Vertical Clouds
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Re: Vertical Clouds
The ball drop test is done to check if the glass was annealed correctly. For the exacting grinding, polishing and figuring procedure a trifocal needs, it is best to make sure the glass piece is as free of internal tensions and as homogeneous as possible. That is another reason the prescription is for glass only. Polymer lenses are still not produced to the clarity, homogeneity and stress free quality needed. Besides, polymer is more prone to scratches, cracks and light fogging.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I must say that I learned something new here. I'd expect some kind of testing to assure the glass does not shatter, and I suppose that is what annealing is all about.
I thought I was being fleeced when they told me what my glasses would cost, but now that I read what special lenses cost I feel a little better. The Photo+Grays my wife had might have been unusual. They would remain very dark for nearly five minutes after entering the house. Personally that would not bother me, but wife sometimes has trouble walking and needs all the vision she can get. I like polarized lenses for screening the sun but they are not always easy to find.
I thought I was being fleeced when they told me what my glasses would cost, but now that I read what special lenses cost I feel a little better. The Photo+Grays my wife had might have been unusual. They would remain very dark for nearly five minutes after entering the house. Personally that would not bother me, but wife sometimes has trouble walking and needs all the vision she can get. I like polarized lenses for screening the sun but they are not always easy to find.
Re: Vertical Clouds
They try to make my glasses lenses as thin as possible, which is something they couldn't do when I was younger. My glasses were as thick as Coke bottle bottoms, but now are fairly thin, as long as I stick with low lens area frames.
All I know to say is, the glasses are much lighter now than they used to be, plus they cost a bundle more.
The great thing is, glass compared to plastic, I can't see well out of plastic lenses. And the glass needs to be tilted just right too.
Yogi, it sounds like your wife had Photo-Sun, not Photo-Gray lenses. Photo-Sun works like Sunglasses and turns Dark. Photo-Gray only changes tint slightly, but the main purpose of Photo-Gray is to block UV light. You go into a nightclub with Blacklight-Blue lighting, and Photo-Gray's will darken a bit like normal in the Sun, but Photo-Sun won't change darkness.
I had a bug-zapper-light just outside my office window, now moved over so I don't see it. When I would look out the window, while seated at my desk, I noticed my glasses would darken a tad. The first few times this happened, I thought my monitor was going bad, hi hi. And it already sits under a Polarized glass plate. Why they used polarized I don't know, because it has no affect unless you use two sheets of glass and one can be turned up to 90 degrees. I honestly think the glass in my two desks are Anastigmatic Glass, not Polarized Glass. They have small scratches in them, and I took one to see how much it costs to get new glass made for my desk. The guy clipped some type of device over the glass to make some type of measurement and after he made a whistle he said, this is special order glass and will cost around 250 bucks each to make two of them. So I asked about just a couple made using tinted glass, he came back with 175 bucks each. OK, how about clear glass, still be around 125 bucks each. I told him, my desks are 34 inches wide and 5 feet long, have a desk drawer, filing cabinet drawer, and vertical file on the right, and they only cost me around 200 bucks each. He said yeah, 40 years ago, I know the type desk you have, as I had one for several years myself. Today they would cost over a grand each if you could even find one, hi hi.
All I know to say is, the glasses are much lighter now than they used to be, plus they cost a bundle more.
The great thing is, glass compared to plastic, I can't see well out of plastic lenses. And the glass needs to be tilted just right too.
Yogi, it sounds like your wife had Photo-Sun, not Photo-Gray lenses. Photo-Sun works like Sunglasses and turns Dark. Photo-Gray only changes tint slightly, but the main purpose of Photo-Gray is to block UV light. You go into a nightclub with Blacklight-Blue lighting, and Photo-Gray's will darken a bit like normal in the Sun, but Photo-Sun won't change darkness.
I had a bug-zapper-light just outside my office window, now moved over so I don't see it. When I would look out the window, while seated at my desk, I noticed my glasses would darken a tad. The first few times this happened, I thought my monitor was going bad, hi hi. And it already sits under a Polarized glass plate. Why they used polarized I don't know, because it has no affect unless you use two sheets of glass and one can be turned up to 90 degrees. I honestly think the glass in my two desks are Anastigmatic Glass, not Polarized Glass. They have small scratches in them, and I took one to see how much it costs to get new glass made for my desk. The guy clipped some type of device over the glass to make some type of measurement and after he made a whistle he said, this is special order glass and will cost around 250 bucks each to make two of them. So I asked about just a couple made using tinted glass, he came back with 175 bucks each. OK, how about clear glass, still be around 125 bucks each. I told him, my desks are 34 inches wide and 5 feet long, have a desk drawer, filing cabinet drawer, and vertical file on the right, and they only cost me around 200 bucks each. He said yeah, 40 years ago, I know the type desk you have, as I had one for several years myself. Today they would cost over a grand each if you could even find one, hi hi.
Re: Vertical Clouds
You might be correct about my wife's glasses. All we knew is that they turned dark in the sun and came back to normal in the house. The problem was how long it took to get back to normal. We have a great southern exposure with three windows and a sliding door on the south wall, and we thought perhaps that was causing the glasses to stay dark for an extended period. That room can get very bright. However, wife discovered that the long darkness transition happened in other darker environments as well. Whatever was doing it was built into the lenses.
Ultraviolet is invisible to the naked eye and filters to screen it out are also pretty much invisible too. It used to be standard along with anti glare filters but now and days they charge for everything that isn't bare metal, or glass in this case.
My polarized sun glasses had only one layer as far as I could tell. The glare was fairly well suppressed during normal wear. The test for polarization I made was to take them off and point them toward a window. Rotating the glasses 90° would allow the reflections to be visible. Rotating them back would cancel the reflections. This suggested to me the lens polarization was horizontal. Exactly why that cancels reflections isn't clear in my mind. All I know is that it happened and made my vision a lot better while driving. Normal sunglasses don't do what the polarized ones do.
I have an idea what your desk looks like because I had a similar one in my old house; monitor mounted below deck et al. I don't recall having trouble with reflections off the monitor in that case. Perhaps the glass plate on the desktop had some sort of filters to stop the reflections. It was heavy glass and tempered, but that's all I knew about it. It took a lot of abuse and I never scratched it. Eventually I got tired of looking down at the monitor and simply put it on the top of the desk. It didn't have nay more glare to it that way, but I could see what was on the screen a lot better. Might not have been ergonomically correct, but it worked fine for me. LOL
Ultraviolet is invisible to the naked eye and filters to screen it out are also pretty much invisible too. It used to be standard along with anti glare filters but now and days they charge for everything that isn't bare metal, or glass in this case.
My polarized sun glasses had only one layer as far as I could tell. The glare was fairly well suppressed during normal wear. The test for polarization I made was to take them off and point them toward a window. Rotating the glasses 90° would allow the reflections to be visible. Rotating them back would cancel the reflections. This suggested to me the lens polarization was horizontal. Exactly why that cancels reflections isn't clear in my mind. All I know is that it happened and made my vision a lot better while driving. Normal sunglasses don't do what the polarized ones do.
