OT - NO POLITICS August edition - The summer wind came blowin' in……

[TD Charlie]

Did some climbing today. First time doing it. Kids took a little time getting into it but had a blast. This particular wall was 65 feet and I got through maybe 50 feet of it. The holds got a bit too small and I was out of gas. Plus, once I stopped to think I would think too much and panic. It gets a little disorienting looking down too. The twins had mixed reviews, one said he would definitely go back, and the other (who was legit terrified for the first hour) said “maybe.” My better half and I will definitely go back.

 

[Gee Wally]

My father likes to say “i can’t take it with me!”

He made a great choice too. Love those Mazda suvs.

Yep.
The Bride drives a CX-5. Been great.
This one is a CX-30. AWD. Apple Car Play. All the safety sensors, etc…
What I really like is as a return long time customer they cut me some slack.
It’s 2021 Mazda Pre owned certified car. Super clean. Carfax included.

$20, 300.

Came with a 12 month bumper to bumper warranty and a 5 year powertrain because its a Certified vehicle. Only 29K miles on it. Should last him a good while. We pick it up today at 1:30.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

I just turned the heat on a little bit in the house I'm at because the thermostat said 65F and I was actually chilly. This summer was so hot I must have gotten used to being like 90+ everyday.

I had 3 boxfans in the windows and the rest of the windows open, and It was 55 degrees in the house. No wonder why I slept more than 4 hours for the first time in months.

 

[Ladyfan]

Yep.
The Bride drives a CX-5. Been great.
This one is a CX-30. AWD. Apple Car Play. All the safety sensors, etc…
What I really like is as a return long time customer they cut me some slack.
It’s 2021 Mazda Pre owned certified car. Super clean. Carfax included.

$20, 300.

Came with a 12 month bumper to bumper warranty and a 5 year powertrain because its a Certified vehicle. Only 29K miles on it. Should last him a good while. We pick it up today at 1:30.

I have had 2 Mazda's (Mazda 6) and liked both. The dealer in Nashua is decent also.

The CX-30 was in the top 3 I was looking at when I purchased my last car.

I ended up with a Subaru Crosstrek Limited and have had it a year and a half and like it. If I still like it at ten years it is a good one. The Subaru is the only new car dealer in my town, and I spoke to a couple of people who had bought a car from them and got good reviews. It is my first (in over 50 years) automatic. I still look to shift and try and hit the clutch. I know a few people who have this car (@GahdenRinkRat and @Alicat) who recommended it and like theirs.

 

[TD Charlie]

Yep.
The Bride drives a CX-5. Been great.
This one is a CX-30. AWD. Apple Car Play. All the safety sensors, etc…
What I really like is as a return long time customer they cut me some slack.
It’s 2021 Mazda Pre owned certified car. Super clean. Carfax included.

$20, 300.

Came with a 12 month bumper to bumper warranty and a 5 year powertrain because its a Certified vehicle. Only 29K miles on it. Should last him a good while. We pick it up today at 1:30.

Congrats! The lady friends mother has a cx30, and despite them telling me how cramped it is all the time I never had an issue driving it. Her brother has a six speed Mazda 3 wagon too. Really sharp cars.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I had a Mazda 5 for 8 years, great car for when we lived closer to Boston. Sliding doors and a 3rd row in a pinch but it parked like a sedan. Probably would have bought another one but the suspension did not like dirt roads, my only real complaint.

Now that parking is not an issue, we went all in and got the 2023 Toyota Sienna. I am mini van for life now. That thing is great, plus its hybrid so I get 33 MPG in the winter running studded snow tyres, and 41 in the summer. It is FWD but 5 year in Vermont I have had issues all of once and it was friends driveway I just park at the bottom of now. Other than that the Nokian Studded beast through anything.

I walked into the local dealer all proud of myself because I finally came around to justifying a new car and... they said cool, its a 1 year wait. So I started emailing all of the toyota dealers in New England and one in Waterville ME had a Sienna allocation no one on their waitlist wanted because it was FWD. Sales manager kept his word and 6 weeks later we had a nice overnight trip to Maine to pickup the new car. MSRP with No Doc. Fee.

My daily driver is a 2006 Scion XA I bought on craiglist for $2900 in 2019. It has 135k miles on it, I hope I can get it to 2031 so I can get an antique plate. Best purchase ever.

