The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room

TxRad said:

4WD is somewhat better than 2WD in snow, it's not much better on ice unless you have a way of syncing things up, right to left and front to rear, which is basically AWD. Expense wise. 4WD is more expensive to buy and a lot more expensive to maintain. Unless you go off roading a lot, 2WD is the best bet. Just make sure the rear end has positrack.

I'm doing hot chocolate, which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Living where it doesn't snow does about the same thing.

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True.

But don't forget the importance of the correct tires.

There are several YouTube videos showing how the same car, with tires changed from summer to winter , behaves completely differently in the snow.

NotWise said:

I hope you guys realize that getting through the snow and ice depends more on how you drive than it does on the newly invented tricks in your car. They're working on it, but I don't think they've yet invented a way to get around stoopid behavior. When they do... well, that's when SkyNet takes over.

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These comments are true - to a point.

When your tires are completely frozen, and ice has permeated the gaps in your tread (which won't happen with winter tires) ... then it doesn't matter how skilled a driver you are. You aren't going anywhere.

I live atthe bottom of a hill, and the best "driving skill" I can employ is working from home on snow days!

MagicaPractica said:

Managed to finish my story but read it at group and the ending didn't work. Back to the drawing board.

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Aww. Onward and upward. Good luck, Mags.

SamScribble said:

Aww. Onward and upward. Good luck, Mags.

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Thanks. I don't think it's totally useless, just needs some refinement. I'll get there, sooner rather than later I hope. I have a friend whose birthday is this weekend and I wanted to send him a copy for a b-day present.

This last Portland winter was brutal by our standards. I, too, live 'downhill' and our neighborhood was iced in for a week before Christmas. After Christmas traded in the Tacoma for a Ford Escape AWD. Best idea of the season! Chloe, start talking to dealers about lease returns. The vehicles often have less than 20K miles on them, the factory warranty is still in place and someone else has taken the hit for the 'off the dealer showroom' depreciation. That's what I did. I love my new wheels. And while it might not mean much to you youngsters, my aging bones have developed a real affection for heated seats!

Four studded snow tires work great for my long commute.

MagicaPractica said:

Is there an update downloading? Microsoft seems to be pushing something through.



Managed to finish my story but read it at group and the ending didn't work. Back to the drawing board.

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Not that I know of, but it wouldn't matter. I am supposed to get 5Mbps but I usually get less than one. I need to find a new company.

That drawing board gets way more use than it should.

ChloeTzang said:

Yeah, that 2.5L is apparently underpowered. I was thinking the 3.6L V6 - it doesn't add too much to the cost - but then there's the 2WD vs 4WD - the 4WD pushes the price up higher than I want but much better in winter (with those bags of ready mix at the rear...). Mind you, I guess I can live with 2WD, I've survived happily with my little Corolla for years....

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Have you considered a Land Rover Discovery or similar ?

MagicaPractica said:

Four studded snow tires work great for my long commute.

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Used quite a bit on northern EU, I understand.

sharingfantasies said:

Not that I know of, but it wouldn't matter. I am supposed to get 5Mbps but I usually get less than one. I need to find a new company.

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I had that problem. I switched companies.

Yikes! So many replies - hmm, let's see....

Handley_Page said:

Have you considered a Land Rover Discovery or similar ?

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Alas, a bit too expensive. Even wonderful nurses don't make that much. And really, I want a mid-sized crew-cab truck - I like a truck for camping and for throwing big things in the back of that you can't do with an SUV. Also looking two or three years down the road when we hope to do that domestic thing - build a house, have kids - the box of the truck's good for throwing kids in as well as if we build, which is what we want to do, somewhere out of town.

MagicaPractica said:

Four studded snow tires work great for my long commute.

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Oh yes, the winter tires are the most valuable part of my little old Corolla - worth about twice what I'd get for the car. More really, coz this thing is so old I'd have to pay someone to take it away. It's not even good for parts anymore - a 1994 Corolla is not sought after by classic car buyers, alas. Now if it was a Mustang or a Corvette ....

voluptuary_manque said:

T....After Christmas traded in the Tacoma for a Ford Escape AWD. Best idea of the season! Chloe, start talking to dealers about lease returns. The vehicles often have less than 20K miles on them, the factory warranty is still in place and someone else has taken the hit for the 'off the dealer showroom' depreciation. That's what I did. I love my new wheels. And while it might not mean much to you youngsters, my aging bones have developed a real affection for heated seats!

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Heated seats are on my MUST HAVE list. HEAT is on my must have - the heating in my car takes half an hour to warm up these days - it's just starting to think about warming the air by the time I get to work. Next car MUST HAVE is instant furnace!!!!!! And I hadn't even thought about lease returns so thank you for that. I've never actually bought a car before - my Mom gave me this one and I've had it for 8 years now. My one and only. Going to miss her. Sob! For about 5 minutes probably. The replace the Corolla plan is this year/first half of next year really, unless she dies on me first, so I'm not rushing. They always have those "dump the last of last years model" sales as well so I want to keep an eye out on those for the end of this year. But lease returns, hmmmm, that showroom floor hit is a big drop in price.

