Newer Vehicles and Technology

Beth Gallagher said:
I walked downstairs for a coffee refill earlier and my husband is watching an instructional video on how to get over-the-air updates on his truck. He received a recall notice on the ridiculous "trailer assist" feature that he has never used and never will.
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I got a recall notice for my headlights which work fine as far as I'm concerned, but I don't bother going back it being an inconvenience. They call every so often to remind me. They tried to bait me with a loaner which might work some day if I got something cool.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
The law in many states is to have headlights on in the rain. Turning on headlights also lights the tail lights, which DRLs do not do.
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It is not the law here, but I am all for it. Yeah, not lighting the tail lights is a downside for sure, but the head-ons in the snow is the worst because you often cannot see the center lines on the roads either.
 
Don Alaska said:
It is not the law here, but I am all for it. Yeah, not lighting the tail lights is a downside for sure, but the head-ons in the snow is the worst because you often cannot see the center lines on the roads either.
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You'd think that people would realize they need to turn on headlights in a poor visibility situation. But then something like 80% of people need instructions for shampoo, so maybe not. :ROFLMAO:
 
Beth Gallagher said:
You'd think that people would realize they need to turn on headlights in a poor visibility situation. But then something like 80% of people need instructions for shampoo, so maybe not. :ROFLMAO:
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Down memory lane - I borrowed mother’s new Golf for the weekend. Sis and I ran late and it was dusk by the time we got to the two lane country road short cut with a one lane rail underpass in the middle. Cannot find the light switch. Checked the manual. Nothing. We panicked. Mother’s displeasure was nothing to trifle with. So two bright young minds lit a candle which Sis held while I drove. Public servants used blue lights to attract our attention. They could not find the switch either so we got home with a special escort. Toggle switch on the steering wheel.
 
Marie Miller said:
Down memory lane - I borrowed mother’s new Golf for the weekend. Sis and I ran late and it was dusk by the time we got to the two lane country road short cut with a one lane rail underpass in the middle. Cannot find the light switch. Checked the manual. Nothing. We panicked. Mother’s displeasure was nothing to trifle with. So two bright young minds lit a candle which Sis held while I drove. Public servants used blue lights to attract our attention. They could not find the switch either so we got home with a special escort. Toggle switch on the steering wheel.
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That stuff is why I hate rental vehicles. I figure out how to turn on the lights and use the wipers before pulling out of the lot, but without the manual, it's sometimes darn near impossible. One would think the rental agency would make sure to sure you the basics, but I doubt that they know, either.
 
What we like about older autos is Jake can repair everything on them and the parts price is low.
Jake is fixing up my van for doctor trips, etc. I have a firm foam mattress pad I can lay on. I have a potty with high seat no squatting.
We just need curtains to cover windows. I think he can cut a hole in the seat for dough nut type. He'd have to remove the springs.
 
Marie Mallory said:
What we like about older autos is Jake can repair everything on them and the parts price is low.
Jake is fixing up my van for doctor trips, etc. I have a firm foam mattress pad I can lay on. I have a potty with high seat no squatting.
We just need curtains to cover windows. I think he can cut a hole in the seat for dough nut type. He'd have to remove the springs.
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Jake will work magic for you.
 
Marie Miller said:
Jake will work magic for you.
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Yes he will and does. Mentally Jake is taking this worse than me, although I'd be the same way if it were him.
We went out to look at seat and the springs in the bottom so that is good. he will just cut hole through the form.
Some times at night I have a panic attack and want to get out of here.
And I can relax in the van.Just seeing other people helps me so we sit at the Waffle House 15 miles away.
 
I decided to take my car out for a drive. I have to drive it a minimum of about 30 consecutive miles a week to keep the hybrid battery charged, which is a pain. In other words, a 10-minute drive to the grocery store isn't sufficient to maintain the hybrid battery. The car is 7 months old and has 1450 miles on it, most of them probably from me driving around to charge the battery.

It also has a 12 volt battery that I keep on a battery tender so it will keep a full charge. I know a lot of new cars have significant parasitic draw from all the electronics; just one more thing to have to worry about.

I am regretting not doing more research on a hybrid vehicle before I made the purchase. It drives good and gets 39-40 MPG, but I am constantly worried about that stupid expensive battery. I just don't drive much anymore, and a hybrid is more suited to people driving everyday with busy commutes.
 
It really isn't normal to drive just to "top up" the traction battery of a HEV. It's pretty silly, and actually might do more harm than good. I have no clue where people get some of these notions, but even dealers are full of shit on the subject.

The CRV is too heavy for the hybrid system that was shoehorned into it The most recent models addressed this somewhat, but the system was designed to go into a Civic. It got pushed out in the CRV first, that being a higher-profit veicle.

Bloat like a Passport makes me puke though, frankly. But hey, when your goal is unsafe roads then go for a heavy jacked-up gas guzzler every time, eh?

Europe is a hellhole of contradictory policies and actual practices. Bitch about a thing, then do it yourself. Flagellate the other guy. That's socialism, or more honestly stated: matriarchy.


Germany now has a great ides [sarcasm]. They have a lot of PHEVs now but, damn it, people are driving on gas! So they are first asking the people to run them in EV mode charging them by plugging them in. Soon cars sold there must contain electronics that allow the matriarchal government to shut off their use of gasoline and only operate in EV mode.

Of course these cars, by their nature, only have limited battery capacity. They can eke out maybe a 100 mile range if only driven slowly, and typically aren't capable of highway speeds in that mode. And of course they are also experiencing electricity grid capacity failures and rolling blackouts.

Of course the kaens will keep running diesel and gasoline guzzlers as they preach about "climate change."
 
Jacob Petersheim said:
It really isn't normal to drive just to "top up" the traction battery of a HEV. It's pretty silly, and actually might do more harm than good. I have no clue where people get some of these notions, but even dealers are full of shit on the subject.

The CRV is too heavy for the hybrid system that was shoehorned into it The most recent models addressed this somewhat, but the system was designed to go into a Civic. It got pushed out in the CRV first, that being a higher-profit veicle.

Bloat like a Passport makes me puke though, frankly. But hey, when your goal is unsafe roads then go for a heavy jacked-up gas guzzler every time, eh?

Europe is a hellhole of contradictory policies and actual practices. Bitch about a thing, then do it yourself. Flagellate the other guy. That's socialism, or more honestly stated: matriarchy.


Germany now has a great ides [sarcasm]. They have a lot of PHEVs now but, damn it, people are driving on gas! So they are first asking the people to run them in EV mode charging them by plugging them in. Soon cars sold there must contain electronics that allow the matriarchal government to shut off their use of gasoline and only operate in EV mode.

Of course these cars, by their nature, only have limited battery capacity. They can eke out maybe a 100 mile range if only driven slowly, and typically aren't capable of highway speeds in that mode. And of course they are also experiencing electricity grid capacity failures and rolling blackouts.

Of course the kaens will keep running diesel and gasoline guzzlers as they preach about "climate change."
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Luckily, I didn't buy the car for you so you can relax.
 
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