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6 minutes ago, tdhoosier said:

That new Genesis SUV is also insane  

 

Drove by Terry Lee Hyundai twice the other day and was like what is that?  Then heading back north I got stopped at the light and was able to make out the genesis symbol on the grill.  I was shocked.  It's sweet.  

Maybe in 4 or 5 years I can ungrade the Santa Fe with a softly used one.  

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9 minutes ago, tdhoosier said:

I was faced with a similar decision. I use it as a company car so it makes more sense for me to lease. I loved the Telluride and Palisade but The leases were off the charts due to the demand. We’re talking BMW X5 territory. Ended up getting the Volvo through a lease broker for a steal. Love driving the Volvo, but still wouldn’t mind all that crazy tech on the Kia...that blind spot camera and the intercom to the back seat are awesome.   

Kia/Hyundai are killing it: great value, tech, and interior appointments. That new Genesis SUV is also insane  

 

I hadn't been looking at vehicles for years so was really surprised by what Kia had done. Haven't tried the intercom yet and kids are grown so will never use the third row for people so it will likely be among the many features that I never, or rarely, use. One review said the upper trims were like luxury vehicles at 2/3 the cost. When I go in for an oil change, I'm thinking I'm going to have to take the Stinger for a test drive. 

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2 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

Drove by Terry Lee Hyundai twice the other day and was like what is that?  Then heading back north I got stopped at the light and was able to make out the genesis symbol on the grill.  I was shocked.  It's sweet.  

Maybe in 4 or 5 years I can ungrade the Santa Fe with a softly used one.  

I saw it at the Chicago auto show last year and the inside was easily just as nice or nicer than all of its luxury competitors. They also have a smaller GV70 coming out next year. 

image.thumb.jpeg.b459aa73275fe9682ea8ebc55d8e30f9.jpeg

 

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1 hour ago, Reacher said:

Anyone considering buying an electric pickup?

https://2021electriccars.com/2021-and-2022-electric-pickup-trucks-are-electric-trucks-the-future/

I'm looking forward to seeing these and how they do. Not looking to replace mine for several years at which time there should be several to choose from.

I think Elon Musk has been watching too much Total Recall. 

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1 hour ago, Reacher said:

Anyone considering buying an electric pickup?

https://2021electriccars.com/2021-and-2022-electric-pickup-trucks-are-electric-trucks-the-future/

I'm looking forward to seeing these and how they do. Not looking to replace mine for several years at which time there should be several to choose from.

My question is why the large push on electric with the current dependence of the battery technology making Appalachian strip mining look like a one person hot tub vs a football field.  

Actually my question is why the silence from the environmental people?  I'm for all kinds of conversation, clean and renewable energy.  

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1 hour ago, tdhoosier said:

I saw it at the Chicago auto show last year and the inside was easily just as nice or nicer than all of its luxury competitors. They also have a smaller GV70 coming out next year. 

image.thumb.jpeg.b459aa73275fe9682ea8ebc55d8e30f9.jpeg

 

To be fair, Genesis is their luxury line. But it does look to be a sweet ride. 

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1 minute ago, NotIThatLives said:

My question is why the large push on electric with the current dependence of the battery technology making Appalachian strip mining look like a one person hot tub vs a football field.  

Actually my question is why the silence from the environmental people?  I'm for all kinds of conversation, clean and renewable energy.  

I've seen some interesting charts showing that electric is only environmentally friendly in certain countries where they produce a lot of renewable energy. Here in the US, it is kind of a wash. You are right that adding in the manufacturing negates much of the positive impacts. I think there are a dozen or more electric vehicles coming in the next year or so. It will be interesting to see how Tesla fares when they have some competition. TFL truck reviews the the MachE vs Tesla Y and the Ford looks better to me-  https://youtu.be/rUjDBYQkhwM    https://youtu.be/hA_B7qPyUDA

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1 minute ago, Reacher said:

I've seen some interesting charts showing that electric is only environmentally friendly in certain countries where they produce a lot of renewable energy. Here in the US, it is kind of a wash. You are right that adding in the manufacturing negates much of the positive impacts. I think there are a dozen or more electric vehicles coming in the next year or so. It will be interesting to see how Tesla fares when they have some competition. TFL truck reviews the the MachE vs Tesla Y and the Ford looks better to me-  https://youtu.be/rUjDBYQkhwM    https://youtu.be/hA_B7qPyUDA

I'm really just talking about the mining of the battery.  Not to mention, I'm not sure if they have solved the issue of disposal at end of life either.  (Just searched, not really and definitely not on a large scale, they admit most are disposed of improperly).

Not to mention child labor in the Congo.  It's just a mess.  

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On 1/13/2021 at 3:40 PM, NotIThatLives said:

I'm really just talking about the mining of the battery.  Not to mention, I'm not sure if they have solved the issue of disposal at end of life either.  (Just searched, not really and definitely not on a large scale, they admit most are disposed of improperly).

