Car Talk

[sadchild]

That was a lot to catch up on! To be honest, I only skimmed a couple of the longer posts.

Anyhoo, back to car washes, I wash mine a few times a year. Once a year my wife and I drag out the bucket and sponge. The other times, I take it to a drive-thru wash. In the winter especially, get the salt off of it without freezing my arse off hosing it down myself.

 

[scotchandcigar]

In the winter especially, get the salt off of it without freezing my arse off hosing it down myself.

Right. By late fall, our hose water has to be shut off. And even the do-it-yourself bays are not an option when it's 15 degrees out. That's when a drive-thru car wash is the only option.

 

[HecticArt]

Don't you get range anxiety?

At first I thought that I would, but after thinking about it a bit, I don't. I rarely drive anywhere that's over 100 miles in my own car. Work trips over about 50 are cheaper for the office if I use a company car or a rental. Vacations over 100 are often flights or can either be the Mrs' car or a rental. I'm considering the Equinox EV that will get 70 extra miles out of a 10 minute quick charge, so that really isn't too bad for a few pit stops on a long road trip.

I've started keeping track of my mileage and how often I gas up my car to get a sense of how often I would have to charge during a typical week.

For daily charging, they say you shouldn't charge over 80% or let it get lower than 20% as a general rule of thumb for the longest life of the battery. I figure I can do 2 charges a week at home most of the time.

 

[JHDK]

When you're in traffic and there's a stoplight and you have to stop behind a car in front of you. How close do you stop in front?

I stopped like maybe 2 yd so it's not that much. Maybe less than that. Maybe like 4 ft.

But I noticed some people stop like 5 yd behind the car in front of them and I don't know. I think that's weird and if they don't pull up I think they're doing something wrong. Am I the asshole here?

 

[Aaron]

I leave a sizeable gap, if I see a car behind me coming on quickly enough to make me nervous, I have some room to inch up.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

When you're in traffic and there's a stoplight and you have to stop behind a car in front of you. How close do you stop in front?

I stopped like maybe 2 yd so it's not that much. Maybe less than that. Maybe like 4 ft.

But I noticed some people stop like 5 yd behind the car in front of them and I don't know. I think that's weird and if they don't pull up I think they're doing something wrong. Am I the asshole here?

Depends on how pissed I am at them. Normally probably 2-3 yards. Closer if they annoy me.

 

[JHDK]

Depends on how pissed I am at them. Normally probably 2-3 yards. Closer if they annoy me.

Ohh I'll tailgate some tim6e when I have road rage but I don't stop close to them at a light. I mean if I'm already tailgating then yes I'll stop like a few inches from them at the light. But just in general how far I stop from somebody at a light is about like 1 yd. I know I said different in the other post but now that I'm thinking about it I stop about 3 ft away. Maybe 2 ft. Kind of get angry if I see a driver who leaves like a car length in between the guy in front of him at a stoplight

 

[scotchandcigar]

I think in general, the older you get, the more you back-off. I don't want to be the asshole sitting on the guy's bumper. Don't want to start anything with anyone. I'm not in a rush. And I wouldn't want the car behind to be on my ass. Of course, I do like no urban driving.

 

[JHDK]

think in general, the older you get, the more you back-off.

It's always good to be safe. This may be my OCD but in my entire life I've never felt comfortable if someone else is driving the car. I always am a little bit nervous because I don't trust them as much as I trust myself.

The only two people I ever fully trusted were my mom and dad. My mom was a super good driver and my dad was awesome too up until he was like 82... At that point he got very scared of everything like you were saying scratch about backing off but it was more than just being cautious. It was like if this Simpsons did a joke about old Florida drivers, my dad would be more exaggerated than the cartoon. He gave up driving all together probably around 86 something like that. He should have done it like 5 years earlier.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Of course, I do like no urban driving.

The key words in your post.

 

[JHDK]

If you buy a brand new car today say a Toyota. How many miles do you expect to get on it before the engine dies? I had this debate with someone today. I said way lower than he was saying. I want to know what you all think

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

If you buy a brand new car today say a Toyota. How many miles do you expect to get on it before the engine dies? I had this debate with someone today. I said way lower than he was saying. I want to know what you all think

I would expect 200,000 km at least assuming proper maintenance and no insane driving.

 

[HecticArt]

I drive in America, so I tend to stop 6 to 8 feet behind the car in front of me.
If you drive places with hills and the car in front of you is a stick shift, some drivers let them roll back a little bit before they get them in gear.
A couple of extra feet isn't a bad thing.

 

[JHDK]

If you drive places with hills and the car in front of you is a stick shift, some drivers let them roll back a little bit before they get them in gear.

Yeah it is fascinating how stick shift will roll back a little bit when putting it into gear I guess I don't know.

But even not stick shift when I got into like Northern Georgia and closer to Tennessee a few months ago and there were all those hills. I definitely gave a very wide birth to the cars in front of me. I guess I'm just not used to driving on mountains anymore.

Also, I'm not some asshole. I don't tailgate people unless I'm in the midst of a road rage incident or something like that and they deserve it. Like I always leave multiple car lengths in front of the car ahead of me, especially on the highway. If everybody is driving properly, you should never have to hit your brakes on the highway unless you are exiting.

But on surface streets when there's a stoplight I leave about 3 ft or so when waiting for it to turn green . I don't think that's like bad driving.

 

[JHDK]

I would expect 200,000 km at least assuming proper maintenance and no insane driving.

Okay good because that's what I said I was saying with my new Hyundai if I get like 185k out of it by the time it's done I will be happy.

He was saying you should get like double that with a brand new Toyota or a Honda.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Okay good because that's what I said I was saying with my new Hyundai if I get like 185k out of it by the time it's done I will be happy.

He was saying you should get like double that with a brand new Toyota or a Honda.

You might. What will fall apart on you, at least in climates where they put salt on the road, is your car body.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Yeah it is fascinating how stick shift will roll back a little bit when putting it into gear I guess I don't know.

BMWs with a stick have "brake assist". When I move my foot from the brake to the gas, it keeps the brake applied until I press on the gas pedal. It's one of many tricks the brakes can do.

 

[JHDK]

BMWs with a stick have "brake assist".

Mr. Fancy pants over there with his BMW features. Hahaha

Why do you buy stick shift? Is it for like better control? I always thought stick shifts were best for really fancy sports cars, but besides that it was just I don't know. Kind of a hassle.

This is coming from a guy who has no idea how to drive stick so I don't know what I'm talking about.

Pam had a stick shift mini Cooper I don't know it might have been a mini. Something else I'm not sure... She gave me one lesson and I gave up but she liked it and I forget why it just seemed annoying to me to have to do all that shit.

It may be a more authentic experience to make pasta with a rolling pin and cut it yourself, but using a pasta maker yields the exact same result and cuts out all the extra work

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

He wants to make sure nobody steels his car. Odds are your average car thief these days can't drive a stick.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Mr. Fancy pants over there with his BMW features. Hahaha

Why do you buy stick shift?

I was a typical (for the time) car nut as a kid. Car enthusiasts and racing fans would never drive an automatic in the 70's. Might as well just sit in the back and have someone drive. Aside from a hand-me-down car or two, every car I've gotten is a stick (12 of them).

It's not like I never drive an auto. Mrs. Scotch can drive a stick, and has owned some, but since we've been getting cars together, they've been autos. But it's like, what's the point of having my own car if it's an auto?

Yes, it gives me control. It sounds good. It gives me something to do. And it has advantages. I use the brakes less. It's better for on/off ramps, or passing, or driving back-roads. It's good for gas mileage. And it's a good excuse not to be on the phone all the time.