 

[jgatie]

Since we are talking cars, here's my new beast. After 24 years of driving nothing but Jeep Wranglers, my old broken down back needed some luxury and a better ride. It's a 2024 Grand Cherokee Limited. And due to incentives (they just shut down the plant due to a glut) it was $14K cheaper than the Wrangler I was looking at. It's quicker, more nimble, and my back thanks me.

 

[TD Charlie]

I had a Mazda 5 for 8 years, great car for when we lived closer to Boston. Sliding doors and a 3rd row in a pinch but it parked like a sedan. Probably would have bought another one but the suspension did not like dirt roads, my only real complaint.

Now that parking is not an issue, we went all in and got the 2023 Toyota Sienna. I am mini van for life now. That thing is great, plus its hybrid so I get 33 MPG in the winter running studded snow tyres, and 41 in the summer. It is FWD but 5 year in Vermont I have had issues all of once and it was friends driveway I just park at the bottom of now. Other than that the Nokian Studded beast through anything.

I walked into the local dealer all proud of myself because I finally came around to justifying a new car and... they said cool, its a 1 year wait. So I started emailing all of the toyota dealers in New England and one in Waterville ME had a Sienna allocation no one on their waitlist wanted because it was FWD. Sales manager kept his word and 6 weeks later we had a nice overnight trip to Maine to pickup the new car. MSRP with No Doc. Fee.

My daily driver is a 2006 Scion XA I bought on craiglist for $2900 in 2019. It has 135k miles on it, I hope I can get it to 2031 so I can get an antique plate. Best purchase ever.

I was wanting a Highlander Hybrid or a Sienna Hybrid, i just couldn’t touch the tag at the time. The Sorento hybrid i ended up with has been great for us though. Three straight summers to Florida, countless treks to NH. The dash says 44.9mpg right now but I’m sure it’s inflated a bit. Same as you in the winter, it will dip dramatically to “only” 33-35. I may never go back from a hybrid after this.

I’m honestly quite stunned you were about to get a 23 Sienna at sticker, without waiting two years for it.

 

[Gee Wally]

Since we are talking cars, here's my new beast. After 24 years of driving nothing but Jeep Wranglers, my old broken down back needed some luxury and a better ride. It's a 2024 Grand Cherokee Limited. And due to incentives (they just shut down the plant due to a glut) it was $14K cheaper than the Wrangler I was looking at. It's quicker, more nimble, and my back thanks me.


View attachment 905977

I f***ing love my jeep.
They stopped making the Cherokee Trailhawk last year. But supposedly will be coming out with a revised Cherokee in ‘26. I’ll most likely jump on that as soon as available.

 

[jgatie]

I f***ing love my jeep.
They stopped making the Cherokee Trailhawk last year. But supposedly will be coming out with a revised Cherokee in ‘26. I’ll most likely jump on that as soon as available.

I've driven a Wrangler through a blizzard on the Mass Pike when it was just me and the staties out there and never got stuck. The Grand Cherokee doesn't have the same 4WD system, but then again, we don't have the winters we used to, and my off-road days are long behind me. So I'll swap a little luxury in and lose the ability to drive up a near vertical incline in the snow.

 

[Gee Wally]

I've driven a Wrangler through a blizzard on the Mass Pike when it was just me and the staties out there and never got stuck. The Grand Cherokee doesn't have the same 4WD system, but then again, we don't have the winters we used to, and my off-road days are long behind me. So I'll swap a little luxury in and lose the ability to drive up a near vertical incline in the snow.

Thats what was appealing to me with the Trailhawk. Has the same off road capability as the Wrangler. Trail rated. I didnt need anything as big as the Grand Cherokee. The Cherokee was ‘just right’ but I wanted tank capabilities.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I was wanting a Highlander Hybrid or a Sienna Hybrid, i just couldn’t touch the tag at the time. The Sorento hybrid i ended up with has been great for us though. Three straight summers to Florida, countless treks to NH. The dash says 44.9mpg right now but I’m sure it’s inflated a bit. Same as you in the winter, it will dip dramatically to “only” 33-35. I may never go back from a hybrid after this.

I’m honestly quite stunned you were about to get a 23 Sienna at sticker, without waiting two years for it.

