[maxyedor]

I guess this explains the complete lack of inventory and incentives on new f150s, guess I'll be hanging onto the POS Tacoma a wee bit longer. https://jalopnik.com/ford-says-it-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better-1846787655

Lug nut torque on the Sprinter is something like 160 ft-lb; the wrench that comes with the van is something like 10" long... I carry a torque wrench.

Every Mercedes I've owned or tinkered with has had an impeccably designed, extremely well made, yet 100% useless tool kit. 10" long breaker bar for a 160ft-lb lug nut sounds about right.

 

[StiHacka]

It's a nice drive - we did it on the way out to a week-long holiday to Aptos, CA. Recommended. Beats the shit out of I-80.

I did sections - SLC -> Ely -> Salina . The basin and range area is .

 

[boogenman]

Anyone got a good source for Nissan parts?

I need to take the truck in for oil change and wheel rotation. It's probably due for engine and cabin filter changes and I'd rather pay $50 for both and do it myself than the couple of hundred the dealer will likely want.

I was just quoted $86(employee cost) to replace the wiper blades(3) on my 2014 Hyundai Accent. I said the wiper blades are worth more than my car?
Amazon was the ticket, I think I spent $36 total for Bosch fronts and some generic crap for the rear.

 

[jdcamb]

My friend Jan picked up a DHL 2010 Mercedes Sprinter at Auction in Syracuse. I drove it back to Rochester for him. It has 59K miles and all the service records from the Dealer in Rome. Its in excellent shape and drives nice. If he gives me 4K for the Rav4 I can swing the other 4K easily. I need to act fast as he said he already has somebody else interested in it.

 

[canadmos]

Off 80, on state highways in NE is bad... I used to go to power stations out in western NE and man... Fucking desolation. And not in a good way. Yeah farms, but rot in the form of cities too.

I helped my ex's step father move to Akron out by Fort Morgan. Would be a great place to live if you liked doing literally nothing at all.

I've made the drive across i76/80 through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and CO. Mind numbing nothing that whole way. Iowa was just as boring as Nebraska.

One of the worst parts was that there was only one or two radio stations - I remember hitting seek on the radio and the damn thing did a loop right back to the station I already on. haha

There is nothing like seeing the freeway go in a dead straight line over the horizon, with no end or turns in sight.

 

[Westy]

Have to say I appreciate how easy it is to change the oil on my Golf. Top mounted paper filter, easy to access, can see what crud is in the filter and less waste than a metal cannisters. Vacuum tank eliminates the need to get under the car.

 

[Westy]

Lug nut torque on the Sprinter is something like 160 ft-lb; the wrench that comes with the van is something like 10" long... I carry a torque wrench.

The jack under the lug wrench will generate more than enough torque to remove any nut.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

The jack under the lug wrench will generate more than enough torque to remove any nut.

While I hold the van off the ground with my left hand...

 

[Westy]

While I hold the van off the ground with my left hand...

Sure, or leave the car on the ground and crack the lug nuts loose prior to lifting, which should be standard procedure in the first place.

Better yet, just call AAA.

 

[scrublover]

If we fit people like you guys are fitting bikes in cars, we could probably fit about 17 adults in that Mazda 3.

Mine is a 2014 model - it's surprisingly roomy, especially for one person trips with the rear seats folded down for cargo/sleeping area room. Bike(s) on the back, small cargo pod up top, Yakima sunshade off the roof makes for a nice dirtbag car camping setup.

Caveat: I'm short and usually on trips solo - lotsa' room!

17 people is likely a stretch.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Sure, or leave the car on the ground and crack the lug nuts loose prior to lifting, which should be standard procedure in the first place.

Better yet, just call AAA.

I did AAA for a while. Some years ago, I was headed down to Savannah in the van. Someplace on I81 southbound, just after dark, I managed to run over a deer carcass and one of the bones punctured a tire. The leak was slow enough that I managed to find an exit and a safe place to park. Called AAA, who said they couldn't get there for some hours. Changed the tire myself, and of course had to pump up the spare with a floor pump, went on my way.

Fuck AAA.

I also want the torque wrench when I'm putting the wheel back on.

 

[jimmydean]

 

[StiHacka]

View attachment 159746

Looks like a ford.

 

[Jm_]

Is that the new batmobile?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Is that the new batmobile?

It's an automobile with acne.

 

[jimmydean]

Looks like a ford.

