you can't just plug a tire - it's dangerous (all of the sudden) and you need a new tire. Oh no, you can't just get one tire, you need all four because your car is all wheel drive, blah blah blah. People have been plugging tires since they've been invented and plugs work just fine. I've plugged hundreds of tires and have never once been sued. Don't get me started on that bullshit.
Anyway, I've used up 3 or 4 of these plug kits over the years, they worked awesome and it saved me hundreds of dollars. Good insurance for $8.
When people poo-poo on the quality of newer vehicles I like to point out something simple to think about.
Just about any vehicle made in the last twenty years or so will still be road worthy with 250,000 miles on the odometer. Could you imagine driving a vehicle from the 1960?s or 70?s much beyond 100,000 before it was pretty much useless and in need of major repairs or a serious overhaul?
Embrace the technology.
The people that stick to their ?they don?t make them like they used to? philosophy are only kidding themselves.
Might as well combine a little prepper stuff with general vehicle stuff.
IMHO every vehicle should have one of these in the glove box or tool box: Victor 22-5-00106-8 Heavy Duty Tubeless Tire Repair Kit (https://amzn.to/2RHmj0d)
Plug a flat tire on the side of the road, pump it up enough with an emergency compressor and get home.
You get a "slow leak", it eventually turns into a flat. Fix it at home in 20 minutes for $1.50 and a little effort (check your brakes while the wheel is off). Or go to to the tire shop, wait an hour and have them tell you that you can't just plug a tire - it's dangerous (all of the sudden) and you need a new tire. Oh no, you can't just get one tire, you need all four because your car is all wheel drive, blah blah blah. People have been plugging tires since they've been invented and plugs work just fine. I've plugged hundreds of tires and have never once been sued. Don't get me started on that bullshit.
Anyway, I've used up 3 or 4 of these plug kits over the years, they worked awesome and it saved me hundreds of dollars. Good insurance for $8.
Excellent advice and I couldn't agree more. I can also add a real-world example of why this is important. I was up in the mountains camping with some buddies and picked up a nail/screw at some point or it had been there for a while (likely) and threw it while I was going up through the trails. Tire was flat and (after years of carrying this sort of thing but never needing it) I didn't have a repair kit or compressor. Luckily a buddy we were with had a compressor (we didn't know about the hole at first) so we set out to fill the tire. After a few minutes the ominous sound of a tire hissing could be heard and we quickly found the culprit. An easily fixable nail-size-hole was letting all of the precious air out. A quick check revealed that he had used the last plug from his kit years back and forgot to replace it. We then had to go camp to camp looking for a plug kit to borrow. Fortunately, about an hour later, we finally found someone that had a plug kit with plugs. Once we had this it was less than 5min to fix and fill with the lion's share of that time being the slow emergency compressor filling the tire up. I returned the kit to the gentleman with a $20 stuffed in with the remaining plugs and thanked him for saving the day.
Now all of my vehicles have a plug kit similar to this and a decent but cheap emergency compressor stashed away just in case this happens again.
When people poo-poo on the quality of newer vehicles I like to point out something simple to think about.
Just about any vehicle made in the last twenty years or so will still be road worthy with 250,000 miles on the odometer. Could you imagine driving a vehicle from the 1960?s or 70?s much beyond 100,000 before it was pretty much useless and in need of major repairs or a serious overhaul?
Embrace the technology.
The people that stick to their ?they don?t make them like they used to? philosophy are only kidding themselves.
That is what I'm running into, my 3rd gen is a terrific truck and parts are generally available via Yota Jims but eventually I'll have to get something newer and sell this one.
laportecharlie
01-11-2019, 10:33
Whatever happened to spare tires?
Whatever happened to spare tires?
They quit putting them in a lot of vehicles. I can't imagine how much it boosts profits for the manufacturers by omitting it.
SideShow Bob
01-11-2019, 10:43
Keep a eye out at Home Depot and similar store, a couple of years ago I found those cheap compressors on clearance for $7 each. Needless to say I got one for each vehicle and a spare.
I?ve burned one up from being lazy and using it several times to fill low tires and a almost completely flat one, that was the one that burned the compressor out.
I never thought of the patch (plug) kit, but it is a great idea to have on hand.
I am not a huge fan of forced induction.
I am not going to ever buy Nissan/infinity due to this stupid Saikawa and their govt vs Ghosn crap.
2003 Toyota Sequoia 165,000 miles
2008 Toyota Yaris 120,000 miles
2006 Ford F250 5.4L gas engine 260,000 miles
The Sequoia and F250 combined cost me less than $10k and with regular maintenance and avoiding someone hitting them, I expect they will last me another 5 or more years. The Yaris is the only manual transmission in group and I bought it new as a commuter car. My daughter learned to drive the stick and it is now her car. I will eventually sign it over to her. It is a fun car to drive and should last another 10 years.
I used to work on cars. I never made the transition into electronic cars and eventually lost my ability/interest in fixing cars, although I do my own fluid changes. Some maintenance is easy, and some things are hard. Like most things, I often decide to exchange money for time. The mechanic I normally use is much faster than I could ever be when it comes to most things. I tell myself that I could be faster if I had a lift and $40k in tools, but I am kidding myself. He would still be faster than me: 1. Because he is more competent in this area. 2. He enjoys it more than I do.
I keep reading that by 2030, more than half of the passenger cars on the road will be electric/hybrid. I can't say that I believe this but I can't say that it won't happen either. Since I probably only have another 25 years of regular driving left in my life (after 80, I will probably limit myself to milk runs or leisure cruising) my next vehicle(s) will probably be my last vehicles.
Imagine an EV that was as modular/repairable as the desktop computers nobody wants anymore. Unplug, unscrew, replace. Common component architecture that would allow manufacturers to compete on speed and reliability without focusing on proprietary technology. Open source software upgrades to tune your vehicle to your desires.
When the engineers get past the battery capacity and charging issues, EVs will definitely be better than internal combustion engine vehicles.
I still wonder why someone hasn't scaled down the diesel electric technology to make vehicles that could run for days without needing to be plugged in.
Please, no government solutions. Non-profit corporations that have been founded by companies in the industry to develop standards. Example-Universal Serial Bus Implementers Forum https://www.usb.org/about
Some people want sports cars and others want work trucks. Some people want gaming computers and others just want to surf the Internet. I don't think the engineering portion of the problem is the tough part.
Apple hasn't publicly admitted it but everyone in the industry has noted that Apple products have increasingly been less DIY friendly over the past ten years. Many of the web sites that focus on opening products and providing information on repair and upgrades have given up on new Apple products because they clearly are not meant to be touched by anyone other than the folks at the Genius Bar. [Sarcasm2]
When the ICar comes out I?ll buy one for seamlessly integrating with my phone.
@cstone. Fellow Yaris owner here. 2007 auto 130k and now my son is driving it to school until we figure out a car. Fantastic car from a maintanace point of view. Quick enough too. Only 2 complaints: interior noise, and the soft steel rims thst the base comes with. Swapped to some light alloy wheels when I needed new tires and it feels smoother and faster.
I think the Yaris is highly underated due to the "Echo" past and the low price point. If course the interior noise might have something to do with it too...
I keep reading that by 2030, more than half of the passenger cars on the road will be electric/hybrid. I can't say that I believe this but I can't say that it won't happen either. Since I probably only have another 25 years of regular driving left in my life (after 80, I will probably limit myself to milk runs or leisure cruising) my next vehicle(s) will probably be my last vehicles.
I don't think it will be that long. I think over half of the passenger vehicles on the road will be EV by 2025. The rate of adoption is going to get steeper as we progress and as people discover how simple they are for all the reasons you mentioned using a mechanic for stuff you know how to do. I used to love wrenching on cars and now I can't tell you how excited I am to not have to deal with maintenance now. Some will say you have to own an EV for a while to recoup the investment but you have to quantify your saved time and headache.
Imagine an EV that was as modular/repairable as the desktop computers nobody wants anymore. Unplug, unscrew, replace. Common component architecture that would allow manufacturers to compete on speed and reliability without focusing on proprietary technology. Open source software upgrades to tune your vehicle to your desires.
When the engineers get past the battery capacity and charging issues, EVs will definitely be better than internal combustion engine vehicles.
I still wonder why someone hasn't scaled down the diesel electric technology to make vehicles that could run for days without needing to be plugged in.
That's kind of the way EVs are in a way. They don't have anywhere near the number of moving parts or even parts in general and most all can be replaced by a mobile technician out in the field. I know with the Tesla they have the technology to drop out an entire battery pack and replace it with a new and fully charged on in like 5min time. They were testing it in CA as an alternative to those not waiting to wait the half hour it would take to charge up at a Supercharger.
We're already past a lot of the capacity and charging issues. This year Tesla is doubling their network of Superchargers. They also doubled it over the last two years so now they're going to quadruple production in a single year. They also announced a significant speed increase in how quickly they charge and most are guestimating that 2x the current speed would be pretty benign to the batteries. That's the one of the limitations that engineers are working to get over because all of these cars coming out are claiming some astronomical charge rates but the question then become long-term battery degradation. For me, I'm fine with 80% in 10min or so (this will likely be the rate any week now) if it also means the batteries are going 500,000 before a noticeable amount of battery degradation occurs.
You get it! I could still fix a PC from 1990 if it came my way, relatively quickly. I wouldn't, of course, but if the growing industry develops that way, it would be a blessing. Sadly, our modern culture is a wizz-bang hedonistic one, so I'm hazarding a guess each company will forever be super proprietary and worse, like apple, won't even be backwards compatible with their own crap. I think mechanics eventually may overtake dentists on the suicide rate.
It's one area I wouldn't be opposed to minor regulation: Standardization of connectors and inter-interoperability with right to repair, which is the other huge issue that EV's will have. (You will probably HAVE to have any software issue resolved at the dealer, nowhere else, due to that crap)
Speaking to your point of standardization, Tesla has secured hundreds of patents and they have opened most all of them up to anyone who wants to use them. They have also claimed that any manufacturer is free to use their Supercharger network but for some reason NONE of the competition is willing to use any of them. They're content to crank out problematic vehicles that will cause headaches for customers and engineer their own proprietary charge system so they can milk the same customer long-term who wishes to use their charging network.
So, how often do you guys clean the inside of your windshield?
I was driving in the dark in the rain in rush hour traffic yesterday. Visibility that was already impeded by these conditions was made worse by the haze on the inside of my windshield.
Pretty sure I just cleaned that sucker like five or six years ago.
GilpinGuy
01-12-2019, 08:02
So, how often do you guys clean the inside of your windshield?
I was driving in the dark in the rain in rush hour traffic yesterday. Visibility that was already impeded by these conditions was made worse by the haze on the inside of my windshield.
Pretty sure I just cleaned that sucker like five or six years ago.
LOL I have toe prints in the inside of my windshield on the passenger side from a road trip last spring. Wife had her shoes off and up on the dash. I think, "I really gotta clean this windshield" every time I notice them.
buffalobo
01-12-2019, 08:15
Vehicles are PIA.
LOL I have toe prints in the inside of my windshield on the passenger side from a road trip last spring. Wife had her shoes off and up on the dash. I think, "I really gotta clean this windshield" every time I notice them.
Ha. Reminds me of a story an older gentlemen told me. When he was a teenager back in the 50's or 60's he had borrowed his dad's car to go on a date. Apparently he got lucky on the date. The next day his dad questioned him about the foot prints on the inside of the windshield on the passenger side. Needless to say he had a difficult time explaining what had taken place in the front seat of dad's Buick.
SideShow Bob
01-12-2019, 09:25
LOL I have toe prints in the inside of my windshield on the passenger side from a road trip last spring. Wife had her shoes off and up on the dash. I think, "I really gotta clean this windshield" every time I notice them.
That would have been some funny shit to explain to the FD if the passenger air bag deployed.
That would have been some funny shit to explain the FD if the passenger air bag deployed.
I told my wife that for years and she thought I was being crazy or controlling. Then there was an accident where a girl was messed up badly for life because she had he feet on the dash when an accident happened and my wife no longer puts her feet on the dash. Crazy how I tell her these things for years and she doesn't believe it until she sees it for herself. I'm just thankful it wasn't her it happened to because that would suck.
Great-Kazoo
01-12-2019, 09:59
Until the price point for a hybrid goes under $15K fully loaded, with room for more than 2 skinny, short, adults, 2+ dogs and grocery's, not happening.
gnihcraes
01-12-2019, 11:29
Looks like I'll be getting $3g's from Fiat/Chrysler for the diesel emissions cheating on our 2015 Jeep. Extended warranty to boot.
Considering buying a used nissan Leaf, friend has one and they love it for what it is. Commuter car. I have room in the new shop and power to plug in.
Since building my new shop/garage, I've saved myself a few garage payments by not paying a stealership to do the work.
Power steering pump
Heater control cables
Hydraulic clutch master/slave
many oil changes. (expensive from dealer = $200) ouch.
Wiring cleanup on old truck, new stereo install
Doing some more wiring stuff on truck and jeep this weekend
We need a Garage/Shop thread! (or reloading room as I do that in there now too)
77034
BladesNBarrels
01-12-2019, 11:35
We need a Garage/Shop thread! (or reloading room as I do that in there now too)
77034
Great looking building.