I have an idea what your desk looks like because I had a similar one in my old house; monitor mounted below deck et al. I don't recall having trouble with reflections off the monitor in that case. Perhaps the glass plate on the desktop had some sort of filters to stop the reflections. It was heavy glass and tempered, but that's all I knew about it. It took a lot of abuse and I never scratched it. Eventually I got tired of looking down at the monitor and simply put it on the top of the desk. It didn't have nay more glare to it that way, but I could see what was on the screen a lot better. Might not have been ergonomically correct, but it worked fine for me. LOL
Last edited by yogi on 19 Sep 2022, 17:12, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Vertical Clouds
Yes, Photo-Sun are very slow to change. I had a pair as a second pair, and they didn't turn very dark in the car. So I always had a pair of clip-on sunglasses for driving, kept them clipped over the sun visor.
I had Polarized lenses I used on my camera when necessary. It was two sheets of glass, and turning the outside lens controlled the darkness or filtering level. They were great for taking pictures of lakes, and I often added another yellow filter over that.
The first lens cover on my camera was always and anastygmatic lens, I considered it a permanent filter and never removed them.
I also had a pair of Polarized sunglasses, and I do believe there is actually two different filters inside the glass, laminated I suppose.
In the old days, glasses were ground so you had divots where the bifocals were and cut lines for trifocals. Today the glass is all smooth because those lenses are built into the lens itself. And no eyeglass grinding facility carries the grinds used on my glasses, so almost always they are special order and take a couple of weeks to get.
When I go to bed at night, I always work a Sudoku or Crossword puzzle before falling to sleep, laying on my elbows, so my nose is like only a few inches above the page, hi hi. I had the eyeglass place make me a special pair of glasses, so the bifocal was in focus at only 10 inches. The bifocal has a range of about 8 inches to 12 inches. I have to take them off to get up to go to the bathroom because the upper lens is set for only 24 inches, so I can't see diddly out of them standing, hi hi.
My computer glasses are set with the bifocal at 24 inches, the tri-focal at 5 feet, and the main lens at Infinity. This way I can hold my head up straight, look through the bifocal at the screen under the desktop. I had to change glasses to do bookwork on the desktop. So my next pair of glasses, I have the bifocal set to 16 inches, the tri-focal set to 2 to 3 feet, and the upper lens to infinity. So I wear this pair as my daily pair of glasses. Turns out the bifocal range is more like 10 to 16 inches so works out well as everyday glasses. I wouldn't dare try driving in my computer glasses, couldn't see the gauges on the dashboard clearly, hi hi. But for working at the computer 12 hours a day, they were great. I never have eyestrain or headaches with either pair of the glasses I have right now.
You just made me try something. I lifted the glass out of my desktop. I actually have it upside down now, or should I say the top at the bottom because of so many scratches at the other end.
I turned it ninety degrees just to see if it caused any type of change.
YES it DID, it's like clear glass turned 90 degrees, and my bright monitor was harsh. Glad it don't fit back in the hole that way or I might turn when when doing graphics works. But I do have a monitor up high that shows the same thing as inside my desk when I set the monitors to mirror each other.
I had Polarized lenses I used on my camera when necessary. It was two sheets of glass, and turning the outside lens controlled the darkness or filtering level. They were great for taking pictures of lakes, and I often added another yellow filter over that.
The first lens cover on my camera was always and anastygmatic lens, I considered it a permanent filter and never removed them.
I also had a pair of Polarized sunglasses, and I do believe there is actually two different filters inside the glass, laminated I suppose.
In the old days, glasses were ground so you had divots where the bifocals were and cut lines for trifocals. Today the glass is all smooth because those lenses are built into the lens itself. And no eyeglass grinding facility carries the grinds used on my glasses, so almost always they are special order and take a couple of weeks to get.
When I go to bed at night, I always work a Sudoku or Crossword puzzle before falling to sleep, laying on my elbows, so my nose is like only a few inches above the page, hi hi. I had the eyeglass place make me a special pair of glasses, so the bifocal was in focus at only 10 inches. The bifocal has a range of about 8 inches to 12 inches. I have to take them off to get up to go to the bathroom because the upper lens is set for only 24 inches, so I can't see diddly out of them standing, hi hi.
My computer glasses are set with the bifocal at 24 inches, the tri-focal at 5 feet, and the main lens at Infinity. This way I can hold my head up straight, look through the bifocal at the screen under the desktop. I had to change glasses to do bookwork on the desktop. So my next pair of glasses, I have the bifocal set to 16 inches, the tri-focal set to 2 to 3 feet, and the upper lens to infinity. So I wear this pair as my daily pair of glasses. Turns out the bifocal range is more like 10 to 16 inches so works out well as everyday glasses. I wouldn't dare try driving in my computer glasses, couldn't see the gauges on the dashboard clearly, hi hi. But for working at the computer 12 hours a day, they were great. I never have eyestrain or headaches with either pair of the glasses I have right now.
You just made me try something. I lifted the glass out of my desktop. I actually have it upside down now, or should I say the top at the bottom because of so many scratches at the other end.
I turned it ninety degrees just to see if it caused any type of change.
YES it DID, it's like clear glass turned 90 degrees, and my bright monitor was harsh. Glad it don't fit back in the hole that way or I might turn when when doing graphics works. But I do have a monitor up high that shows the same thing as inside my desk when I set the monitors to mirror each other.
Re: Vertical Clouds
It so happens that those Photo-Sun glasses my wife had were also multiple lenses that looked like a single lens. She really loved that part of the glasses but I don't recall if she used them for driving or not.
I believe I mentioned at one time all the high tech that is built into my wife's Toyota. We ran into some issues with it that are minor but irritating nonetheless. The display panel in front of the diver can be made to show many different things. One function is to give the driver some textual warning when things go wrong. For the past few weeks she has been getting a message at startup time which claims "maintenance needs to be performed soon." It never went into detail about what maintenance exactly, which is the irritating part. So I got called in to analyze the situation. Yep, "some" maintenance is needed. I read the owner's manual and they clearly say such a warning will appear from time to time. It could mean anything that was programmed into the system, such as oil changes. In order to clear the message, or stop it from appearing, or to change the schedule, or to add and subtract from the maintenance list, the "Maintenance" button had to be selected from another display off to the side. After pressing that three rows of options should appear. In the bottom row would be the "maintenance" button which can be pressed to make the changes desired.
Interesting as that bit of information was, I only got two rows of buttons. None were for maintenance. I figured the message is just a nag to get you to the dealer and pay $125 for an oil change, oh, and a filter. I was willing to disregard the message as meaningless in spite of not knowing exactly what it means. Then a few days ago the message changed to something saying take it in for maintenance NOW. Well, that message did not go away. I told wife that I was suspicious, but there is a possibility that something in the high tech engine might need attention. We could not detect any malfunctions nor were there any comments about it when wife did a Google search.
So, this morning we drove over to the Toyota dealer which had a convenient drive through service lane. Six lanes actually. The tech came over and got our information and wife explained our dilemma. He looked at it and didn't know what it meant either. He said it "could be" just an oil change. DUH! But he recommended having the car serviced. Just because we were in the service lane didn't mean we could actually get a mechanic to look things over. These guys have a HUGE shop with what must be close to 50 service bays. Not all of them were being used, but there was no way we could get anybody to look over the car until ... Thursday. I'd not bother with having them look at it but we are going on a road trip next week and need to have at least one car in working condition. My guess is they will want to change the oil and be done with it because the car is right at the 50,000 mile mark.