Not to mention child labor in the Congo.  It's just a mess.  

It's not just battery technology, which isnt there. Solar is great in theory but how do you store the energy?  

I know what you are talking about with the mining of Africa. It lays waste to the landscape.  China doesn't give a crap about the environment and is heavily invested in African resources because they want to be the world power. 

Renewable energy isn't as environmentally friendly as most would think. You still need to mine coal to produce electricity for your hybrids and electric cars.

My wife is from Central Illinois.  In the last 4-5 years windmill farms have taken over the landscape.  Farmers sell the land for royalties.

People who have lived there for years have had their property value ruined.  And every time we go up there, I would estimated 30% arent functional. 

Progress was good to a point but we've crossed the threshold of equilibrium.  Think of it as a bell curve. We are on the downward slope where further progress is detrimental.  

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16 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

I had an 08 silverado that I bought with 130k.  Total piece of crap.  Transmission went out within 2 months.  I fixed about 5 sensors.  

I still have an 07 Silverado I bought with 88k.

The Vortex engine is great. But, the electrical components are crap. I have had to replace the oil pressure sensor, the fricking fuel pump and a damn drum brake because the actuator and spring sheared off and set on fire. I had to drive home from work and fix it in my wifes work parking lot at 9 pm. So I wasnt very happy about that. 

Chevy/GMC SUCKS!!

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I seem to attract weird car issues out of left field.

So my Jeep (4 inch lifted unlimited sport), which is basically what I think of as a real car/vehicle — stock, like an engine and dials not a computer with wheels), started doing what my shop called the “death whobble.”

Turns out this is a thing. You can Google jeep death whobble. The steering wheel starts to shake like crazy and you have to quickly slow down sometimes to almost a complete stop for it to go away. Keeping it simple, usually it’s loose suspension components / track bar).

Take it to the shop, some parts replaced, drive away and bam, death whobble jumps up a few miles down the road. Take it back, they put it back up and can’t find anything wrong — except my front tires (Nito Trail Grapplers 35 inch), are seriously worn. A couple new tires later, the death whobble is gone, it was just the tires, lol 

 

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3 hours ago, BDB said:

Does anyone have any experience with the Ram 1500 ecodiesel?  I am looking at a 2016 and they claim 19/27 mpg.  Does anyone know anything about them?

My son has a 1500 with the 5.7L. I know he is familiar with the eco diesel.  Let me know if there is something specific you want to know. You just want to know if the mpg is accurate? This site will you give you info on that- https://www.fuelly.com/car/ram/1500/2016?engineconfig_id=238&bodytype_id=&submodel_id= Look at the reviews to find something similar to what you have in mind.

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7 hours ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

I seem to attract weird car issues out of left field.

So my Jeep (4 inch lifted unlimited sport), which is basically what I think of as a real car/vehicle — stock, like an engine and dials not a computer with wheels), started doing what my shop called the “death whobble.”

Turns out this is a thing. You can Google jeep death whobble. The steering wheel starts to shake like crazy and you have to quickly slow down sometimes to almost a complete stop for it to go away. Keeping it simple, usually it’s loose suspension components / track bar).

Take it to the shop, some parts replaced, drive away and bam, death whobble jumps up a few miles down the road. Take it back, they put it back up and can’t find anything wrong — except my front tires (Nito Trail Grapplers 35 inch), are seriously worn. A couple new tires later, the death whobble is gone, it was just the tires, lol 

 

I can't believe that you don't know about Death Wobble. It's been a thing for 40+ years and predominately a Jeep thing. This one isn't you man and isn't out of left field. The tolerance on Jeep steering angles are extremely tight. The tires are kind of an obvious (my 14' is doing it bad right now) but a lot of times, especially with you lifted Jeep, It comes down to Caster angle, and having the proper pitman arm to keep the drag link as flat as possible. I hope you found matching tires.. I can't as mine are discontinued. I've got to buy all 5.    

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On 1/13/2021 at 3:26 PM, KoB2011 said:

To be fair, Genesis is their luxury line. But it does look to be a sweet ride. 

Also a big Hyundai/Kia fan. I put a combined 375K on a 2007 and a 2011 Santa Fe. No major issues with either one. I wound up selling the 2011 for parts when the flywheel broke, and gave the 2007 to a guy for helping me move recently. 

I like the look of the Telluride/Palisade, but I finally relented and bought a "truck". I haul quite a bit of lumber/mulch/etc and got tired of folding seats and having to clean the interior out so much. The only thing that kept me from buying a truck earlier is fuel. I've got a 40 mile round trip commute (or had anyway) and don't want to pay for gas on a V8 for that amount of driving. Plus, I don't tow anything. 

So, I bought a 2019 Honda Ridgeline....hence the parentheses in "truck". It's basically a Pilot with the back cargo roof cut off. But, it's the only midsize pickup that can lay a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat, and gets about 23mpg. Is it going to win any off-road competitions? Nope. But, it does exactly what I need it to do. 

