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Upper Tract, WV Car Consumer Discussions

Re: No bailout without addressing the UAW [tlong]

by imidazol97 on Fri Nov 14 06:57:41 PST 2008

>The golden goose is constipated, You're focusing on the wrong end of the goose; you're looking at the worker bees end. You need to look at the head end where upper management and middle management pay and benefits are established. That end has been over-producing golden eggs (and parachutes) for years. That's why the other end can't put out gold. None makes it that far through the ovum-producing tract. Upper management is alive and doing better than even the (highly-paid and highly-benefited) UAW. As much as I feel UAW is over-benefited and somewhat overpaid even with the reduced-pay workers taking all the cuts rather than the older ones who drained the pie of cherries..., they haven't gotten what management got.

Ethanol...outside the auto...inside the human!

by seniorjose on Wed Jun 14 10:37:02 PDT 2006

(my contribution to public health) Ethanol INTRODUCTION The hazards of heavy ethanol (alcohol) intake have been known for centuries. Heavy drinking increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, hypertension, cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, injury, and violence (USDA, HHS, 2000). A recent analysis found that alcohol use is the third leading actual cause of mortality in the United States, after tobacco use and poor diet and/or inactivity (Mokdad et al., 2004). The health consequences of consuming lesser amounts of alcohol are less often a focus of research or government recommendations. In 1999–2001, 6 in 10 U.S. adults were current drinkers, 95 percent consuming light-to-moderate amounts (i.e., less than 7 drinks per week for women and less than 14 drinks per week for men) (Schoenborn et al., 2004) and 5 percent consuming more. Approximately 35 percent of adult Americans do not drink alcohol, with one in four being a lifelong abstainer (NIAAA, 1997). From a historical perspective, multiple sources suggest that fewer Americans consume alcohol today as compared to 50 to 100 years ago Among persons who consume four or fewer alcoholic beverages per day (with a subsearch for persons age 65 and older), what is the dose-response relationship between alcohol intake and (1) total mortality and (2) several major causes of death (i.e., cardiovascular disease, cancer, and trauma)? In middle-aged and older adults, a daily intake of one to two alcoholic beverages is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality. Compared with nondrinkers, adults who consume one to two alcoholic beverages per day appear to have lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Compared with nondrinkers, women who consume one alcoholic beverage per day appear to have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. Relationships of alcohol consumption with major causes of death do not differ for middle-aged and elderly Americans. Among younger people, however, alcohol consumption appears to provide little, if any, health benefit; alcohol use among young adults is associated with a higher risk of traumatic injury and death.

Re: saving money [ruking1]

by winter2 on Thu Jun 08 07:51:05 PDT 2006

Let me add one thing here. In MD where I live, I am able to purchase ULSD for twelve to eighteen cents less per gallon than unleaded regular. That difference is enough of an incentive to not buy a hybrid. My issues with the Prius are: 1. They are not PZEV. You still have to run the ICE to produce electricity to charge the batteries that only give you a short time on straight electric power. To call a Prius a PZEV is misleading. 2. It uses a totally or near totally non-renewable resource. Can you run a Prius on straight ethanol which at this point costs more per gallon to produce than gasoline? 3. The use of E10 or E85 yields an interesting pollution issue. There is an increase in hydrocarbon emissions and you can add acetaldehyde to the equation too. Acetaldehyde is what gives you that wonderful hangover after drinking to much ethanol. In vapor form, it irritates your lungs, eyes and the upper respiratory tract. The increase in unburned HC adds to smog and has it's own problems.