Oh, and by the way, the guy in the service lane reached in the car and pressed a few buttons on the steering wheel to clear the annoying message. He fixed it so that it won't show up again too. That means there is no third row of buttons on the touch screen display, but there are buttons on the steering wheel to serve the same purpose. I read that manual a few times and never did they mention the buttons might be on the steering wheel.
I miss those good ol' days when all we had to go by was a "check engine" light. Nobody knew what that meant either, but it was very easy to ignore.
I believe I mentioned at one time all the high tech that is built into my wife's Toyota. We ran into some issues with it that are minor but irritating nonetheless. The display panel in front of the diver can be made to show many different things. One function is to give the driver some textual warning when things go wrong. For the past few weeks she has been getting a message at startup time which claims "maintenance needs to be performed soon." It never went into detail about what maintenance exactly, which is the irritating part. So I got called in to analyze the situation. Yep, "some" maintenance is needed. I read the owner's manual and they clearly say such a warning will appear from time to time. It could mean anything that was programmed into the system, such as oil changes. In order to clear the message, or stop it from appearing, or to change the schedule, or to add and subtract from the maintenance list, the "Maintenance" button had to be selected from another display off to the side. After pressing that three rows of options should appear. In the bottom row would be the "maintenance" button which can be pressed to make the changes desired.
Interesting as that bit of information was, I only got two rows of buttons. None were for maintenance. I figured the message is just a nag to get you to the dealer and pay $125 for an oil change, oh, and a filter. I was willing to disregard the message as meaningless in spite of not knowing exactly what it means. Then a few days ago the message changed to something saying take it in for maintenance NOW. Well, that message did not go away. I told wife that I was suspicious, but there is a possibility that something in the high tech engine might need attention. We could not detect any malfunctions nor were there any comments about it when wife did a Google search.
So, this morning we drove over to the Toyota dealer which had a convenient drive through service lane. Six lanes actually. The tech came over and got our information and wife explained our dilemma. He looked at it and didn't know what it meant either. He said it "could be" just an oil change. DUH! But he recommended having the car serviced. Just because we were in the service lane didn't mean we could actually get a mechanic to look things over. These guys have a HUGE shop with what must be close to 50 service bays. Not all of them were being used, but there was no way we could get anybody to look over the car until ... Thursday. I'd not bother with having them look at it but we are going on a road trip next week and need to have at least one car in working condition. My guess is they will want to change the oil and be done with it because the car is right at the 50,000 mile mark.
Oh, and by the way, the guy in the service lane reached in the car and pressed a few buttons on the steering wheel to clear the annoying message. He fixed it so that it won't show up again too. That means there is no third row of buttons on the touch screen display, but there are buttons on the steering wheel to serve the same purpose. I read that manual a few times and never did they mention the buttons might be on the steering wheel.
I miss those good ol' days when all we had to go by was a "check engine" light. Nobody knew what that meant either, but it was very easy to ignore.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I hear ya on the dang computer systems and their crazy messages.
I would stop by the service shop and plug in their analyzer to see what might be the reason the service engine soon light came on, again for the millionth time. I finally put a piece of black tape over that light. Even the dealership could not figure out why it comes on and stays on all the time. While it was under warranty, they replaced a few of the sensors, but that didn't keep it from coming back on again, hi hi.
At least stopping in and using their analyzer every once in a while, I could see if anything was due to be changed or fixed.
You know I wrecked the '97 Blazer I bought New. Took me about a year to find another one like it. I'm surprised I did too.
I only had to pay $1,600.00 to get it, and it has run perfectly for me every since. So it was a good deal. The one and only difference between it and my original is the interior is black instead of gray. And the diagnostic computer that is built in is not as fancy as the one in my original Blazer. But then I rarely if ever went through the diagnostic feature of the original.
Every car I've ever had always had gauges. A few of them had gauges combined with idiot lights, which was handy.
My son buys new cars that have a whole TV screen of things that car does, and I couldn't even figure out how to start it to move it over in the driveway when he was here. No place for a key either. Just a button that says Start, which is supposed to work if you have the key fob in your pocket, which I didn't have of course. He said if the battery in the key fob is dead, there is a code you can type in to start the car, but he didn't know what the code was, hi hi.
Cars are just getting to darn complicated these days. To many computer items in them.
In fact, the accident I had was because of the ABS system breaking in the free wheeling mode. So I had no brakes! That is not supposed to happen. Hitting the brake pedal harder should let the manual system take over. I did hit the parking brake, but little does the back wheels help to stop a car going downhill at 50 mph. Just wears a flat spot on the back tires is all.
I would stop by the service shop and plug in their analyzer to see what might be the reason the service engine soon light came on, again for the millionth time. I finally put a piece of black tape over that light. Even the dealership could not figure out why it comes on and stays on all the time. While it was under warranty, they replaced a few of the sensors, but that didn't keep it from coming back on again, hi hi.
At least stopping in and using their analyzer every once in a while, I could see if anything was due to be changed or fixed.
You know I wrecked the '97 Blazer I bought New. Took me about a year to find another one like it. I'm surprised I did too.
I only had to pay $1,600.00 to get it, and it has run perfectly for me every since. So it was a good deal. The one and only difference between it and my original is the interior is black instead of gray. And the diagnostic computer that is built in is not as fancy as the one in my original Blazer. But then I rarely if ever went through the diagnostic feature of the original.
Every car I've ever had always had gauges. A few of them had gauges combined with idiot lights, which was handy.
My son buys new cars that have a whole TV screen of things that car does, and I couldn't even figure out how to start it to move it over in the driveway when he was here. No place for a key either. Just a button that says Start, which is supposed to work if you have the key fob in your pocket, which I didn't have of course. He said if the battery in the key fob is dead, there is a code you can type in to start the car, but he didn't know what the code was, hi hi.
Cars are just getting to darn complicated these days. To many computer items in them.
In fact, the accident I had was because of the ABS system breaking in the free wheeling mode. So I had no brakes! That is not supposed to happen. Hitting the brake pedal harder should let the manual system take over. I did hit the parking brake, but little does the back wheels help to stop a car going downhill at 50 mph. Just wears a flat spot on the back tires is all.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I think computers in cars are a great idea. Artificial intelligence should be part of the system too. The operator of the car should have nothing to do but steer and apply the brakes. Oh, and step on the gas pedal. Wife has a 2019 model Toyota and I am guessing the latest versions are even more computerized. The problem is that it takes quite a bit of study and reading to understand how the computer system is supposed to work and interface with the driver. The problem is exasperated by the fact that the firmware sucks, or worse, has bugs. I suppose a lot of people are into the gadgets but there are also a lot of old folks who couldn't care less. We need an option to turn off the computer interface and revert to simple idiot lights. Truth be told, just about as much information is presented either way.
The TV screen would be an exception in that I really like the idea of having a camera on the back bumper, or thereabouts.
