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cardinalkarp wrote: ↑

July 12 22, 1:33 pm

So apparently the new thing on cars (BMW) is going to be “micro-transactions” where you have to pay per month/year/unlimited for things like heated seats and adaptive cruise control. So the car comes “equipped” w/ those features but you have to pay a monthly fee to unlock those features via the software.

I think BMW has been doing this for a while now. I just learned about this yesterday too. Were you listening to Marketplace? That's where I heard about this.

I would not buy a car on principle if the manufacturer had this scheme.

Popeye_Card wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 7:03 am

A couple weekends ago my truck (2015 GMC Sierra) starts acting up - engine shaking pretty badly, check engine light flashing. F. I limp it home and set up an appointment to get it checked out. The truck is in fantastic shape - about 44k miles, and I only put about 1500 miles a year on it to and from the office and running errands around town. I figure best case a bad motor mount, worst case something causing a misfire.

Nope. Somehow one of the pushrods bent and broke, and now not only do they have to do all the work to replace that, they have to find where the broken off portion went (hopefully just in the oil pan). Looking like at least $4000 to get it fixed as a best case. Worst case? It may have screwed up the camshaft too, where I'm probably looking at a full engine replacement. Fffffffffffudge.

Warranty? 100,000 miles! Oh wait. Crap! 5 years. FfffffffffffffffffffffffUDGE!

Why are we still building pushrod engines?

G. Keenan wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 10:43 am

cardinalkarp wrote: ↑

July 12 22, 1:33 pm

So apparently the new thing on cars (BMW) is going to be “micro-transactions” where you have to pay per month/year/unlimited for things like heated seats and adaptive cruise control. So the car comes “equipped” w/ those features but you have to pay a monthly fee to unlock those features via the software.

I think BMW has been doing this for a while now. I just learned about this yesterday too. Were you listening to Marketplace? That's where I heard about this.

I would not buy a car on principle if the manufacturer had this scheme.

It was actually an article in The Verge. But yeah, it sounds like this has been something they’ve done in other countries for a bit, but it sounds like it’s in store for us as well potentially

And agreed, definitely wouldn’t buy a car from a manufacturer pulling this nonsense….but we may not have a choice at some point.

Arthur Dent wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 10:46 am

Popeye_Card wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 7:03 am

A couple weekends ago my truck (2015 GMC Sierra) starts acting up - engine shaking pretty badly, check engine light flashing. F. I limp it home and set up an appointment to get it checked out. The truck is in fantastic shape - about 44k miles, and I only put about 1500 miles a year on it to and from the office and running errands around town. I figure best case a bad motor mount, worst case something causing a misfire.

Nope. Somehow one of the pushrods bent and broke, and now not only do they have to do all the work to replace that, they have to find where the broken off portion went (hopefully just in the oil pan). Looking like at least $4000 to get it fixed as a best case. Worst case? It may have screwed up the camshaft too, where I'm probably looking at a full engine replacement. Fffffffffffudge.

Warranty? 100,000 miles! Oh wait. Crap! 5 years. FfffffffffffffffffffffffUDGE!

Why are we still building pushrod engines?

They still have some advantages over OHC's, particularly for trucks. The pushrods themselves are typically pretty reliable too, but I guess not in this case which is why I'm peeved.

Arthur Dent wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 10:46 am

Popeye_Card wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 7:03 am

A couple weekends ago my truck (2015 GMC Sierra) starts acting up - engine shaking pretty badly, check engine light flashing. F. I limp it home and set up an appointment to get it checked out. The truck is in fantastic shape - about 44k miles, and I only put about 1500 miles a year on it to and from the office and running errands around town. I figure best case a bad motor mount, worst case something causing a misfire.

Nope. Somehow one of the pushrods bent and broke, and now not only do they have to do all the work to replace that, they have to find where the broken off portion went (hopefully just in the oil pan). Looking like at least $4000 to get it fixed as a best case. Worst case? It may have screwed up the camshaft too, where I'm probably looking at a full engine replacement. Fffffffffffudge.

Warranty? 100,000 miles! Oh wait. Crap! 5 years. FfffffffffffffffffffffffUDGE!

Why are we still building pushrod engines?

