Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
How many miles on the odometer, at time of purchase?
So far, that Yukon purchase has been a smart investment.
Never before have I been so uninspired/disinterested...
- Thread starter CharBaby
- Start date
So far, that Yukon purchase has been a smart investment.
Any light entering the eye constricts the pupil and somewhat "resets" the eye(s) adaptation period to regain full night vision (roughly 30 minutes). It doesn't matter how a light source enters the eye (reflected or direct), they have the same outcome of degrading your vision and reducing the sensitivity to light.
Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
A brand new 2020 Ford Mustang Bullitt in my driveway please.
or
a 1968 Ford Mustang Bullitt GT please.
@tbm5690 In the city you take public transit or your bike. No need for a car.
Cars are for driving between towns or in the countryside. As there is less light pollution there, night vision matters. I do not need super bright headlights.
Actually, I prefer my yellow-ish H4 halogen units over Xenon or LED - yes, with the latter anything that is hit by those is brighter, but it is also "flatter". Harder to judge distances. Also, there is a very sharp border between "bright as hell" and patches black outside their beam. The human eye, like a camera, can only so much of a contrast.
With a slightly lesser powerful headlight, you are able to get at least some information about what is outside of the beam. This has saved me from a collision with wildlife at least twice...
But I have the impression that a lot of people have never experienced what our eyes are actually capable of... every runner I encounter after sunset carries a light source. Why, just why?!?
Eat some carrots, get some sunlight during the day, and give your eyes two to three minutes when stepping out of the house and you won't have to blind other people!
Back to cars: most screens cannot be adjusted properly. Even in the darkest setting, they are way to bright.
Cars are for driving between towns or in the countryside. As there is less light pollution there, night vision matters. I do not need super bright headlights.
Actually, I prefer my yellow-ish H4 halogen units over Xenon or LED - yes, with the latter anything that is hit by those is brighter, but it is also "flatter". Harder to judge distances. Also, there is a very sharp border between "bright as hell" and patches black outside their beam. The human eye, like a camera, can only so much of a contrast.
With a slightly lesser powerful headlight, you are able to get at least some information about what is outside of the beam. This has saved me from a collision with wildlife at least twice...
But I have the impression that a lot of people have never experienced what our eyes are actually capable of... every runner I encounter after sunset carries a light source. Why, just why?!?
Eat some carrots, get some sunlight during the day, and give your eyes two to three minutes when stepping out of the house and you won't have to blind other people!
Back to cars: most screens cannot be adjusted properly. Even in the darkest setting, they are way to bright.
Last edited:
That's funny because the screen in my car is barely bright enough during the day. It's still a little too bright at night, even though it dims a lot when you turn on the headlights. At least it's only about the size of a business card (5x3 inches)
I think the main problem is that manufacturers are cheapskates. Every single in-car screen does not have true black... The black background in many menues is just a dark grey, that is a low intensity white. And together with any Info on the screen, this makes to strong of a light source.
I'm always told I'm a hater of the modern car market because everything has moved onto crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. I can't think a single type of vehicle I can't stand more than any of these. They're boring, utilitarian, and uninspiring to drive. The fastest and most interesting ones are all compromised by the form factor.
I know the Challenger and Camaro are going out, but when you think about it people really aren't buying two door cars. We've seen the complaints over the years of vehicles with 2 door and 4 door configurations, or 3 door and 5 door for that matter losing the smaller version. It seems cars are more expensive so if we're spending that much we better get the one that can do more for us. We just keep buying bigger and more expensive vehicles to the point that the small cars in many cases aren't being made anymore.
What I do like is that with VW keeping the GTI/R going for now, Honda/Acura with the Integra Type S and Civic Type R, and Hyundai in particular that the hot hatch segment is still alive for now. I can stomach one of these for under $50k and for the GTI it can be had under $40k. Now so many are concerned that these are too small and they want crossovers. If you're buying a Taos or a Trax or some other small crossover the only thing you're gaining is ride height. You're losing power and driving dynamics. I know what I'm buying. I used to have a full size truck. I learned real fast how impractical it was for daily life. Way too much vehicle for one person commuting. I can think of 4 times in 5 years it saved me from renting a vehicle. Not worth it for twice the cost in gasoline. No one seems to think this way though, the what if gets them to buy more vehicle and then wonder where all the engaging driving experiences went because many people including them bought something else.
