What Are You Buying Right Now? (non-OT version)

Gulfcoastguy · May 21

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

The design of these has vastly improved since they first came out. That's a head-turner.

The paint is a $450 upgrade, a kind of glittery white. The inside is nice with a few quirks. Great front seat room with good ergonomics. No tall people in the back seat though. A Tesla style DC charging port on the right side near the tire. J1772 AC port on the left side near the tire. A DC adapter was provided for use at CCS chargers. Uses Android Automotive Operating System but you can just go hey Google for most functions. Has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a good wireless phone charger. As to handling its no Porsche but okay. Price is low for an EV unless you went KIA or Hyundai which I wouldn’t recommend. The Toyota CHR is fast, all wheel drive probably my second choice but 4 to 10 K more than I paid. Test drive both.

kl8ton · May 21

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Nice! I like the design a lot.

I’m considering having it professionally ceramic coated. The love bugs over the interstates are unbelievable twice a year. Fortunately we are in between swarms now. I was reluctant to get a white vehicle again but I had noticed this one was on the lot for 5 months so negotiation time.

I am a fan of clear paint protection film over front quarter of car. Way to clean and stops rock chips too.

@kl8ton ‘s son may have better suggestions. He owns/runs an auto detail company.

He does a fair amount of front facing PPF followed up with a ceramic coating. That's kind of "the usual."

JohnInCarolina · May 21

Gulfcoastguy said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

The design of these has vastly improved since they first came out. That's a head-turner.

The paint is a $450 upgrade, a kind of glittery white. The inside is nice with a few quirks. Great front seat room with good ergonomics. No tall people in the back seat though. A Tesla style DC charging port on the right side near the tire. J1772 AC port on the left side near the tire. A DC adapter was provided for use at CCS chargers. Uses Android Automotive Operating System but you can just go hey Google for most functions. Has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a good wireless phone charger. As to handling its no Porsche but okay. Price is low for an EV unless you went KIA or Hyundai which I wouldn’t recommend. The Toyota CHR is fast, all wheel drive probably my second choice but 4 to 10 K more than I paid. Test drive both.

For my wife we're looking at the VW ID4, the Honda Prologue, and the Volvo EX30. I did see your comment about the service at your local VW dealership. We have one just down the road from us that I would hope is better just based on the reviews. Anyway, it's her call so we'll see what she likes.

Gulfcoastguy · May 21

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.

The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Botch · May 21

I bought a furnace filter from Ace Hardware about a week ago, change them out every two months. The installers came by for the six-month warranty check, and he installed that filter for me although it wasn't "due" until 1 June. He brought the wrapper up to me and said, "I've never seen this before, I saved this so you'd have the instructions".
The filter has a 4" dia disk on it, that you pull a paper battery separator out upon installation, then download their "Filtrete™ Smart App" onto your smartphone, connect the Bluetooth, and then the furnace filter will send me a message when it needs to be changed. That is borderline ridiculous, but it also explains why that particular filter was a bit pricey (it was the only 16x20 they had).

DoubleEgger · May 21

Botch said:

I bought a furnace filter from Ace Hardware about a week ago, change them out every two months. The installers came by for the six-month warranty check, and he installed that filter for me although it wasn't "due" until 1 June. He brought the wrapper up to me and said, "I've never seen this before, I saved this so you'd have the instructions".
The filter has a 4" dia disk on it, that you pull a paper battery separator out upon installation, then download their "Filtrete™ Smart App" onto your smartphone, connect the Bluetooth, and then the furnace filter will send me a message when it needs to be changed. That is borderline ridiculous, but it also explains why that particular filter was a bit pricey (it was the only 16x20 they had).

That’s a prime example of why there are chip shortages. Useless technology at its finest.

Ozzie_Isaac · May 21

DoubleEgger said:

Botch said:

I bought a furnace filter from Ace Hardware about a week ago, change them out every two months. The installers came by for the six-month warranty check, and he installed that filter for me although it wasn't "due" until 1 June. He brought the wrapper up to me and said, "I've never seen this before, I saved this so you'd have the instructions".
The filter has a 4" dia disk on it, that you pull a paper battery separator out upon installation, then download their "Filtrete™ Smart App" onto your smartphone, connect the Bluetooth, and then the furnace filter will send me a message when it needs to be changed. That is borderline ridiculous, but it also explains why that particular filter was a bit pricey (it was the only 16x20 they had).

