Car Chat

[2o6]

You guys have new fortwos as Car2Go's? In Columbus we're still using the shitty old ones

[ifcar]

D.C. just got its first new ones about a month ago. But even the old ones had a retrofitted touchscreen for car2go functions.

[AutobahnSHO]

This, again. You might be wondering what has earned such vitriolic hate. This:

This morning I discovered the stupid touchscreen can't be used with gloves on.

Of course not!!!

The other day though I discovered a roll worked on my phone. Dinner roll. Might try that next time.

[93JC]

You guys have new fortwos as Car2Go's? In Columbus we're still using the shitty old ones

Yep, they started rolling them out a few weeks ago. Their fleet is made up of old ForTwos, new ForTwos and Mercedes-Benz B250s.

D.C. just got its first new ones about a month ago. But even the old ones had a retrofitted touchscreen for car2go functions.

True, I didn't like that one either, but it was bigger and could be used with gloves on, and it saved the last radio station you had playing. The new ones aren't used for inputting a PIN to start your rental anymore, it's all through the app, so it's just for the teensy little nav screen and radio now. Unfortunately the new radio doesn't save the last station you had played, it saves whatever the last person in the car had played. I just turn the damned thing off now (the control of which, thankfully, is a button).

[ifcar]

True, I didn't like that one either, but it was bigger and could be used with gloves on, and it saved the last radio station you had playing. The new ones aren't used for inputting a PIN to start your rental anymore, it's all through the app, so it's just for the teensy little nav screen and radio now. Unfortunately the new radio doesn't save the last station you had played, it saves whatever the last person in the car had played. I just turn the damned thing off now (the control of which, thankfully, is a button).

Huh, never noticed that radio feature -- that was really clever of them, and a shame it didn't stick around.

[93JC]

Yeah, it was clever, and a shame it didn't stick around. When I fired up the Car2Go I rented this morning the volume was cranked and the station was some stupid top 40 pop/hip-hop junk. First thing I did was crank the volume back down, which is thankfully still controlled by a knob, but I couldn't change the station until I pressed 'yes' on the EULA-esque little warning about using the thing while in motion. That they had to warn you about how dangerous using this touchscreen is ought to have been clue #1 that the screen is fucking dumb. So I pressed 'yes', and nothing happened. I pressed again: nothing happened. I took my glove off, pressed 'yes', pressed 'radio', and pressed a down arrow to cycle through to the station I wanted to listen to. All of this could have been avoided if it had buttons, or a knob; something...

[Soup DeVille]

If your hands are really calloused, (such as one might get from working as a mechanic or playing guitar) then some touch screens won't work for you at all.

(As a derelict, I no longer have this problem).

[2o6]

Yep, they started rolling them out a few weeks ago. Their fleet is made up of old ForTwos, new ForTwos and Mercedes-Benz B250s.




True, I didn't like that one either, but it was bigger and could be used with gloves on, and it saved the last radio station you had playing. The new ones aren't used for inputting a PIN to start your rental anymore, it's all through the app, so it's just for the teensy little nav screen and radio now. Unfortunately the new radio doesn't save the last station you had played, it saves whatever the last person in the car had played. I just turn the damned thing off now (the control of which, thankfully, is a button).

It would be nice to have a bigger Car2Go option, but MB doesn't make a cheap four-place car in our market

[12,000 RPM]

Daaaaamnnnnnnn Audi pulls out of Le Mans

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/why-dieselgate-forced-audi-to-quit-le-mans-1788252715

[Raza]

This, again. You might be wondering what has earned such vitriolic hate. This:





This morning I discovered the stupid touchscreen can't be used with gloves on.

Get touchscreen gloves, dude. It's like 2012 or some year where every phone is a touchscreen.

[93JC]

I can barely type on my phone without gloves on: touchscreen gloves are pointless.

Also, note that the touchscreen in the old cars works with any gloves.

[giant_mtb]

Get touchscreen gloves, dude. It's like 2012 or some year where every phone is a touchscreen.

Touch screen gloves are always too thin for real cold and are seemingly made for women's hands.

[Raza]

Touch screen gloves are always too thin for real cold and are seemingly made for women's hands.

That's demonstrably untrue.

[Eye of the Tiger]

That's demonstrably untrue.

They are for girls.

[giant_mtb]

That's demonstrably untrue.