Haulover said:

But don't forget the importance of the correct tires. There are several YouTube videos showing how the same car, with tires changed from summer to winter , behaves completely differently in the snow.

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And with a little old 2WD Corolla in the snow, you soon learn that winter tires are a life saver. And even with those, I am now very very good at sliding around corners and doing the rally driving thing. I'm also very paranoid..... and just in case, illegal as they may be, I have snow chains in the trunk... and some grit.

TxRad said:

4WD is somewhat better than 2WD in snow, it's not much better on ice unless you have a way of syncing things up, right to left and front to rear, which is basically AWD. Expense wise. 4WD is more expensive to buy and a lot more expensive to maintain. Unless you go off roading a lot, 2WD is the best bet. Just make sure the rear end has positrack.

I'm doing hot chocolate, which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Living where it doesn't snow does about the same thing.

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Yeah, and the price difference is huge and its not like I really need 4WD, so I'll probably go with the cheaper option and the bags of readimix - now I need to find out of they have an option to fit a hot chocolate maker in the Canyon

NotWise said:

I hope you guys realize that getting through the snow and ice depends more on how you drive than it does on the newly invented tricks in your car. ....

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Corolla. 23+ years old. 2WD. Not even the windows are electric. Survived 4 years of Minnesota winters and another 4 out here and I mostly love driving in snow - gets my adrenaline going .... my theory is "outa my way, in this car I have nothing to lose.... wanna beat me to that park? Better have good insurance buddy coz one more dent in this baby don't mean nothin'...!"

I'm not used to all this modern vehicle technology, it's a whole new era to me. I mean, my Corolla has a tape player!!!! Except I don't have tapes! LOL. I ride in other people's cars and go "wow .... you have electric windows ... you've got wifi ... oh wow!" I'm going to have to get used to all this modern stuff - the trouble with my old Toyota is it's just too reliable. It's only started to fade this year. I mean, for the last four years, I've been changing the oil at double the recommended mileage and whenever they recommend extra servicing I go "Nope, no life support for her..." Except I did replace the brake pads last year, brakes are a good idea, useful things really. Altho my partner did suggest cutting a hole in the floor and installing a fence post that I could push down on in an emergency. I had to attack him.... it was quite funny watching him blocking kicks and trying not to die from laughing at the same time....

Anyhow, Chloe will continue learning more on this fascinating subject..... modern motor vehicle technology is a wonderful thing .....

Thanks everyone

In Oz we have a very large proportion of Suv's 4wd. Toyota Hi Lux is the most popular Ute and has for a couple of years been the highest selling vehicle of any sort. they never let you down. the Mazda BT50, Ford Ranger and VW Amarok are pretty good too.

Of the normal Full size 4wd the Toyota Landcruiser has been dominant for 35 years. Land Rovers once had the market tied up but unreliability killed them. At my place in western Queensland we have two old Landcruisers and a months old Mazda CX-5.

Our main problem is dust, sometimes it can be as fine as talcum powder and is as slippery as snow . Our roads are mainly dirt, the nearest tar is 140 miles away. Three requirements:- reliability, 4wd and a really good air conditioner.

ChloeTzang said:

I ride in other people's cars and go "wow .... you have electric windows ... you've got wifi ... oh wow!" I'm going to have to get used to all this modern stuff - the trouble with my old Toyota is it's just too reliable. It's only started to fade this year. I mean, for the last four years, I've been changing the oil at double the recommended mileage and whenever they recommend extra servicing I go "Nope, no life support for her..." Except I did replace the brake pads last year, brakes are a good idea, useful things really. Altho my partner did suggest cutting a hole in the floor and installing a fence post that I could push down on in an emergency. I had to attack him.... it was quite funny watching him blocking kicks and trying not to die from laughing at the same time....

Anyhow, Chloe will continue learning more on this fascinating subject..... modern motor vehicle technology is a wonderful thing .....

Thanks everyone

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I drive a 2010 Ranger with no extras (AC, but here that is not extra). No bluetooth, wifi, aux input, electric windows, cruise control, etc. Then my wife went out after Christmas and bought a brand new Fusion hybrid with (almost) all the extras. It's so confusing!

Fresh coffee is available while we contemplate our, uh, accessories. I'm old school so the fewer the better. The fewer, the less there is to go haywire. If I'm too lazy to roll a window up or down, then I'm too lazy. I miss wing vents. *sigh*

When people have to worry about their cars being hacked.... That is a bit too far.

Ok, another cuppa coffee.