That’s a prime example of why there are chip shortages. Useless technology at its finest.

Just to be thrown in the trash. Probably powered by AI also.

Botch · May 22

Ozzie_Isaac said:

DoubleEgger said:

Botch said:

I bought a furnace filter from Ace Hardware about a week ago, change them out every two months. The installers came by for the six-month warranty check, and he installed that filter for me although it wasn't "due" until 1 June. He brought the wrapper up to me and said, "I've never seen this before, I saved this so you'd have the instructions".
The filter has a 4" dia disk on it, that you pull a paper battery separator out upon installation, then download their "Filtrete™ Smart App" onto your smartphone, connect the Bluetooth, and then the furnace filter will send me a message when it needs to be changed. That is borderline ridiculous, but it also explains why that particular filter was a bit pricey (it was the only 16x20 they had).

That’s a prime example of why there are chip shortages. Useless technology at its finest.

Just to be thrown in the trash. Probably powered by AI also.

If the filter texts me, "Dayam, what'd you eat last night?!?" I'll let you guys know.

Gulfcoastguy · May 22

Botch said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

DoubleEgger said:

Botch said:

I bought a furnace filter from Ace Hardware about a week ago, change them out every two months. The installers came by for the six-month warranty check, and he installed that filter for me although it wasn't "due" until 1 June. He brought the wrapper up to me and said, "I've never seen this before, I saved this so you'd have the instructions".
The filter has a 4" dia disk on it, that you pull a paper battery separator out upon installation, then download their "Filtrete™ Smart App" onto your smartphone, connect the Bluetooth, and then the furnace filter will send me a message when it needs to be changed. That is borderline ridiculous, but it also explains why that particular filter was a bit pricey (it was the only 16x20 they had).

That’s a prime example of why there are chip shortages. Useless technology at its finest.

Just to be thrown in the trash. Probably powered by AI also.

If the filter texts me, "Dayam, what'd you eat last night?!?" I'll let you guys know.

Buy a couple of more Corgis and you can blame it on them.

JohnInCarolina · May 22

Gulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

fishlessman · May 22

JohnInCarolina said:

The higher speGulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

The higher speed cars swap the tires on the same axle. Not front to back anymore

alaskanassasin · May 22

I’ve heard that electric cars eat tires, maybe this has something to do with it?

JohnInCarolina · May 22

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

The higher speGulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

The higher speed cars swap the tires on the same axle. Not front to back anymore

That’s only one part of the issue here.

Gulfcoastguy · May 22

alaskanassasin said:

I’ve heard that electric cars eat tires, maybe this has something to do with it?

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

The higher speGulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

The higher speed cars swap the tires on the same axle. Not front to back anymore

The tires are directional. They are also 21 inches by 235 front and by 255 in the back . The brand types that fit are Bridgestone Alenzas( bad ), and Pirelli Scorpion ( better but expensive).

ID4 can munch some tires because they can’t be rotated and they don’t have a very high sidewall. Almost all EVs have a lot of instantly available torque at take off. It makes it real tempting to play Speed Racer at red lights and leave Camaros behind. That is rough on tires. Some, but not all, EVs are heavy. My current one is 4200 pounds and the previous one was 4700.

GrateEggspectations · May 22

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

^^^ This guy knows his audience. 😂😂

(Edit: You have to expand @Gulfcoastguy’s post to see what I was referring to.)

JohnInCarolina · May 23

GrateEggspectations said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

^^^ This guy knows his audience. 😂😂

(Edit: You have to expand @Gulfcoastguy’s post to see what I was referring to.)

It is a bit surprising that the VW fans don’t tolerate any political discussions on their boards. I did… nazi that coming.

Gulfcoastguy · May 23

JohnInCarolina said:

GrateEggspectations said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

^^^ This guy knows his audience. 😂😂

(Edit: You have to expand @Gulfcoastguy’s post to see what I was referring to.)

It is a bit surprising that the VW fans don’t tolerate any political discussions on their boards. I did… nazi that coming.

The forum moderator doesn’t. He lives on Long Island NY.

