Coca Cola Freestyle Machines

[PHLBOS]

The only one I've seen is at a Buger King near where I live.  I had no real issues using them.

In terms of lines, I've encountered more waiting issues at the ordering counter than at the Freestyle machine.

[Zmapper]

I've become quite fond of the raspberry + soda of my choosing flavor. Peach Sprite is surprisingly also an offbeat yet tasty flavor.

[1995hoo]

You know, road geeking and avoiding fast food places sounds like a challenge.

Good job to those who can though

I bet there are indoor grills that plug into car lighter sockets.

You could just get an adapter for your lighter socket that turns it into a standard electrical plug. I've seen those for sale in stores like Radio Shack, though I've never had any reason to buy one. (There is a Radio Shack a few minutes' walk from our house. I go there when I need those round-style "button batteries.")

Not for long.

In any case, anything that cooks draws a crapload of current and will wreck your adapter and probably a lot of the car electrics. 

Yeah, of course. I was just commenting on what NE2 said. Notice I was careful not to comment on whether it would be a good idea to use that sort of thing for that purpose! (I could see the potential use for one of the plug adapters I described for things like charging mobile phones that use different connectors so you need not bring multiple car chargers–my wife has an iPhone 4s with the old connector and I have an iPhone 6 with the new smaller connector, for example. I've never bothered because I have a "Powerbag" messenger bag for travel–the bag has a built-in battery pack and cables, so I just use that and don't worry about a car charger.)

[kphoger]

We use a lighter socket adapter on every long trip. We have a portable DVD player for the kids; on the road, we plug it into the lighter socket and set it in between the front seats on a pillow, or sometimes just behind the console on top of a food cooler. I've also used an adapter on someone else's car at a campground in Ontario; we got in at 10:00 or 11:00 at night, and they let us pump up the air mattress with a power pump plugged into their car.

[sbeaver44]

While I appreciate the variety, especially in the non-carbonated choices (usually 1-2 elsewhere), I think I read somewhere these machines are capable of only serving 95 drinks per hour, so that's one every 38 seconds.  It's not hard to get a line in a busy restaurant, especially if there's kids that want to mess with the touch screen and try every flavor. 

More than anything though, I always see these as a single point of failure since many that have them only have 1 machine, and there's one nozzle.

[formulanone]

Hopefully the restaurants also have these installed:

North Carolina excluded

Why don't people get that public health is not simply individual health multiplied many times?

...sadly, the race to the bottom doesn't have a lap counter.

[kphoger]

The Five Guys in Old Town Wichita has two machines, I believe.  At any rate, I don't find it all that uncommon for people to block access to a soda fountain for at least 38 seconds.  IMO, more important to throughput (hey, we're roadgeeks, right) at these machines is the floor layout and the location of straws, lids, etc.

[roadman]

On the few ocassions I've encountered a Coca Cola freestyle dispenser (they're still quite rare in the Boston area), I can't help but think of the "Nutrimatic Drinks Dispenser" routine from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy:

When the 'Drink' button is pressed it makes an instant but highly detailed examination of the subject's taste buds, a spectroscopic analysis of the subject's metabolism, and then sends tiny experimental signals down the neural pathways to the taste centres of the subject's brain to see what is likely to be well received.

However, no-one knows quite why it does this because it then invariably delivers a cupful of liquid that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

[kphoger]

almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

Possibly my all-time favorite literary quote!

[Pete from Boston]

almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

Possibly my all-time favorite literary quote!

I paraphrase this with frequency.

[jp the roadgeek]

They also have them at Moe's Southwest Grill, including their own Vanilla At Peachtree flavor in regular and diet

[RG407]

I'm sort of a soda purist.  I don't like the different flavors the Freestyle machines have.  But I do love the fan that blows on the drink so you don't have to wait for the fizz to go down.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I love the Freestyle, because grape Mello Yello.

[KG909]

I think they're yet another way to make obesity fun.

We're not the fattest country  anymore so fuck it.

[NJRoadfan]

One fun fact about the Freestyle machines. The technologies involved were originally developed for ink jet printer cartridges.

[roadman65]

I heard that coke also tracks the syrup use and the store managers of the business using it does not have to order by phone or on line anymore.  I do not know if it is true or not, but with micro managing these days, it fits the MO.

[NJRoadfan]

The machine is linked via internet. Its actually quite common with vending machines nowadays. If the machine knows its running low on flavors, its best to have replacements shipped and on hand before it runs out!

[roadman65]

Plus less on inventory control as well making a manager or controllers job much easier.

[Pete from Boston]

I think they're yet another way to make obesity fun.

We're not the fattest country  anymore so fuck it.

In the old days it was "We're number one!" Now it is "We're not last!"

[BamaZeus]

I just wish they included birch beer from Fanta.  I mean they have every other Coke flavor available in some form or fashion.

[freebrickproductions]

I like the Freestyle machines. We have them at Firehouse Subs here in Huntsville.

[Roadrunner75]

They just installed a Freestyle machine at the Wawa near my work.  Previously I had only seen them in Five Guys and a fast food place somewhere.  A Coke rep was standing next to it on the first day helping people use it (as if it is that complicated...)  Of course, while waiting in the checkout line, there was a guy complaining about it to the cashier that he wanted the old machine back.  When she pointed over to it and told him that he just had to touch the soda that he wanted, she got a "Bahhh!" type reaction.  I'm all for it, as long as they keep the flavorings stocked.

[JakeFromNewEngland]

I've used these machines at my local Five Guys. I don't get soda, so I haven't tried any of the combos yet. It definitely is a lot more "fun" to use then the old machines.

[roadman65]

Burger King was out of Desani Water.  Must not be hooked up on line or someone did not load the shipment in.

Went there for lunch and had to get Sprite Zero with Raspberry in it instead.

[english si]

Burger King was out of Desani Water.

Couldn't they pour a fresh one out of the tap? I guess it wouldn't have the added carcinogens that make it Desani, rather than bottled tap water ;P

CocaCola pulled Desani from the UK after 36 days and I'm surprised the US still has it.