Just drove one one or two times (car sharing) but it wasn't great. The design of the interior felt cluttered and distracting while driving (not quite as bad as in a Mini). pet peeve: Turn signals sound shit. everything felt very cheap and plasticy. Fiat's automatic gearbox was also not great.
On the other hand the Peugot 208 from the car sharing fleet feels really nice in comparison. great little car. Apparently also available as an EV? Don't know if Peugots are a thing in the US though?
Yeah, we both drove our friend's Mini Cooper for a bit when we were back in Japan and didn't really enjoy it. Shaky gearbox and very low to the ground as far as clearance goes.
The missus does like the looks of the Fiat 500 very much but has never test drive one yet. We do wonder about its practicality, especially the EV versions. Our home doesn't have a charging station although there is one at my work (but this would be her vehicle and not mine) and at the parking structure across the street from us.
I suppose I could drive it every once in a while to charge it while I'm at the office but my wife has stated she doesn't like driving my Mustang (heavy steering and a bit too much power for her compared to our Subie which she liked more) so swapping vehicles isn't ideal. Guess we'll see how it pans out when she test drives a 500 eventually.
Yeah, we both drove our friend's Mini Cooper for a bit when we were back in Japan and didn't really enjoy it. Shaky gearbox and very low to the ground as far as clearance goes.
The missus does like the looks of the Fiat 500 very much but has never test drive one yet. We do wonder about its practicality, especially the EV versions. Our home doesn't have a charging station although there is one at my work (but this would be her vehicle and not mine) and at the parking structure across the street from us.
I suppose I could drive it every once in a while to charge it while I'm at the office but my wife has stated she doesn't like driving my Mustang (heavy steering and a bit too much power for her compared to our Subie which she liked more) so swapping vehicles isn't ideal. Guess we'll see how it pans out when she test drives a 500 eventually.
If you aren't able to charge your car where you park at night then an EV is not a great experience.
That said, adding a charger is not particularly expensive, especially if the circuit panel is already in the garage.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I picked up my Mustang from storage Stateside not too long ago. (It had been in long term storage for seven years while I was stationed overseas.) After replacing the windshield to pass state inspection and having a transmission flush done on it (plus some other necessary things like fixing a minor air conditioning leak and replacing the majorly faulty Takata airbags aka ticking shrapnel bombs; remember that scandal a few years back?), she's driving very smoothly. Just over eleven years old and only now she's getting close to crossing the 50K mile mark.
I do miss my Subaru Legacy wagon though. The utility of four doors and a hatchback where the missus and I could just pile the two dogs and throw our bags in the back and just go on road trips, was very convenient. Looking back, the Mustang was a bit of an impulse buy where I was still thinking like an unmarried bachelor. Nothing wrong with her now aside from the lack of storage space but it can fit the two dogs in the back seat and our bags in the trunk if we pack light. As a daily driver, the Mustang is still fun.
The missus wants to purchase her own car soon, preferably an EV so she can take advantage of the $4K tax credit although the infrastructure where we currently live doesn't quite support it as well as we'd like. It's either an EV and/or a Fiat 500 (been reading mixed reviews) as she's been eyeing one of those since forever, even if she feels a bit uneasy driving such a small car and sharing the road with giant SUVs and pickup truck behemoths. The drivers here kinda suck and tend to behave like maniacs (we miss the more orderly driving in the Tokyo area but we've seen our share of crazy Japanese drivers too).
Don't buy an EV until the CCS-NACS conversion is done.
I picked up my Mustang from storage Stateside not too long ago. (It had been in long term storage for seven years while I was stationed overseas.) After replacing the windshield to pass state inspection and having a transmission flush done on it (plus some other necessary things like fixing a minor air conditioning leak and replacing the majorly faulty Takata airbags aka ticking shrapnel bombs; remember that scandal a few years back?), she's driving very smoothly. Just over eleven years old and only now she's getting close to crossing the 50K mile mark.
I do miss my Subaru Legacy wagon though. The utility of four doors and a hatchback where the missus and I could just pile the two dogs and throw our bags in the back and just go on road trips, was very convenient. Looking back, the Mustang was a bit of an impulse buy where I was still thinking like an unmarried bachelor. Nothing wrong with her now aside from the lack of storage space but it can fit the two dogs in the back seat and our bags in the trunk if we pack light. As a daily driver, the Mustang is still fun.
The missus wants to purchase her own car soon, preferably an EV so she can take advantage of the $4K tax credit although the infrastructure where we currently live doesn't quite support it as well as we'd like. It's either an EV and/or a Fiat 500 (been reading mixed reviews) as she's been eyeing one of those since forever, even if she feels a bit uneasy driving such a small car and sharing the road with giant SUVs and pickup truck behemoths. The drivers here kinda suck and tend to behave like maniacs (we miss the more orderly driving in the Tokyo area but we've seen our share of crazy Japanese drivers too).
Don't buy an EV until the CCS-NACS conversion is done.
eh, that's asking for a long wait
and CCS-NACS is purely a physical adaptor issue they're running the same protocol, so having one doesn't lock you out of the other, and the adaptors are (or will be) cheap enough because they don't need to contain any logic
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I guess don't a ChaDeMo car, that's a dead format.