[Raza]

I have a pair of leather touchscreen gloves that are just as warm as my non-touchscreen leather gloves.

[Soup DeVille]

Leather gloves aren't really suitable for real cold either.

[Raza]

Leather gloves aren't really suitable for real cold either.

I've worn them into single digits. 

[12,000 RPM]

I've worn no gloves in the single digits, doesn't make it a good idea

[AutobahnSHO]

poor car. Skip to 3min he's literally going to rattle the doors off. LOLOLOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCs5_V6g5ds

[MrH]

From Jalopnik:

"Man how I wish my E60 M5 ownership experience was more like this. My story is more typical though. My dumb ass thought the car had hit about the bottom of its depreciation curve (I was wrong). My double dumb ass also thought that I didn't need to pay to get oil samples taken before purchase. So my soon to be broke ass paid not quite $24k for an '06 with 94,000+ miles in 2013 without paying $250 to a reputable shop to do a pre-purchase inspection. My wallet got lighter when I threw the same "Increased Emmissions" message after putting less than 300 miles on the car, FWIW in my experience all three times that happened to me it was one of the coil packs going bad and causing a misfire that you could definitely feel and hear. Then my wallet got to experience the massive lightening feeling of a bottom end rebuild after we found out the BMW dealer who replaced the VANOS pump in the car before I bought it left parts in the oil pan. Well I guess I had budgeted for rod bearings in the nearish future but not at less than 1000 miles into ownership. While they were in there the oil level sensor and the passenger side throttle solenoid were replaced, I declined to replace the properly working driver side one at that time even though the shop suggested we do it while it was apart. Three months later I replaced the driver side solenoid. Two more trips to the shop for coil packs. Then the rather frighteningly expensive starter motor replacement. With the weather in NE-Ohio I only drove the car on nice summer days which meant not that often. In 32 months of ownership I put less than 3200 miles on that car. I also put over $18,000 in repairs and basic maintenance into it. Sold it for $13,500 and was happy to get that. I absolutely loved the car when it was working right but I was scared every time I took it out of the garage that I'd be facing another couple thousand dollar repair bill. During the time I owned it I averaged a little under 12MPG and had one tank where I was especially heavy on the right pedal where I was under 9MPG. Maybe I'm a masochist because I miss that car."

"Holy crap. $28,500 for 32 months and 3200 miles?!

$8.90 a mile!!

$890 a month in repairs!!

That's just...awful. Sorry man."

Wowwwwww

[AutobahnSHO]

He bought it right when all the regular maintenance was due, did all the maintenance, then sold it when it was ready to drive....   

[MrH]

Most of that isn't normal maintenance items.

[CaminoRacer]

Most of that isn't normal maintenance items.

Yeah, just idiotic ownership decisions.

I also can't imagine taking my car to the shop for everything. I would have spent $40k on my car by now.

[Cookie Monster]

In what world is finding parts left in the oil pan and needing a bottom end rebuild "regular maintenance"?

[2o6]

Sometimes online people are stupid

[12,000 RPM]

In what world is finding parts left in the oil pan and needing a bottom end rebuild "regular maintenance"?

In a BMW

The S62/S65 engines are known for lunching bearings. I was looking at E60 535is... there is a PDF on some forum literally going through all its problems. How is it basic ass Honda was able to make 9000 RPM 120HP/L engines with like 1/4 the budget 15 years ago.... but BMW only just figured out shit like plastic doesn't do well in cooling systems

Still though... 340i M Sport

[giant_mtb]

Sometimes I wonder if the poor bloke who bought my A4 has ended up with a similar used German car horror story. 

[MX793]

I was walking past a new WRX in a parking lot the other day just as the owner was starting it up and, damn, the new FA engine sounds awful.  No charming, lumpy idle like boxers of old.  Sounded like no consideration was given to the exhaust note.  Just this coarse, droning sound at idle and it didn't improve as I heard it drive away.

[AutobahnSHO]

I was walking past a new WRX in a parking lot the other day just as the owner was starting it up and, damn, the new FA engine sounds awful.  No charming, lumpy idle like boxers of old.  Sounded like no consideration was given to the exhaust note.  Just this coarse, droning sound at idle and it didn't improve as I heard it drive away.

Trying to keep it from being confused with the new Porsches....