Random Thoughts

[vdeane]

What percentage of people on this forum actually like me?

I imagine the answer is complex.

[gonealookin]

I have a tough time coming back to my own car after driving a rental car.  The rental this time was a Chevy Equinox, and mine is a 2012 Toyota RAV4.

1.  The Chevy's gearshift was a steering column lever, mine is a center column handle.  "Park" was a button at the end of the lever (I kept pushing that button when I was trying to shift into forward or reverse).

2.  The Chevy's parking brake is a dashboard button, mine is the center column "erection" handle.

3.  Chevy was push-button start, mine is turn the key.

I always have this problem when I get home... step on the brake pedal and push the button, oh wait.

Rental cars also definitely make me appreciate the value of a backup camera

[Max Rockatansky]

I have a tough time coming back to my own car after driving a rental car.  The rental this time was a Chevy Equinox, and mine is a 2012 Toyota RAV4.

1.  The Chevy's gearshift was a steering column lever, mine is a center column handle.  "Park" was a button at the end of the lever (I kept pushing that button when I was trying to shift into forward or reverse).

2.  The Chevy's parking brake is a dashboard button, mine is the center column "erection" handle.

3.  Chevy was push-button start, mine is turn the key.

I always have this problem when I get home... step on the brake pedal and push the button, oh wait.

Rental cars also definitely make me appreciate the value of a backup camera

This reads more to me like an endorsement for an older Toyota. 

Ironically bad GM cars from that 2010s era largely drove me to buy the Japanese manufactures this decade.  Some of the horror stories I hear from Chevy service techs about recent models doesn't ring like an endorsement.   

[gonealookin]

This reads more to me like an endorsement for an older Toyota. 

Ironically bad GM cars from that 2010s era largely drove me to buy the Japanese manufactures this decade.  Some of the horror stories I hear from Chevy service techs about recent models doesn't ring like an endorsement.   

The point there, which I may not have made effectively, is that when I drive a rental car I have to do a lot of thinking about the steps required to operate it.  After 12 days this time, I've gotten used to those steps and now have to de-adjust to drive my own car.

Yeah, I wasn't terribly impressed with the Chevy vs. other rentals I've driven recently.

[Scott5114]

I hate renting a car with a pushbutton start. It makes me paranoid I'm going to lock my keys in my car.

[Rothman]

I hate renting a car with a pushbutton start. It makes me paranoid I'm going to lock my keys in my car.

I'm more paranoid about cars that automatically unlock when the key fob is near.  Makes me think the doors weren't locked.

That said, when we bought our Forester, the salesman assured my wife that it was impossible to lock the keys in the car.  If anything, you'd leave the keys in an unlocked car...which is better...?

[Max Rockatansky]

My Challenger has a push button starter.  If the key fob is in the car the door will always open from the outside so long as the shifter is in park.

[kphoger]

I hadn't driven a car with an automatic transmission in probably a year and a half.  But our eldest son just bought his first vehicle a couple of weeks ago, so I had to teach him how to drive an automatic.  Of course, that only took about a half-hour because there are only a couple of differences if you already know how to drive a stick.  But, before I could teach him, I had to back out of the driveway myself and drive around the corner to a traffic-free spot.  Just in that block and a half, it took a surprising amount of brainpower to overcome the urge to reach for the clutch pedal and gearshift.

I've heard more than one story from people who were accustomed to driving stick shift, were driving an automatic instead one day, had to stop to avoid an accident, instinctively reached for both clutch and brake pedals, ended up with both feet on the brake pedal instead, and came to a quite-unexpectedly sudden stop.

[Scott5114]

I hate renting a car with a pushbutton start. It makes me paranoid I'm going to lock my keys in my car.

I'm more paranoid about cars that automatically unlock when the key fob is near.  Makes me think the doors weren't locked.

That said, when we bought our Forester, the salesman assured my wife that it was impossible to lock the keys in the car.  If anything, you'd leave the keys in an unlocked car...which is better...?