Wife's Toyota does not have a slot for the traditional ignition key. It's a single button that will start the engine if a live FOB is within Bluewtooth range. What they don't tell you about that arrangement is that the button will do nothing if your foot is not on the brake pedal. Should the FOB for the Toyota be dead for some reason or another, there is a special key hidden in the FOB and can only be made by the car's manufacturer. That key has a slot in the steering column which will activate the panel starting switch manually. You can buy those FOB's at any auto parts store, but they are blank and need to be programmed by some other shop. The special key, however, can only be purchased from the car dealer, and they have to get it from Toyota. I know all about that because wife lost her FOB one day and could not get into her car. She was at the airport late at night coming home from Florida and I had to find my way to the garage in which she was parked to give her the spare key. The replacement FOB and special laser etched key was replaced by the dealer for somewhere around $400 - yes, four hundred dollars. We could have paid about half if we didn't have the override key made. All I can say is that car is not going to be started by just anybody. Of course that does not mean just anybody could not tow it away if they so chose to do so.
The TV screen would be an exception in that I really like the idea of having a camera on the back bumper, or thereabouts.
Wife's Toyota does not have a slot for the traditional ignition key. It's a single button that will start the engine if a live FOB is within Bluewtooth range. What they don't tell you about that arrangement is that the button will do nothing if your foot is not on the brake pedal. Should the FOB for the Toyota be dead for some reason or another, there is a special key hidden in the FOB and can only be made by the car's manufacturer. That key has a slot in the steering column which will activate the panel starting switch manually. You can buy those FOB's at any auto parts store, but they are blank and need to be programmed by some other shop. The special key, however, can only be purchased from the car dealer, and they have to get it from Toyota. I know all about that because wife lost her FOB one day and could not get into her car. She was at the airport late at night coming home from Florida and I had to find my way to the garage in which she was parked to give her the spare key. The replacement FOB and special laser etched key was replaced by the dealer for somewhere around $400 - yes, four hundred dollars. We could have paid about half if we didn't have the override key made. All I can say is that car is not going to be started by just anybody. Of course that does not mean just anybody could not tow it away if they so chose to do so.
Re: Vertical Clouds
Nearly every problem I've had with cars that had computers, was the computer itself needed to be replaced more than once, and there are more than one computer in today's cars. Computer replacement for my original Blazer was 1,600 bucks, but for Debi's 2002 Blazer it only cost 500 bucks, it don't have all the extra stuff mine did in it.
The Blazer I have right now, the main computer for it is like 600 bucks, plus installation of course.
I have to laugh at the backup camera's. My son's wife's car has one that clicks in automatically when you put it in reverse.
She backed right into a steel pole filled with concrete at the gas station, hi hi. Said it didn't show up on the TV screen.
I backed into a utility pole once, I was driving a van with the two back doors, and although it had windows, the view from the rear view mirror only shows out the two back windows. And the Utility Pole lined up perfectly with that blind spot.
Knock on simulated wood grain, I never had even the slightest accident when driving OTR, 1.8 million accident free miles!
My son's current wife's car has a sensor under the back of the car, and if you wave your foot under the bumper, the trunk will open. She saw a theft happen at the shopping center, so took her car in and had that option disabled.
A lady put something in the trunk, closed the trunk, and while she was getting into her car, a pirate opened her trunk, grabbed the box and hopped into a van with another driver, and boom they were out of the parking lot before she could even turn around. All she could tell the cops was the van was beige and the first two letters of the license plate, and the bumper was brown. What she bought wasn't all that expensive, under 100 bucks, but still, she spent more than that to have that feature of her car disabled.
I feel sorry for the Valet guys at the hospital. They have to be able to drive every make and model, and some of them are manual transmissions with really weird shifting patterns. A lot of them have 6 gears now, plus reverse, and park lock.
My original Blazer had a chip in the key. I had a spare key that would open the doors and trunk, but wouldn't start the car.
Apparently that feature was disabled in the Blazer I have now, which also has auto-start, so I can start it from the house so it either cools down in the summer or warms up in the winter. My original Blazer did not have that feature. Ironic since they are both supposed to be the same. But there are some aftermarket things on this Blazer, none of which I use.
The Blazer I have right now, the main computer for it is like 600 bucks, plus installation of course.
I have to laugh at the backup camera's. My son's wife's car has one that clicks in automatically when you put it in reverse.
She backed right into a steel pole filled with concrete at the gas station, hi hi. Said it didn't show up on the TV screen.
I backed into a utility pole once, I was driving a van with the two back doors, and although it had windows, the view from the rear view mirror only shows out the two back windows. And the Utility Pole lined up perfectly with that blind spot.
Knock on simulated wood grain, I never had even the slightest accident when driving OTR, 1.8 million accident free miles!
My son's current wife's car has a sensor under the back of the car, and if you wave your foot under the bumper, the trunk will open. She saw a theft happen at the shopping center, so took her car in and had that option disabled.
A lady put something in the trunk, closed the trunk, and while she was getting into her car, a pirate opened her trunk, grabbed the box and hopped into a van with another driver, and boom they were out of the parking lot before she could even turn around. All she could tell the cops was the van was beige and the first two letters of the license plate, and the bumper was brown. What she bought wasn't all that expensive, under 100 bucks, but still, she spent more than that to have that feature of her car disabled.
I feel sorry for the Valet guys at the hospital. They have to be able to drive every make and model, and some of them are manual transmissions with really weird shifting patterns. A lot of them have 6 gears now, plus reverse, and park lock.
My original Blazer had a chip in the key. I had a spare key that would open the doors and trunk, but wouldn't start the car.
Apparently that feature was disabled in the Blazer I have now, which also has auto-start, so I can start it from the house so it either cools down in the summer or warms up in the winter. My original Blazer did not have that feature. Ironic since they are both supposed to be the same. But there are some aftermarket things on this Blazer, none of which I use.
Re: Vertical Clouds
The remote-start feature you tell about on the Blazer was also available on my first 2007 Saturn. I tried it out a few times but never really bothered with it because the leather seats were heated. It only took a few minutes for them to warm up so that I didn't see a need to waste gas on remote starting. It might have been more helpful in the summer, but the Saturn was kept in a garage all the time. It surely got warm, but there too the a/c system cooled things down pretty quickly.
Then, one fine day, the FOB for the Saturn wore out. The button to open the door locks stopped working. I could close the doors and open the trunk, and even do the remote start, but could not open a locked car. So, I got a new FOB. The place I got the FOB specialized in car keys and they just happened to have an exact replacement. The final step in the replacement process is for the technician to take the FOB and his laptop into the drivers compartment. I'm not sure what he did exactly but some program on his computer talked to the car's computer and voila! The FOB was programmed. Well, the replacement did not function in the remote start mode. He claimed he did all he could do, and since I didn't use that aspect of the FOB very often I wasn't too too dissatisfied. However, it told me that all the functions that can be had are in the car's computer firmware. It's just a matter of having the right program to enable, or disable, those functions.
I never heard of waving the foot to open the trunk. That's a pretty clever idea for people that might be carrying a load of groceries in their hands. It assumes you can balance the groceries while waving your foot, but hey. Those Japanese engineers are quite agile. American crooks are pretty clever too, apparently. LOL I would love to have a car with a rear view camera, but I'd not use it to seriously judge any distances. I don't trust the camera and as you point out there are blind spots too. I would appreciate it to tell me if there are any kids or stray animals lurking in back of me while I was driving in reverse. If, and only if, I saw somebody in the camera, I would then turn my head to get a better view of what is going on.