JohnInCarolina · May 23

Gulfcoastguy said:

JohnInCarolina said:

GrateEggspectations said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

VW ID4, 2021 was what I had. I will say that they have mostly cleared up their software problems. They still have different sized tires on front and back so they can’t be rotated. Sign up on vwidtalk.com to ask questions from owners of the newer models. They will bounce you out if you bring up any political discussion.
The Prologue is basically the Chevrolet Blazet in a different wrapper and is made by GM. It does allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Not familiar with the Volvo. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. I’m not a big fan of the Prologue (it probably gets the worst reviews of the three) but the wife liked what she’s seen so far of it so we will check it out.

The reviews of the Volvo are fantastic. Doug DeMuro has a nice overview on YouTube. He’s a fan.

Good to know about the ID4 tires. I wonder what in the heck VW was thinking there. That seems kind of brain dead in general, never mind for an EV.

^^^ This guy knows his audience. 😂😂

(Edit: You have to expand @Gulfcoastguy’s post to see what I was referring to.)

It is a bit surprising that the VW fans don’t tolerate any political discussions on their boards. I did… nazi that coming.

The forum moderator doesn’t. He lives on Long Island NY.

Probably a Yankees fan.

Begger · May 28

The ONLY electric car that tempts me?
The APTERA. This is a 2 passanger 'trike' and uses less power per mile than any other car available.
VERY aerodynamic with a body made of 6 molded pieces. Very Very strong.
And the company philosophy included something that ALL the majors (even my loved Mazda) are against, that being REPAIRABILITY. And it's built right here in SanDiego County.

This is what is known as a 'paradigm shift' and IMO, should set a model for the future. Virtually ALL the EV's today with very few exceptions are 'Me Too' vehicles with nothing new on offer. Same old :verse 2

You can get the Aptera equipped with Solar Cells on all top facing surfaces. They claim, with some evidence, 30 to 40 miles 'free' per day. So for the limited distance driver, like me, for example, I may not EVER have to plug it in to charge.
I have been following this story for years now and they are now in production.

https://aptera.us/

Corv · May 29

Go for it! Let us know how it works out. That website is sure low on specifics, isn't it?

WestAusEgg · May 30

A new set of tongs! Made in South Africa. You can get a longer version also called the donkey long tong. (I’ll post a photo when they arrive)

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/h4/08088hkx5ulv.jpeg

Teefus · May 30

I bought a pound of artisan roasted Sumatran whole been coffee and a 750ml bottle of Makers Mark. Hitting it from both ends (responsibly).

Botch · June 7

Add this to my "Wish-I'd-known-about-this-40-years-ago" list:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/eu/ozebx1man0jz.jpg

It's made by NordicWare, a 1/4-sheet pan with a plastic lid that snaps right on; unbeknownst to me the set also came with a cake pan, so now I can make a cake too. 🎂
I'll be using this thing a couple times a week, and never again have to struggle with that &%^$!! saran wrap. Now if I make a family-sized sheet-pan meal, and have 2~3 meals worth of leftovers, just snap on the lid and stow in the frig!

Botch · June 7

^^^ Oh yeah, made dill-pickle wings for lunch. Marinated in leftover Grillo's Pickle juice overnight with some added salt, dried for a few hours in the fridge, dusted with flour/baking powder/Montreal Chicken™, grilled raised indirect at 375º. I'm getting closer, want them just a tad more crispy so will try either raised direct, or 400º.
I also learned recently that unlike baking soda, baking powder has a 6-month shelf life, so using it to crisp chicken skin with a fresh batch really made a big difference.

paqman · June 8

Impulse purchase… I ordered a lawn mower robot last night. I am wondering if forum members have experience. I usually do lots of research before purchasing stuff, but this time, I came across a youtube, checked a few reviews, and… pulled the trigger! More time for BBQ!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/io/fh7n0tmzaaea.jpeg

billt01 · June 8

paqman said:

Impulse purchase… I ordered a lawn mower robot last night. I am wondering if forum members have experience. I usually do lots of research before purchasing stuff, but this time, I came across a youtube, checked a few reviews, and… pulled the trigger! More time for BBQ!

Holding out for the bigger battery

Corv · June 9

My fridge died and the replacement is about a month out. Ouch! So I bought a mini-fridge for essentials. Fortunately I have a separate freezer. Unfortunately it was mostly full.