I know the Challenger and Camaro are going out, but when you think about it people really aren't buying two door cars. We've seen the complaints over the years of vehicles with 2 door and 4 door configurations, or 3 door and 5 door for that matter losing the smaller version. It seems cars are more expensive so if we're spending that much we better get the one that can do more for us. We just keep buying bigger and more expensive vehicles to the point that the small cars in many cases aren't being made anymore.
What I do like is that with VW keeping the GTI/R going for now, Honda/Acura with the Integra Type S and Civic Type R, and Hyundai in particular that the hot hatch segment is still alive for now. I can stomach one of these for under $50k and for the GTI it can be had under $40k. Now so many are concerned that these are too small and they want crossovers. If you're buying a Taos or a Trax or some other small crossover the only thing you're gaining is ride height. You're losing power and driving dynamics. I know what I'm buying. I used to have a full size truck. I learned real fast how impractical it was for daily life. Way too much vehicle for one person commuting. I can think of 4 times in 5 years it saved me from renting a vehicle. Not worth it for twice the cost in gasoline. No one seems to think this way though, the what if gets them to buy more vehicle and then wonder where all the engaging driving experiences went because many people including them bought something else.
But I'm American, so I drive everywhere including my 0.8 KM trip to the nearest grocery store. Even in large metro areas where public transit is decent most Americans drive and own cars. I do not live in a large metro area with good public transit.
Same for me here. Every drive out of town is at least 35 miles and the only public transport we have is the city provided taxi which at $2 costs more than I'd use in gas to go to the store close to a mile away. For these drives I just use the EV so I don't have to short trip my turbo car and it costs a fraction of what fuel costs in my other car to operate.
2miles to the grocery store sounds like bike* would be my first choice. But that depends heavily on traffic and road design. Some roads/streets you just do not want to ride on.
If there is no other option than a care, then yes, an electric car is the vehicle of choice. I'd have a bad conscience starting an internal combustion engine for a trip on which it has no chance to properly warm up. An EV wouldn't care...
*A bike with a rack, panniers and some boogie straps can load as much groveries as fit in the trunk of our convertible...
I buy my vehicles to wear them out. Vehicles are a tool, I probably spent too much time doing fleet maintenance work.
I have one day to do groceries(when I'm the one that does it). I'm also out of town for 2-3 days for work at a time and I can't leave my wife without a car with the kids when most appointments are out of town living in a small town and I have to drive a minimum of 35 miles to work. I've had to drive 150 miles to work that I wouldn't know until the phone rings and I have 4 hours to be there. That's why we bought the EV. It covers the short trips and has plenty of range for my wife's longer trips. Sure I could bike for groceries, but then I also have to buy a bike. I also don't know how I could carry a week of groceries on a bike for a family of 4 when it completely fills the trunk of the car. That and we're into that time of year where it's wet, rainy, snowy, and generally cold. As you mentioned as far as bike lanes go, they're nonexistent here. They repaved the roads with that intention, but never painted them in. It's not a particularly busy town at 16k people, but we're on a main thoroughfare to drive from my home to the grocery store and for some drivers it seems the speed limit is just a suggestion as it goes from 55mph to 25mph 3 blocks before my home.
That's my thought on EV usage as well for in town. I don't want to start my direct injected turbo car to barely see the temp gauge get off of the bottom couple of hashes. We ended up with these vehicles by getting rid of a full size truck and a midsize crossover. It wasn't so much an environmental play, but to reduce our operating costs and also get into vehicles we'd have more fun driving. I think we used to live a much more wasteful life than we do now. The truck as my daily driver cost more in gas than it does to operate both current cars combined per month.
As far as how work is for me, I have an overnight bag packed with 3 days worth of stuff ready to go at all times when I'm home and it's not my off day. My phone rings and I basically have 45 minutes to pack some food, make coffee, and load up the car. We tried doing this before with one car when I had a more set schedule than I do now, but it just wasn't an option relying on others in case of an emergency. Right now I'm sitting at home waiting on a call.
Nothing wrong with that. I got bored doing so, but that's because I seem to love cars to a level of my own detriment and like to buy really dumb things. These days they're at least new enough that I'm not dealing with really stupid problems like I used to. I couldn't afford those types of cars new 15 years ago. I sure learned a lot turning wrenches in the garage though.
For two decades I spent more time in my car than in my bed at home. So a car that I actually enjoyed driving was paramount.
Twenty or even ten years ago, I could only afford this type of car when they were at least 20 years old... Now, that I no longer spend so much time in a car (I could even do without any car - public transit here, while not not good, is at least somewhat usable, and I can reach anywhere I need or want to go to by bike or on foot), I could afford them new, if I stretched myself a little - but there is no longer a new car that I find attractive.