TxRad said:

... If I'm too lazy to roll a window up or down, then I'm too lazy. I miss wing vents. *sigh*

When people have to worry about their cars being hacked.... That is a bit too far.

Ok, another cuppa coffee.

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I miss wing vents (or quarterlights in Brit speak). I can remember that having a car with a window winder, instead of sliding glass (early Mini) or push up and down glass (Austin A30 and 35) seemed modern.

I miss opening windscreens and running boards.

But I appreciate cars with heaters, and pedals that don't have holes around them for draughts and water splashes.

My older Volvo says it has a computer but to get a diagnosis of an engine fault I have to lift the bonnet (hood), press a button or two and listen for the sequence of beeps. I don't think anyone can hack that, and if I disconnect it the car still operates. My more modern one has remote locking and a computer but the only way to access the computer is to plug a special cable into an underbonnet (under hood) socket. If that cable isn't attached to a Volvo dealer's diagnostic equipment no changes can be made.

I used to have an ex-Army 1944 BSA M20 motorcycle. It didn't have an ignition lock so in theory any soldier could climb on any M20 and ride it away. They could, if they knew how to turn on the fuel tap, set the ignition advance/retard lever, the air lever and the half compression lever before a hefty heave on the kick starter.

If they didn't know?

I left the M20 parked in Chelsea. I came out of a public house to see someone trying to start the motorcycle. I had deliberately left the fuel tap on and reset the advance/retard and air levers. He was about fifty yards away. He jumped on the kickstarter. The engine backfired shooting flaming petrol out of the carb. The prospective thief hobbled away trying to beat out the flames on his trousers.

Even if I had left the levers in the correct positions he would probably have fallen off at the first corner. It had girder front forks, no rear suspension, and the back wheel would hop across the road on a corner. I was used to it. Friends who had more modern motorcycles frightened themselves on my M20.

OMG. Wing vents? I had to look that one up. Now my little Corolla feels positively modern. In 100 years time I guess it'll be completely different. I still like wind down windows tho. Every now and then I read these stories about people trapped in their car in water and they drown coz they can't open the Windows. That's scary. I'm going to get something to smash my windscreen with for the new one. Blowing bubbles doesn't appeal, even if it's statistically unlikely. When it's you that's the statistical outlier, that's gotta suck. No thanks. And yes I have a survival kit in my car and my ruger....

No being a statistical outlier for this girl.

BSA? I have to chat offline og. My Chinese Takeout biker chineze girl romance needs a BSA, I'm sure!!!

colddiesel said:

In Oz we have a very large proportion of Suv's 4wd. Toyota Hi Lux is the most popular Ute and has for a couple of years been the highest selling vehicle of any sort. they never let you down. the Mazda BT50, Ford Ranger and VW Amarok are pretty good too.

Of the normal Full size 4wd the Toyota Landcruiser has been dominant for 35 years. Land Rovers once had the market tied up but unreliability killed them. At my place in western Queensland we have two old Landcruisers and a months old Mazda CX-5.

...

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Almost all of the vehicles you mentioned there are not available in the USA!

The Hi-Lux, in particular, is a surprise - it's as common outside the USA as the Ford F-150 is inside the USA. I've always been surprised that Toyota hasn't brought that bullet proof trucklet here! They probably figured that it's too small for American tastes.

oggbashan said:

I miss wing vents (or quarterlights in Brit speak). I can remember that having a car with a window winder, instead of sliding glass (early Mini) or push up and down glass (Austin A30 and 35) seemed modern.
...

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I drove an early Mini for a time, but my first car had proper wind-down windows, and was more luxurious that the Mini: I had a Morris Minor 1000, that was born the same year I was

(The Americans on the board won't be familiar with the old Moggie, but Ogg and H-P, and probably Ishhtat, will know it...)

You can never say you never learn anything here in the AH Cafe. It may be ancient history, but...

A girl I dated back in High school drove a Fiat 1000 and her older sister drove a Morris Minor 1000. You could kill either motor by putting your palm over the exhaust tip.

Now to figure out what's for lunch.

Morris 1000s are still in daily use in the UK. Spare parts are easily available. Many body parts are available as remanufactured or imported from Sri Lanka that continued to make Morris 1000s for decades longer than in the UK.

The first requirement for consistent modern use is a modified cylinder head so that it will run safely on unleaded petrol. Other modifications can be disc front brakes and an uprated engine to 1300cc instead of the standard 948cc or 1098cc. If you uprate the engine DO THE BRAKES FIRST!

oggbashan said:

I used to have an ex-Army 1944 BSA M20 motorcycle. It didn't have an ignition lock so in theory any soldier could climb on any M20 and ride it away. They could, if they knew how to turn on the fuel tap, set the ignition advance/retard lever, the air lever and the half compression lever before a hefty heave on the kick starter.

If they didn't know?