Somehow Nissan is still making Leafs in the US with that which is bonkers. I mean i guess it's nice for me with my janky old 2013 Leaf (back then there was only ChaDeMo) so some of those stations are still around but dang get it together Nissan.
Aioua on
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Our beloved 2011 WRX is in the shop getting nearly every surface either replaced or repaired from hail damage. It’s held value extremely well and has relatively low miles so the $12k damage didn’t total it and there’s no way in hell my wife would replace it.
I’m driving a rental for the next couple weeks while the repairs are finished. I got a brand new Toyota Corolla Cross thanks to insurance covering it, and I gotta say, this thing is pretty slick. If you’re in the market for the small crossover type vehicle, definitely give it a look.
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webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
Dang, I actually like the new Tacomas, and you can get it in a manual extended cab, which is like the perfect format. Maybe when interest drops again hopefully in a few years I can pick one up.
Yeah, all the refreshed midsized trucks are pretty great. I drive a 2015 Colorado, and the new one is soooooo much better than mine in every way. The new Taco looks to be a great improvement over the old, and the new Ranger looks pretty great too, plus they're going to offer the Ranger Raptor with 400 hp, which is quite a lot in a "small" truck; I have 300 hp in my Colorado, and that's already a pretty good amount of power.
I'm really trying to hold on to my truck until I can get a ColoradoEV or Ranger Lightning, though, as tempting as all the new midsize trucks are.
Yeah, all the refreshed midsized trucks are pretty great. I drive a 2015 Colorado, and the new one is soooooo much better than mine in every way. The new Taco looks to be a great improvement over the old, and the new Ranger looks pretty great too, plus they're going to offer the Ranger Raptor with 400 hp, which is quite a lot in a "small" truck; I have 300 hp in my Colorado, and that's already a pretty good amount of power.
I'm really trying to hold on to my truck until I can get a ColoradoEV or Ranger Lightning, though, as tempting as all the new midsize trucks are.
The demand for the Maverick opened the floodgates - turns out that there's a market for a midsize urban hauler with decent gas milage.
Rivian just officially revealed the R2, the new smaller vehicle to slot in under the R1S/R1T. Looks like a pretty good mid-sized SUV, with an alleged starting price of $45,000, set to start shipping in early 2026.
But the big surprise of the event was the announcement of the R3! It's a small crossover/large hatchback that's shaped a lot like a Mk.II or Mk.III GTI to my eyes. No pricing or availability in the announcement. I really dig the look, though, and hope it comes in at a good price/performance/range ratio.
Rivian just officially revealed the R2, the new smaller vehicle to slot in under the R1S/R1T. Looks like a pretty good mid-sized SUV, with an alleged starting price of $45,000, set to start shipping in early 2026.
But the big surprise of the event was the announcement of the R3! It's a small crossover/large hatchback that's shaped a lot like a Mk.II or Mk.III GTI to my eyes. No pricing or availability in the announcement. I really dig the look, though, and hope it comes in at a good price/performance/range ratio.
Look, if you already got hefty glare and reflection on your dashboard on your pr pics I'm going out on a leg and say your dashboard design is shit. I think there's a reason why pretty much every car has a shade cover over the instruments.
Rivian just officially revealed the R2, the new smaller vehicle to slot in under the R1S/R1T. Looks like a pretty good mid-sized SUV, with an alleged starting price of $45,000, set to start shipping in early 2026.
But the big surprise of the event was the announcement of the R3! It's a small crossover/large hatchback that's shaped a lot like a Mk.II or Mk.III GTI to my eyes. No pricing or availability in the announcement. I really dig the look, though, and hope it comes in at a good price/performance/range ratio.
Look, if you already got hefty glare and reflection on your dashboard on your pr pics I'm going out on a leg and say your dashboard design is shit. I think there's a reason why pretty much every car has a shade cover over the instruments.
I wanted to get a hitch for a bike rack for one of our cars and wanted some opinions. Back when we had one before, I ordered a hitch from Uhaul and put it on my wife's old car myself. It was a Class III and when she got rear ended once the body shop asked if it was ok to replace it with a Class II and alluded to that if we were just using it for a bike rack that the hitch type we had was riskier for getting the car totaled in a rear end collision due to potential frame damage. I assume that the body shop was also a Ford dealer and had OEM class II hitches in stock played a role, but wasn't mentioned.
Looking up install procedures for our current cars seems to involve lowering the muffler and removing trim pieces so I may pay for an install rather than DIY. One place I called said they don't really recommend anything below Class III because 2" gets you all the accessories versus 1 1/4", and since this is now with the kids the thing is going to have four bikes on it so I think it being a little overbuilt is fine. But before we move forward wanted to see what opinions were on the 'risk' of a Class III's beefier frame attachment alluded to by the body shop and if that is really worth considering or not. The cars are fully insured and in any case a high speed impact in the rear is most likely to (1) be somebody else's fault and (2) smash a bunch of presumably expensive sensors that are the sort of thing that total modern cars out anyhow.