Mercedes-AMG ONE | Future Vehicles

The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE, a Formula 1 vehicle is road-ready for the very first time.

www.mbusa.com

it features a highly-integrated powertrain with a turbocharged combustion engine and four independent electric motors: one for each front wheel, one linked to the crankcase, and one in the turbocharger itself. This results in over 1,000 horsepower and a blistering top speed of 217 mph

 

[Changleen]

ICE has lost, about time too. Immoral to keep making them.

 

[jimmydean]

The Audi version of the Taycan looks damn good and the new Taycan hot hatch it down right bitchn.

 

[stevew]

 

[Toshi]

This $12M Montana Mansion With a 50-Car Garage Is an Enthusiast's Dream House

With a 9,000 square-foot house and a garage with a dyno room and its own gas station, there’s not much else you’d need.

www.thedrive.com

 

[dump]

This $12M Montana Mansion With a 50-Car Garage Is an Enthusiast's Dream House

With a 9,000 square-foot house and a garage with a dyno room and its own gas station, there’s not much else you’d need.

www.thedrive.com

yuck

 

[Jm_]

This is the scooter the guy racing the tesla model 3 brought today to get around in the pits.

 

[Westy]

ICE has lost, about time too. Immoral to keep making them.

View attachment 159763

And multi-million dollar cars that are orders of magnitude more powerful than anyone can operate safely on public streets are totally moral/ethical.

 

[Changleen]

And multi-million dollar cars that are orders of magnitude more powerful than anyone can operate safely on public streets are totally moral/ethical.

You still have more guns than people, dude.

But that isn’t the point. This is shorthand for ‘we now have a new type of product that is quantitatively better in most every important way’, including one really important one about protecting our species.

They are obviously not at cost parity yet, but are quite affordable to some of us. Probably nearly everyone on here.

Given that we are actually in a climate emergency whether people admit that or not, us rich cunts should consider it basically our moral duty to adopt this stuff, even if it makes a tiny boo-boo on your personal worth.

Suck it up, do the right thing and buy an awesome piece of engineering that nearly everyone who actually buys says is better. You’re speeding up more research, adding demand, demonstrating adoption, and, eventually greening the second hand market. Pretty much a total win.

 

[Westy]

You still have more guns than people, dude.

But that isn’t the point. This is shorthand for ‘we now have a new type of product that is quantitatively better in most every important way’, including one really important one about protecting our species.

They are obviously not at cost parity yet, but are affordable to some of us. Probably nearly everyone on here.

Given that we are actually in a climate emergency whether people admit that or not, us rich cunts should consider it basically our moral duty to adopt this stuff, even if it makes a tiny boo-boo on your personal worth.

Suck it up, do the right thing and buy an awesome piece of engineering that nearly everyone who actually buys says is better. You’re speeding up more research, adding demand, demonstrating adoption, and, eventually greening the second hand market. Pretty much a total win.

And you methane belching sheep.

If this was a multi-vehicle household one would certainly be an electric car. However the infrastructure just isn't there in regards to availability and speed to cover what I and many others require in a vehicle. This is a big country with a lot of wide open spaces. I do my best to spend time in those empty places and quite frankly I don't have the free time to walk to them. I get range anxiety with 450 miles of gasoline that can be refilled in every 2 horse town. The battery technology and charging infrastructure will most likely be in place the next time I need a new vehicle.

I am also pretty sure my fancy gasoline econobox has lower lifetime carbon emissions than many of these high end electrical vehicles that create the illusion of being green because the operating impact is less while ignoring the fact that >$100,000 is still being injected into the "carbon economy". I am willing to bet good money that the most common car in a Tesla factory parking lot is a full sized pickup truck.'

 

[Changleen]

It sucks that the US has such poor charger coverage. I can drive nearly anywhere in NZ without having to make special route plans except for a small part of the (highly remote) west coast on the South Island. I can certainly drive anywhere on the North Island with no issue.

I am also pretty sure my fancy gasoline econobox has lower lifetime carbon emissions than many of these high end electrical vehicles that create the illusion of being green because the operating impact is less while ignoring the fact that >$100,000 is still being injected into the "carbon economy".

If you personally bought second hand this is probably true for you as an individual, but it is not ‘for the car’ which is kinda more relevant for the actual climate, and for most people around the world who have to some degree decarbonised their grid, it is actually not true.
However some US states are admittedly still in the retard column here.
Still, if you are buying almost any type of ‘new’ ICE car this kinda isn’t the point.

