Random Thoughts Thread

[Frisky Dingo]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

No, I meant between the A3 and the Sport, the two you were/are considering. 

The A3 has Nav, leather seats, full power seats on both sides, LED head and taillights, AWD, dual-zone A/C, B&O audio and sunroof.

Sport GTI has plaid cloth seats, no power seats, no roof, no premium audio, and is FWD.

Both have a 6sp DSG. The Audi also doesn't have larger brakes, like the GTI.

 

 

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Getting rid of it at this point would seem wise.

The GTI is best in its most elemental form anyways...manual transmission, no sunroof, tartan plaid cloth seats....

 

I honestly can't even stomach the idea of keeping it. All I see now is everything about it I wish I could change.

 

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

If it is a lease why do you care about its value? You don't have to worry about trade-in value or anything, that's already sorted out in the lease agreement. 

Also, how do you go about getting rid of a lease early? 

 

Because I'm going to trade it in early anyway. Why keep paying on something I'm going to take a hit on later, when I take the hit now, get it over with an get something I like more?

 

You just trade it in. Like anything else.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, Frisky Dingo said:

You just trade it in. Like anything else.

Makes sense, I rarely trade in cars...I usually run them until they die or are no longer worth fixing.

[ccap41]

14 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

You just trade it in. Like anything else.

But you don't own it and you have zero equity in it. That's why I don't understand it. What are they giving you for it?  How can anybody give you anything for it that isn't only a VW dealership? And even them, I wouldn't think they could give you anything for it but they could take it back without penalty, if they choose. 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

But you don't own it and you have zero equity in it. That's why I don't understand it. What are they giving you for it?  How can anybody give you anything for it that isn't only a VW dealership? And even them, I wouldn't think they could give you anything for it but they could take it back without penalty, if they choose. 

They cannot take it back in its damaged state without incurring a huge loss.  No one has any equity in it at the moment...it is a liability...for wherever he would trade it in, his insurance Company, Dingo himself, and also for anyone who drives it or rides in it.

[Drew Dowdell]

Updated the article view template to a new format... take a look at this example

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Updated the article view template to a new format... take a look at this example

 

 

I like it!

[ccap41]

59 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

They cannot take it back in its damaged state without incurring a huge loss.  No one has any equity in it at the moment...it is a liability...for wherever he would trade it in, his insurance Company, Dingo himself, and also for anyone who drives it or rides in it.

Obviously it would need to be repaired though.. but even repaired it isn’t owned by the lessee. It’s like trading in a rental.. I’m legitimately confused about this and not trying to be a douche or anything. 

[Intrepidation]

Water pump #2 this year...

[balthazar]

Pontiac's anti-abduction option, 1940 :

 

[ocnblu]

Nail in right rear tire.  Kept losing air.  Had it patched at work.  Spare tire was $200 extra when I was ordering my Jeep.  Didn't order it.  Wish I had now.  Right rear tire still running 1-3 pounds lower than the rest.

[ocnblu]

I like putting a piece of ginger hard candy in my hot green tea every morning.

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Right rear tire still running 1-3 pounds lower than the rest.

Your clock spring may be over-wound.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Nail in right rear tire.  Kept losing air.  Had it patched at work.  Spare tire was $200 extra when I was ordering my Jeep.  Didn't order it.  Wish I had now.  Right rear tire still running 1-3 pounds lower than the rest.

TPMS do seem to have some fluctuation.  Mine seem to be uniformly at 39lbs, but sometimes one or two tires are a pound or two higher or lower.   When the new tires were first installed, the left front read 75lbs.   Had to let some air out.   

Edited November 10, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Frisky Dingo]

16 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Obviously it would need to be repaired though.. but even repaired it isn’t owned by the lessee. It’s like trading in a rental.. I’m legitimately confused about this and not trying to be a douche or anything. 

It's literally no different than trading a car in that you have a loan on. With a lease, you have a payoff. That amount is your remaining payments and the car's residual. If the car isn't worth that, which mine isn't, the difference is your negative equity. The dealer accepting the trade-in pay off the car just like normal.

[Robert Hall]

Interesting...

5 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

It's literally no different than trading a car in that you have a loan on.  

Interesting...I've never traded a car w/ a loan still active, I've always paid off a vehicle first then later traded.   Sounds like it's a common use case, though. 

[G. David Felt]

23 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Hope it isn't too windy riding that broom back to the west coast....

I love Roller Coasters, so I just tighten my stick belt and fly fast like the devil trying to escape a church!

23 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Give STL a wave as you fly over! 

I cracked a few bolts to enlighten the sky as I went over.  