I vote for a Garage/Shop Thread!
Great Kazoo is building one in AZ and others have built some.
It would be great to have a dedicated space to daydream!
ChickNorris
01-12-2019, 12:38
I like vehicles. Know a bit about them. Always wanted to make my own but doubt I'll ever have the garage space... not until each of my beautiful outbuildings is bigger than the house... that's a while off, if ever... but a girl can dream to have a dedicated building for each speciality workshop, riiight?
Um...courtesy link to the new thread...
https://www.ar-15.co/threads/172253-The-Garage-Shop-Thread
Back to Vehicles!
Like turn 1 in to the meat processing & curing shed...
When I quickly read that the first time I thought it said "cursing shed". I was thinking, "That sounds like my garage."
GilpinGuy
01-12-2019, 17:02
I told my wife that for years and she thought I was being crazy or controlling. Then there was an accident where a girl was messed up badly for life because she had he feet on the dash when an accident happened and my wife no longer puts her feet on the dash. Crazy how I tell her these things for years and she doesn't believe it until she sees it for herself. I'm just thankful it wasn't her it happened to because that would suck.
Yes, I've had that exact conversation.
I went to a dealership today to pickup my mothers vehicle after airbag recall. I had good 5 min looking at the AMG GT 63S at the center of hallway, while my kid was at the restroom.
After that, I realize how poor I was. :(
OtterbatHellcat
01-13-2019, 00:19
So, how often do you guys clean the inside of your windshield?
I was driving in the dark in the rain in rush hour traffic yesterday. Visibility that was already impeded by these conditions was made worse by the haze on the inside of my windshield.
Pretty sure I just cleaned that sucker like five or six years ago.
Thread WIN. lol.
I went to a dealership today to pickup my mothers vehicle after airbag recall. I had good 5 min looking at the AMG GT 63S at the center of hallway, while my kid was at the restroom.
After that, I realize how poor I was. :(
Just be happy that had you bought an AMG GT 63S, you'd be poor from the insane depreciation and long-term ownership costs. I'd recommend to anyone that wants a German/Austrian import, lease it.
My new 2019 Ram 1500 is a 'mild hybrid'. "Green Truck of the Year". Yeah, it's a Hemi. [ROFL1]
Check out the 48v hybridization in the auto industry.
Jalopnik: Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming 48-Volt Electrical Revolution In Cars (https://jalopnik.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-48-volt-1790364465)
A few friends and I are joining a race in September. 250-300 miles, primarily offroad, in a $500 vehicle. Should be fun.
A few friends and I are joining a race in September. 250-300 miles, primarily offroad, in a $500 vehicle. Should be fun.
Sounds like a blast...kind of a twist on the Lemons series
Just be happy that had you bought an AMG GT 63S, you'd be poor from the insane depreciation and long-term ownership costs. I'd recommend to anyone that wants a German/Austrian import, lease it.
My new 2019 Ram 1500 is a 'mild hybrid'. "Green Truck of the Year". Yeah, it's a Hemi. [ROFL1]
Check out the 48v hybridization in the auto industry.
Jalopnik: Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming 48-Volt Electrical Revolution In Cars (https://jalopnik.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-48-volt-1790364465)
I didn't read the entire thing, but the concept looks similar to MGU-K in fia.
A few friends and I are joining a race in September. 250-300 miles, primarily offroad, in a $500 vehicle. Should be fun.
Got a link?
I'm trying to source some used doors to replace both driver side doors on my van, but haven't had much luck. I stopped at body shop and they directed me to check out LKQparts.com, but I could only find one door and it was the wrong color. What are my chances of sourcing a same color door and just having it shipped so I could put it on myself? I've never really looked for autobody parts before.
ChickNorris
01-14-2019, 00:52
Post the make, model, color etc. here & see what happens.
2011 Dodge Grand Caravan Mainstreet, black. Looking for driver front, driver sliding, and even the rear gate if I can get it.
Great-Kazoo
01-14-2019, 01:03
I'm trying to source some used doors to replace both driver side doors on my van, but haven't had much luck. I stopped at body shop and they directed me to check out LKQparts.com, but I could only find one door and it was the wrong color. What are my chances of sourcing a same color door and just having it shipped so I could put it on myself? I've never really looked for autobody parts before.
I can check down here. There seems to be a plethora of "rebuilt titled" mopar vans down here. The junkies always have van parts, color match?
AS for having them shipped. Probably cheaper to fly down, then check them in to luggage, for the flight back..
Yeah, if I can find them close enough, I'd could probably just drive to get them.
Electric cars: Security flaws could let attackers control charging stations (https://www.zdnet.com/article/electric-cars-security-flaws-could-let-attackers-control-charging-stations/)
Electric car drivers could find themselves unable to charge their vehicles, if attackers exploit recently discovered flaws in Schneider Electric's EVlink Parking charging stations, found in offices, hotels, and supermarkets across several countries.
Security experts Vladimir Kononovich and Vyacheslav Moskvin at Positive Technologies are now offering details of the three vulnerabilities they found that led to the energy-management company issuing a security notification on December 20.
Schneider Electric is urging its customers to install new firmware on the charging stations, if the current one is version 3.2.0-12_v1 or earlier. It also said users could "set up a firewall to block remote/external access except by authorized users" to reduce the risk of an attack.
Of the three vulnerabilities, one is critical, one high risk, and the third is rated medium.
I didn't read the entire thing, but the concept looks similar to MGU-K in fia.
Yep, Like F1 KERS/ERS. Magneti Marelli is the maker of the Motor Generator Unit (MGU) for the 2019 Ram 1500 5.7l Hemi eTorque trucks. The truck has a stop/start system you're not itching to turn off.
Continental is the maker of the MGU on the V6 Pentastar trucks.
Formula 1 Energy Recovery System Explained (https://www.autoevolution.com/news/formula-1-energy-recovery-system-explained-125488.html)
Got a link?
https://www.rockymountainrambler500.com
My problem is that I have too many vehicles to list (some of which I need to fix and sell), and a very long repair list that slowly gets done. My daily driver is a '06 Liberty CRD that gets 20-25K miles per Year; I love this vehicle and the only new vehicle I would consider is the Colorado/Canyon 2.8 Duramax with the off-road package. I have 262,000 on my Liberty and just put a remanufactured transmission in it a couple weeks ago. I'm hoping it gets me to retirement in seven years. My flatbed dually has 193,000 on it, but I just use it to haul stuff. I'll be building my vehicles from older ones after I retire.
https://www.rockymountainrambler500.com
That looks fun. I got to check the time and if I can find a crew.
So general question. What milage are you seeing from your cars and what maintnance did u do to get there?
Last 3 cars have been oil, tires and alignment to get to 100k+. Occassional brakes too, except on the Sienna.
My company trucks get run to 250,00+ pretty much with just basic maintenance. I?m at 262,000 on my current one. Change the oil religiously every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Beyond that it?s just tires, brakes, belts, and the usual stuff as needed along the way.
Does anyone else remember when exhaust systems used to rot out somewhere between 40 and 80k? Maybe it is because I am in Colorado, but back east, I remember mufflers dragging on cars almost everyday. Ray is right. Most vehicles today will go 250,000k with basic maintenance, unless someone hits or steals them.
I think the rotted exhaust became less of a thing when most manufacturers switched to using stainless for the exhaust.
Does anyone else remember when exhaust systems used to rot out somewhere between 40 and 80k? Maybe it is because I am in Colorado, but back east, I remember mufflers dragging on cars almost everyday. Ray is right. Most vehicles today will go 250,000k with basic maintenance, unless someone hits or steals them.
When I was younger I worked at Midas. Stayed way busy. Some little old ladies would only get two years on a muffler. They were the people that loved the lifetime warranty. I haven't needed to replace a rotten muffler in 15 plus years.
1. I raised my Elantra on a ramp to do oil change, and it was still very clear. I try to do every 8k, because filter said it lasts upto 10k. I know oil lasts about 12k.
I am going to drive 1 more month and change the oil on that one.
2. I need to replace vacuum pump* and centrifuge (oil separator) on my mother's vehicle. It is leaking oil a little. Easy work. It now has about 139k and we only did basic maintenance on it.
(we are debating about changing the entire vacuum pump or just do o-ring replacement)
3. Still shopping around the Throttle actuator (bank 1) to see who is cheapest.
1. I raised my Elantra on a ramp to do oil change, and it was still very clear. I try to do every 8k, because filter said it lasts upto 10k. I know oil lasts about 12k.
I am going to drive 1 more month and change the oil on that one.
2. I need to replace vacuum pump* and centrifuge (oil separator) on my mother's vehicle. It is leaking oil a little. Easy work. It now has about 139k and we only did basic maintenance on it.
(we are debating about changing the entire vacuum pump or just do o-ring replacement)
3. Still shopping around the Throttle actuator (bank 1) to see who is cheapest.
#2 & #3: diesels? These parts sound unfamiliar or mebbe ac parts
#2 & #3: diesels? These parts sound unfamiliar or mebbe ac parts
All 3 are ICE.
2 uses odd names. Centrifuge was a first for me on vehicle parts.
I think the rotted exhaust became less of a thing when most manufacturers switched to using stainless for the exhaust.
I've even seen them go so far as to coat the inside of the stainless with aluminum. Exhaust rot really seems to be a problem of the past.
Martinjmpr
01-17-2019, 12:36
I've even seen them go so far as to coat the inside of the stainless with aluminum. Exhaust rot really seems to be a problem of the past.
Speaking of things from the past - I was looking at some old highway pictures and it occurred to me that the old "oil stain in the middle of the highway" is pretty much a thing of the past. Back in the 60's and 70's it was just taken as a "given" that all cars would drip a little oil and so the middle of the lane in the freeway always had a nice black, oily stain. The older the highway, the worse the stain.
Here's an example of what I mean:
77078
Now that cars have pretty much stopped leaking you don't see that anymore.
Speaking of things from the past - I was looking at some old highway pictures and it occurred to me that the old "oil stain in the middle of the highway" is pretty much a thing of the past. Back in the 60's and 70's it was just taken as a "given" that all cars would drip a little oil and so the middle of the lane in the freeway always had a nice black, oily stain. The older the highway, the worse the stain.
Here's an example of what I mean:
77078
Now that cars have pretty much stopped leaking you don't see that anymore.
I actually thought of that yesterday when I pulled into a 7-Eleven to get an energy drink (since I don't "need" to go to gas stations anymore ;-) and in the parking spots were massive oil slicks and even degraded concrete as a result of the gross puddles people's cars leave. Granted the new cars are much better but another bonus to driving an EV is not worrying about leaks.
Decent idea, but seems too expensive. I feel like you could just do this it a couple of regular ratchet straps using the rachet for the grip.
https://secretplane.net/products/anti-skid-emergency-tire-straps?fbaid=23843221274290518&utm_term=OM_23843221274290518_
Speaking of things from the past - I was looking at some old highway pictures and it occurred to me that the old "oil stain in the middle of the highway" is pretty much a thing of the past. Back in the 60's and 70's it was just taken as a "given" that all cars would drip a little oil and so the middle of the lane in the freeway always had a nice black, oily stain. The older the highway, the worse the stain.
Good point. I remember being able to tell where the bumps in the road were because it would cause any weeping oil to break loose and make a bigger stain.
I like this product idea. I also didn't know the required specs for the door latch, but it makes sense.
https://thestepbuddy.com/products/the-step-buddyTM-rea?variant=22254830911552
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARzujfRiQ3c
Bailey Guns
02-17-2019, 12:50
... but another bonus to driving an EV is not worrying about leaks.
I thought I read somewhere about Tesla (and perhaps other/all EVs) having a different sort of "leak" called Phantom Drain or Phantom Leaking. It was a reference to battery drain when the car wasn't in use. Some people apparently had a real problem with it. I also thought they had a coolant system.
**Not dumping on Tesla or EVs in general as, obviously, they won't leak like a "normal" car. Just curious.
Bailey Guns
02-17-2019, 13:00
Those hot-rod drivers ain't seeing nothing but pretty taillights. Well...and the water on the road. LMAO
I watched another video where they race an 1/8th mile on a 1/4 mile track, but from back to front (to better simulate street racing). He is basically an 1/8th mile car because those nitrous racecars real him right in once they hook up.
I thought I read somewhere about Tesla (and perhaps other/all EVs) having a different sort of "leak" called Phantom Drain or Phantom Leaking. It was a reference to battery drain when the car wasn't in use. Some people apparently had a real problem with it. I also thought they had a coolant system.
**Not dumping on Tesla or EVs in general as, obviously, they won't leak like a "normal" car. Just curious.
Phantom drain is something that just about any rechargeable battery device will experience. In this case, my guess is that you're referring to an issues some were having early on where this was exaggerated and causing some issues for people leaving their car at airports for prolonged periods for instance. This has been fixed via software updates for quite a while though and doesn't really represent a significant issue other than a slow and predictable drain if you leave it sit for long periods w/o being plugged in. This is the case for ICE vehicles too though so not really anything unique to EVs.
There are also battery technologies in development that will also help in this area among many other more dramatic upgrades in current charging technologies.