 

[Westy]

It sucks that the US has such poor charger coverage. I can drive nearly anywhere in NZ without having to make special route plans except for a small part of the (highly remote) west coast on the South Island. I can certainly drive anywhere on the North Island with no issue.
If you personally bought second hand this is probably true for you as an individual, but for most people around the world, it is actually not true. However some US states are admittedly still in the retard column here.
Still, if you are buying almost any type of ‘new’ ICE car this kinda isn’t the point.

Perhaps e-bikes are unethical when there is a pedal alternative.

The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction

As the world scrambles to replace fossil fuels with clean energy, the environmental impact of finding all the lithium required could become a major issue in its own right

www.wired.co.uk

 

[Changleen]

This type of article is, like some of your arguments, classic ‘Whataboutism’ mixed with some mathematical strawman for good measure. The scale of damage caused by fossil fuel extraction and use is many many orders of magnitude more than mining issues.

 

[Westy]

This type of article is, like some of your arguments, classic ‘Whataboutism’ mixed with some mathematical strawman for good measure. The scale of damage caused by fossil fuel extraction and use is many many orders of magnitude more than mining issues.

Sure thing. And uncontrolled mass consumerism of "green" products will solve the worlds problems, responsible lifestyles are irrelevant. I could feel that I am a good person if I could afford to drive a Porsche Taycan.

 

[Changleen]

Consumerism could do with a degree of tapering but honestly this is in the area of pointless plastic shit, not high impact once in several year large investments with ongoing impacts.
You’d do a lot more for society, people’s perception and the environment in the long term by driving a Taycan than buying say, an Audi Q8.

 

[Changleen]

Also generally, the ‘only the individual can fix climate change’ line is the root bullshit of corporate greenwashing.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Perhaps e-bikes are unethical when there is a pedal alternative.

The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction

As the world scrambles to replace fossil fuels with clean energy, the environmental impact of finding all the lithium required could become a major issue in its own right

www.wired.co.uk

As are carbon frames when there is a metal alternative.

 

[4xBoy]

Shocked I say.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/news/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html

 

[dump]

Shocked I say.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/news/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html

Car industry in North America is far from serious about electric cars... and this is 2020. Come 2040, I fully expect them to be in the same position.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Shocked I say.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/news/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html

Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.

 

[stoney]

Shocked I say.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/news/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html

I never installed a level 2 charger at the house when we had the Bolt. I only used the standard 120v charger to fill it up. I used a 240 maybe 5 times while I had it and that was when I was between meetings, just hanging out at a Whole Foods getting a free charge using their wifi. I usually drove 400-600 miles/week, starting with a full charge on Monday morning, by Friday I was down to <30 miles range. I would charge overnight, but only enough to recoup some mileage back, never fully charged until the weekend when I could leave it plugged in to charge for 2 straight days. I'm not sure how much people are driving in that they are not getting enough charge, but if you are daily driving and only have an electric car, you need to have a 240v installed at your house. I had an extra (or two) car to make sure that I could always get around, but it was never a concern for me.

Realistically, if my company was still paying for my car (based on mileage), I'd still have the Bolt. But they aren't and cost/mile of the Bolt could not beat a 11 y/o Subaru, including maintenance costs, and it is less versatile. I wanted the electric car to work, I just couldn't justify it. Even getting a Tesla or another equivalent (VW models) electric car, the cost/benefit on an individual near-term basis is really hard. And I have the cash-flow to make it a non-issue vs. most of the US population.

For the US to convert to electric, the govt needs to massively supplement or just flat out build charging stations across the US. There needs to be a station with 10+, high-speed chargers, with adapters for all models every 75 miles on every major Interstate, not just NYC to LA with offshoots to SEA and CHI. And the govt needs to substantially supplement the price of electric cars. Not in such a way that the price is still $30k (like the Bolt was), but to the point that it's cheaper to buy the electric option than the ICE option. Effectively giving manufacturers an 'our way or the highway' model of "we'll drive enough business your way to make it absolutely beneficial to make them, but you need to thin your profit margins on them to get your cars added to the list" type of deal. Unfortunately 1/3 (but vocalizes and holds 1/2 power) are so self-centered and ignorant that they can't see the forest through the trees regarding the consequences of our actions.
@Changleen

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

I never installed a level 2 charger at the house when we had the Bolt. I only used the standard 120v charger to fill it up. I used a 240 maybe 5 times while I had it and that was when I was between meetings, just hanging out at a Whole Foods getting a free charge using their wifi. I usually drove 400-600 miles/week, starting with a full charge on Monday morning, by Friday I was down to <30 miles range. I would charge overnight, but only enough to recoup some mileage back, never fully charged until the weekend when I could leave it plugged in to charge for 2 straight days. I'm not sure how much people are driving in that they are not getting enough charge, but if you are daily driving and only have an electric car, you need to have a 240v installed at your house. I had an extra (or two) car to make sure that I could always get around, but it was never a concern for me.

