Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Got home! Threw CELs for O2 sensors as I parked it 😅

Did over 1600 miles in two days, never skipped a beat.

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Fuckin' people...

There was a car accident in my home town, on the road I used to live. The 55mph traffic on this road doesn't stop through the intersection, but traffic on the cross road does.

Someone on the main highway was waiting to turn left, because there was oncoming traffic. She was rear-ended by someone not paying attention and slamming into her stopped car, and pushed her and her 1-year-old baby into a car coming from the other direction. She and her baby died in the crash.

This is the intersection. Turn the camera around.

It's not like it's a blind intersection. You don't come over a crest of a hill and suddenly there's an intersection or something.
 
We have an identical intersection in the region where I live. People get rear-ended all the time while waiting to turn left off of the main road. Two accidents in a month or so, thankfully no fatal accidents.

Locals have learned to try to time it so they don't have to stop and yield for oncoming, or avoid it altogether and use the next exit which is better built with a turning lane and a lowered speed limit.
 
[snip]

I'm over the jacking up of vehicles
The SUVification-of-all-car-types-trend refuses to die...!

You can blame the average car driver for this. When I ask people about it, they just say that they like the elevated driving position as it gives them a better view and makes them feel safer.
 
The SUVification-of-all-car-types-trend refuses to die...!
I think that SUVs are minivans. It's why after a time of SUV's being popular they started making changes to make them the worst of both worlds.
...they like the elevated driving position as it gives them a better view and makes them feel safer.
I think that's what they say but I don't think they actually know why they buy them other than following the trend.
 
TIL, in 1977, the Mercury's Cougar not only came in the familiar coupe, but also a sedan and wagon.

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Consumer Protection: 55% of car rental brokers' websites screened violate EU law


Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities published the results of an EU-wide website screening (“sweep”) of websites brokering car rentals. Under the coordination of the Commission, authorities of ten Member States, together with Norway, checked 78 websites brokering car rentals, including airlines' websites, to check whether the major brokers operating in Europe comply with EU consumer protection rules. Overall, only 45% of the websites comply with EU standards. Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said: “Many consumers will soon go on holidays and rent a car. Often, they do so on a hotel booking or airline websites. Consumers need to be provided with information in full transparency about the conditions of the rental and the role of brokers. For example, consumers need to know which company they should contact if their flight is postponed. They also need to receive clear and complete information about the full price of the rental and insurance – to avoid bad surprises when picking up the car.” In almost a third of the websites, it remained unclear if consumers need to contact the broker or the rental company in case of queries or complaints. Furthermore, 28% of them did not clearly mention the broker's company name and almost half did not clearly inform about what is included in the insurance. Authorities also found issues in relation to price information, such as incomplete information on mandatory charges (for example, young driver fees or one-way fees). The national authorities will contact the traders concerned to rectify their websites and, if necessary, initiate enforcement actions in line with their national procedures.

 
Hilariously Project Farm posted a video the same day, with similar results:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jknMrFOGMOQ

...but Project farm's was in aluminum, and I don't think he said what type of bolt he was using, but I imagine it wasn't grade 8, and that was a question I still had after watching PF's video.
 
Yeah, looks like he was using common metric 8.8 bolts. So it looks like the cheap insert is identical if not better no matter whether you're at the crappy-bolt-in-aluminum or unobtanium-alloy-in-cast-iron end of the spectrum.
 
In the comments PF thanks someone who suggested the TTC video. TTC seems suspicious.
 
Arguing on the internet, etc.

I saw a "I saw a dog trapped in a hot car!!!" conversation on Facebook and chimed in, saying that PHEVs and EVs are able to run the A/C when parked. I mean, if I had an EV and a dog I wouldn't want someone to put a brick through my side window to save my dog from enjoying air conditioned comfort.

So, I got facebooksplained to by a handful of people saying that their non-hybrid/ev car is able to run the A/C when parked.

Has anyone ever seen a conventional car with an A/C compressor that isn't driven from the crank by a belt? I haven't ever.
 
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