Not sure if I mentioned it or not but my current 2009 Saturn developed a moan. It mostly would occur right after starting the engine, but sometimes while cruising along through town I could hear it too. Then there ware days it could not be heard at all, which could be my ears playing tricks. Well, we are going up north next week and I wanted to be sure nothing was on the verge of falling apart which is why I took it into the mechanic's shop this morning. After a few hours they called and said they fixed it. It was some vacuum hose that collapsed and had a leak. They didn't bother to get a replacement part and just made something from what they had laying around the shop. Now, that's MY kind of mechanic. The part might have to be special ordered because the car is so old, and who needs an OEM hose anyway? They didn't charge me for the hose they made but I did have to cough up $50 for their time. I never was so glad to pay that much for so little. The bad news is that they discovered that my ac/heating was stuck in the defrost mode. I have several vents that I can direct the flow to or just put it on auto and let the computer figure it out. I've been using auto and have noticed the defroster working more than I thought it should. Since I didn't ask them to look into that originally all they did was tell me about it. I have to schedule another appointment if I want them to try and fix that.
Tomorrow is the day we take wife's Toyota to the dealer to have some kind of undisclosed necessary service performed. If it turns out to be insignificant, I will be looking for ways to disable that damned nag screen on her car's display panel.
Then, one fine day, the FOB for the Saturn wore out. The button to open the door locks stopped working. I could close the doors and open the trunk, and even do the remote start, but could not open a locked car. So, I got a new FOB. The place I got the FOB specialized in car keys and they just happened to have an exact replacement. The final step in the replacement process is for the technician to take the FOB and his laptop into the drivers compartment. I'm not sure what he did exactly but some program on his computer talked to the car's computer and voila! The FOB was programmed. Well, the replacement did not function in the remote start mode. He claimed he did all he could do, and since I didn't use that aspect of the FOB very often I wasn't too too dissatisfied. However, it told me that all the functions that can be had are in the car's computer firmware. It's just a matter of having the right program to enable, or disable, those functions.
I never heard of waving the foot to open the trunk. That's a pretty clever idea for people that might be carrying a load of groceries in their hands. It assumes you can balance the groceries while waving your foot, but hey. Those Japanese engineers are quite agile. American crooks are pretty clever too, apparently. LOL I would love to have a car with a rear view camera, but I'd not use it to seriously judge any distances. I don't trust the camera and as you point out there are blind spots too. I would appreciate it to tell me if there are any kids or stray animals lurking in back of me while I was driving in reverse. If, and only if, I saw somebody in the camera, I would then turn my head to get a better view of what is going on.
Not sure if I mentioned it or not but my current 2009 Saturn developed a moan. It mostly would occur right after starting the engine, but sometimes while cruising along through town I could hear it too. Then there ware days it could not be heard at all, which could be my ears playing tricks. Well, we are going up north next week and I wanted to be sure nothing was on the verge of falling apart which is why I took it into the mechanic's shop this morning. After a few hours they called and said they fixed it. It was some vacuum hose that collapsed and had a leak. They didn't bother to get a replacement part and just made something from what they had laying around the shop. Now, that's MY kind of mechanic. The part might have to be special ordered because the car is so old, and who needs an OEM hose anyway? They didn't charge me for the hose they made but I did have to cough up $50 for their time. I never was so glad to pay that much for so little. The bad news is that they discovered that my ac/heating was stuck in the defrost mode. I have several vents that I can direct the flow to or just put it on auto and let the computer figure it out. I've been using auto and have noticed the defroster working more than I thought it should. Since I didn't ask them to look into that originally all they did was tell me about it. I have to schedule another appointment if I want them to try and fix that.
Tomorrow is the day we take wife's Toyota to the dealer to have some kind of undisclosed necessary service performed. If it turns out to be insignificant, I will be looking for ways to disable that damned nag screen on her car's display panel.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I don't know if my original Blazer had auto-start or not, because I never used the key-fob with it. I just carried the key to start the darn thing on my key-ring, and open the doors with a key.
But this one I bought used, has one heck of a lot of add-on options which are not dealer installed.
It has a satellite radio I've never used, except in normal mode. To darn complicated to work, hi hi.
It gets me to my doctors appointments, and that's about the only time I use it.
One car my brother used to own had a key fob with lots of buttons on it. But most of them didn't do anything at all, that he knew of. Anyhow, he was over at one of his friends houses who works on cars, and specialized in the electronics.
He plugged some box into the car and said, you have all the features, but none of them are turned on. You had to pay extra when you bought the car for the features to be turned on. Well, this guy turned them all on for him, so now all the buttons on his key fob did something. Even when they were accidentally pressed while in his pocket, hi hi. So he made a little plastic cover that slid over his key fob, except for the hole in the cover to open the doors, hi hi. Don't think it had auto-start though.
The Cadillac I had did have both seat warmers and steering wheel warmer, that was nice. Trouble is, that darn car was one expensive lemon. I put over 7 grand in repairs into it, and traded it in for only 2 grand credit toward a truck I bought.
Brand new cars hit the brakes if anything is behind the car. Makes me wonder how they can parallel park them things.
Most of the cars I bought in the '60s and '70s I ordered without an AC unit in them. I did this for two reasons, the primary reason was if you didn't get AC, all the controls in the car worked on cables or switches. With a factory installed AC system, they used vacuum controlled valves for everything. I would buy an aftermarket AC unit that installed under the dash on the passenger side, and I think the brand or model number I bought was called Hawaiian. That is what was in my '74 lemon car called a Charger with the wrong gears in it. Now the '76 50th anniversary SE TransAm I bought had a factory AC in it, and it wouldn't have mattered because after '74 all cars used vacuum controls for everything.
You know, I sorta miss how the OLD cars were made. Especially compared to the junk they pawn of on people today.
Well, I hope they don't soak you on your car when you take it in!
But this one I bought used, has one heck of a lot of add-on options which are not dealer installed.
It has a satellite radio I've never used, except in normal mode. To darn complicated to work, hi hi.
It gets me to my doctors appointments, and that's about the only time I use it.
One car my brother used to own had a key fob with lots of buttons on it. But most of them didn't do anything at all, that he knew of. Anyhow, he was over at one of his friends houses who works on cars, and specialized in the electronics.
He plugged some box into the car and said, you have all the features, but none of them are turned on. You had to pay extra when you bought the car for the features to be turned on. Well, this guy turned them all on for him, so now all the buttons on his key fob did something. Even when they were accidentally pressed while in his pocket, hi hi. So he made a little plastic cover that slid over his key fob, except for the hole in the cover to open the doors, hi hi. Don't think it had auto-start though.
The Cadillac I had did have both seat warmers and steering wheel warmer, that was nice. Trouble is, that darn car was one expensive lemon. I put over 7 grand in repairs into it, and traded it in for only 2 grand credit toward a truck I bought.
Brand new cars hit the brakes if anything is behind the car. Makes me wonder how they can parallel park them things.
Most of the cars I bought in the '60s and '70s I ordered without an AC unit in them. I did this for two reasons, the primary reason was if you didn't get AC, all the controls in the car worked on cables or switches. With a factory installed AC system, they used vacuum controlled valves for everything. I would buy an aftermarket AC unit that installed under the dash on the passenger side, and I think the brand or model number I bought was called Hawaiian. That is what was in my '74 lemon car called a Charger with the wrong gears in it. Now the '76 50th anniversary SE TransAm I bought had a factory AC in it, and it wouldn't have mattered because after '74 all cars used vacuum controls for everything.