Also, if you ever get the chance, the Honda Pre-owned Certified Plus warranty is fantastic. I bought the truck with 9000 miles on it, and it came with a factory 5 year, 75K mile bumper to bumper warranty and 100K power train warranty. That's actually better than Honda's new car warranty. 

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On 1/16/2021 at 9:32 PM, mrflynn03 said:

It's not just battery technology, which isnt there. Solar is great in theory but how do you store the energy?  

I know what you are talking about with the mining of Africa. It lays waste to the landscape.  China doesn't give a crap about the environment and is heavily invested in African resources because they want to be the world power. 

Renewable energy isn't as environmentally friendly as most would think. You still need to mine coal to produce electricity for your hybrids and electric cars.

My wife is from Central Illinois.  In the last 4-5 years windmill farms have taken over the landscape.  Farmers sell the land for royalties.

People who have lived there for years have had their property value ruined.  And every time we go up there, I would estimated 30% arent functional. 

Progress was good to a point but we've crossed the threshold of equilibrium.  Think of it as a bell curve. We are on the downward slope where further progress is detrimental.  

The coal factor is becoming less and less relevant. At least in the Midwest, the vast majority of coal plants are reaching their end of life and a lot of major generators are opting to simply retire them vs overhaul and bring them up to new EPA standards. 

Some will be converted to natural gas. Gas has its drawbacks on the mining side, but burns significantly cleaner and requires about 1/3 of the personnel to run a gas fired plant. 

What's the future? One option is battery storage. Yes, industrial scale batteries aren't eco friendly to mine either, but their projected life is significantly longer than the ones used in cars. And their impact could be much more significant. Instead of windmills dotting the landscape in Illinois/Indiana, massive wind/solar farms could be built in west Texas and east New Mexico, provided there was battery and transmission infrastructure to move the stored power. Think of them as the equivalent to natural gas tanks. With the right infrastructure, cleanly generated energy could be moved to wherever it is needed, with only small "on demand" gas plants needed to provide during high demand times. 

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On 1/13/2021 at 3:27 PM, Reacher said:

I've seen some interesting charts showing that electric is only environmentally friendly in certain countries where they produce a lot of renewable energy. Here in the US, it is kind of a wash. You are right that adding in the manufacturing negates much of the positive impacts. I think there are a dozen or more electric vehicles coming in the next year or so. It will be interesting to see how Tesla fares when they have some competition. TFL truck reviews the the MachE vs Tesla Y and the Ford looks better to me-  https://youtu.be/rUjDBYQkhwM    https://youtu.be/hA_B7qPyUDA

I've been wanting hydrogen fuel cells to take over battery power for automotive use for 15 years now. 

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16 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

The coal factor is becoming less and less relevant. At least in the Midwest, the vast majority of coal plants are reaching their end of life and a lot of major generators are opting to simply retire them vs overhaul and bring them up to new EPA standards. 

Some will be converted to natural gas. Gas has its drawbacks on the mining side, but burns significantly cleaner and requires about 1/3 of the personnel to run a gas fired plant. 

What's the future? One option is battery storage. Yes, industrial scale batteries aren't eco friendly to mine either, but their projected life is significantly longer than the ones used in cars. And their impact could be much more significant. Instead of windmills dotting the landscape in Illinois/Indiana, massive wind/solar farms could be built in west Texas and east New Mexico, provided there was battery and transmission infrastructure to move the stored power. Think of them as the equivalent to natural gas tanks. With the right infrastructure, cleanly generated energy could be moved to wherever it is needed, with only small "on demand" gas plants needed to provide during high demand times. 

My stepdad is a senior electrician at a coal fired power plant. Coal fired plants will eventually go the way of the Dingo.

I've seen them wind and solar farms out west and in my in laws backyards. They are far from being efficient.  

I have no problem with clean energy, but nuclear need to be a part of that discussion.  3 meltdowns in 80 yrs?  How many oil spills in that period.

Also, down with hydrogen fuel cells. My stepdad installed a homemade one in a truck as an experiment.  Work pretty well. 

An old man once told me, there are many ways to Dublin.  Point is, there isn't one single solution, but multiple approaches to solving problems.  

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1 minute ago, mrflynn03 said:

My stepdad is a senior electrician at a coal fired plant. Coal fired plants will eventually go the way of the Dingo.

I've seen them wind and solar farms out west and in my in laws backyards.

I have no problem with clean energy, but nuclear need to be a part of that discussion.  3 meltdowns in 80 yrs?  How many oil spills in that period.

Also, down with hydrogen fuel cells. My stepdad installed a homemade one in an truck and an experiment.  Work pretty well. 

Issue with nukes is the costs are so high to build due to the engineering requirements that they can be hard to operate profitably. Not sure if anyone keeps up with Ohio news, but that's what's at the core of the corruption behind House Bill 6. Certain generators can't operate their nuke plants profitably because power prices are relatively low at the moment and their sunk costs are so high. 

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