Realistically, if my company was still paying for my car (based on mileage), I'd still have the Bolt. But they aren't and cost/mile of the Bolt could not beat a 11 y/o Subaru, including maintenance costs, and it is less versatile. I wanted the electric car to work, I just couldn't justify it. Even getting a Tesla or another equivalent (VW models) electric car, the cost/benefit on an individual near-term basis is really hard. And I have the cash-flow to make it a non-issue vs. most of the US population.

For the US to convert to electric, the govt needs to massively supplement or just flat out build charging stations across the US. There needs to be a station with 10+, high-speed chargers, with adapters for all models every 75 miles on every major Interstate, not just NYC to LA with offshoots to SEA and CHI. And the govt needs to substantially supplement the price of electric cars. Not in such a way that the price is still $30k (like the Bolt was), but to the point that it's cheaper to buy the electric option than the ICE option. Effectively giving manufacturers an 'our way or the highway' model of "we'll drive enough business your way to make it absolutely beneficial to make them, but you need to thin your profit margins on them to get your cars added to the list" type of deal. Unfortunately 1/3 (but vocalizes and holds 1/2 power) are so self-centered and ignorant that they can't see the forest through the trees regarding the consequences of our actions.
@Changleen

The european model of 95gr co2/km fleet average + fines works wonders to accelerate electrification.

 

[jimmydean]

My entirely too wealthy friend had 3 level 3 chargers built into his house. He bought a model 3 last year but has friends who have them as well, so they can top off while visiting.

 

[Toshi]

My entirely too wealthy friend had 3 level 3 chargers built into his house. He bought a model 3 last year but has friends who have them as well, so they can top off while visiting.

Level 3? DC fast charging? Photos, please.

Level 2 and 1 are EVSE, not chargers, to play the pedant (surprise!). For those the charger proper is on the car itself. The level 1 and 2 EVSE are basically just fancy power cords that negotiate a charging rate.

 

[Adventurous]

I never installed a level 2 charger at the house when we had the Bolt. I only used the standard 120v charger to fill it up. I used a 240 maybe 5 times while I had it and that was when I was between meetings, just hanging out at a Whole Foods getting a free charge using their wifi. I usually drove 400-600 miles/week, starting with a full charge on Monday morning, by Friday I was down to <30 miles range. I would charge overnight, but only enough to recoup some mileage back, never fully charged until the weekend when I could leave it plugged in to charge for 2 straight days. I'm not sure how much people are driving in that they are not getting enough charge, but if you are daily driving and only have an electric car, you need to have a 240v installed at your house. I had an extra (or two) car to make sure that I could always get around, but it was never a concern for me.

Realistically, if my company was still paying for my car (based on mileage), I'd still have the Bolt. But they aren't and cost/mile of the Bolt could not beat a 11 y/o Subaru, including maintenance costs, and it is less versatile. I wanted the electric car to work, I just couldn't justify it. Even getting a Tesla or another equivalent (VW models) electric car, the cost/benefit on an individual near-term basis is really hard. And I have the cash-flow to make it a non-issue vs. most of the US population.

For the US to convert to electric, the govt needs to massively supplement or just flat out build charging stations across the US. There needs to be a station with 10+, high-speed chargers, with adapters for all models every 75 miles on every major Interstate, not just NYC to LA with offshoots to SEA and CHI. And the govt needs to substantially supplement the price of electric cars. Not in such a way that the price is still $30k (like the Bolt was), but to the point that it's cheaper to buy the electric option than the ICE option. Effectively giving manufacturers an 'our way or the highway' model of "we'll drive enough business your way to make it absolutely beneficial to make them, but you need to thin your profit margins on them to get your cars added to the list" type of deal. Unfortunately 1/3 (but vocalizes and holds 1/2 power) are so self-centered and ignorant that they can't see the forest through the trees regarding the consequences of our actions.
@Changleen

Right. We, as a country, do not have the infrastructure or financial incentives in place to motivate people to make the switch, and until we do, EVs will always be more of a hassle than an alternative.

Besides, if we were actually serious about lowering carbon emissions, there are plenty of ways we could do so now without relying on mass adoption of EVs. Incentive private businesses allowing people to work from home. Reduce speed limits and actually enforce it. Not saying EVs aren't the future, but we have quite a few stepping stones we can hit prior to mass adoption that'll help during the transition.