Well, the problem I had is that the unlock button on my key fob on my daily driver doesn't work. So I've gotten in the habit of acting like it's 1997 and pressing the interior lock button when getting out of the car, then unlocking it manually with the key. (The fob's lock button still works, but if I use that and then unlock manually, the car honks until I start it.)

So as long as I had the rental with the push button start, I kept opening the door and hitting lock, then climbing out and checking all my pockets to make sure I still had the keys before I shut the door. I'm not sure how the car would have prevented me from locking the keys in it, short of blatantly ignoring my pressing the lock button, which it didn't seem to be doing.

[kphoger]

I'm not sure how the car would have prevented me from locking the keys in it, short of blatantly ignoring my pressing the lock button, which it didn't seem to be doing.

In my limited experience, if the car senses the key fob in proximity, then it will unlock the door as you close it.

I've gotten in the habit of acting like it's 1997 and pressing the interior lock button when getting out of the car, then unlocking it manually with the key.

That's exactly what I do every day.  But that's because my car key doesn't have buttons.  It's just a key with a chip in it.  Then again, my car is a 2002.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I am getting Christmas ads already

[gonealookin]

I'm more paranoid about cars that automatically unlock when the key fob is near.  Makes me think the doors weren't locked.

I usually check the operation of the locks when I have a new rental car by walking a short distance away, setting the keys down and then going back to check that the doors are actually locked.

The other feature the Chevy had that became very annoying was a collision avoidance system that sent a decently strong vibration through the driver's seat when it sensed an impending collision.  I didn't mind that on occasions such as, I'm ready to back out of a parking space, I shift into reverse and it senses a pedestrian in the area.  But as you'd expect with a system like that, the false alarms were ridiculous.  The situation that set it off every damned time:  at a four-way signalized intersection, I'd be making a left turn at the same time someone coming from the opposite direction was also making a left turn.  "Oh no, head-on collision!!" said the vibrating seat.  There were other times I had no clue what danger it was warning me about.  If I owned a car that came with that "feature" I would have to disable it.

[Max Rockatansky]

I am getting Christmas ads already

Here is how to get them all year long:

https://www.bronners.com/scs/checkout.ssp?is=register&login=T&reset=T&newcust=T&fragment=login-register#login-register

[Max Rockatansky]

I was Guest 8 two days in a row at In-n-Out Burger.

[Rothman]

We are all Guest 8

[Big John]

I was Guest 8 two days in a row at In-n-Out Burger.

As in you were the guest ate two days in a row at In-n-Out?

[Max Rockatansky]

I was Guest 8 two days in a row at In-n-Out Burger.

As in you were the guest ate two days in a row at In-n-Out?

Yes, there is a location next to my hotel within walking distance.  I'm not inclined to be driving around during rush hour in Monterey. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Lex Luthur fat shamed Otis for weighing 200 pounds in the 1978 Superman movie. 

[formulanone]

Lex Luthur fat shamed Otis for weighing 200 pounds in the 1978 Superman movie. 

To be fair, that may have created a hazard between the narrow subway platform and wall.

That's why Lex eventually allowed for a wellness program as one of the job benefits.

[Max Rockatansky]

Lex Luthur fat shamed Otis for weighing 200 pounds in the 1978 Superman movie. 

To be fair, that may have created a hazard between the narrow subway platform and wall.

That's why Lex eventually allowed for a wellness program as one of the job benefits.

I feel as though Otisburg is more fair compensation for the hostile work environment.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Why is Kankakee, Illinois so underrated?

[Max Rockatansky]

Why is Kankakee, Illinois so underrated?

The flatness is a turnoff.

[GaryV]

Why is Kankakee, Illinois so underrated?

How can anyone take it seriously with a name like that?

[dlsterner]

Why is Kankakee, Illinois so underrated?

I think it was Wallethub that ranked it low.

[Scott5114]

Why is Kankakee, Illinois so underrated?

How can anyone take it seriously with a name like that?

Kankakee sounds like it should be where the Sununu family is from.