As to the liquids statement; the only liquid in Tesla vehicles is the windshield washer fluid, brake fluid and the coolant mixture that circulates to keep the batteries warm for optimal charging & discharging. Sure these could leak but it would be very unlikely and (other than the brake fluid) is water soluble so it would dilute in a rain storm or with a garden hose and be safe for the environment and not leave the cruddy oil slicks you see in parking spots and that I used to dread whenever riding motorcycles. For someone like me who likes to keep their driveway and garage floors spotless this is a great thing to not have to worry about a drip during an oil change or from a leak. Whenever I pull up to a convenience store for an energy drink or pulling up to a stop like on a busy road I'm constantly reminded of one of the negatives of ICE cars that will eventually be a distant memory.
I watched another video where they race an 1/8th mile on a 1/4 mile track, but from back to front (to better simulate street racing). He is basically an 1/8th mile car because those nitrous racecars real him right in once they hook up.
I've also seen a LOT of videos of full 1/4 mile races being won by a 4-door electric sedan on all season tires that weighs over 5,000lbs and makes no noise or pollution against high hp track-only vehicles. It's all situational and of course there are examples of either side winning either situation but the bottom line is that these Tesla cars are fast by any measurement. Considering where EVs were less than 10 years ago I'd say this is an overall win for the EV industry when it comes to showing they can be considered in the same breath as ICE cars.
In other news, Amazon invested $700 million in Rivian.
In other news, Amazon invested $700 million in Rivian.
I know GM wants a piece of that action too but they've got a cash problem.
I know GM wants a piece of that action too but they've got a cash problem.
GM has a quality and competition problem.
Bailey Guns
02-17-2019, 22:46
GM has a quality and competition problem.
I won't argue the competition angle, but Consumer Reports doesn't seem to think they have a quality problem judging by their list of the best American-branded cars, trucks and SUVs from 01/02/2019.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars-best-american-cars-suvs-trucks/
These are the top-rated cars from their class. You may not agree but they do have a pretty extensive testing regimen:
Subcompact = Chevy Sonic
Compact = Chevy Cruze
Compact Electric = Chevy Bolt
Large Sedan = Chevy Impala
Luxury Midsized Sedan = Cadillac XTS
Sports = Chevy Corvette
Large SUV = Chevy Suburban
Luxury SUV = Buick Envision
That's a pretty impressive lineup, especially from Chevrolet. And I'll admit I'm a Chevy fan...we currently own 3. They have been the most trouble free cars we've ever owned.
Speaking of GM, mary barra has to go. $22mil/yr salary ,and can't even predict the auto market less than half of time.
I won't argue the competition angle, but Consumer Reports doesn't seem to think they have a quality problem judging by their list of the best American-branded cars, trucks and SUVs from 01/02/2019.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars-best-american-cars-suvs-trucks/
These are the top-rated cars from their class. You may not agree but they do have a pretty extensive testing regimen:
Subcompact = Chevy Sonic
Compact = Chevy Cruze
Compact Electric = Chevy Bolt
Large Sedan = Chevy Impala
Luxury Midsized Sedan = Cadillac XTS
Sports = Chevy Corvette
Large SUV = Chevy Suburban
Luxury SUV = Buick Envision
That's a pretty impressive lineup, especially from Chevrolet. And I'll admit I'm a Chevy fan...we currently own 3. They have been the most trouble free cars we've ever owned.
Cruze, Impala, and XTS from that list have been cancelled. Buick Envision is made in China. The Sonic is on thin ice for cancellation.
I've been a Chevy guy my whole life. Waited for the 2019 GM trucks to come out before making a purchasing decision...and wow. What a fail fest. The bean counters must be doing their design. Chevy is still advertising on their past achievements.
Bailey Guns
02-18-2019, 07:25
Many car makers are stopping sedan production this year...not just Chevy. Ford's doing the same thing. There's more money in trucks and SUVs. That's a consumer decision...not a fault of the automakers. Also doesn't change the fact they were top-rated cars by a leading testing facility.
I'm set with a truck so I haven't looked at the new Chevy pickups yet. I will as soon as I head in for the next service.
That's kind of a bummer to be getting rid of cars. I have a hard time believing that enough of them aren't being to completely stop making them.
Martinjmpr
02-18-2019, 11:36
Well the "market" seems to value chevy trucks rather highly. [Dunno]
Check out later model (2 -3 model years old) used trucks and you'll see the asking price on full sized GM trucks is notably higher than either Dodge (Ram), Ford, or Nissan for the same age, miles and equipment. I think the only ones that hold their value more are Toyotas.
Cruze, Impala, and XTS from that list have been cancelled. Buick Envision is made in China. The Sonic is on thin ice for cancellation.
I've been a Chevy guy my whole life. Waited for the 2019 GM trucks to come out before making a purchasing decision...and wow. What a fail fest. The bean counters must be doing their design. Chevy is still advertising on their past achievements.
They also shit-canned the Volt which (according to the previously cited Consumer Reports) is/was the most reliable car that GM produced. It makes no sense at all.
Also from a long-time GM fella that was brought up generationally on GM in the farmlands of yore.
That's kind of a bummer to be getting rid of cars. I have a hard time believing that enough of them aren't being to completely stop making them.
It's also the segment where a spunky young upstart is kicking serious ass and taking names currently as the big three phase out sedans. They can't seem to innovate to compete so they're just going to shudder up and hope they can keep making profit on the larger trucks and SUVs.
ChadAmberg
02-18-2019, 13:52
Saw an interesting show on Amazon Prime last night. All the old car commercials from the 50s and 60s.
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Car-Commercials-Sprocket-Flicks/dp/B07CQ5ZW56/ref=pd_ys_iyr1
Some very cool blast from the past type things. Back when the car manufacturers could actually do fun interesting designs instead of every car looking almost exactly the same.
Bailey Guns
02-18-2019, 15:55
Well the "market" seems to value chevy trucks rather highly.
I can tell you from firsthand experience that's true. I only owned my Colorado Duramax for a year and sold it for almost a grand more than I paid for it. I got into a position where i needed a big truck for towing.
While I think it's disappointing seeing most cars go away it makes for some great deals. We had 2 Cruze diesels but I traded one on the Colorado. With them going away there are some unbelievable deals on the leftover 2018 models. Just bought a new 2018 Cruze TD Last weekend. Sticker was $27k give or take. Clearance price after rebates, incentives and discounts was $16761. We almost bought the other one they had and traded my wife's 2014 on it. Would've but she was set on leather seats and this one was cloth. Only downside was I had to drive to Seattle to get it.
Vehicles go out of production for lots of reasons but most often it has to do with the bottom dollar for the manufacturers.
Chevy Caprice was stupid popular with law enforcement agencies. Seems most preferred them to the Ford Crown Victoria. The Caprice was discontinued for one simple reason- there was more profit in SUVs and they converted the plant that made the Caprice to start making more Tahoes and Suburbans.
And as far as a previous comment about all cars pretty much looking the same, it?s all about aerodynamics. Ultimately there is only one design that is as aerodynamic as you can make a car so if every manufacturer is striving to make the most aerodynamic vehicle then they are all basically pushing their design towards the same shape. Since there are strict fuel economy and emissions standards to be met the more aerodynamic a vehicle is the better it will do in those departments.
It's one thing to discontinue a specific model of vehicle, but an entire class of vehicle is shocking.
Chevy is currently #3 in trucks...and that's with a new product launch of a fully redesigned truck.
Tesla looks more significant in sedan sales because many manufacturers are getting out of the space. The overall production volume for Tesla is small compared to the majors. Even when they can hit 5k in a month, that's not a big number.
BladesNBarrels
02-19-2019, 10:41
I went to the Home and Garden Show last week.
The Tesla 3 was being displayed.
I asked about delivery time and was told if I ordered today, I would have it by the end of this February.
What?
We talked tax credits, charging stations - they own Solar City and turned me over to a rep of Solar City to tell me about adding solar to my house and include a charging station.
They haven't made a combination offer yet, but they are working on it.
I still don't get how they cleared their backlog so that I can get a Tesla in 2 weeks??
Great-Kazoo
02-19-2019, 10:47
It's one thing to discontinue a specific model of vehicle, but an entire class of vehicle is shocking.
I felt that way when they stopped production on the Edsel.
I still don't get how they cleared their backlog so that I can get a Tesla in 2 weeks??
Sales are down in China with the impact of the tariffs and a number of folks cancelled their deposits when the subsidies were reduced.
I think a number of folks were hoping to get a $35K Tesla with a bunch of further discounts.
I went to the Home and Garden Show last week.
The Tesla 3 was being displayed.
I asked about delivery time and was told if I ordered today, I would have it by the end of this February.
What?
We talked tax credits, charging stations - they own Solar City and turned me over to a rep of Solar City to tell me about adding solar to my house and include a charging station.
They haven't made a combination offer yet, but they are working on it.
I still don't get how they cleared their backlog so that I can get a Tesla in 2 weeks??
The lead time on new Teslas has been greatly over-hyped. Last I saw they were producing 7k Model 3's per month alone and are laying off production staff to let the automation process do what it was designed to do. Higher quality, faster production and fewer human hands... it's a win win but if you listen the MSM the sky is falling. GM lays people off to bolster profit margin and the MSM claims it's a good move and the stock goes up. Tesla does it, the MSM claims they're going to fold up shop and go away and the stock goes down. Makes no sense.
FWIW, even during the time (November-ish) they were still trying to ramp up production and in "production hell" as the saying goes my wife's boss ordered a Model 3 on a Friday and took delivery of his new car on the following Monday. No exaggeration. Now, if only they could get the title work to buyers and customer service in timely manner they'd be awesome. It's not all roses but they've acknowledged the deficiency and have committed to addressing it. We shall see....
Sales are down in China with the impact of the tariffs and a number of folks cancelled their deposits when the subsidies were reduced.
I think a number of folks were hoping to get a $35K Tesla with a bunch of further discounts.
This was the plan all along with the Model 3 and it will still happen this year (most likely... the China factory coming online will go a long way in being able to reduce costs) but those who thought a $35k Model 3 out-of-the-gate would be a thing haven't paid too much attention to the Tesla business model which has been very smart to this point. Rather than follow the previous new car business model deployed by the likes of Honda, Toyota and more recently Kia and Hyundai of "make a cheap turd, bank capital and then work like mad to try to turn your image into something of quality or even luxury" they decided to go with "start at the top of the cost food chain, sell expensive sports/lux cars to maximize profit from the rich early adopters to build cash flow and experience to streamline the process of building more affordable and mass production cars with narrow margins later" and has shown that model to be quite attainable with the right product.
I too had my eye on a $35k car I could get $12,500 tax credits (fed & state) making it a helluva sweet deal on a very nice EV but that didn't happen. The fed credit went down only by $3,750 and Tesla reduced their MSRP across the board $2k to help level out the difference. This pissed a lot of current Model 3 owners off but who cares? They were early adopters and that's the price you pay to be the first on your block to have one. Personally, I didn't value that enough to pay a premium so I was content to sit on the sideline and watch it unfold. We bought a couple of used Model S cars instead and I couldn't be happier with my decision.
BladesNBarrels
02-19-2019, 17:41
We bought a couple of used Model S cars instead and I couldn't be happier with my decision.
How do you handle the charging?
My neighbor was an early buyer and he built his own charging station in the garage.
Later, he added solar to his house with Sun City, but that was before they were bought by Tesla and he did not get a charging station included. His power goes out with no back-up, just like regular grid users.
I was impressed by Solar City's new approach - they were commenting that Mr. Musk's first passion was to convert the world to alternate energy and solar is part of that plan.
Now Solar City has storage panels for the solar energy it produces, so that you still have power and it switches faster than your clocks and computers can shut down.
They wouldn't give a cost estimate until you set an appointment to have their technicians come out and evaluate your needs - not even ballpark.
Tesla has had a "Powerwall" for a while. It has only been available in limited markets at introduction. Since Tesla owns Solar City, that's likely the storage you're referring to.
Solar installers are struggling to find Tesla Powerwall battery systems (https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tesla-powerwall-batteries-20190219-story.html)
There’s plenty of demand for Tesla Inc.’s Powerwall home battery systems. The trick is finding installers that have them.
Only 12% of U.S. companies that install solar panels and residential batteries carry the Powerwall, a study Tuesday from Boston-based EnergySage and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners found. Meanwhile, about 55% of customers shopping for home-storage systems want them, according to the 871 installers surveyed in the report.
“Installers have indicated their frustration that the most popular battery is not available,” said Vikram Aggarwal, chief executive of EnergySage, an Energy Department-backed company that collects data on the solar industry and runs a website where customers can solicit quotes from solar installers.
Tesla declined to comment. One reason independent installers who participated in the survey may have a hard time finding Powerwalls is that Tesla shifted its strategy last year to sell most of its systems through its website and stores rather than third-party channels.
Another reason is the company converted some production lines for home- and business-storage systems to produce vehicle batteries instead. “Otherwise we would have done quite a bit more in stationary storage,” Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a call with analysts last month. Tesla plans to double its energy storage installations this year, to more than 2 gigawatt-hours.