I think what helped me is you can't custom order from Toyota, they just allocate vehicles to dealerships. So when they get a car they go trough the list and see if it is close enough to what people want. We got the base LE with FWD, works for us but based on all of the blank buttons apparently it can do alot more haha. I do like the adaptive cruise control and auto high beams. Lane assist I shut off, dont get it.

 

[TD Charlie]

I think what helped me is you can't custom order from Toyota, they just allocate vehicles to dealerships. So when they get a car they go trough the list and see if it is close enough to what people want. We got the base LE with FWD, works for us but based on all of the blank buttons apparently it can do alot more haha. I do like the adaptive cruise control and auto high beams. Lane assist I shut off, dont get it.

I have lane keeping, active highway assist, and adaptive cruise. It’s unbelievably helpful on longer rides but i can see why it’s not for everyone. It definitely tried to swerve me violently into a concrete barricade last year.

I think most dealerships do their “custom orders” the same way you described, but they just aren’t very up front about it. Countless people I know that have ordered cars through a dealership received phone calls for months with a pitch of, “hey so we got this model in, it has these options but not these, do you want that one?”

I assume they use all the same trim panels on a hybrid as they would the ICE touring, so just picture your car with another $30k in options. That’s what you’re missing. Ventilated seats. Heated rear seats. Triple zone climate. Double sunroofs. Multi zone infotainment options. Probably not much you’ll really miss. At the end of the day your range is still over 600 miles and it fits the family and everyone’s travel bags

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I have lane keeping, active highway assist, and adaptive cruise. It’s unbelievably helpful on longer rides but i can see why it’s not for everyone. It definitely tried to swerve me violently into a concrete barricade last year.

I think most dealerships do their “custom orders” the same way you described, but they just aren’t very up front about it. Countless people I know that have ordered cars through a dealership received phone calls for months with a pitch of, “hey so we got this model in, it has these options but not these, do you want that one?”

I assume they use all the same trim panels on a hybrid as they would the ICE touring, so just picture your car with another $30k in options. That’s what you’re missing. Ventilated seats. Heated rear seats. Triple zone climate. Double sunroofs. Multi zone infotainment options. Probably not much you’ll really miss. At the end of the day your range is still over 600 miles and it fits the family and everyone’s travel bags

Yea, not missing it, seems like alot to break. I read an interesting article when justifying going new that the majority of the non linear depreciation is with the higher level trims.

Also, only the LE comes with the added middle seat for the second row to make it an 8 seater. Folds neatly in the back when not needed.

 

[TD Charlie]

Yea, not missing it, seems like alot to break. I read an interesting article when justifying going new that the majority of the non linear depreciation is with the higher level trims.

Also, only the LE comes with the added middle seat for the second row to make it an 8 seater. Folds neatly in the back when not needed.

I’ve noticed the same thing on depreciation. After a few years, the trim badges don’t mean a damn thing in a lot of cases.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I’ve noticed the same thing on depreciation. After a few years, the trim badges don’t mean a damn thing in a lot of cases.

Yea when I was looking at used all I cared about was if the carfax said it was from the south. Leather, video, sunroof, etc. Meh.

 

[GordonHowe]

The Sudden Loss of the Gaudreau Brothers Stuns Their Rural Hometown

The night before their sister’s wedding, John and Matty Gaudreau were fatally struck by a car while riding bicycles near their family home in southern New Jersey.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Alicat]

Love my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Limited. My one complaint is that I wish it had a front camera. Never needed one until I moved into my new apartment.

There are little bump outs in each spot based on how they built the garage (reinforced concrete) and I am constantly getting in and out of the car to see how much room I have. I need to start backing in now that we are getting into cooler weather and I can park on the roof. Instead of dodging hail, I just have to dodge pigeon shit.

 

[Bruinaura]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833242953206395110

 

[Alicat]

A true legend and pioneer. Rest in Peace.

 

[Bruinaura]

I think what helped me is you can't custom order from Toyota, they just allocate vehicles to dealerships. So when they get a car they go trough the list and see if it is close enough to what people want. We got the base LE with FWD, works for us but based on all of the blank buttons apparently it can do alot more haha. I do like the adaptive cruise control and auto high beams. Lane assist I shut off, dont get it.

Blank buttons are more fun anyway

 

[Alicat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833246459346448800

 

[Chevalier du Clavier]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833242953206395110

 

[Alicat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833248721301340311

 

[Alicat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833254070259188070