Gotta love the whole hair plastered back by the rain and the wind in your face as you fly fast. 

After all, My Stick is a SuperCapacitor Powered EV version. I gave up the witches Brew powered version to keep the air cleaner for everyone!  

7 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Nail in right rear tire.  Kept losing air.  Had it patched at work.  Spare tire was $200 extra when I was ordering my Jeep.  Didn't order it.  Wish I had now.  Right rear tire still running 1-3 pounds lower than the rest.

Stop by a Discount Tire or La Schwab and have them reset all your TPMS sensors in the wheels. I hit this with one of my SUV's and that reset and then kept them constant. Weird but sometimes a complete reset of all 4 sensors fixes the weird 1-2 lbs difference.

[ccap41]

15 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I cracked a few bolts to enlighten the sky as I went over.  

Gotta love the whole hair plastered back by the rain and the wind in your face as you fly fast. 

After all, My Stick is a SuperCapacitor Powered EV version. I gave up the witches Brew powered version to keep the air cleaner for everyone!

Haha thanks! Hopefully that will get some of the politicians to get more on board with the EV charging stations! 

[A Horse With No Name]

8 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I like putting a piece of ginger hard candy in my hot green tea every morning.

My father does something like that in his coffee.

[G. David Felt]

17 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

My father does something like that in his coffee.

I do not like coffee, but I hear putting a small amount of butter in your coffee is amazing or cinnamon which my wife and daughter do. Never thought about doing it to my tea.  

[A Horse With No Name]

44 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I do not like coffee, but I hear putting a small amount of butter in your coffee is amazing or cinnamon which my wife and daughter do. Never thought about doing it to my tea.  

Coffee and tools are my two vices.

In a weekend rental of an escape titanium and have to admit I like everything other than the Fuel economy.  24 mpg on flat terrain vs 31 on hilly terrain out of the Rouge we had three weeks ago.

Nice looking vehicle that rides and drives very well.

[ccap41]

They're good vehicles. I sure enjoyed mine. It didn't do anything to blow me away but it didn't seem to falter anywhere either. I guess it did require a light foot to get advertised fuel economy but with that I did better than advertised.. not by much but a little. 

[Drew Dowdell]

While other areas of the Escape may up for debate against its competition, it has, hands down, the best steering of any crossover in that class..... possibly of classes above it as well.   The only thing that comes close is the CX3

[ocnblu]

11 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

TPMS do seem to have some fluctuation.  Mine seem to be uniformly at 39lbs, but sometimes one or two tires are a pound or two higher or lower.   When the new tires were first installed, the left front read 75lbs.   Had to let some air out.   

Other three have remained at 35, RR has gone down to 31 per my DIC on the way home from work.  :/

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Other three have remained at 35, RR has gone down to 31 per my DIC on the way home from work.  :/

Before I replaced them, the right rear tire on my GC picked up a large screw...after a couple months, I noticed it started losing air..

[ocnblu]

Just now, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Before I replaced them, the right rear tire on my GC picked up a large screw...after a couple months, I noticed it started losing air..

Yup, I got the warning on my dash, which prompted me to check... sure enough, a nail.  But there could be more than one.  I would hope my co-worker made sure he patched ALL the holes.

Moltie how much snow did you get so far?

 

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Yup, I got the warning on my dash, which prompted me to check... sure enough, a nail.  But there could be more than one.  I would hope my co-worker made sure he patched ALL the holes.

Moltie how much snow did you get so far?

 

Just a light dusting last night and this afternoon.   Never got to 30 today..

[ocnblu]

Shoot I sawr on the news in our waiting area before leaving work an area of OH with like 4" and still coming down.

[Robert Hall]

1 minute ago, ocnblu said:

Shoot I sawr on the news in our waiting area before leaving work an area of OH with like 4" and still coming down.

Could be...lots of variability in parts of the state...and up here, the lake effect snow off of Lake Erie can vary quite a bit from the westside (lighter snow)  of Cleveland to the eastside (heavier usually)...I'm in the southwestern suburbs about 15 miles from the lake..

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

They're good vehicles. I sure enjoyed mine. It didn't do anything to blow me away but it didn't seem to falter anywhere either. I guess it did require a light foot to get advertised fuel economy but with that I did better than advertised.. not by much but a little. 

Agree with you that fuel economy is a challenge for some of Fords Products.

24 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Just a light dusting last night and this afternoon.   Never got to 30 today..

Looks Very flat there, I think I would miss my mountains and hills. But cool to see, thanks for sharing.

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Agree with you that fuel economy is a challenge for some of Fords Products.

Looks Very flat there, I think I would miss my mountains and hills. But cool to see, thanks for sharing.