You know, I sorta miss how the OLD cars were made. Especially compared to the junk they pawn of on people today.
Well, I hope they don't soak you on your car when you take it in!
Re: Vertical Clouds
We just got back from the Toyota dealer. I am happy to be able to report we paid nothing for the service call. We actually didn't get much service other than the shop tech explaining how the car's computer works. Rather, how the messaging system works. The message we were getting was ambiguous and I could not decode their cryptic words by reading the owner's manual. I told the guy exactly what I did and he decided I needed a personal lesson in how to select functions on the touch screen. The reason we were there in the first place is because one of the buttons, the MAINTENANCE button, did not appear on the touch screen in spite of the manual saying it did. I chuckled to myself when the tech could not find it either. It simply was not part of the program. However, shutting off the messages could be done by pressing physical buttons on the steering wheel. I asked if there was a way to disable those irrelevant and misleading messages, and he said no. All I could do is reset the time for another 5000 miles, or whatever interval I decided I wanted to be reminded. There is no option to not be reminded.
I also learned something about that laser printed key I told you about in the previous post. I incorrectly told you that it will override the start button on the control panel. Well, it does not do that. If the FOB is not working or missing, tough tomatoes. You don't get to start the car. All the key does is open the door without using the FOB to do so. Fortunately we do have a duplicate FOB which I carry. It's not likely both would go out at the same time, but if they did I would have to find a way to drive to the store and buy a new battery or possibly new FOB.
We must have spent 20 minutes talking to and being instructed by that shop tech. There was no charge for our ignorance. Thank you Toyota.
The FOB functions reminds me of how computer CPU's are made. All of the units of a series are identical. Not all the features are enabled. Sometimes that is deliberate and sometimes it's a matter of a flaw in the manufacturing. If you had the right software and EPROM burner you could turn on all the functions of any CPU. Of course you might need additional hardware afterwards, but like the FOB program all the functions are built into every CPU.
I made it through last winter with the broken ac/heater in the Saturn but am seriously considering having the vents fixed so that they all work and not just the defrost. I had a similar problem with an Audi many years ago. The shop took the whole system apart to find the sticky duct door. The problem there was that the heating system was a single mold attached to the firewall. They had to cut the molded body into two pieces to access the heating ducts. It never did work right after that and it looked pretty damned ugly when they put it back together again. I can only imagine the same being necessary to correct the Saturn's problem.
I also learned something about that laser printed key I told you about in the previous post. I incorrectly told you that it will override the start button on the control panel. Well, it does not do that. If the FOB is not working or missing, tough tomatoes. You don't get to start the car. All the key does is open the door without using the FOB to do so. Fortunately we do have a duplicate FOB which I carry. It's not likely both would go out at the same time, but if they did I would have to find a way to drive to the store and buy a new battery or possibly new FOB.
We must have spent 20 minutes talking to and being instructed by that shop tech. There was no charge for our ignorance. Thank you Toyota.
The FOB functions reminds me of how computer CPU's are made. All of the units of a series are identical. Not all the features are enabled. Sometimes that is deliberate and sometimes it's a matter of a flaw in the manufacturing. If you had the right software and EPROM burner you could turn on all the functions of any CPU. Of course you might need additional hardware afterwards, but like the FOB program all the functions are built into every CPU.
I made it through last winter with the broken ac/heater in the Saturn but am seriously considering having the vents fixed so that they all work and not just the defrost. I had a similar problem with an Audi many years ago. The shop took the whole system apart to find the sticky duct door. The problem there was that the heating system was a single mold attached to the firewall. They had to cut the molded body into two pieces to access the heating ducts. It never did work right after that and it looked pretty damned ugly when they put it back together again. I can only imagine the same being necessary to correct the Saturn's problem.
Last edited by yogi on 23 Sep 2022, 20:00, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I'm glad they didn't charge you anything, and taught you a few things at the same time.
I think my next car will be either a '57 Chevy, or '68 Camaro, since I owned both of those at one time.
But knowing me, I will do like I did last time and spend a whole year looking for another '97 Blazer, hi hi.
My key that had the chip in it did start the car, no key fob needed. But the key without the chip, which would open the doors, would not start the car. That was my fill of the computerized crap, and then my accident because of a computer really irks me big time. I loved that car and planned on keeping it forever.
Something I should have done with both my '66 Impala and '68 Camaro. They would still be running perfectly today, hi hi.
I'm sure that's why my brothers friend was able to turn on all the options for his car that he didn't pay to have turned on, hi hi.
I don't know Yogi, it could just be the vacuum actuator that turns the handle is not working, a torn diaphragm maybe.
My Cadillac had a lever that wouldn't budge using the vacuum actuator, so I just tied a piece of fishing line to the arm, and over a couple of things in both directions either side of it, then tied a plastic toy in the middle under the dash that hung down far enough I could just reach down and move it left or right. Solved that problem at no cost, hi hi.
Even going back to the good old days, back in the early '60s, we had a '62 Econoline Van that was built differently than all the other Econoline vans we had. We have no idea why it was different from all the rest of them. All the rest you could fix parts on by buying replacement parts, but this one you had to buy WHOLE UNITS, not just the parts. The Units did not come apart either. Maybe it was the '64 Econoline and not the '62, now that I think about it, it was our newest one, not an older one.
The longest lasting truck we ever had for the cut flower shop delivery department was an old Chevy Apache truck. It seems nothing ever went wrong with that thing. But dad liked to buy Fords for the fleet trucks. And I told him when I talked him into buying a Chevy, to make sure and take it in at 35,000 miles and have the lifters adjusted. He did, and that was our only service call on that truck, except for normal maintenance.
I think my next car will be either a '57 Chevy, or '68 Camaro, since I owned both of those at one time.
But knowing me, I will do like I did last time and spend a whole year looking for another '97 Blazer, hi hi.
My key that had the chip in it did start the car, no key fob needed. But the key without the chip, which would open the doors, would not start the car. That was my fill of the computerized crap, and then my accident because of a computer really irks me big time. I loved that car and planned on keeping it forever.
Something I should have done with both my '66 Impala and '68 Camaro. They would still be running perfectly today, hi hi.
I'm sure that's why my brothers friend was able to turn on all the options for his car that he didn't pay to have turned on, hi hi.
I don't know Yogi, it could just be the vacuum actuator that turns the handle is not working, a torn diaphragm maybe.
My Cadillac had a lever that wouldn't budge using the vacuum actuator, so I just tied a piece of fishing line to the arm, and over a couple of things in both directions either side of it, then tied a plastic toy in the middle under the dash that hung down far enough I could just reach down and move it left or right. Solved that problem at no cost, hi hi.
Even going back to the good old days, back in the early '60s, we had a '62 Econoline Van that was built differently than all the other Econoline vans we had. We have no idea why it was different from all the rest of them. All the rest you could fix parts on by buying replacement parts, but this one you had to buy WHOLE UNITS, not just the parts. The Units did not come apart either. Maybe it was the '64 Econoline and not the '62, now that I think about it, it was our newest one, not an older one.
