Car Talk

[JHDK]

If you are in the left lane of any US highway you damn well better be...

A: Quickly passing a car.
B: The fastest driving person on the whole fucking highway.

Pretty much 100% of the people I truly hate in this world are other drivers.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

From what I can tell, a fair number of drivers in the US are told to drive casually in the left lane.

 

[JHDK]

From what I can tell, a fair number of drivers in the US are told to drive casually in the left lane.

That might be the case but at least down here on my local highway, the Sawgrass Expressway, that I take pretty much every day now to get to and from Hialeah, has those lit up Amber Alert signs that say something like, "slower drivers keep right" when there isn't any emergency they are broadcasting.

Now when I go to Disney I95 is a shitshow until I'm north of the West Palm Beach area. From there on out most drivers (both on 95 and the Turnpike) are good about moving over to let you pass. There's always the couple assholes that make me want to hit them in the face with a bat but overall they are the exception to the rule.

Even with the signs...the closer I get to the Miami area on the Sawgrass, the worse the drivers get and I really ponder how I could murder them. The whole prison thing for the rest of my life is more or less the only thing stopping me.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I think I95 is a shitshow from top to bottom.

 

[HecticArt]

That might be the case but at least down here on my local highway, the Sawgrass Expressway, that I take pretty much every day now to get to and from Hialeah, has those lit up Amber Alert signs that say something like, "slower drivers keep right" when there isn't any emergency they are broadcasting.

Now when I go to Disney I95 is a shitshow until I'm north of the West Palm Beach area. From there on out most drivers (both on 95 and the Turnpike) are good about moving over to let you pass. There's always the couple assholes that make me want to hit them in the face with a bat but overall they are the exception to the rule.

Even with the signs...the closer I get to the Miami area on the Sawgrass, the worse the drivers get and I really ponder how I could murder them. The whole prison thing for the rest of my life is more or less the only thing stopping me.

Have you seen Dexter?

And you know that Florida is famous for old people driving too slow with their turn signal alway on.

That, and “Man from Florida” stories.

 

[Wolf]

Driving in to work this morning, I saw this new truck a Santa Cruz. Made by Hyundai, which I didn't know they make trucks. I'm not a truck guy, it does look pretty sweet.

 

[Wolf]

My partner wants to buy a new car someday, with the economy and gas prices going crazy. Currently he going to hold off or just buy a used car. The car I'm driving is almost paid off, which I hopefully expect sometime next year? We have been talking about electric cars and they are the future. Sometime soon we will be changing out the electrical panel due to the age of the house. We probably will be buy electric cars down the road. Right now we rather hold off until the technology is ready for some car manufactures.

Me personally, I'm old fashion and have always been a U.S. car owner. I know they are mostly made over seas, but I prefer American cars. If I do an electric vehicle I personally like GM brands, maybe a Chevy.

 

[Wolf]

If I had to buy a new car, I personally love the Chevy Blazer.

An Electric Chevy Blazer Is Coming in 2023

I saw they will be introducing it as an electric vehicle soon sometime late 2023. Who knows, maybe that might be future car?

 

[scotchandcigar]

Driving in to work this morning, I saw this new truck a Santa Cruz. Made by Hyundai, which I didn't know they make trucks. I'm not a truck guy, it does look pretty sweet.

Mrs. Scotch was telling me about this one recently. She's always loved the Chevy El Camino, and the Subaru Brat. But as much as she likes this one, I don't think it will work for us. But it would certainly be good for some people.

 

[HecticArt]

Funny. I've been thinking about posting in this thread.
I think my car is at the age where things are going to start needing more repairs.
My cruise control button broke last week, and I bought the car back in 2011.
So far maintenance has been very low, but I'm thinking my luck may be running out.

Unfortunately, it's a terrible time to buy a new car. Inventory is low, and prices are high.

I'm not completely sold on fully electric yet. The range, first cost, and I question the ease of maintenance until there are a /lot more of them on the street.

I'm thinking about getting a plug-in hybrid when the supply chain gets back in line.

Any thoughts about them?

 

[sadchild]

I have a 2011 too. 195K. Time to shop. I want a compact car, sedan. Not looking electric. These are the ones I'm considering.