Returning from the land of the lost...

by fibber2 on Fri Oct 11 09:31:44 PDT 2002

I fell a few hundred posts behind on this and several other Subaru forums, and am fighting valiantly to catch up. I have an '02 OBW (2.5EJ series II single cam H4 w/automatic), so a few late observations, and my $.02 worth with this engine in mind: 1) This automatic does have the external cartridge filter (looks like a spin-on engine oil filter). 2) Radiator cap appears to be the highest point of the cooling system. I cannot find a bleed valve anywhere on the cooling system. I remember reading here and on i-club last year about the need to lift the front end to ensure air removal from the heater core and engine internal passages. Otherwise hot spots and blown head gaskets are a risk. Also, any clue (just curious) where the thermostat is? The upper radiator hose connects to a housing on the RHS head/block area, but the same casting seems to bridge over to the LHS head/block, all under the intact tract. Typical thermostat location would be here, but it looks impossible to get to.... 3) I have thought a lot about the 'single point ground' issue first raised on i-club, but have yet to get out the DVM and do some dynamic tests. I traced the battery-block-body wiring, and it certainly looks adequate and with sufficient number of points. I have some minor concern about the proper use of star washers and paint removal, though, so it is possible that some vehicles may respond differently under load (ground levels elevate unevenly). I do have some hesitation coming off the line, so I will let you all know if I find anything from my tests. 4) The cold air intake plastic tract has three different boxes/protrusions hanging off of it - two on the fender, one just before the filter box. Interesting! People who study 'fluid mechanics' treat air much like liquids in their flow characteristics. Although compressible, they do have start/stop momentum, create standing waves, etc. These 'reservoirs' help to smooth turbulance created during rapid throttle changes, and can even help 'pack' air into the engine when needed for peak HP, or improved low end torque. I would not suggest removing them in an effort to gain power - some engineer spent late nights already trying to maximize flow for your driving enjoyment! 5) I still hate the front differential dip stick location - nearly impossible to pull out amid the wires and hoses crossing over it along the firewall.... Steve

A couple new "mansions" built close to here

by carnut4 on Mon Jul 22 13:50:10 PDT 2002

have 3-4 garage doors on the lower level, and 2-3 more on the upper level. Doctors and Lawyers I guess. These are what you get for $500,000 around here. Down in the bay area, they'd be what-a mill-and-a-half? I remember when the Falcon came out in 1960, it became alot of people's first second car. Especially the wagon. Most of the LA suburb tract homes in the late 50s-60s had 2 car garages. For my Dad, though, it was a 48 Crosley, and then, um, a 58 Renault Dauphine. Hey, would you rather have a Falcon or a Dauphine??

Re: well, winifred...It is a Mercedes, after all.

by mdmetz on Sun Sep 09 02:02:53 PDT 2001

You may be upset with your dealership experience- but let's face it- money talks. And if you appear to have none, well you basically don't have a voice. I don't think Winifred said she didn't appear as if she doesn't have money; she said she was young and Asian. There is a difference there. Moreover, I've read (was it on this board?) that when Mercedes dealers were briefed on this car that it was explained to them that for some buyers it would be their first new car. The average transaction price for a new car these days is just above $23,000, so a young and reasonably well-employed member of the middle-class (not the upper-middle-class), or even the lower-middle-class in cities with high wages and reasonable housing costs, can certainly afford a base Benz that's around $26,500 with tax, title and license. Since Mercedes is looking to attract buyers to the brand with an entry-level model, its dealers are going to have to get used to the idea that the incomes of many buyers, especially after the initial demand from well-heeled Benz enthusiasts with the need for a second car or a big cargo bay is satisfied, isn't going to be horribly high. Besides, the people who are looking at any smallish hatchback are unlikely to be cross-shopping the bigger cars or minivans that you referred to. Not only are they not necessarily going to be old and white, they aren't necessarily going to be presumably straight married types with 2.4 children in some depressing tract in some God-forsaken place like Santa Clarita or Orange County...at least, not considering the natural territory from which Downtown LA M-B is going to draw much of its clientele. The salesman has a duty to serve someone with an appointment, and very well may prefer to spend his time with a customer with demonstrated interest, but to say that Winifred has no right to complain about the service she received (whether or not those complaints may have grounds; they seem to, since the promised other assistant didn't come out to replace the first salesman) because she doesn't fit the illusory profile of a Benz customer is nothing but silly (M?)BS. If the personnel at dealers of any car make scare off potential customers on that basis, they're tarnishing the image of that make and most likely missing a few commission-paying sales. Not good for anyone involved, no?