The longest lasting truck we ever had for the cut flower shop delivery department was an old Chevy Apache truck. It seems nothing ever went wrong with that thing. But dad liked to buy Fords for the fleet trucks. And I told him when I talked him into buying a Chevy, to make sure and take it in at 35,000 miles and have the lifters adjusted. He did, and that was our only service call on that truck, except for normal maintenance.
Re: Vertical Clouds
The heating system in the Saturn has been acting odd since the day I brought it home. It seemed as if the defrost was working overtime but then the system is supposed to be automatic and switch the vents as it sees fit. I managed to keep warm enough and cool enough so that I never suspected anything to be awry. It didn't bother me until the other day when the mechanic mentioned things were stuck in the defrost mode. Now it is bothering me, but for the time being I'm hesitant to put a lot of money into repairing it.
We bought the car from CarMax which is the company we have been dealing with for many years back in Chicago. I liked them because they had one of those fixed price business models. There is no negotiating prices. What they put on the window is the price; take it or leave it. In addition to no hassle with the sales people their service department always did a great job prepping the cars they sold. Never had any unusual problems with the cars we bough from them because they were picky about what cars they refurbished for sale.
I didn't see much difference down here at the CarMax dealer. The Saturn, however, was an unusual find in that it only had 36000 miles logged on it. That was accumulated over 11 years time, which boils down to 3000 per year. Down here in Missouri I don't even drive that much. But to be fair, the car was bought at the onset of the COVID pandemic and we didn't do a lot of driving anywhere for the past couple years. That's all about to change but even so I doubt that I will put on more than 3k miles in any given year. But, what did the previous owner do for eleven years?
The CarMax people didn't have any history other than what was reported to the DMV regarding crashes. This Saturn was never involved in a reported crash. That was a good point, but the fact that a vacuum hose rotted out and had to be replaced recently suggests that the Saturn might have sat idle for many years and its innards are half rotten. It is very possible some vacuum hose has given out in the heating system, which would explain why things are stuck in the defrost mode. Finding that hose is my nightmare. I like the mechanic I've been using and they probably would do a good job, but I have no idea what it would take to troubleshoot the problem. I'd hate to think they would need to dissemble the dash panel. I know how those things snap together and doubt it would be tight and quite after being torn apart. I've not crawled under the dash to see what is there, but I'm guessing it's all sealed up like the Audi was. Plus I doubt individual components would be available either. All those aftermarket repair kits are modular and high priced.
In any event we will be taking the Saturn on a road trip next week. If nothing breaks during that trip I may just try and live with a defective heating system.
We bought the car from CarMax which is the company we have been dealing with for many years back in Chicago. I liked them because they had one of those fixed price business models. There is no negotiating prices. What they put on the window is the price; take it or leave it. In addition to no hassle with the sales people their service department always did a great job prepping the cars they sold. Never had any unusual problems with the cars we bough from them because they were picky about what cars they refurbished for sale.
I didn't see much difference down here at the CarMax dealer. The Saturn, however, was an unusual find in that it only had 36000 miles logged on it. That was accumulated over 11 years time, which boils down to 3000 per year. Down here in Missouri I don't even drive that much. But to be fair, the car was bought at the onset of the COVID pandemic and we didn't do a lot of driving anywhere for the past couple years. That's all about to change but even so I doubt that I will put on more than 3k miles in any given year. But, what did the previous owner do for eleven years?
The CarMax people didn't have any history other than what was reported to the DMV regarding crashes. This Saturn was never involved in a reported crash. That was a good point, but the fact that a vacuum hose rotted out and had to be replaced recently suggests that the Saturn might have sat idle for many years and its innards are half rotten. It is very possible some vacuum hose has given out in the heating system, which would explain why things are stuck in the defrost mode. Finding that hose is my nightmare. I like the mechanic I've been using and they probably would do a good job, but I have no idea what it would take to troubleshoot the problem. I'd hate to think they would need to dissemble the dash panel. I know how those things snap together and doubt it would be tight and quite after being torn apart. I've not crawled under the dash to see what is there, but I'm guessing it's all sealed up like the Audi was. Plus I doubt individual components would be available either. All those aftermarket repair kits are modular and high priced.
In any event we will be taking the Saturn on a road trip next week. If nothing breaks during that trip I may just try and live with a defective heating system.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I understand about not wanting to pay for something that should be working, but is only partially working right. Heck, there might be some way you could unstick it yourself?
Most of the cars I've owned over the years, I always bought from the car dealer closest to me, whether new or a demo car. There were only a couple of exceptions. Like when I bought the little Fiat 850 Sports Cars, but they were close by, and when I bought Marsha the Dodge Charger from her place of employment, Coronet Dodge. And it was a total LEMON.
I've also bought a few trucks either demo's or slightly used along with having my cars. Plus a couple of old cars I wanted for driving in places I wouldn't want to leave a good car. Like OTR companies parking lots, or downtown.
Well, I hope whatever it is, it turns out to be a simple repair.
Have a safe trip!
Most of the cars I've owned over the years, I always bought from the car dealer closest to me, whether new or a demo car. There were only a couple of exceptions. Like when I bought the little Fiat 850 Sports Cars, but they were close by, and when I bought Marsha the Dodge Charger from her place of employment, Coronet Dodge. And it was a total LEMON.
I've also bought a few trucks either demo's or slightly used along with having my cars. Plus a couple of old cars I wanted for driving in places I wouldn't want to leave a good car. Like OTR companies parking lots, or downtown.
Well, I hope whatever it is, it turns out to be a simple repair.
Have a safe trip!
Re: Vertical Clouds
The possibility of me being able to fix the heating ducts in the Saturn is real. It would involve me doing something I have not done for decades, which is, look under the hood to see if I recognize anything. LOL Prior to fuel injected engines and their computer controls I did all the engine maintenance on my own. Never had heating/cooling problems so that I don't have any experience with that. The only time I did have a problem was after I gave up doing my own repairs. If the fix is simple I would not mind attempting it, but the mechanic already went over the entire engine when they fixed the last problem. If there is another vacuum hose that needs replacement, I'm certain they would have found it. The issue most likely is a stuck flap or perhaps something in the control knobs used to direct the flow of air. Again, if it's not a hose I doubt it would be simple. I expect to have to replace the entire heating panel at a minimum. I don't mind putting a thousand dollars worth of repairs into this Saturn given that I intend to hold onto it for at least six more years. By then I expect electric cars will be more common than they are today and gas stations per se will become extinct, or nearly so. I doubt they will ever go away entirely, but the new wave of electric cars on the horizon will have an impact.
My wife of many years is thinking we only need one car, which is probably true. Two cars is more of a backup issue than an necessity. The hard part will be deciding which car to keep. I like the high tech Toyota, but it only has 4 cylinders. That is enough to get us where we need to go, but I've been driving around with six cylinders for many years now. It would not seem right to downgrade at this point. Then again, if we stay in Missouri long enough, we might trade in both cars for a truck. I've seen some very fancy pickups that I would not mind owning. The problem is they are over 50 grand new.