Unless we are talking really stupid amount of money. Yeah... but I'd have to be a multi-millionaire before I could justify that in front of myself. Or the wife.
So, car-wise, I'm basically stuck in time.
Twenty or even ten years ago, I could only afford this type of car when they were at least 20 years old... Now, that I no longer spend so much time in a car (I could even do without any car - public transit here, while not not good, is at least somewhat usable, and I can reach anywhere I need or want to go to by bike or on foot), I could afford them new, if I stretched myself a little - but there is no longer a new car that I find attractive.
Unless we are talking really stupid amount of money. Yeah... but I'd have to be a multi-millionaire before I could justify that in front of myself. Or the wife.
So, car-wise, I'm basically stuck in time.
Last edited:
As far as new goes, I'd do this one. It's listed at $38.5k and is a new 2024 GTI 380 SE manual. I still like my 2018 too much to part with it. If I had to replace my current GTI this would be it. Sure it's not exactly cheap, but it's not near as expensive as the average vehicle here.
About 6 months ago I took delivery of a 2023 Honda Civic Touring Sedan, actually got a small discount off MSRP ($500). Have driven Hondas for 40 years, so far (5000 miles) it has been a delightful experience, all the "tech" works, it's quiet and comfortable and handles well (Replaced the factory installed Goodyears with Bridgestone Extremecontact DWS06 plus before delivery) both the digital dash and 9" Infotainment screen are easy to read and have excellent contrast (Black levels) Honda's issues with the 1.5t are well known and I'm aware of them and pro-active, initial OCI was at 3k, watching level on stick, probably next change at 3500-4k. I'm fortunate to have an excellent dealer and all service is done by a Honda Certified Master Technician who I know well. Using Mobil1 0w20 EP and the Honda factory filters. Overall a enjoyable car. All that being a given, currently having tremendous problems seeing at night, despite the led headlights. I'm a year and a half into cataract replacement. Had laser surgery and Vivity multi-focal, all was perfect until a film or capsule formed over my left lens (tested 20/20 in both eyes) blurring my vision as your brain forms its image as a composite from both eyes. Next step was a procedure to remove the film, called a Yag-laser capsulotomy which breaks up the film. Unfortunately the pieces stay in the eye and form floaters, which, in my case, were huge. After another visit to a retina specialist surgeon, they reccomended a Vitrectomy, which removes all the vitritrious fluid along with the floaters and replaces the fluid with an air bubble. Had that and it took about a week and a half for the bubble to vanish as your body replaces the fluid. Healing process is 3-6 months, got to a point where it wasn't getting any better after 4 follow-up visits, so went back to my original ophthalmic surgeon. Determined that my drooping eyelids were obscuring about half the light hitting my retinas, was referred to another surgeon who specializes In this type of surgery. Normally, anything involving an eyelid lift is considered " cosmetic surgery " and isn't covered by insurance, unless deemed " medically necessary " and this surgeon is a specialist in making that happen. Problem was he was booked until mid-April. Asked for another referral and found another specialist that booked me on February 15th, six weeks earlier and they have a call list if a cancelation occurs. This has been terribly frustrating and depressing, no one has screwed up its just me and the problems with a 76 year old body, guess I'm just running out of patience. Just want to see well so I can make a drive to South Carolina to visit my only living relative, my sister. Still working 22-24 hours a week as a Gunsmith and have to wear cheaters to do that, especially in the evenings when my vision deteriorates from fatigue. As you get older, it becomes more difficult to enjoy so many things you took for granted, but yes, really like the Civic. BTY, I'm about 9-10 thousand into this so far, insurance covers basic cataract surgery, but once you say Laser, nada.
Never thought I'd pay over 30k for a Civic that wasn't a Type R.........
Never thought I'd pay over 30k for a Civic that wasn't a Type R.........
Last edited:
Take your 18's steering wheel with you if you upgradeAs far as new goes, I'd do this one. It's listed at $38.5k and is a new 2024 GTI 380 SE manual. I still like my 2018 too much to part with it. If I had to replace my current GTI this would be it. Sure it's not exactly cheap, but it's not near as expensive as the average vehicle here.
that's my biggest beef with the MK8 is the horrendous haptic buttons. I hope they do an MK8 GLI but I doubt they will. If it does drop, almost guaranteed the DSG will be the only option like it is on the GTI and R.