They are smaller than an OHC engine and can also produce power cheap. They are also pretty efficient for their displacement. Not to mention every pushrod engine in GM's lineup is basically an evolution of the small block chevy which is about a 60 year old design. So they are very inexpensive from an R and D standpoint.

G. Keenan wrote: ↑

July 13 22, 10:43 am

cardinalkarp wrote: ↑

July 12 22, 1:33 pm

So apparently the new thing on cars (BMW) is going to be “micro-transactions” where you have to pay per month/year/unlimited for things like heated seats and adaptive cruise control. So the car comes “equipped” w/ those features but you have to pay a monthly fee to unlock those features via the software.

I think BMW has been doing this for a while now. I just learned about this yesterday too. Were you listening to Marketplace? That's where I heard about this.

I would not buy a car on principle if the manufacturer had this scheme.

Find the heated seat 12v power line and just connect it to the battery with an on/off switch, its just a resitive coiled wire in the seat that gets hot when current flows through it.

Personally though, I've never really found the appeal of heated seats. My butt will warm anything to the optimal temperature within minutes.

When a standard, gas-powered car erupts in flames, firefighters quickly work to get as much water on it as possible. "We are going to knock that down with half a tank of water or a full tank in most cases," Purcell explained.

But the world of electric vehicle fires is unfamiliar territory. The lithium-ion batteries under the car pose a major hazard when the car is on fire. "If those battery packs go into thermal runaway, which is just a chemical reaction, then they get super-heated and they run away. You can't put them out. They don't go out. They reignite. And they release tremendously toxic gases," he said.

Flames can reach up to 2500 degrees, Purcell explained. And no matter how much water you put on the car; the batteries will reignite.

This particular fire took firefighters hours and required more than 20,000 gallons of water to be put out.

File this under “Things I did not know about EVs”

Radbird wrote: ↑

January 21 23, 6:37 pm

When a standard, gas-powered car erupts in flames, firefighters quickly work to get as much water on it as possible. "We are going to knock that down with half a tank of water or a full tank in most cases," Purcell explained.

But the world of electric vehicle fires is unfamiliar territory. The lithium-ion batteries under the car pose a major hazard when the car is on fire. "If those battery packs go into thermal runaway, which is just a chemical reaction, then they get super-heated and they run away. You can't put them out. They don't go out. They reignite. And they release tremendously toxic gases," he said.

Flames can reach up to 2500 degrees, Purcell explained. And no matter how much water you put on the car; the batteries will reignite.

This particular fire took firefighters hours and required more than 20,000 gallons of water to be put out.

File this under “Things I did not know about EVs”

oh yeah. Completely true. My job is writing the software that is supposed to ensure a Li-ion battery does not approach thermal runaway. I've seen videos of tests we run to see how much damage it takes to induce runaway, etc. It's a problem.

My 07 honda accord is kind of pissing me off.

The ceiling carpet, whatever that [expletive] thing is called, is falling off. Just had to have it towed to the dealer because the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. They want a whopping $1400 for a new switch lock cylinder. WTF. Gonna call around to a few places tomorrow to see if I can find someone that will go to the dealership and replace it there for less or let me tow it to their place where they can do it.

The check engine light has been coming on sporadically. It's on its last leg. It probably has a lot of life left if someone wants to take care of her, but that ain't me baby.

So, I guess I have to get a new car. Here's the issue I always run into. I don't want to take money out of an investment account or savings. I don't want to take out a loan. Meaning I'm just spending whatever cushion I have in the bank. It's not nothing, but it's not going to get me a new truck. And, every single time I look at cars, I realize how much I don't like any of them anyway. Full size trucks don't fit in my garage and they aren't reliable in my price range. Mid size trucks seem like the worst of all worlds. SUVs seem even worse. And, as cool as they are, I have no interest in muscle cars. Blowing 4 months salary or whatever in cash on a honda or subaru just depresses the hell out of me.

Every single time I go through this process. Every. Time. Then I just get nothing. Which is how I have managed to go since 2006 without buying a car for myself.

The alternative is let my wife get a new car. She wants a wagoneer for some unknown reason. And I could take her volvo. Which....

There is literally nothing in the world that stresses me out more than car decisions. I hate it.

for someone who doesn't like to spend money on cars, you and your wife would get a wagoneer?? lol those things start at like 75k and if you want one that's got the all the best features you're spending 100K