“Customers want brands they recognize, from manufacturers who have produced their television, fridge or car,” Hugh Bromley, an analyst at BloombergNEF, said in an interview.
How do you handle the charging?
My neighbor was an early buyer and he built his own charging station in the garage.
Later, he added solar to his house with Sun City, but that was before they were bought by Tesla and he did not get a charging station included. His power goes out with no back-up, just like regular grid users.
I was impressed by Solar City's new approach - they were commenting that Mr. Musk's first passion was to convert the world to alternate energy and solar is part of that plan.
Now Solar City has storage panels for the solar energy it produces, so that you still have power and it switches faster than your clocks and computers can shut down.
They wouldn't give a cost estimate until you set an appointment to have their technicians come out and evaluate your needs - not even ballpark.
All you really need is to install a NEMA 14-50 which is a very common 240v 50A outlet. I got lucked out and was able to drop one about a foot below our breaker panel in the garage so total cost of materials was like $39. To have an actual electrician install it would have probably been a few hundred bucks or so if you don't know what you're doing. Our average daily use is under 30 miles and this outlet will put that back in in less than an hour. The Tesla cars are VERY friendly in this manner. A simple 14-50 will charge faster than most other EVs charge station which is kind of expensive to have installed.
My plan is to add solar panels very soon. The efficiency is finally to a place where a break-even usually occurs in less than 10 years with warranty on these panels being over twice that. I will eventually add a Powerwall but I'm not sure I can justify the cost up front to go with that since our local Muni doesn't have a different rate for electricity on and off peak. Once they update their metering system it will make a lot more sense to add a battery back-up to use battery whenever we're on-peak and then use the cheaper electricity when the rates are lower. It's super cool being able to say that your 4 second 0-60 sedan runs on the sun's rays.
Just know that you really don't need to plan to overhaul your entire life to add one of these EVs if you buy the right one that suits your needs. You can if you want but if you're not ready to take on such a massive undertaking you can really make these suckers fit your existing lifestyle and they'll make it better even if you don't go all-in with solar and back-up solutions. I tell people that even if you don't get into the environment aspect these are just the absolute best cars I've ever driven. No qualifiers. If you end up being able to help the environment by driving a bad ass car that's just and added bonus IMO.
Tesla has had a "Powerwall" for a while. It has only been available in limited markets at introduction. Since Tesla owns Solar City, that's likely the storage you're referring to.
Solar installers are struggling to find Tesla Powerwall battery systems (https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tesla-powerwall-batteries-20190219-story.html)
Not sure where you got your info from but they're installing all over the country at a pretty rapid rate these days. I know plenty of folks in Colorado with multiple Powerwalls in their solar setup.
For a fun fact take a look at the project Tesla just finished up in Australia (https://electrek.co/2019/02/18/tesla-big-battery-pay-for-itself/) and what the upgrade is doing to their grid.
I worked with a local energy provider in my previous job that also is installing their system and Longmont is up next and they plan to save the residents about a million bucks per month.
What they're able to do with these is pretty damn impressive and is only the first generation of things to come once battery tech improves.
Great-Kazoo
02-19-2019, 20:50
Not sure where you got your info from but they're installing all over the country at a pretty rapid rate these days. I know plenty of folks in Colorado with multiple Powerwalls in their solar setup.
For a fun fact take a look at the project Tesla just finished up in Australia (https://electrek.co/2019/02/18/tesla-big-battery-pay-for-itself/) and what the upgrade is doing to their grid.
I worked with a local energy provider in my previous job that also is installing their system and Longmont is up next and they plan to save the residents about a million bucks per month.
What they're able to do with these is pretty damn impressive and is only the first generation of things to come once battery tech improves.
Really a million? Based on cost per i really doubt it, which is sad as i'd like a few.
.
Considering the availability is less than the demand . I don't see all of longmont opening their wallets for a $7K per unit, anytime soon
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/tesla-batteries-in-short-supply-for-many-solar-installers/ar-BBTNjR6
Look I know you're all gung ho on EV, tesla specifically. But I miss your taco and crossfit post. Or have you given upon the tacoma for tesla?
Really a million? Based on cost per i really doubt it, which is sad as i'd like a few.
.
Considering the availability is less than the demand . I don't see all of longmont opening their wallets for a $7K per unit, anytime soon
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/tesla-batteries-in-short-supply-for-many-solar-installers/ar-BBTNjR6
Look I know you're all gung ho on EV, tesla specifically. But I miss your taco and crossfit post. Or have you given upon the tacoma for tesla?
I meant savings of one million bucks per year (https://electrek.co/2018/10/14/tesla-powerpack-project-save-colorado-ratepayers/) using these massive Powerpacks. Not a million bucks savings per month but still impressive.
The other one I was talking about was the United Power project in Brighton (https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/15/tesla-powerpack-expected-to-save-colorado-utility-customers-1-million-a-year/). I worked with them in my previous role with ESC Engineering and this is one of the first few state-side that will prove to save tax payers lots of money similar to what's happening in Australia in addition to several other large scale projects all over the world.
This is different than the Powerwall that is also being discussed in this thread for residential solutions which is similar but on a much much smaller scale. Click the two links I've posted in the last few posts and read.
I still have the Tacoma and still do Crossfit so going EV doesn't have to totally change your current lifestyle.
As to the supply v. demand situation of the Powerwall... there's a LOT of red tape that has to go down before you can even connect one up to your little piece of the circuit so I wouldn't let that scare you away. I've seen people waiting half a year or more before they can officially throw the switch so there's no use having it on your wall degrading that entire time anyway. Start now and you'll be lucky to clear the bureaucratic BS before fall.
BushMasterBoy
02-19-2019, 21:33
I'll probably buy an electric car when there is a whole parking lot full of used ones. If fuel goes short, I am fully prepared to run on ethanol. First Ford trucks ran on ethanol from sugar plantations.
I refuse to go electric because I don't want to wear sandals year round and have to start buying Starbucks.
Not sure where you got your info from but they're installing all over the country at a pretty rapid rate these days. I know plenty of folks in Colorado with multiple Powerwalls in their solar setup.
I meant to type "...had only been available...". When I initially looked at solar, it was available in California almost exclusively. Wasn't an option here at all.
Great-Kazoo
02-19-2019, 23:20
I meant to type "...had only been available...". When I initially looked at solar, it was available in California almost exclusively. Wasn't an option here at all.
Affordable, is the key word.
It's not affordable nor worth it to invest thousands of dollars to save maybe pennies per month, at this time.
We've crunched numbers many times. Unless there's a program where the cost per month was less than $50 per month, i see no benefit .
However that's for a 2 person household who uses NG or propane for everything besides lights and ac. Even the solar reps said, yeah you're really not going to save anything. Which is a bummer for the potential that's here or coming.
Agreed. The payoff is far enough out that the degradation of the panels has to be a real concern. If you decide to lease the equipment, you're paying them instead of the local utility.
ChickNorris
02-20-2019, 00:49
I refuse to go electric because I don't want to wear sandals year round and have to start buying Starbucks.
Insidiousness
2020 Corolla hybrid to get Prius mileage without looking like a Prius.
https://jalopnik.com/the-2020-toyota-corolla-hybrid-gets-prius-fuel-economy-1832722601/amp
I refuse to go electric because I don't want to wear sandals year round and have to start buying Starbucks.
Why do people still assume a certain type of person owns EV cars? Are you really that worried about what others think of you?
Affordable, is the key word.
It's not affordable nor worth it to invest thousands of dollars to save maybe pennies per month, at this time.
We've crunched numbers many times. Unless there's a program where the cost per month was less than $50 per month, i see no benefit .
However that's for a 2 person household who uses NG or propane for everything besides lights and ac. Even the solar reps said, yeah you're really not going to save anything. Which is a bummer for the potential that's here or coming.
Program? What program? Are you talking about he companies who install and lease them back to you? Those are set up to the benefit of the company installing and NOT the homeowner. Tesla discontinued this program once it acquired Solar City and simply sells/installs the panels and Powerwalls now. Up to you to pay cash or finance.
IMO it's a good time to go solar if you can pay cash. Financing doesn't make as much sense since you'll be paying a bank interest which is going to eat into your break even date and push it back. We've finally got to the point where you can break even well under 10 years in most cases (even less if you drive an EV or two and are using more electricity regularly like us) which makes this more and more of viable solution with every year that passes. It's pretty easy math if you pay for the initial investment in less than 10 years (some reporting in the 7 year range now) and the warranty on the panels is 90% efficiency by 20 years. At least I think that's how the warranty reads. It's been a bit since I dug that deep but I know they were saying that most likely one could get 35 years out of the panels they're installing these days.
Sounds like your needs are low enough that you may not see a break-even of 10 years though so maybe it's not worth your initial investment. This would skew earlier if you switched to EV driving and the #'s may make more sense. Dunno. I know it's not for everyone and it has everything to do with the #'s and nothing to do with the opinions and feelings that too many people make their primary deciding factor. If they #'s make sense go for it. If they #'s don't make sense don't. Not sure why people are so passionate to fight over math. (not saying you are of course, just a general statement of what I've witnessed)
Agreed. The payoff is far enough out that the degradation of the panels has to be a real concern. If you decide to lease the equipment, you're paying them instead of the local utility.
I would never lease solar as that's not designed to benefit the homeowner if you look at the numbers hard enough. Regardless of the sales pitch none of them are trying to make clean electricity production a reality for all income levels. They're just trying to profit off of anyone willing to sign the dotted line. It's the used car industry of the 2000's.
I will say, though, that while your first point was true say 10+ years ago we're seeing advancements now that the focus has been shifted to solar that have slowly been bringing that break-even deadline down drastically. I know at one point about 15-20 years ago you could install solar but you'd never break even based on the life expectancy of the panel. That's not the case anymore and the panels have got more and more efficient to the point where it makes financial sense or a lot more people in 2019 than it would have even in 2010. I'm going to sit on the sideline just a little bit longer but I can't wait to see the #'s on the solar shingles once those are made available to the general public. They've been testing them for years in California and it sounds like they're the cat's pajamas. I'm sure they'll be cost prohibitive initially but I like the idea of replacing our asphalt shingles with those the next time we need a new roof if it's not ungodly expensive. Most likely it will be just adding a few panels as the price on those should continue going down (more so once the solar shingles come out) and the efficiency will continue rising.
I think we're getting a bit off topic though as this thread was created as a general car discussion topic so I don't want to run too far off topic since this portion of the conversation only applies to a select type of vehicles and even then isn't a requirement. It's an interesting enough conversation to warrant another dedicated thread though IMHO.
2020 Corolla hybrid to get Prius mileage without looking like a Prius.
https://jalopnik.com/the-2020-toyota-corolla-hybrid-gets-prius-fuel-economy-1832722601/amp
Having owned a Camry Hybrid when they first came out I will say that I think Hybrids are the WORST of both worlds. You sacrifice range to budget room & weight for an ICE plus you have BOTH of the potential failure points of BOTH technologies. I think you miss the point of EV whenever you go hybrid as the simplicity of no maintenance or moving parts isn't realized in a Hybrid. You just have more things that can go wrong. I think you should either go full EV or stay ICE but I made the mistake of going Hybrid once and I won't make that mistake again. While our hybrid experience was worry-free (saved from all of the scheduled maintenance you have with an ICE vehicle) we bought new and traded in at 80k so I'm sure the next person couldn't say the same. I think that hybrids had their place but continuing to push that as a step between the two is doing a disservice to the average consumer.
You sure thought your hybrid was the cats pajamas at the time.
So what's the opinion on best years for the Chevy Suburban say.... 2005-2015?
You sure thought your hybrid was the cats pajamas at the time.
Based on what was available 12 years ago.
Martinjmpr
02-20-2019, 13:03
So what's the opinion on best years for the Chevy Suburban say.... 2005-2015?
05-06 IMO. These were the last 2 years of the older GMT-800 body style. This is what I drive (mine is a 2004.) Currently have 181,000 miles and running strong.
2007 - 2008: These are a real crapshoot. Some are great, many are not. These are the first two years of the GMT-900 body style. They are also the first years for AFM (Active Fuel Management) which is the system that shuts down 4 cylinders when cruising for better MPG. This caused a LOT of problems in the otherwise very robust 5.3 V8. Excess oil consumption was common and sometimes the whole engine needed to be replaced. If you look on the used market you can see there is a "dip" in asking prices for early GMT-900 1/2 ton trucks for this very reason.
I *THINK* (no experience though) that most of the AFM issues were worked out by 2009. 2009 also saw the introduction of the 6L60 6 speed tranny. This allows for lower final drive ratios while still having enough power.
The GMT-900 body style ran through 2014. 2015 saw the introduction of the current body style which is often referred to as the K2XX body style.
One thing to consider: If you are looking for 4wd (which I presume you are), on all of the 2007+ Suburban/Tahoes, the standard 4wd system had a single speed transfer case (IOW the only positions on the T-case dial are 2hi, 4hi, 4auto and N.) There is no low range. You only got low range if you ordered the towing or Z71 packages. By contrast, all GMT800 and earlier Suburban/Tahoes with 4wd had the 2 speed transfer case with low range.