My wife of many years is thinking we only need one car, which is probably true. Two cars is more of a backup issue than an necessity. The hard part will be deciding which car to keep. I like the high tech Toyota, but it only has 4 cylinders. That is enough to get us where we need to go, but I've been driving around with six cylinders for many years now. It would not seem right to downgrade at this point. Then again, if we stay in Missouri long enough, we might trade in both cars for a truck. I've seen some very fancy pickups that I would not mind owning. The problem is they are over 50 grand new.
Re: Vertical Clouds
Back in the good ole days, I used to rebuild my engines for racing, including many modifications to my cars.
Today, I just take my vehicle into a repair shop. Even for simple things.
Personally, I don't think electric cars are going to be a big thing, more like a fad right now is all.
Our electric grid can't handle any more of a load than it already does, and even then we have brownouts and blackouts.
I've always needed two cars in order to put one in the shop when need be. I drive the faulty one, and have the frau pick me up in the one that is running right. And that is really the only reason for me to keep two cars. You never get stranded with two cars, and somebody to come rescue you if you are out and about when things go haywire, hi hi.
I do miss my old Blazer I wrecked. It took corners like a champ. The replacement Blazer although supposed to be identical, just doesn't handle the same way. Why I don't know for sure exactly.
The price of all cars has gone crazy out of sight. Which is why I still have my '97 Blazer as my car.
Today, I just take my vehicle into a repair shop. Even for simple things.
Personally, I don't think electric cars are going to be a big thing, more like a fad right now is all.
Our electric grid can't handle any more of a load than it already does, and even then we have brownouts and blackouts.
I've always needed two cars in order to put one in the shop when need be. I drive the faulty one, and have the frau pick me up in the one that is running right. And that is really the only reason for me to keep two cars. You never get stranded with two cars, and somebody to come rescue you if you are out and about when things go haywire, hi hi.
I do miss my old Blazer I wrecked. It took corners like a champ. The replacement Blazer although supposed to be identical, just doesn't handle the same way. Why I don't know for sure exactly.
The price of all cars has gone crazy out of sight. Which is why I still have my '97 Blazer as my car.
Re: Vertical Clouds
I used to think the same way as you do regarding electric vehicles. I never bought one because it would just be an obsolete toy in the not too distant future. That still could be the case, but people like Ford and GM are putting billions of dollars into investments designed to manufacture all electric vehicles. California already has laws that will prohibit the sale of gasoline powered automobiles in about ten years if I recall correctly. Other states are also investing in charging stations to accommodate an expected surge in electric vehicles. And, of course, the federal government is also thinking green which involves getting rid of gas powered vehicles. You make a good point about the power grids, and to be honest I've not heard much discussion about improvements there. However, if the switch to all electric does become a reality, you can be sure that the power companies will find a way to meet the demand.
You also make a good point about owning two cars. You have read my numerous complaints about our lack of social contacts here in Missouri, and that means we can easily get stranded even close to home. There has been more than one occasion where the second car saved the day, and that is why I am hesitant to do away with it. The only saving grace is that the Saturn is so old that it has little value, which is a good thing as far as personal property tax and insurance goes. Although, that stuck heater vent is starting to irritate me. LOL
You also make a good point about owning two cars. You have read my numerous complaints about our lack of social contacts here in Missouri, and that means we can easily get stranded even close to home. There has been more than one occasion where the second car saved the day, and that is why I am hesitant to do away with it. The only saving grace is that the Saturn is so old that it has little value, which is a good thing as far as personal property tax and insurance goes. Although, that stuck heater vent is starting to irritate me. LOL
Re: Vertical Clouds
When you consider how much fuel is burned to mine the minerals needed to make those batteries for the electric cars. And how short lived those batteries are. Let's say at least 5,000 gallons of fuel is consumed in the manufacture of an electric vehicle. How many miles could you drive in a fuel powered car before you use up 5,000 gallons?
Plus, most of the power to charge those vehicles comes from fossil fuels as well.
This is why I think something like hydrogen fuel cells will be the wave of the future, not electric, and not hydrogen powered combustion engines, but hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Hydrogen to electric, without combustion, per se.
You should look up about hydrogen fuel cells and how they relate to powering cars, much more efficiently than anything we have today, and they are currently in the works too.
I bought my used Blazer for $1,600.00, and have not had to put anything major into it, other than I did get new tires a few years back before Biden and the price of tires skyrocketed. I may have put about 600 bucks into it since I bought it for normal maintenance items, and fan belt perhaps. Hard to remember what I did to mine and what I did to Debi's Blazer.
Unfortunately, Debi's needs new tires bad, and that will be over 1,300 bucks to have done. I would rather find her another used Blazer or something she would like for around 2 grand or so, if possible.
Plus, most of the power to charge those vehicles comes from fossil fuels as well.
This is why I think something like hydrogen fuel cells will be the wave of the future, not electric, and not hydrogen powered combustion engines, but hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Hydrogen to electric, without combustion, per se.
You should look up about hydrogen fuel cells and how they relate to powering cars, much more efficiently than anything we have today, and they are currently in the works too.
I bought my used Blazer for $1,600.00, and have not had to put anything major into it, other than I did get new tires a few years back before Biden and the price of tires skyrocketed. I may have put about 600 bucks into it since I bought it for normal maintenance items, and fan belt perhaps. Hard to remember what I did to mine and what I did to Debi's Blazer.
Unfortunately, Debi's needs new tires bad, and that will be over 1,300 bucks to have done. I would rather find her another used Blazer or something she would like for around 2 grand or so, if possible.
Re: Vertical Clouds
You are talking about what is termed a "carbon footprint" when you bring up the total energy required to get from point A to point B. There are people such as yourself who argue that the footprint for electric cars is much greater than that for fossil fueled cars. I have not looked into it but I have my doubts if that is the case. Even if your assumption proves true, the point of electric vehicles is to clean up the air and to get us out of the crude oil import business. This is the idea Biden is supporting and nobody is sending him Kudo's for trying to make us energy independent.
Fossil fuels are dirty and their refineries are not exactly skimping on energy consumption. I'm somewhat familiar with fuel cells and how NASA has used them in the past. There are indeed people developing such things for use in automobiles but in this day and age the costs are prohibitive. Hyundai was on the verge of introducing a product using hydrogen fuel cells but discovered it was not practical. It might gain traction once they run out of lithium to put into batteries.
Oh wow. Didn't think it costs so much to tire up a Blazer. They must require some very special tires. I have paid near $200 for a single tire which I thought was outrageous. It may just be a better purchase to find a replacement for the Blazer instead of just its tires. Then again, you will be swapping somebody else's unknown problems for problems you already are familiar with. That's why I like to buy cars new, but they simply are not affordable now and days.
Fossil fuels are dirty and their refineries are not exactly skimping on energy consumption. I'm somewhat familiar with fuel cells and how NASA has used them in the past. There are indeed people developing such things for use in automobiles but in this day and age the costs are prohibitive. Hyundai was on the verge of introducing a product using hydrogen fuel cells but discovered it was not practical. It might gain traction once they run out of lithium to put into batteries.
Oh wow. Didn't think it costs so much to tire up a Blazer. They must require some very special tires. I have paid near $200 for a single tire which I thought was outrageous. It may just be a better purchase to find a replacement for the Blazer instead of just its tires. Then again, you will be swapping somebody else's unknown problems for problems you already are familiar with. That's why I like to buy cars new, but they simply are not affordable now and days.