I left the M20 parked in Chelsea. I came out of a public house to see someone trying to start the motorcycle. I had deliberately left the fuel tap on and reset the advance/retard and air levers. He was about fifty yards away. He jumped on the kickstarter. The engine backfired shooting flaming petrol out of the carb. The prospective thief hobbled away trying to beat out the flames on his trousers.

Even if I had left the levers in the correct positions he would probably have fallen off at the first corner. It had girder front forks, no rear suspension, and the back wheel would hop across the road on a corner. I was used to it. Friends who had more modern motorcycles frightened themselves on my M20.

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I had an old BSA B15, single cylinder, 350cc, magneto ignition, and a rather iffy dynamo. It came to a grinding halt against the side of a Leicester Transport double decker bus (think Routemaster) one night coming home from the pictures.

Haulover said:

Almost all of the vehicles you mentioned there are not available in the USA!

I drove an early Mini for a time, but my first car had proper wind-down windows, and was more luxurious that the Mini: I had a Morris Minor 1000, that was born the same year I was

(The Americans on the board won't be familiar with the old Moggie, but Ogg and H-P, and probably Ishhtat, will know it...)

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I surely do!

oggbashan said:

Morris 1000s are still in daily use in the UK. Spare parts are easily available. Many body parts are available as re-manufactured or imported from Sri Lanka that continued to make Morris 1000s for decades longer than in the UK.

The first requirement for consistent modern use is a modified cylinder head so that it will run safely on unleaded petrol. Other modifications can be disc front brakes and an uprated engine to 1300cc instead of the standard 948cc or 1098cc. If you uprate the engine DO THE BRAKES FIRST!

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I'd love to find a Moggie minor. They were super cars; none of this "ah, Sir, it's a single unit" and a sharp intake of breath at the garage. The ultimate would be a Morris Millions model.

And now, I think it's time for coffee.

Pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. The perfect thing.

More coffee and maybe some writing.

My evening meal is behind me.
I think a cup of tea would be a good idea.


The Right to Repair.
PS: " For years, manufacturers such as Apple have enjoyed closed software, repair rights, and a complete monopoly on their products from start to finish. Providing next to no information for troubleshooting and basic repairs may be a thing of the past if these bills are passed and inspire other countries and countries to jump on board and pass similar laws. These laws could even benefit the hobby market with more projects focused on hacking devices and altering functionality to make customized electronic parts. The industry as a whole needs to recognize that the world is changing; device locking, DMCA protection, anti-piracy systems, and secretive workings cause more harm than good. "

The whole thing may be found here.

TxRad said:

Pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. The perfect thing.

More coffee and maybe some writing.

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Curried shrimps and rice with stir fried vegetables with a Dodge Ram 1500 brochure for a tablecloth and a bottle of gewurtztraminer. Goes with the curry. Off to Tae Kwon Do training next. Go and work off the week and the wine. Writing later this evening.

I had leftover rice from Chinese the other night and some chicken I brined in honey and grilled the other day, plus carrots. On to a nice cup of chamomile and mint tea. Wouldn't mind an early night tonight after being out with some people last night.

Handley_Page said:

...
I'd love to find a Moggie minor. They were super cars; none of this "ah, Sir, it's a single unit" and a sharp intake of breath at the garage. The ultimate would be a Morris Millions model.

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One day when I'm rich and famous from writing for LitE (riiiight!) I'll be able to afford a classic, vintage car just for fun.

I wouldn't go for a Dusey or an Auburn or a 1920s-era Cadillac, or even a 1907 Rolls Silver Ghost. I'd just go for an 1948-ish MG TC.

Same basic engine and chassis etc, as the Morris Minor, and a whole lot of fun!





Just finished my hiking story. I just need to (re-)edit it, and hope to have it up by Monday...

TxRad said:

a Fiat 1000

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I read a yarn that Bill Wyman from the Stones owned a little Fiat, managed to fit his bass cabinet on the passenger seat with the amp head on the floor. Either Charlie Watts or a bass drum on the back seat, but never both at the same time.

electricblue66 said:

I read a yarn that Bill Wyman from the Stones owned a little Fiat, managed to fit his bass cabinet on the passenger seat with the amp head on the floor. Either Charlie Watts or a bass drum on the back seat, but never both at the same time.

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Back in the days when I was trying to decide whether to be a writer or a musician, our bass player had a Morris Mini van. He and I sat in the front; his enormous speaker cabinet, amplifier, Fender Jazz Bass, and my baritone and alto saxes filled the back.

SamScribble said:

Back in the days when I was trying to decide whether to be a writer or a musician, our bass player had a Morris Mini van. He and I sat in the front; his enormous speaker cabinet, amplifier, Fender Jazz Bass, and my baritone and alto saxes filled the back.

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So you were the sax man, eh? Guitar gets all the attention, but sax is such a sexy sound.