My street is flat, but the area south of Cleveland is fairly hilly (my suburb is named Seven Hills)..lots of hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park 10 min away...

[G. David Felt]

3 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

My street is flat, but the area south of Cleveland is fairly hilly (my suburb is named Seven Hills)..lots of hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park 10 min away...

That is awesome to know, I need variation in terrain. The year I lived in Texas was crazy how flat that state is. Had to move out.

[Robert Hall]

Just now, dfelt said:

That is awesome to know, I need variation in terrain. The year I lived in Texas was crazy how flat that state is. Had to move out.

Yeah, I couldn't do central or western Ohio...too flat and Midwestern... the NE corner of the state has more in common w/ PA and Western NY both in terrain and architecture...and the south east part of the state is very hilly and Appalachian...some of my absolute favorite winding, twisty back roads are within 2-3 hours south/south east of here.... 

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

Yeah, the idea of a mid engine Corvette goes back a long way...to the 60s w/ some concepts.  It will be interesting to see if the mid engined C8 actually happens or not. 

The Astro I of '67 and Astro 2 of '68 weren't explicitly called Corvettes from what I've read...I really like the Astro 2 (blue one)..

 

I like the Aerovette concept from the '70s and the Indy from the mid 80s also.

 

Edited November 11, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

Earliest mention I can find is XP-719, 'Chevrolet Corvette rear engine proposal' (this preceded XP-722, the engineering program for the '63 A-Bodies, so likely would be circa 1960-61).

More rear-engined Corvette programs: XP-789, XP-817, XP-819, XP-844, XP-882 ('Astro II'), XP-895. That's off the XP list which only goes to the early 70s. As posted above, there were many more.

It'll be an amazing 'coming home' of efforts of over 50 years when the RE Corvette finally comes out.
Personally, I'm not a fan of RE sports car proportions.

[Robert Hall]

Some cars can pull off the short nose, long deck, low roof look well, some can't...my favorite mid engined sports cars just based on styling are the Lamborghini Miura, 60s and 00's Ford GT, DeTomaso Mangusta and Pantera, Ferrari 308, the original NSX... so many of the current mid engined supercars look like angry Transformer/Gundam cartoon vehicles IMO...

Edited November 11, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

It's your $100,000, demand better (looking)

[Drew Dowdell]

Today is not my day.

I went to do a seafoam treatment on the CR-V because I'm planning on replacing the spark plugs (it's time) and the O2 sensor (have a CEL).

Pull the hood release and the hood pops open, but also the release handle breaks in my hand.  Okay, it's old and the plastic is brittle, I'll order a new one.

Get the seafoam tube setup and ready to go, call albert out to help so he can keep his foot on the gas while I empty the can.  Car won't start.

Battery seems to be toast.  It sat hooked up to the running Buick for 15 minutes and still won't start. Put it on the charger for another 30 minutes and it just barely cranks.  (This will be my third battery this year, one for each vehicle)

While I was waiting for it on the charger, I started to pull the panel off to get to the hood release cable.... the plastic tabs holding the trim panel on broke.

Efff it... I'm going to play video games the rest of the day. 

[balthazar]

The penalties & consequences of short-life lightweight materials.

[Drew Dowdell]

13 minutes ago, balthazar said:

The penalties & consequences of short-life lightweight materials.

I swear Honda assembles the entire car out of brittle plastic clips. I just ordered a bag of 25. 

I'm prepping the car for sale soon.

[A Horse With No Name]

41 minutes ago, balthazar said:

The penalties & consequences of short-life lightweight materials.

It is the end result of 50 years of not giving a rats arse by the American population.

27 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I swear Honda assembles the entire car out of brittle plastic clips. I just ordered a bag of 25. 

I'm prepping the car for sale soon.

As miserable as that thing has made you I would think crushing it is cathartic.

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Today is not my day.

I went to do a seafoam treatment on the CR-V because I'm planning on replacing the spark plugs (it's time) and the O2 sensor (have a CEL).

Pull the hood release and the hood pops open, but also the release handle breaks in my hand.  Okay, it's old and the plastic is brittle, I'll order a new one.

Get the seafoam tube setup and ready to go, call albert out to help so he can keep his foot on the gas while I empty the can.  Car won't start.

Battery seems to be toast.  It sat hooked up to the running Buick for 15 minutes and still won't start. Put it on the charger for another 30 minutes and it just barely cranks.  (This will be my third battery this year, one for each vehicle)

While I was waiting for it on the charger, I started to pull the panel off to get to the hood release cable.... the plastic tabs holding the trim panel on broke.