Then there is the question of whether you are looking for a 1500 (1/2 ton) or 2500 (3/4 ton.) 2500's are not common and starting in 2007 they are much, much less common than 1500's. I would guess you can probably find 1 2500 for every 25 1500's on the used market. The 2500's came with a different engine (either the 6.0 or the 8.1) and a much beefier transmission (the 4L80.) Expect to pay premium dollar for a 2500 in ANY condition. They are like unicorns. I think they stopped making 2500's altogether after about 2011.
Another note: Don't forget the GMC Yukon XL. The Yukon XL is the same thing as the Suburban - unless it's a Denali model. Denali's had the 6.0 V8 instead of the 5.3 in the Chevy, and AWD with a single speed, non-lockable transfer case instead of the 2 speed case in the Chevy models. This is true of both GMT800 and GMT900 trucks (I think some of the GMT900's might have gotten the 6.2 V8.) The Denali model is basically the same thing as a Cadillac Escalade.
Non-Denali Yukons and Yukon XLs are identical to the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (respectively) with the 5.3 V8 and 4l60 transmission with a 2 speed transfer case.
Depending on your budget, I would consider a GMT 800 over a 900 just to avoid problems with the AFM. There are a few well known failure points in the GMT800. The 4L60 transmission is probably the weakest link. That's the bad news. The good news is that a rebuild is only about $2k and most transmission shops are very familiar with them. If you get a GMT800 I'd just budget for the trans rebuild, it should be a one-time thing.
The 5.3 V8 is pretty bulletproof. The electric T-case will sometimes fail but it can be fixed in your driveway with a new encoder motor for about $200 (compare with my previous Toyota 4runner, if the electric T-case goes out on that it's $2500 minimum because they have to pull the t-case and open it up to fix it.)
Other known issues include instrument panel stepper motors that go out and make your gauges go haywire. When that happened to mine I just sent it off to be rebuilt, even better they installed a transmission temperature gauge and put in green LED lights, total cost was about $300.
Overall I'm very happy with my 'burb. I plan on keeping it until I turn 60 (3 more years) and I have no doubt that it will make it to 220,000 miles without any more serious issues.
EDIT: I should add that the Suburban is very easy to work on and there is a ton of institutional knowledge on the intertoobz. For example, back in November I started getting a CEL. I have a Scangauge so I ran the code and it turned out to be an 02 sensor upstream from the catalytic converter. I found a YouTube video showing me how to change it out. Part was $45 (with a $20 rebate) and installation literally took less than 20 minutes in my garage. I also put in a dual battery system which is super easy because Chevies have a dedicated space a 2nd battery, so it was a simple matter of ordering the shelf and then connecting the cables. That lets me run a 12v refrigerator while we are camping without fear of running the main battery down.
I also did a basic lift in my driveway a couple of years ago. With the T-bar suspension, lifting is as easy as jacking it up, removing the old keys and putting in new ones, then adjusting to desired ride height. In the rear I just put in new springs and also put in shocks all around (Bilstein 5100s.) Again there are YouTube vidz to show how to do all this stuff.
Why do people still assume a certain type of person owns EV cars? Are you really that worried about what others think of you?
Don?t get too wound up. Perhaps my post was meant to be taken in jest.
Honestly, my main reason for having zero interest in an electric vehicle at this time is the range.
While it isn?t something I do regularly, I do occasionally make trips back to the Houston area and like to drive straight there without stops (other than for fuel or the occasional bathroom break).
Once there is an electric vehicle that will go over a thousand miles without needing a charge and it?s priced comparable to similar internal combustion vehicles maybe I?ll test drive one.
Until that day I?ll continue to support big oil and keep destroying the environment.
Martinjpr great summary. One nagging thing on my 05 is the bulbs in the switches, AC and the radio are going out.
I also heard the trans can be rebuilt into the stronger version by swapping out the sun gear when doing the clutches etc.
Im at 100k and the front suspension will need some love, but if uou are handy Moog offers an almost complete kit for $500. Will do it if I decide to stick with it, car ADD is a thing though.
BTW, would love to see the lift you did. Got pics?
05-06 IMO. These were the last 2 years of the older GMT-800 body style. This is what I drive (mine is a 2004.) Currently have 181,000 miles and running strong.
2007 - 2008: These are a real crapshoot. Some are great, many are not. These are the first two years of the GMT-900 body style. They are also the first years for AFM (Active Fuel Management) which is the system that shuts down 4 cylinders when cruising for better MPG. This caused a LOT of problems in the otherwise very robust 5.3 V8. Excess oil consumption was common and sometimes the whole engine needed to be replaced. If you look on the used market you can see there is a "dip" in asking prices for early GMT-900 1/2 ton trucks for this very reason.
I *THINK* (no experience though) that most of the AFM issues were worked out by 2009. 2009 also saw the introduction of the 6L60 6 speed tranny. This allows for lower final drive ratios while still having enough power.
The GMT-900 body style ran through 2014. 2015 saw the introduction of the current body style which is often referred to as the K2XX body style.
One thing to consider: If you are looking for 4wd (which I presume you are), on all of the 2007+ Suburban/Tahoes, the standard 4wd system had a single speed transfer case (IOW the only positions on the T-case dial are 2hi, 4hi, 4auto and N.) There is no low range. You only got low range if you ordered the towing or Z71 packages. By contrast, all GMT800 and earlier Suburban/Tahoes with 4wd had the 2 speed transfer case with low range.
Then there is the question of whether you are looking for a 1500 (1/2 ton) or 2500 (3/4 ton.) 2500's are not common and starting in 2007 they are much, much less common than 1500's. I would guess you can probably find 1 2500 for every 25 1500's on the used market. The 2500's came with a different engine (either the 6.0 or the 8.1) and a much beefier transmission (the 4L80.) Expect to pay premium dollar for a 2500 in ANY condition. They are like unicorns. I think they stopped making 2500's altogether after about 2011.
Another note: Don't forget the GMC Yukon XL. The Yukon XL is the same thing as the Suburban - unless it's a Denali model. Denali's had the 6.0 V8 instead of the 5.3 in the Chevy, and AWD with a single speed, non-lockable transfer case instead of the 2 speed case in the Chevy models. This is true of both GMT800 and GMT900 trucks (I think some of the GMT900's might have gotten the 6.2 V8.) The Denali model is basically the same thing as a Cadillac Escalade.
Non-Denali Yukons and Yukon XLs are identical to the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (respectively) with the 5.3 V8 and 4l60 transmission with a 2 speed transfer case.
Depending on your budget, I would consider a GMT 800 over a 900 just to avoid problems with the AFM. There are a few well known failure points in the GMT800. The 4L60 transmission is probably the weakest link. That's the bad news. The good news is that a rebuild is only about $2k and most transmission shops are very familiar with them. If you get a GMT800 I'd just budget for the trans rebuild, it should be a one-time thing.
The 5.3 V8 is pretty bulletproof. The electric T-case will sometimes fail but it can be fixed in your driveway with a new encoder motor for about $200 (compare with my previous Toyota 4runner, if the electric T-case goes out on that it's $2500 minimum because they have to pull the t-case and open it up to fix it.)
Other known issues include instrument panel stepper motors that go out and make your gauges go haywire. When that happened to mine I just sent it off to be rebuilt, even better they installed a transmission temperature gauge and put in green LED lights, total cost was about $300.
Overall I'm very happy with my 'burb. I plan on keeping it until I turn 60 (3 more years) and I have no doubt that it will make it to 220,000 miles without any more serious issues.
EDIT: I should add that the Suburban is very easy to work on and there is a ton of institutional knowledge on the intertoobz. For example, back in November I started getting a CEL. I have a Scangauge so I ran the code and it turned out to be an 02 sensor upstream from the catalytic converter. I found a YouTube video showing me how to change it out. Part was $45 (with a $20 rebate) and installation literally took less than 20 minutes in my garage. I also put in a dual battery system which is super easy because Chevies have a dedicated space a 2nd battery, so it was a simple matter of ordering the shelf and then connecting the cables. That lets me run a 12v refrigerator while we are camping without fear of running the main battery down.
I also did a basic lift in my driveway a couple of years ago. With the T-bar suspension, lifting is as easy as jacking it up, removing the old keys and putting in new ones, then adjusting to desired ride height. In the rear I just put in new springs and also put in shocks all around (Bilstein 5100s.) Again there are YouTube vidz to show how to do all this stuff.
Woo! firehose. I love it. Thanks!
Martinjmpr
02-20-2019, 13:50
Martinjpr great summary. One nagging thing on my 05 is the bulbs in the switches, AC and the radio are going out.
I also heard the trans can be rebuilt into the stronger version by swapping out the sun gear when doing the clutches etc.
Im at 100k and the front suspension will need some love, but if uou are handy Moog offers an almost complete kit for $500. Will do it if I decide to stick with it, car ADD is a thing though.
BTW, would love to see the lift you did. Got pics?
This is how she sits now. Tires are 33's (285/75/16.) I have a set of 2" lift spacers for the rear springs I'm thinking of putting on since it still sags a bit too much for my taste.
77411
Mine came with every option I wanted (which was almost all of them) and none of the ones I didn't (sunroof, 2nd row captains chairs and DVD player.) It has the towing package, leather seats, G80 rear locker, rear AC and heat, premium sound (although I replaced the head unit with one that has Bluetooth) etc. It does have some rust on the frame courtesy of it spending its first 8 years on Wisconsin.
If you get one, the absolutely FIRST thing you need to do is make sure you can get the spare tire down. Most of the GMT800's used an unholy contraption called a "secondary latch" that will often rust shut and 100% prevent you from removing your spare. Even if you cut the cable holding the spare in, it still won't come down. I had to take an angle grinder and grind off one of the sides of the "bell" holding the spare in place and then catch it as it fell. I replaced it with a spare tire hoist that has no "secondary latch."
The good news is that I discovered this on a sunny day in my driveway, and not in the middle of a blizzard by the side of the road at night. But be warned!
Don?t get too wound up. Perhaps my post was meant to be taken in jest.
Honestly, my main reason for having zero interest in an electric vehicle at this time is the range.
While it isn?t something I do regularly, I do occasionally make trips back to the Houston area and like to drive straight there without stops (other than for fuel or the occasional bathroom break).
Once there is an electric vehicle that will go over a thousand miles without needing a charge and it?s priced comparable to similar internal combustion vehicles maybe I?ll test drive one.
Until that day I?ll continue to support big oil and keep destroying the environment.
Who says I'm wound up? I hear this a lot and I don't tend to meet any of the qualities that most assume drive EVs.
As far as your needs go, if you drive over 13 hours nonstop then an EV isn't for you. Period. You need some sort of Mad Max Suburban with 7 gas tanks that can tote around 100 gallons of fuel to make that run and it's going to be three generations from now before it's something that would meet those very, very unique needs. Especially if you're going to base your entire driving experience on that one, random need should it ever come up again.
What do you drive that goes over 1,000 miles w/o stopping? How do you not have any bio needs in over 13 hours of driving at an average speed of 75mph of no stops? Also, how do you avoid blot clots from sitting for over 3 hours straight w/o moving? So many questions.
Bailey Guns
02-20-2019, 14:23
I doubt an EV will ever work for us, though I wouldn't mind having one if it did.
I'm very happy with the fuel efficiency of my diesels. On the other hand, diesels aren't for everyone, either, especially in cars (as evidenced by slow sales). Probably a lot of reasons for that.
The DEF message finally came on in my F250 at about 8700 miles. Now I know how long a tank will last.
In all fairness, he did mention bathroom and fueling up. But, fueling up + bathroom takes maybe 5-10 min and one is back on the road for another 300 miles+. How long would it take an EV to charge for that distance?
In all fairness, he did mention bathroom and fueling up. But, fueling up + bathroom takes maybe 5-10 min and one is back on the road for another 300 miles+. How long would it take an EV to charge for that distance?
Seems like I had this discussion once upon a time. Jer and I did not really reach an agreement.
In all fairness, he did mention bathroom and fueling up. But, fueling up + bathroom takes maybe 5-10 min and one is back on the road for another 300 miles+. How long would it take an EV to charge for that distance?
Yep. It's 520 miles from here to Salt Lake and takes 8 hours, with stops. It's almost 750 miles to Ketchum and that takes 12 hours, with stops. When an EV can get even close to those times, I'll be interested. So what, another 20 years?
In all fairness, he did mention bathroom and fueling up. But, fueling up + bathroom takes maybe 5-10 min and one is back on the road for another 300 miles+. How long would it take an EV to charge for that distance?
It depends on many variables and factors but in our instance we stopped about every 2 hours and the total stop was usually about 20min or so before we were able to get back on the road. That was about how long we'd be driving before we were looking to exit to use the restroom and grab a water anyway. You exit, plug in, walk to the nearest convenience store to stretch your legs & use the bathroom, grab some water & some snacks and by the time you got back to the car you had less than 10 minutes to wait in most cases. There really was no point during our 2,500 miles over 5 days that we were wishing we could just keep driving instead of stopping. At no point did we find ourselves saying "another stop? I was just getting into the groove here and wanted to keep going" so I don't put a lot of weight in people claiming that having to stop to charge would alter their lives significantly especially when we're talking about something most people do once a year on average.
