Wow,good story but glad you all got back to cars(the discussion could be closed you know)-Kevin
After several days of driving the new Camry per the manual’s protocol for breaking in the engine, I’m delighted to find I’m getting about 28 mph so far! That’s about 8 - 10 mph better than I averaged in the ex-Impala. Haven’t had it out for an extended long highway drive yet and will interested to see what the gas mileage is for that. It has had some relatively brief jaunts on the highway as part of the mixed driving at varying speeds without hard accelerations yet. The more I drive it, the more I like it. Think this is going to be a nice car to own for many years. But I doubt I’ll ever crank it up faster than perhaps in the 80+ mph keeping up on the interstate. After all, aside from what is safe per traffic and road conditions, being able to keep a car under control at high speed involves far more than what the engine will do; it is how the car holds the road and stays under control as well as the driver’s control. And I don’t have the same reactions and fine tune control I had 35 years ago when younger. Last time I drove hard and fast was a 800 mile round trip last November when I averaged driving about 75 to 85 the whole way on the intersate on a pair of very windy days, dashing to and from a funeral between major winter storm systems. I couldn’t have managed that kind of driving if the roads hadn’t been dry and clear.
@MarkM: Thank you. My mom was an interesting lady.
The Short Hills story is from the 1970s. Things may have changed. And I wouldn’t call it profiling. To me,that connotes race or ethnic background. Anyone unknown was suspicious.
@jtsanders
I have to disagree with you
To me, that sounds EXACTLY like profiling
Profiling doesn’t have to involve race or ethnic background. Many of my older colleagues say they were routinely pulled over simply for having a beard and long hair in the 1970s
“Anyone unknown was suspicious.”
That clearly states that strangers are automatically NOT given the benefit of the doubt
Almost sounds like “guilty until proven innocent”
Again, NOT anywhere I’d want to pass through
@Marnet; Curious to know if the mileage you are quoting is based on some computer gizmo or manual calculation from fill-ups. In my experience, the computers on the newer cars are mostly a bit optimistic, except my Mazda that is so spot on that makes me useless.
@galant:
So far just the car’s computer. Have used not quite a quarter tank so far. The test is tracking actual miles and gallons needed each fill up for several months to really know. The ex-Impala’s computer always claimed a bit better mpg than actual results. I always track, compute and log mpg myself and compare to the onboard computer. I anticipate getting 5 to 7 better mpg in the new Camry. Time will tell.
Glad you’re liking your new car and its fuel economy. Cars get both quicker and more efficient every year. It’s like magic. I keep wondering when it will end, but so far automakers have kept the improvements coming . Many ordinary family cars are quicker and handle better than sporty cars of the eighties. And affordable sporty cars perform like exotic superstars of that era.
@MarkM: Thank you. Overall I’m liking the Camry. Some aspects of the Impala I very much miss including the interior fit and finish was nicer than the Camry. But, on balance, I think I made a well reasoned choice which I hope proves wise. The Camry does handle quite easily and nimbly. Still getting used to where its four corners are and need to find a protected spot to practice parallel parking with it. Supposed to rain this afternoon, so think I’ll take it for its first rainy weather spin to get a feel for it, especially what type of traction the tires have on wet pavement. Tomorrow the body side molding to protect against door dings in parking lots gets put on. Figure it is well worth the cost.
I’m willing to bet that within very few years, the majority of cars sold other than luxury class and trucks will be hybrids just to achieve the CAFE standards. Hopefully, battery technology will continue to advance such that they take up less space and allow for fuller cargo space in hybrid cars. I considered a hybrid Camry but between the tiny trunk space and replacement cost for a hybrid battery being more than what I’d save in gas costs, I opted for the traditional 4 cylinder. But I expect the next car in another decade plus (at least I hope it’s that far off!) to be a hybrid.
Lets do away with this this junk “Gasahol” and our 2014 engines and drivetrains will be plenty good
(this stuff is trouble from the get go)-Kevin
@Marnet
Great story. I have one too that some find hard to believe. I was sailing with a friend in his small 17 foot 800 lb day sailer when we passed an IO motorboat , also about 18 feet long with a stalled motor. He ran the battery down trying to start it. We had no auxiliary on the day sailer but did have a quartering wind toward the public landing just a few miles away. We offered him a tow to which he just laughed as he said sure. . I assured him We could do it but he had better sit down when our boat took up the slack, to which he again laughed . He laughed until our day sailer in 15 knot winds jerked the boat under him and sent him spawling. We had no problem towing him to the landing at a good sustained speed of about 3 knots. We almost , but not quite once got a youngster up on skis behind our 18 foot Dart catamaran. The 20 foot version can pull skiers and a friend with his scow has as well. We do a lot of foolish things with them and they are much more capable then most give them credit. My JY can sail backwards, up wind…in ideal conditions though.( albeit slowly )
Marnet seems very concerned about the sun roofs, but in my experience a factory installed sunroof is unlikely to leak, and they seem to be installed on most cars these days whether you want them or not. I have a 12 year old Lexus ES300, never had any problems with the sunroof. For what it’s worth, my '99 Suburban is the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I know that people that lived through the '70s tend to avoid American cars (real pieces of junk in that era), but they have improved substantially since then.
@Yath: I had asked about sunroofs leaking as I was finding that most of the car models with the engine/transmission combination I was interested came with sunroofs. But I found what I wanted withOUT a sunroof two weeks ago and am contentedly driving my new car with no concerns about a leaking prone sunroof.
Good for you, @Marnet. My partner always liked them and I never did. I just don’t like the sun reflecting off my glasses and the wind blowing grit around. So it mostly stayed closed in the old car. The new car doesn’t have one and I don’t think either of us miss it. I wish you could buy the nicer trim levels without getting one. Luckily, even a mid-level Elantra was fairly snazzy and well-equipped compared to our top-of-the-line 1994 Civic EX. The audio system is far better sounding (and has satellite) , we have seat heaters we don’t need, the driver’s seat is adjustable for height, and there are a few more niceties. Even ordinary cars are remarkably well equipped now.
About the only times my sunroof gets opened up is when I do the double button push’n’hold on the key FOB in the summer time. My front windows roll down, my sunroof opens and all the day’s heat is allowed out of the car to help cool down the interior.
I’m a sunroof addict. Anytime the temperature rises above 50F, it’s wide open. Above 40F, it’s partially open. I love wind in my hair and the sun on my forehead. I keep a scarf in the car to prevent a stiff neck on the cooler days… I finally understand the English in their MGTs and MGAs with their scarfs wrapped around their necks in the old movies.
I love the look of those flying/driving scarves. Then I remember Isadora Duncan’s demo of how scarves and cars don’t always mix. I’m sure your scarf doesn’t fly behind you for six or eight feet, unlike hers. One curious fact is that her fatal scarf was a gift from Pteston Sturges’s mother, who designed scarves and had that one specially made as a gift for Isadora Duncan. Mrs. Sturges had piles of money and like to hang out with the world’s artsy folk, mostly in Europe. Little Preston got dragged around by his mother, which didn’t do much for his schooling, but gave him intimate knowledge of how the rich.and artistic live, info he used in his films.
Mine’s just a normal budget scarf. But I learned why the ol’ films always showed the English in their roadsters with scarfs by actually getting a stiff neck. It suddenly dawned on me why the English wore them. Smart people, those Brits!
Would have been even smarter not to have roadsters in that climate. Brrrr.