Efff it... I'm going to play video games the rest of the day. 

I live a life like this.  Out of town with the college debate team I coach. Bedbugs last night and Police in the lobby this morning due to violent threats from a gang member.

At least we made it into the semi final round.

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Some cars can pull off the short nose, long deck, low roof look well, some can't...my favorite mid engined sports cars just based on styling are the Lamborghini Miura, 60s and 00's Ford GT, DeTomaso Mangusta and Pantera, Ferrari 308, the original NSX... so many of the current mid engined supercars look like angry Transformer/Gundam cartoon vehicles IMO...

I have seen a bunch of original NSX on the highways in the last few days.

18 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Yeah, I couldn't do central or western Ohio...too flat and Midwestern... the NE corner of the state has more in common w/ PA and Western NY both in terrain and architecture...and the south east part of the state is very hilly and Appalachian...some of my absolute favorite winding, twisty back roads are within 2-3 hours south/south east of here.... 

Actually I love Columbus.

19 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Shoot I sawr on the news in our waiting area before leaving work an area of OH with like 4" and still coming down.

Here in Indiana today...clear sunny and cold.

On 11/9/2017 at 10:54 PM, Intrepidation said:

Water pump #2 this year...

Impressed you still have that thing on the road.

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

As miserable as that thing has made you I would think crushing it is cathartic.

No, like any capitalist, I'll fix it up and find the first sucker I can to write me a check for $5,500. 

Yes I've had my troubles with it over the years, but it's always been repaired and maintained properly.  Same year and higher mileage are going for $7k at local dealerships. I'm including 2 sets of tires, brand new battery, oil change, coolant change, and detailed maintenance history notebook. I think $5,500 is more than fair.

I've already been shopping for it's replacement and hope to pull that trigger soon after the Honda sells.

[A Horse With No Name]

On 11/10/2017 at 7:28 AM, balthazar said:

Your clock spring may be over-wound.

Unhinged rather than over wound might be a more accurate articulation.

[ocnblu]

Clockspring is in the steering column.  I'm corn fused.

[Robert Hall]

48 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Clockspring is in the steering column.  I'm corn fused.

The clock spring in my old GC was going bad.. noticed it especially on left turns...the air bag light would come on intermittently also and make a chime.

[oldshurst442]

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

Personally, I'm not a fan of RE sports car proportions.

Me too. I even DESPISE some of them! The proportions are all...awkward looking.

I find myself preferring  long hood/short deck proportions most of the time.

However...

Cubi did mention the mid-engined cars I do like...

10 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Some cars can pull off the short nose, long deck, low roof look well, some can't...my favorite mid engined sports cars just based on styling are the Lamborghini Miura, 60s and 00's Ford GT, DeTomaso Mangusta and Pantera, Ferrari 308, the original NSX... so many of the current mid engined supercars look like angry Transformer/Gundam cartoon vehicles IMO...

I agree with this 100%

All the cars mentioned 100%

I agree 100% with some looking like Transformer/Gundam cartoon vehicles as well.

I just like to add the to the list of what ME cars I like:

• The Countach...the 1980s one with all the excess (and useless) ground effects
• Ferrari F355
• Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
• Lamborghini Aventador and the Reventon.
• The new NSX

There may be a couple of others...

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Clockspring is in the steering column.  I'm corn fused.

Moltar is a bit too literal at times.

[Robert Hall]

11 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Me too. I even DESPISE some of them! The proportions are all...awkward looking.

I find myself preferring  long hood/short deck proportions most of the time.

However...

Cubi did mention the mid-engined cars I do like...

I agree with this 100%

All the cars mentioned 100%

I agree 100% with some looking like Transformer/Gundam cartoon vehicles as well.

I just like to add the to the list of what ME cars I like:

• The Countach...the 1980s one with all the excess (and useless) ground effects
• Ferrari F355
• Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
• Lamborghini Aventador and the Reventon.
• The new NSX

There may be a couple of others...

A couple others I love...Lotus Esprit, late 80s Ferrari GTO, and the 80s Ferrari Testarossa.    I like the new NSX, saw a red one last week..built here in Ohio..

[Robert Hall]

Thinking about mid- and rear-engined cars, I realized I've only driven 5 of them over the years.  I've driven a 91 NSX a few times, a '73 Porsche 914, a '76 Porsche 911, an '00 Porsche Boxster S, and an '08 Boxster S once each--all friends' cars in Colorado.  Rode in a Lotus Europa when I was 10.  

My folks owned a rear engined car before I was born---a '65 Hino Contessa sedan when they lived in Saipan in the 60s  

Anyone here owned a mid- or rear-engined car?