Those numbers are close to a worse case scenario within the Tesla lineup as well. It was in a 60kWh car and most these days are north of 75kWh with several in the 100kWh range being made today. The difference is a car that gets around 200 miles of range versus car that gets around 300 miles of range. The new Long Range Model 3 gets closer to 350 miles or range or damn near double the range of the car we have. In the not-so-distant future we'll see cars north of that. Our car with a max range of 200 miles exceeds our normal daily commute by 10x though so I think people put too much weight in long road trips but that too has been addressed by Tesla and continues getting better.
Another key is that recent announcements have stated that Tesla will be not only doubling the Supercharger stations again in 2019 but will also be "significantly increasing the charge speed" all at the same time. Some are predicting that charge speeds could nearly double which will halve the amount of time you sit charging. So instead of 20-25min on average more like 10-12min. That's for cars already made and already on the road today not future technology which could see improvements on both charging and battery side to cut that down even more.
The higher the capacity of the battery the longer the range which is obvious to most. What isn't as obvious is that the higher the capacity the faster they take a charge. This means that those larger capacity batteries not only require less stops but sit for less time when they do stop. Hence my statement that our car is basically a worst case scenario and it was still perfectly enjoyable.
They're also making some advancements that some are speculating will arrive in vehicles in the next few years or so that will both increase range as well as decrease battery and cost to produce. The forthcoming Roadster (supposed to come out in about two years) is estimated to have a range of over 600 miles. That's absurd and coming awfully close to some people's pie-in-the-sky idea of what range an EV should have. This doesn't even factor in what technology upgrades are on the horizon which will make charge times faster, longer range, lower cost and longer life. The deal they just inked buying the battery tech company last week is reported to have pioneered a tech that will add over 20% range to existing batteries and make them longer lasting, lighter weight and lower cost. Some speculate that this tech could see it's way into a refreshed version of the Model S/X or Roadster which would mean that we see that in the next couple of years.
Yep. It's 520 miles from here to Salt Lake and takes 8 hours, with stops. It's almost 750 miles to Ketchum and that takes 12 hours, with stops. When an EV can get even close to those times, I'll be interested. So what, another 20 years?
Yep, 20 years.
...Or it exist already today. I seem to recall doing a similar exercise about these trips that were supposedly not possible for EVs in other threads too and it was crickets whenever I produced the facts.
According to the Tesla Trip Planner (https://www.tesla.com/trips#/?v=MS_2017_100D&o=Boulder,%20CO,%20USA_Boulder%20Boulder%20County% 20CO@40.0149856,-105.27054559999999&s=&d=Salt%20Lake%20City,%20UT,%20USA_Salt%20Lake%20Ci ty%20Salt%20Lake%20County%20UT@40.7607793,-111.89104739999999) that trip from Boulder to SLC can be made in about 9 hours including stops to charge up. The trip from Boulder to Ketchum ID can be made in about 14 hours with stops. Both of those estimates are doing the speed limit so if you go faster than that (which I assume if you're making the times you state with stops for gas) those times would be even closer to the "untouchable" numbers you stated.
Oh, did I mention that if I took those trips right now in our used Tesla Model S all of those miles are free? Thanks to the free unlimited lifetime Supercharging that came with our car. You may have noticed the estimated gas savings in that Tesla trip planner I linked to if you play with it at all.
So, when is the Tesla test drive?
Except the free supercharging for life was discontinued, unless you get a used car that happens to have it transferrable.
Martinjmpr
02-20-2019, 15:56
It depends on many variables and factors but in our instance we stopped about every 2 hours and the total stop was usually about 20min or so before we were able to get back on the road.
So at a charging location how many "stations" do they have? Because it seems like this model works great as long as EV's are relatively rare.
If EVs start becoming more common then that "20 minute" charge time can easily be an hour if there are 3 people in line ahead of you waiting to charge.
Except the free supercharging for life was discontinued, unless you get a used car that happens to have it transferrable.
That is correct. Any new car purchased as of the date of this post no longer includes it. I say it that way because Tesla may extend this at some point to other cars or offer promotions from time to time which they've been known to do. Also, in times of emergency they've been known to allow free Supercharging and unlock any software limitations on range temporarily. Any used car that was delivered prior to Jan 2017 will include it free for life and it 100% transfers with the car from owner to owner to owner in perpetuity. Even the new cars that don't get it for free don't pay that much of a free to use this network. For those average stops I described you can expect $7 give or take. Still better than what gas would cost even if you do have to pay for it. That's another selling point to finding a used one that has it if that's an important feature to you. On paper it sounds awesome but even if you travel a few long trips every year you're not really saving a fortune. You will over what you'd pay in gas but the difference between unlimited free supercharging and pay supercharging is nominal IMO.
That's beside the point though. I threw that extra tidbit in as an extra bonus to the point which was that the exact hypotheticals he challenged with were entirely doable with today's technology available right now.
So at a charging location how many "stations" do they have? Because it seems like this model works great as long as EV's are relatively rare.
If EVs start becoming more common then that "20 minute" charge time can easily be an hour if there are 3 people in line ahead of you waiting to charge.
This is exactly why they started charging for Supercharging because some were abusing it. Keep in mind that even though they're charging for the use of the network they're profiting from it. They're also using the money coming in from that to dump right back into the network and expand it and improve it. In 2016 Tesla announced they would double the number of Supercharger stations in existence in 2017 & 2018 which they did and then some. They announced at the end of last year that they would double the total number again but this time they'd do it in a single year which would require four times the rate of installation. This is in answer to the massive ramp up in sales to make sure that this doesn't become an issue. Increasing the charge rate will also do a lot to free up the stalls.
They also started enacting fines for those who remain in stalls beyond their battery being full. I personally have never heard of anyone actually being charged for this but they sure warn you of it's existence.
To answer your other question, there is usually about 6-8 stalls with some being in the dozen or more range. I've never experienced a situation where I pulled up to a stall and didn't have one available for use. In fact, the nav shows you how many stalls each location has as well as how many are currently in use so you can choose to go to another one if it's full. This is super rare other than highly populated areas and they usually install several nearby for this exact reason.
While I agree that waiting in line would be terrible I can tell you from personal experience that there would have to be a TON more cars using them for this to be an issue. Most of the time we pulled up to a station that had 10 stalls and we were the only one there the entire time we were charging. That's not to say that some weren't busier but it was the exception and not the rule. In short, while it is possible, I'm not too worried about it.
How can they possibly enforce leaving your car on a charger for too long?
BladesNBarrels
02-20-2019, 16:49
Power surge after 20 minutes?
I suppose it's not that hard, just send a fine in the mail. Sucks if you get stuck on the toilet and get a fine though.
Great-Kazoo
02-20-2019, 16:57
How can they possibly enforce leaving your car on a charger for too long?
It's in the computer chip on one of the sub boards all tesleashave. Like Alexa, Google and Apple one more OOPS they neglected to tell anyone using their product
https://www.businessinsider.com/nest-microphone-was-never-supposed-to-be-a-secret-2019-2?fbclid=IwAR3zfg2v9Ix95fgkAanYbERMPROWuy67oLZixqm djpl5PVWbh1KbvpGmBUc
Tesla, find me a charging station.
Sorry Jer, you've maxed out your monthly off site recharge access.
Martinjmpr
02-20-2019, 17:24
It's in the computer chip on one of the sub boards all tesleashave. Like Alexa, Google and Apple one more OOPS they neglected to tell anyone using their product
https://www.businessinsider.com/nest-microphone-was-never-supposed-to-be-a-secret-2019-2?fbclid=IwAR3zfg2v9Ix95fgkAanYbERMPROWuy67oLZixqm djpl5PVWbh1KbvpGmBUc
Tesla, find me a charging station.
Sorry Jer, you've maxed out your monthly off site recharge access.
More like: "Tesla, find me a charging station"
Tesla:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qnd-hdmgfk
How can they possibly enforce leaving your car on a charger for too long?
They can't make you leave but you can certainly pay for the privilege to sit there beyond needing the Supercharger to charge your car.
I suppose it's not that hard, just send a fine in the mail. Sucks if you get stuck on the toilet and get a fine though.
You have a credit card on file to use the Supercharger system. You also agree to a fee/fine for sitting in a stall when your car is fully charged and they make you agree numerous times when you first set up your account so it's pretty obvious. Like I said, I don't know anyone personally who's got this fine but I think it exists to help deter the gross offenders.
It's in the computer chip on one of the sub boards all tesleashave. Like Alexa, Google and Apple one more OOPS they neglected to tell anyone using their product
https://www.businessinsider.com/nest-microphone-was-never-supposed-to-be-a-secret-2019-2?fbclid=IwAR3zfg2v9Ix95fgkAanYbERMPROWuy67oLZixqm djpl5PVWbh1KbvpGmBUc
Tesla, find me a charging station.
Sorry Jer, you've maxed out your monthly off site recharge access.
I'd just tell Alexa to do me a solid this time and she'd hook me up because she's mah home gurl!
Bailey Guns
02-20-2019, 17:43
Looks like Mercedes is all in on the EV bandwagon:
0k1tbf8muMc
SideShow Bob
02-20-2019, 18:28
Deleted, Danged double post I say there, are you listening to me there son ?
SideShow Bob
02-20-2019, 18:58
If you get one, the absolutely FIRST thing you need to do is make sure you can get the spare tire down. Most of the GMT800's used an unholy contraption called a "secondary latch" that will often rust shut and 100% prevent you from removing your spare. Even if you cut the cable holding the spare in, it still won't come down. I had to take an angle grinder and grind off one of the sides of the "bell" holding the spare in place and then catch it as it fell. I replaced it with a spare tire hoist that has no "secondary latch."
The good news is that I discovered this on a sunny day in my driveway, and not in the middle of a blizzard by the side of the road at night. But be warned!
^^^This^^^ I?ve read some horror stories about people having not been able to get the spare down/off when needed.
And yet, I procrastinated another summer & fall away without putting the fix on my 06 GMC 1500.
Here?s a you tube video to explain it better if you are having a hard time wrapping your mind around the problem.
https://youtu.be/z9lxNfvUI3k
Tell me if you think this guy reminds of you of Foghorn Leghorn.......
BushMasterBoy
02-20-2019, 20:04
What happens if you drive an electric car into the ocean? Will it electrocute you? This video comes to mind...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIrF-rsXWJM
Martinjmpr
02-20-2019, 20:29
^^^This^^^ I?ve read some horror stories about people having not been able to get the spare down/off when needed.
And yet, I procrastinated another summer & fall away without putting the fix on my 06 GMC 1500.
Here?s a you tube video to explain it better if you are having a hard time wrapping your mind around the problem.
https://youtu.be/z9lxNfvUI3k
Tell me if you think this guy reminds of you of Foghorn Leghorn.......
Yeah, he does!
The only thing I would quibble about is whether this was something that was "mandated by the government." I doubt it. I owned 4 other vehicles that had a nearly identical hoist/ratchet system for lowering and raising the spare tire (99 Ford Ranger, 99 4runner, 04 Tacoma and 07 4runner) and NONE of them had any kind of "secondary latch."
The secondary latch is supposed to keep the spare tire from falling to the road if the cable breaks, but I've never heard of that being a serious problem on other vehicles that don't have the secondary latch so I'm not sure why GM put it on there. And the replacement part - which came from GM - is absolutely identical to the original EXCEPT it has no secondary latch.
So, when is the Tesla test drive?
All of my trips are in an SUV with ski or bike racks or an F150 pulling a trailer. How does your Tesla handle the real world?
A bike rack? The gauntlet has been thrown!!!!!!
Bailey Guns
02-20-2019, 20:43
All of my trips are in an SUV with ski or bike racks or an F150 pulling a trailer. How does your Tesla handle the real world?
Considering most cars aren't used for towing I'd say it probably handles the "real world" as well as most other cars. That's like saying "Most of my driving involves pulling a 25000 pound trailer with an F450. How does your F150 handle the real world?" Can you not put ski racks or a bike rack on a Tesla?
Considering most cars aren't used for towing I'd say it probably handles the "real world" as well as most other cars. That's like saying "Most of my driving involves pulling a 25000 pound trailer with an F450. How does your F150 handle the real world?" Can you not put ski racks or a bike rack on a Tesla?
Exactly. That's like going into a BMW M3 thread and saying "Well I tow a trailer and if this car can't it's a giant POS!" It handles my real world just fine but I don't put unreasonable expectations on my cars.
That being said, if you like SUVs check out the specs on the Tesla Model X as far as towing and what not. It's the SUV of the Model S and I've seen others pull trailers and all sorts of stuff with them. I doubt they can handle a 10,000lb water trailer but you wouldn't select it for that task if it was what you needed anyway so let's be reasonable.
Exactly. That's like going into a BMW M3 thread and saying "Well I tow a trailer and if this car can't it's a giant POS!" It handles my real world just fine but I don't put unreasonable expectations on my cars.
That being said, if you like SUVs check out the specs on the Tesla Model X as far as towing and what not. It's the SUV of the Model S and I've seen others pull trailers and all sorts of stuff with them. I doubt they can handle a 10,000lb water trailer but you wouldn't select it for that task if it was what you needed anyway so let's be reasonable.