Check your vehicle's towing rating. A Class II tows 3500 lbs, a Class III tows 8000 lbs. If your car isn't rated for more than 3500 lbs there's no reason to pay a dime extra for a Class III. You can get a 1 1/4" - 2" adaptor for like $10 if you need it, and a Class II is more than enough for a four bike rack.
That said, what you are told has my bullshit meter pegged. I very much have my doubts that a Class II or Class III are going to perform significantly differently in a collision, or significantly differently than the bumper beam that is already there because holy liability if that was the case.
Yeah it has remained in my wife's mind as a risk to consider but at the time always seemed like an excuse to use what he had on hand instead of ordering a direct replacement part. But yeah going off of the tow rating entirely makes sense.
You generally don't want to use an adapter if you're planning to use a 4 bike rack and load it up as it can easily put the equivalent of a LOT of tongue weight on it (as racks are 20-50 lbs, plus bike weight). 2 inch also gets you a lot options for racks that you don't get with a smaller one (like North shore etc). Having run various racks on a car on varied roads, I wouldn't touch a 4 bike 1 1/4" as it's either gonna be flexy as hell, snap or both.
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Just drove one one or two times (car sharing) but it wasn't great. The design of the interior felt cluttered and distracting while driving (not quite as bad as in a Mini). pet peeve: Turn signals sound shit. everything felt very cheap and plasticy. Fiat's automatic gearbox was also not great.
On the other hand the Peugot 208 from the car sharing fleet feels really nice in comparison. great little car. Apparently also available as an EV? Don't know if Peugots are a thing in the US though?
The missus does like the looks of the Fiat 500 very much but has never test drive one yet. We do wonder about its practicality, especially the EV versions. Our home doesn't have a charging station although there is one at my work (but this would be her vehicle and not mine) and at the parking structure across the street from us.
I suppose I could drive it every once in a while to charge it while I'm at the office but my wife has stated she doesn't like driving my Mustang (heavy steering and a bit too much power for her compared to our Subie which she liked more) so swapping vehicles isn't ideal. Guess we'll see how it pans out when she test drives a 500 eventually.
If you aren't able to charge your car where you park at night then an EV is not a great experience.
That said, adding a charger is not particularly expensive, especially if the circuit panel is already in the garage.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Don't buy an EV until the CCS-NACS conversion is done.
eh, that's asking for a long wait
and CCS-NACS is purely a physical adaptor issue they're running the same protocol, so having one doesn't lock you out of the other, and the adaptors are (or will be) cheap enough because they don't need to contain any logic
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Somehow Nissan is still making Leafs in the US with that which is bonkers. I mean i guess it's nice for me with my janky old 2013 Leaf (back then there was only ChaDeMo) so some of those stations are still around but dang get it together Nissan.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I’m driving a rental for the next couple weeks while the repairs are finished. I got a brand new Toyota Corolla Cross thanks to insurance covering it, and I gotta say, this thing is pretty slick. If you’re in the market for the small crossover type vehicle, definitely give it a look.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I'm really trying to hold on to my truck until I can get a ColoradoEV or Ranger Lightning, though, as tempting as all the new midsize trucks are.
The demand for the Maverick opened the floodgates - turns out that there's a market for a midsize urban hauler with decent gas milage.
Who knew?
We may yet see more true compact pickups in a few years if the Maverick and Santa Cruz are successful, though.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
I can’t speak to the santa cruz, but the Maverick has been a huge success.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
But the big surprise of the event was the announcement of the R3! It's a small crossover/large hatchback that's shaped a lot like a Mk.II or Mk.III GTI to my eyes. No pricing or availability in the announcement. I really dig the look, though, and hope it comes in at a good price/performance/range ratio.
Look, if you already got hefty glare and reflection on your dashboard on your pr pics I'm going out on a leg and say your dashboard design is shit. I think there's a reason why pretty much every car has a shade cover over the instruments.
Also not a single button to see.
Look, if you already got hefty glare and reflection on your dashboard on your pr pics I'm going out on a leg and say your dashboard design is shit. I think there's a reason why pretty much every car has a shade cover over the instruments.
Also not a single button to see.
Looking up install procedures for our current cars seems to involve lowering the muffler and removing trim pieces so I may pay for an install rather than DIY. One place I called said they don't really recommend anything below Class III because 2" gets you all the accessories versus 1 1/4", and since this is now with the kids the thing is going to have four bikes on it so I think it being a little overbuilt is fine. But before we move forward wanted to see what opinions were on the 'risk' of a Class III's beefier frame attachment alluded to by the body shop and if that is really worth considering or not. The cars are fully insured and in any case a high speed impact in the rear is most likely to (1) be somebody else's fault and (2) smash a bunch of presumably expensive sensors that are the sort of thing that total modern cars out anyhow.
That said, what you are told has my bullshit meter pegged. I very much have my doubts that a Class II or Class III are going to perform significantly differently in a collision, or significantly differently than the bumper beam that is already there because holy liability if that was the case.