Honda Civic (LX / Sport)
Toyota Corrolla (LE)
Hyundai Elentra (SE / SEL)
Nissan Sentra (S / SV)
Kia Forte (FE / LXS)

 

[Wolf]

My ride was a used car and it's a 2016 SUV with little over 70k miles. Last year, I put quite bit of money in new parts for the engine. Now I have new tires, and front brakes. Pretty much left is get back brakes, fix the rimes with scratches and probably some paint work?

In a few years, my next ride will probably be a full electric. I know my partner is sick and tired paying for gas. It usually costs him little over $60 bucks to fill a tank. I use to pay like $30, now I'm closer to $40.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

No electric for me. We travel and I am not spending 2 hours waiting for a charge en-route. Also no plugs in the parking garage.

 

[Wolf]

No electric for me. We travel and I am not spending 2 hours waiting for a charge en-route. Also no plugs in the parking garage.

I can picture you this in Canada in the cold.

 

[goreds2]

I am keeping my 2008 Honda Ridgeline truck until it dies. It is garaged, 130,000 miles and is in great condition. It even has a trunk under the bed.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Unfortunately, it's a terrible time to buy a new car. Inventory is low, and prices are high.

Yes. Mrs. Scotch has been frustrated with the lack of resolution to the wacky electronics problems in her Subaru. So she started looking around, and it's crazy. No inventory, and high prices.

I have a 2011 too. 195K. Time to shop. I want a compact car, sedan. Not looking electric. These are the ones I'm considering.

Honda Civic (LX / Sport)
Toyota Corrolla (LE)
Hyundai Elentra (SE / SEL)
Nissan Sentra (S / SV)
Kia Forte (FE / LXS)

My last car that got totaled was a 2011 with 155k miles.

After years of driving VWs (we have a nephew who's an expert at fixing them), my younger daughter got a 2017 Civic LX last year. Very nice, fuel efficient, reliable, pretty practical, sporty.

Corollas are generally very popular, but the recent ones haven't gone over as well. More "econo" than fun. I've driven rentals of both the Hyundai and Kia, and it's remarkable how far they've progressed with every iteration. They provide more stuff for the buck, but I don't know much about long-term reliability. The Nissan is probably OK, perhaps sportier, but like the Corolla, has fallen out of favor in recent years.

I would definitely put the Mazda 3 on your list. Very sporty, and I know several people who have one.

 

[HecticArt]

No electric for me. We travel and I am not spending 2 hours waiting for a charge en-route. Also no plugs in the parking garage.

That's part of why the plug-in hybrid. You can always make a couple of extra stops to gas up if you're on a really long road trip.
More and more charging stations are popping up every day.

No inventory, and high prices.

If COVID keeps settling down, and Putin doesn't nuke us all, I'm hoping inventory starts to come back around fall.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

That's part of why the plug-in hybrid. You can always make a couple of extra stops to gas up if you're on a really long road trip.
More and more charging stations are popping up every day.

But to get a charge worth anything still takes a couple of hours. I can fill up my gas tank in about 3 minutes.

 

[HecticArt]

But to get a charge worth anything still takes a couple of hours. I can fill up my gas tank in about 3 minutes.

Right. That’s why I don’t want a fully electric yet. The rapid charge stations work quicker than they seem like they would though. I know someone with a Tesla that was talking about taking it out for a longer trip. They still had to plan their route to find a charging station on their way. He said something about finding a restaurant they could charge for an hour and a half or so while they ate, and that would get them comfortably to their destination. (Still inconvenient in my mind.) Charging at destination wasn’t a concern. I didn’t get to talk about it much more than that.

For most of my daily driving, I won’t ever come close to maxing out the electric range of a full electric. A plug in hybrid should use less than two gallons of gas a week for me. I go through a little more than 10 gallons a week now.

 

[scotchandcigar]

But to get a charge worth anything still takes a couple of hours. I can fill up my gas tank in about 3 minutes.

Tesla Supercharger (DC Fast Charging)​

The Tesla Supercharger network is a combined group of proprietary charging stations developed and implemented by Tesla. These Level 3 chargers abandon the alternating current (AC) methods to mainline power directly.

Currently, most Tesla Superchargers can now recharge up to 200 miles of range in just 15 minutes.