Surpringsly it has been discussed.
I remember from the m3post forum .
[Coffee]
It was not a popular thread for sure.
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=487026#post8878416
Great-Kazoo
02-20-2019, 22:21
Anyone in the ticket pool for when Jer finds out he's upside down, when he goes to trade on a 2020 model?
Let's see. Tesla has your credit card on file (or who ever the company is) when he uses a charging station. There's a limit for use of said station, when busy.
Backorder for the home charging station, oh yeah. While not dependant on fossil fuel, the ecological impacts of mining the precious metals to build, then safely dispose of said battery when it needs replacing. .
you know it's too easy ;)
Anyone in the ticket pool for when Jer finds out he's upside down, when he goes to trade on a 2020 model?
Let's see. Tesla has your credit card on file (or who ever the company is) when he uses a charging station. There's a limit for use of said station, when busy.
Backorder for the home charging station, oh yeah. While not dependant on fossil fuel, the ecological impacts of mining the precious metals to build, then safely dispose of said battery when it needs replacing. .
you know it's too easy ;)
Like I would use my own credit card. n00b
Great-Kazoo
02-20-2019, 22:50
Like I would use my own credit card. n00b
Not only are you too easy. You're predictable
Also to confirm... You're selecting Oct of 2019 for the ticket pool. I need a specific day , October's too generic. Thanks.
BushMasterBoy
02-21-2019, 00:07
"While not dependant on fossil fuel, the ecological impacts of mining the precious metals to build, then safely dispose of said battery when it needs replacing. . "
But that is why Wall Street had "US" invade Afghanistan.
We need the Helmand Province lithium.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/18/trumps-afghanistan-strategy-may-unlock-3-trillion-in-natural-resources.html
photo break.
https://i.redd.it/7a1261g0kv421.jpg
Not to steer this electric vehicle thread off topic but the Tesla talk got me to thinking.
For the most part I?ve always just had one vehicle. I was trying to think back to the last time I owned or drove a car. Pretty sure the last car I owned was around 1992.
Cars really lost their practicality for me around that time.
And hopefully it will be many years before my next car comes into my life. This one will likely be passed on to me from my dad some day.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190221/75b686e8674391f6c853e91de9401f2e.jpg
"While not dependant on fossil fuel, the ecological impacts of mining the precious metals to build, then safely dispose of said battery when it needs replacing. . "
But that is why Wall Street had "US" invade Afghanistan.
We need the Helmand Province lithium.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/18/trumps-afghanistan-strategy-may-unlock-3-trillion-in-natural-resources.html
Wait, for decades I was told we invaded because of oil. Now it's for the EVs? I cornfuse.
Grant H.
02-21-2019, 09:52
Wait, for decades I was told we invaded because of oil. Now it's for the EVs? I cornfuse.
What?
You didn't know that Musk/Tesla was actually the one that made the decision, and just blamed it on WMD and then Oil/Haliburton so that he wouldn't get the negative press?
The worlds lithium industry may well benefit from the US being in Afghanistan, but that was not why the US went over there.
What?
You didn't know that Musk/Tesla was actually the one that made the decision, and just blamed it on WMD and then Oil/Haliburton so that he wouldn't get the negative press?
The worlds lithium industry may well benefit from the US being in Afghanistan, but that was not why the US went over there.
That Elon, he thinks of EVERYTHING!
BushMasterBoy
02-21-2019, 10:27
Face it we went over there for the money to be made. To insure our economy. It is all about the economic well being of US citizens. The thinking at the time was to insure a transnational gas pipeline. Can't have Europe dependent of Russian natural gas. Russia has the worlds largest crude oil reserves and other hydrocarbons.
Electric car would be cool though. On my limited budget, I don't see it in my life time.
Grant H.
02-21-2019, 11:13
Face it we went over there for the money to be made. To insure our economy. It is all about the economic well being of US citizens. The thinking at the time was to insure a transnational gas pipeline. Can't have Europe dependent of Russian natural gas. Russia has the worlds largest crude oil reserves and other hydrocarbons.
Electric car would be cool though. On my limited budget, I don't see it in my life time.
I completely agree that we went for less than altruistic reasons, as much as that annoys me.
I'm just pointing out that Li wasn't part of the focus at the beginning. The first real idea of the mineral deposits, beyond oil in the ME, was from a USGS survey in 2007.
Grant H.
02-21-2019, 11:14
And hopefully it will be many years before my next car comes into my life. This one will likely be passed on to me from my dad some day.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190221/75b686e8674391f6c853e91de9401f2e.jpg
That's beautiful!
But yes, I hope you don't get it for many years to come!
Just took in our odyssey today for hail damage repair. Rental is a Dodge Grand Caravan. Hate it. Feels like a box. Feels underpowered. Blind spots everywhere. Annoying controls. My first van was a 1991 Dodge Caravan (Cargo). I loved it. Not liking the newer ones.
How dare you.
ETA: When I first decided I should look at vans, I was looking at the Honda Odysseys. I couldn't find one for a decent price. Even beat to crap dealers still wanted something like $18,000-$22,000. I bought the same year caravan for $8,000 (and probably still overpaid). In the end, I think the Caravan has a less soccer mom and more professional look. That only mattered to me because I was using it for business though.
If you buy a Mazda MPV, you will never go back! ..... oh wait.....
https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/mazda/mpv/1997/oem/1997_mazda_mpv_passenger-minivan_es_fq_oem_1_400.jpg
So all mini vans aren?t created equal?
Great-Kazoo
02-21-2019, 15:26
So all mini vans aren?t created equal?
Not according to us Sienna Owners.
But, We're not as rabid as those Taco guys are . Especially the crossover ones
The Sienna is like the Tacoma of the mini van world. It?s what Irving really wishes he owned.
AWD would definitely make my van better, but then it'd get Suburban mpg and I might as well just buy a Tahoe.
Great-Kazoo
02-21-2019, 16:38
AWD would definitely make my van better, but then it'd get Suburban mpg and I might as well just buy a Tahoe.
23 mpg on the hwy. 17-20 in town.
23 mpg on the hwy. 17-20 in town.
With the way you drive, I don't believe that for a second.
Great-Kazoo
02-21-2019, 19:09
With the way you drive, I don't believe that for a second.
come on down,i'll drive you to phoenix. In town definitely 17+ no problem. Around here there's 4 lights in town, spaced 3/4 mi apart. After that, it's almost wide open till phoenix.
Currently I run a Hyundai Accent. Paid $13.5K back in 2010, and have 35,000 miles on the car. Beat that :)
(I did buy a motorcycle with my savings (a Honda CB600 F4i) another $2600 up in smoke...)
-John
I guess we are talking gas mileage now.
Our vehicles has.
mpg
14 city/20 highway
16 city/23 highway
28 city/37 highway
Non of them are truck/SUV/Van.
My full size truck gets about the same gas mileage as my wife?s small SUV. Not sure if that means my truck does really well or her vehicle just isn?t that good.
It?s okay though. We have three other vehicles that all get over 50mpg.
And everything we own goes more miles on gallon of gas than a Tesla.
My two boys (4 and almost 2) checked out the rental van yesterday while I install all their car seats. I have been unequivocally corrected on my hatred of it. The oldest informed me that it's great because:
It has a steering wheel
It has a horn
It even has windows!
It has a seat for mommy
It's the best van and it's the one he always wanted
Oh, wow!
ChickNorris
02-22-2019, 07:13
My two boys (4 and almost 2) checked out the rental van yesterday while I install all their car seats. I have been unequivocally corrected on my hatred of it. The oldest informed me that it's great because:
It has a steering wheel
It has a horn
It even has windows!
It has a seat for mommy
It's the best van and it's the one he always wanted
Oh, wow!
Extra adorable CavSct
It has a steering wheel
It has a horn
It even has windows!
It has a seat for mommy
It's the best van and it's the one he always wanted
Oh, wow!
Why can I picture Irving looking at his mini van before he bought it an saying these exact same things?
And everything we own goes more miles on gallon of gas than a Tesla.
I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean.
My two boys (4 and almost 2) checked out the rental van yesterday while I install all their car seats. I have been unequivocally corrected on my hatred of it. The oldest informed me that it's great because:
It has a steering wheel
It has a horn
It even has windows!
It has a seat for mommy
It's the best van and it's the one he always wanted
Oh, wow!
Sounds like it's a winner then and your opinion is false.
Real question here Jer. I am catching up in this thread this morning, and something you said raised my eyebrows.
How does one "abuse supercharging"? Keep in mind that everything I know about ev's, I've learned from this forum.
Sent from somewhere...
I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean.
It means my truck will go 16-20 miles on one gallon of gas and a Tesla will go zero miles on a gallon gas.
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 09:14
I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean.
https://i.imgur.com/HPXH4Aoh.jpg
ChickNorris
02-22-2019, 09:46
It means my truck will go 16-20 miles on one gallon of gas and a Tesla will go zero miles on a gallon gas.
Hehehe
Real question here Jer. I am catching up in this thread this morning, and something you said raised my eyebrows.
How does one "abuse supercharging"? Keep in mind that everything I know about ev's, I've learned from this forum.
Sent from somewhere...
I believe that was in context to someone asking about full stalls. What I meant by "abusing" them is that once your batteries are topped off you no longer have a need to be there. Leaving your car for prolonged periods knowing that your battery is charged is abusive in the eyes of the community. In other words and in maybe a better example, there are Supercharger in metro areas where people don't charge their EVs at home at all. Instead, they drive into work in the morning, park at a nearby Supercharger and then go to work for 8-10 hours. Their battery is topped off in well under and hour and yet the car remains in the stall plugged in for another 8 hours.. planned. Part of this falls on Tesla for putting them in metro areas but it really should come down to people thinking of others. It's similar to a busy gas station when you're waiting in line and someone is piddle farting around with their car while others wait. Annoying enough but now imagine the guy goes to work and leaves the car there. This is why Tesla 1) is starting to charge to try to curb people from taking advantage of "free" juice when that's not what it was intended for and 2) enacted a policy by which if you remain in a stall well beyond your vehicle being charged you can be assessed a fee. Tesla is on the record saying that they would rather not do this but it was necessary to enforce some good behavior on a select few who seemed to be raised by a pack of wolves.
It means my truck will go 16-20 miles on one gallon of gas and a Tesla will go zero miles on a gallon gas.
He's not wrong.
Rucker61
02-22-2019, 10:22
It means my truck will go 16-20 miles on one gallon of gas and a Tesla will go zero miles on a gallon gas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DRCGcuByQc&list=RD8DRCGcuByQc&start_radio=1
I believe that was in context to someone asking about full stalls. What I meant by "abusing" them is that once your batteries are topped off you no longer have a need to be there. Leaving your car for prolonged periods knowing that your battery is charged is abusive in the eyes of the community. In other words and in maybe a better example, there are Supercharger in metro areas where people don't charge their EVs at home at all. Instead, they drive into work in the morning, park at a nearby Supercharger and then go to work for 8-10 hours. Their battery is topped off in well under and hour and yet the car remains in the stall plugged in for another 8 hours.. planned. Part of this falls on Tesla for putting them in metro areas but it really should come down to people thinking of others. It's similar to a busy gas station when you're waiting in line and someone is piddle farting around with their car while others wait. Annoying enough but now imagine the guy goes to work and leaves the car there. This is why Tesla 1) is starting to charge to try to curb people from taking advantage of "free" juice when that's not what it was intended for and 2) enacted a policy by which if you remain in a stall well beyond your vehicle being charged you can be assessed a fee. Tesla is on the record saying that they would rather not do this but it was necessary to enforce some good behavior on a select few who seemed to be raised by a pack of wolves.
Thanks. That's one of the scenarios I had assumed.
Go figure. Humans acting as humans do, in general.
I'm certain we have all experienced very annoying delays at the gas pumps, as you stated. Why would Tesla assume it would be any different at charging stations?
So I guess Tesla doesn't understand human nature, and/or assumed that only the "best and brightest" would purchase their goods and the unwashed masses would have no interest.
Another good idea/intention quashed by the free market system.
Or was it the endgame to get even more early adopters on board to purchase, allowing them to activate a revenue stream based on the actions of the "feral minority". Which is basically what they are on record as saying, according to your post.
I will edit to add, are there any provisions in place to ticket/tow the lingerers? Probably a local ordinance issue, but seems like a no-brainer. Unless the charging stall are actually privately owned?
I guess I'm just skeptical about a lot of things.
Sent from somewhere...
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 10:29
Thanks. That's one of the scenarios I had assumed.
Go figure. Humans acting as humans do, in general.
I'm certain we have all experienced very annoying delays at the gas pumps, as you stated. Why would Tesla assume it would be any different at charging stations?
So I guess Tesla doesn't understand human nature, and/or assumed that only the "best and brightest" would purchase their goods and the unwashed masses would have no interest.
Another good idea/intention quashed by the free market system.
Or was it the endgame to get even more early adopters on board to purchase, allowing them to activate a revenue stream based on the actions of the "feral minority". Which is basically what they are on record as saying, according to your post.
Sent from somewhere...
[panic]
Of course zero gallons of gas will get me exactly zero miles down the road where zero gallons of gas will get the Tesla what? 200 miles or so?
BushMasterBoy
02-22-2019, 10:45
Jut plug the Tesla into a Dodge Charger! doh
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 11:30
Jut plug the Tesla into a Dodge Charger! doh
BAM!
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 11:31
I believe that was in context to someone asking about full stalls. What I meant by "abusing" them is that once your batteries are topped off you no longer have a need to be there. Leaving your car for prolonged periods knowing that your battery is charged is abusive in the eyes of the community. In other words and in maybe a better example, there are Supercharger in metro areas where people don't charge their EVs at home at all. Instead, they drive into work in the morning, park at a nearby Supercharger and then go to work for 8-10 hours. Their battery is topped off in well under and hour and yet the car remains in the stall plugged in for another 8 hours.. planned. Part of this falls on Tesla for putting them in metro areas but it really should come down to people thinking of others. It's similar to a busy gas station when you're waiting in line and someone is piddle farting around with their car while others wait. Annoying enough but now imagine the guy goes to work and leaves the car there. This is why Tesla 1) is starting to charge to try to curb people from taking advantage of "free" juice when that's not what it was intended for and 2) enacted a policy by which if you remain in a stall well beyond your vehicle being charged you can be assessed a fee. Tesla is on the record saying that they would rather not do this but it was necessary to enforce some good behavior on a select few who seemed to be raised by a pack of wolves.
Surprised you haven't invested in wind power ;)
Martinjmpr
02-22-2019, 12:41
I'll just leave this here:
77421
Have Macintosh's Witnesses been replaced by the Disciples of the Book of Elon? ;)
Thanks. That's one of the scenarios I had assumed.
Go figure. Humans acting as humans do, in general.
I'm certain we have all experienced very annoying delays at the gas pumps, as you stated. Why would Tesla assume it would be any different at charging stations?
So I guess Tesla doesn't understand human nature, and/or assumed that only the "best and brightest" would purchase their goods and the unwashed masses would have no interest.
Another good idea/intention quashed by the free market system.
Or was it the endgame to get even more early adopters on board to purchase, allowing them to activate a revenue stream based on the actions of the "feral minority". Which is basically what they are on record as saying, according to your post.
I will edit to add, are there any provisions in place to ticket/tow the lingerers? Probably a local ordinance issue, but seems like a no-brainer. Unless the charging stall are actually privately owned?
I guess I'm just skeptical about a lot of things.
Sent from somewhere...
Certainly not just the best and brightest since I own a couple. [JRope]
Most all are on private property (I think they have to be?) so it would be up to the owner to report them for trespassing if they really wanted to. Since Tesla can track everything about charging it's just easier to impose a fine for a car that sits beyond whatever time limit beyond charging they determine is excessive. There are laws regarding non-EVs parking in spots designated EV charging spaces but this is state to state and I think less than a dozen currently have something on the books in regards to this.
Of course zero gallons of gas will get me exactly zero miles down the road where zero gallons of gas will get the Tesla what? 200 miles or so?
The math also checks out.
Jut plug the Tesla into a Dodge Charger! doh
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/061/798/117680484848820110725-22047-6t8awk.gif
BushMasterBoy
02-22-2019, 13:16
On a serious note, I just bought a Blue Driver OBD code reader. Does some live reading stuff, that my other OBD code reader can't. Hopefully it will save me some grief in the future. Just download the free app on your smart phone and it is ready.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/lemur-bluedriver-review/
On a serious note, I just bought a Blue Driver OBD code reader. Does some live reading stuff, that my other OBD code reader can't. Hopefully it will save me some grief in the future. Just download the free app on your smart phone and it is ready.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/lemur-bluedriver-review/
I use a $14 OBDII dongle and Forscan (but I only really deal with fords). A MS-CAN switch would be nice though.
You'd think tow truck drivers would be happy to make money towing ICE vehicles parked at charging stations.
BushMasterBoy
02-22-2019, 14:50
They will probably equip tow trucks with generators now. That way they can charge for charges. I just created a new business. effing jenius...
Question for Jer. In all seriousness this time.
So, besides the fact that the Tesla is what it is, how is it as a car in general?
In other words, how is the over all build quality? How does it drive and handle? Is the interior ergonomic and well thought out? What about the performance?
All you ever hear is electric this and charging that and environmental whatever. I don't think anyone ever mentions if the car itself is decent.
Well, saw this yesterday.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/21/tech/consumer-reports-tesla-model-3/index.html
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 15:46
Question for Jer. In all seriousness this time.
So, besides the fact that the Tesla is what it is, how is it as a car in general?
In other words, how is the over all build quality? How does it drive and handle? Is the interior ergonomic and well thought out? What about the performance?
All you ever hear is electric this and charging that and environmental whatever. I don't think anyone ever mentions if the car itself is decent.
You're ready for a 40 paragraph reply?
Question for Jer. In all seriousness this time.
So, besides the fact that the Tesla is what it is, how is it as a car in general?
In other words, how is the over all build quality? How does it drive and handle? Is the interior ergonomic and well thought out? What about the performance?
All you ever hear is electric this and charging that and environmental whatever. I don't think anyone ever mentions if the car itself is decent.
You haven't been reading my posts then because I've said numerous times now that despite the environmental debate this is the best car I've ever owned.
Build quality is good. I wouldn't put it at amazing but very good. The driving is fantastic. It's dead silent and rides very smooth. No vibration, no engine noise, no exhaust drone just.... silence. It's a weird sensation to get used to but once you do ICE vehicles all feel like stage coaches by comparison. Rattling, loud, stinky and annoying stage coaches. Ergos are great. I love where everything is positioned and the two display screens are perfect. I wouldn't change anything about either one of them. I dislike the Model 3 layout with the single screen in the center. To me the Model S is the right way to do it. As far as acceleration... man. It's unbelievable and will make other cars you would normally consider quick feel like tractors. The wave of acceleration is instant and there's no lag between wanting to go fast and actually going fast. No transmission to search for gears or torque converter to lock up. No waiting for the engine to get to it's power band. Just instant acceleration w/o any fuss.
The cars are more than decent they're damn near life changing. It really does change the entire experience.
You're ready for a 40 paragraph reply?
Sorry, next time I'll try to include more pictures so you can follow along.
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 16:22
Sorry, next time I'll try to include more pictures so you can follow along.
thanK you fOr beiNg SO unDerStaNdINg
You haven't been reading my posts then
If I?m being honest, your posts can get a little wordy sometimes.
I usually skim through any really long reads because I?m lazy like that.
Anyhow, thanks for the response.
The quiet part would take some getting used to. I?m used to having all of the noise to help drown out whoever is riding with me.
BushMasterBoy
02-22-2019, 18:32
The Tesla battery...
The 85 kWh battery pack weighs 1,200 lb (540 kg) and contains 7,104 lithium-ion battery cells in 16 modules wired in series (14 in the flat section and two stacked on the front)
It means my truck will go 16-20 miles on one gallon of gas and a Tesla will go zero miles on a gallon gas.
Teslas around here run on natural gas.
Around 15 years ago, I25 HOV lane was free for EV and CNG vehicles.
Was also for my Chevy Tahoe. It was an 'alternative fuel vehicle' since it ran on E85. I seem to recall it was for hybrids as well.
I-25 HOV lane is still free today if you know the secret.
CobaltSkink
02-22-2019, 21:43
I-25 HOA lane is still free today if you know the secret.
Stolen license plates?
Whoa bruh, that's some criminal stuff.
On a side note, if you're wife keeps coming up with HOV fees, you know she doesn't usually go anywhere near the HOV lane, and are pretty sure she isn't cheating on you. Go into the Google Maps settings on the phone and turn on the "Avoid tolls" tab and stop getting fees in the mail.
Great-Kazoo
02-22-2019, 22:35
Whoa bruh, that's some criminal stuff.
On a side note, if you're wife keeps coming up with HOV fees, you know she doesn't usually go anywhere near the HOV lane, and are pretty sure she isn't cheating on you. Go into the Google Maps settings on the phone and turn on the "Avoid tolls" tab and stop getting fees in the mail.
Or she was in a hurry to get home to take a shower, before her husband got home. By getting the hov ticket his mind is distracted enough over having to pay the fine. He never suspects there's an affair.
Hey honey this looks like a conduh......... IS THAT ANOTHER TICKET on the seat!
Bailey Guns
02-23-2019, 08:18
Now THAT ^^ is a Tier 1 Distraction Technique.
CobaltSkink
02-23-2019, 11:04
Didn't Denver decriminalize license plate theft? Huh, I thought they did.
my next vehicle(s) will probably be my last vehicles.
That's where I'm at. We currently have two 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee's. Both run fine, one has 250,000 miles on it, the other is nearly 200K. Both are on their original transmission. We've owned both vehicles since they were new. If I can get a couple more years out of these, I doubt there will be a vehicle purchase after whatever replaces the Jeeps assuming the replacement for the Jeeps lasts equally long. I don't have the "I want a new car every three years" gene.
Keep the car, and let the car makers (unions) fuck off.
-John
Great-Kazoo
02-23-2019, 19:38
That's where I'm at. We currently have two 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee's. Both run fine, one has 250,000 miles on it, the other is nearly 200K. Both are on their original transmission. We've owned both vehicles since they were new. If I can get a couple more years out of these, I doubt there will be a vehicle purchase after whatever replaces the Jeeps assuming the replacement for the Jeeps lasts equally long. I don't have the "I want a new car every three years" gene.
2 -08's and an 02. We'll run them in to the ground. Hopefully find an under 100K used to replace them with.
If I find a Lexus LS430 2002 - 2005 in good condition, with about 100,000 miles or less, it might be the last sedan I buy. I'm torn on what I should do when it comes time for major work on my F250. I guess it will depend on whether I can pick up another 10+ year old high mileage truck for less than $5k or just put a new crate engine and rebuilt transmission into the one I have. I will cross that bridge when I get there.
Great-Kazoo
02-23-2019, 21:26
If I find a Lexus LS430 2002 - 2005 in good condition, with about 100,000 miles or less, it might be the last sedan I buy. I'm torn on what I should do when it comes time for major work on my F250. I guess it will depend on whether I can pick up another 10+ year old high mileage truck for less than $5k or just put a new crate engine and rebuilt transmission into the one I have. I will cross that bridge when I get there.
2 owner
https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/d/jerome-2003-lexus-ls430-in-excellent/6824786188.html
Outside the price,this is a 1 owner
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/glendale-superb-2002-ls-430-lexus-ls430/6817606992.html
forget about trucks they're all over the place,fairly clean rust free units.
https://prescott.craigslist.org/cto/d/1990-ford-u-250-4x4/6819857570.html
When I get situated and things calm down a bit, I know where to go...Honest Hamid's Bazaar of Wonders and Menagerie. All things are possible with Honest Hamid. [Flower]
OtterbatHellcat
02-23-2019, 22:43
I'm sitting here just smiling.
2 owner
https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/d/jerome-2003-lexus-ls430-in-excellent/6824786188.html
Outside the price,this is a 1 owner
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/glendale-superb-2002-ls-430-lexus-ls430/6817606992.html
forget about trucks they're all over the place,fairly clean rust free units.
https://prescott.craigslist.org/cto/d/1990-ford-u-250-4x4/6819857570.html
If I find a Lexus LS430 2002 - 2005 in good condition, with about 100,000 miles or less, it might be the last sedan I buy. I'm torn on what I should do when it comes time for major work on my F250. I guess it will depend on whether I can pick up another 10+ year old high mileage truck for less than $5k or just put a new crate engine and rebuilt transmission into the one I have. I will cross that bridge when I get there.
Those are very luxiry even it is over ~15 years old. My next door use to drive that vehicle until he bought a Tundra.
Sorry I had no photo of it, and had to use old google maps.
https://i.imgur.com/3PcmI1k.jpg?1
When I get situated and things calm down a bit, I know where to go...Honest Hamid's Bazaar of Wonders and Menagerie. All things are possible with Honest Hamid. [Flower]
Honest Hamid condones stealing Walmart carts, I'd proceed with utmost caution.
Honest Hamid condones stealing Walmart carts, I'd proceed with utmost caution.
This is not stealing, it is repurposing. How dare you disparage another man's culture? INFIDEL! [LOL]
Great-Kazoo
02-24-2019, 23:00
Honest Hamid condones stealing Walmart carts, I'd proceed with utmost caution.
Couldn't have done it without help;)
Anything else? Can you help me put this cart in the van? Sure!
Having to keep the vehicle longer than 7+ years is nice, but I also need to change parts.
Just received 9qt of 10w60 from walmart (on sale).
The oil filter arrived as well.
The cam shaft magnet and thermostat for my mothers vehicle. My mom is coming over on Friday, and I will be fixing her vehicle.
Photo will be uploaded on purchase thread.
wctriumph
02-27-2019, 18:31
My 2000 Ford Expedition just went over 260K miles. All original except the radiator cause the Ford dealer messed it up and had to put in a new one at 120K. Every few years I put tires on it and they are worth more than the truck. Oil changed every 5K to 6K. It uses oil so it gets topped off between changes.
I always have had great service for my Fords.
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