tmerc

If every GD conversation you have about rail in the US ends badly, it's either an actual problem, you, or both.

"It's clearly impossible! We're too big! IT CAN'T BE DONE!"

Where I live now to where my mom lives would take 24 to 30 hours by train and cost 400 to 500 usd. At 30mpg and $5/gal, the cost of driving is $200 and takes 12h. So I can take a train for double the time and cost or I can drive. Now consider round trip and passenger. It's 40 miles either side to get to a train. Neither side has a walkable city so being without a car sucks. Summer in one is hot as hell, winter in the other is frozen hell. Tell me again how trains are a viable option?

It's about 50/50 based on some quick research of Toyota, Honda, Kia/Hyundai, gm/chevy, Ford, Nissan. The first 3 are almost entirely allocation and don't allow custom orders. The last 3 support custom orders on their "regular traffic" models but not as much for their halo cars .

Op is in a salt state (road salt, snowy winters). Dedicated snow tires are much better than all seasons to the degree I will take a 2wd Civic (with lsd) on snow tires over 4wd 4Runner on all seasons.

Also rotating tires every 10-20k miles is good because most cars run higher camber in the rear (inner shoulder wear) than front and the fronts wear the outside shoulder more because of turning. Swapping them extends tire life by spreading the wear.

Because the hardware and os updates matter more than how it looks and you only get the good stuff in a fragile "glass sandwich". So if you want it to survive a fall, you spend $25 and leave it in a case until it's cooked 3 years later but still the original screen and hasn't needed anything fixed.

From what I hear, wraps need to be replaced periodically or they become permanent. Too many days in the sun makes them hard to remove without damaging the paint. It's also time consuming and expensive to install and remove.

I think it's less about the value. Special cars do well in loud colors. World rally Blue on Subaru, Tahitian Green and Barbados yellow on Honda, sunburst yellow on Miatas, all demand a higher price for the color. Loud colors reduce the pool of buyers. A yellow Rav 4 isn't desirable outside of a few people but they're not going to pay more for it. A yellow crx is a rare car and someone is looking for it willing to spend more for that cursed paint code than the same spec in white.

Toyota runs dealers on allocation. Subaru allow you to order a car to spec. They make the "twins", gr86 and brz. You cannot order the Toyota. You have to try to find what you want being built or on a lot already and contact the targeted dealer to buy it. You can order the Subaru and wait 6 months for it to be built to spec.

A big part of the wrap is cleaning the paint first. At least it was when I got mine clear wrapped (ppf). You want it clean so the contaminates don't mess up the paint under the wrap. I left it with them for 3 days because there's also process time to dry or sit. Maybe it's different with a textured polycarbonate panel though

I participate in a niche sport that uses specialized software for data. Go pro is one of few cameras supported by that software for automatically syncing video to your data so you can judge what happened in context with data. Not to say you're wrong about most of that, just that there are still valid reasons to get a go pro for some people. We also hate on go pro for their failures, overheating, and just straight up not working, but they're the best option we have.

My ps2 has Ethernet, so does my Xbox 360. They're two different phases of online access. The ps2 I wouldn't worry about putting on the Internet. The 360 is a bit different because it has firmware updates. That said, afaik Microsoft has not tried to remotely disable the 360, which is about 20 years old. Xbox live even worked a couple years ago when I really wanted to play rez. I think they disabled xbl finally but they didn't brick my console or make it not work less. So it's a choice.

My sports car has automatic braking with a manual trans. It has hit the brakes for me when I was in control and accelerating after slowing down for a turning car. Like, I'm human, I saw the obstacle, took action to handle it, then continued with my life. I'm back on throttle knowing the turning car is gonna be out of my way, there's an extra lane if not, and this thing doesn't cut throttle, it hits the front brakes in a rwd sports car. What if I was mid corner when it decided to unload the rear of the car with brakes? It's extra infuriating because of I try to brake while on throttle, it cuts power, but it doesn't do that for itself.

I asked the Subaru dealer to not set up an account for me. They did anyway with an email that wasn't mine. So they gave someone else control of my car over the Internet after I asked them not to even bother. I only found out because Subaru sent me mail that had the email address on it.

On the 23 4Runner, telemetry is enabled by default. You get warning stickers but other than that, it's just on. No app, no other indicator. Had the dealer removed that one sticker, there would be no obvious indicator

Storage space is limited. There's a black box for accidents that keeps a rolling window of data. That's not the dcm. Outside of that, how much telemetry can you store? What's the retention when there's no cellular connection? And importantly, where is it stored? My guess is that the dcm, having a battery back up and a cellular connection, is also the telemetry store. No evidence other than it's the cheapest and most reliable way to do it.

At least for Subaru, the dcm also connects to all antenna so removing it disconnects gps antenna. For other cars, I'd still expect removing the dcm to be good enough for 95% of people given the current expectation from car companies that no one would want to remove the dcm.

Sup homies.

I was looking at buying something similar on cars and bids a couple of years back that didn't have cats, so I looked into the law in ny. I've been in a stripped eg with a similar motor at an autocross and it does rip. Loose rear and front grip with an 8200rpm redline? Heck yeah. Would recommend looking up your nearest scca and going out for a day to see what it does at the limit

I don't know about the federal level, but in NY State, the rule on engine swaps allows for a newer engine to be installed in an older car as long as the newer emissions equipment is installed as well. So swapping a 2010 k series motor into a 90s civic would be legal if you also bring the ECU (because obd counts as emissions) and the catalytic converters. At least that was my read of the law.

No science to back this but my first diagnosis was explained similarly. The claim was that the brain consumed all the neurotransmitter chemicals quickly and runs out. Amphetamines speed up production, so you have any instead of none. Idk how correct that is but it seems to work.

> And it's especially good that we don't have to force everyone to subsidize inefficient monopoly utilities with our tax dollars to get everyone connected.

Again*.

In some ways we did subsidize the initial public phone network that put ma bell in the position to take over as an Internet backbone as "the Internet" became a thing. In some ways we're subsidizing starlink like direct grants of taxpayer sourced funding for rural broadband expansion and contracts that subsidize the spacex launches.

I do wonder sometimes if it's actually cheaper to connect a rural farm to the Internet by blasting a satellite into space vs setting up some kind of terrestrial radio based network like lora or microwave. That's not my knowledge area so maybe there are real, unsolvable issues that prevent terrestrial radio as a solution, but I have to assume blasting rockets into orbit is expensive both short term and long term, especially considering space trash.

Tesla lane assist tried to steer me into a 3 axle gravel truck at 70mph when it drifted into my lane and I went partially on the shoulder to avoid it.

I wouldn't be so hasty to exonerate the software with suboptimal vision only sensors.

I bought a house that had 2 ring cameras installed. After I heard about the flock deal, I simply removed them and have no exterior cameras.

I run frigate for some interior cameras (cheap esp32s) to watch my 3d printer, etc. It's been stable and easy to use for me, but I can't comment on using it for actual surveillance.

Many of these comments recommend church. While valid if it works for you, it doesn't mesh with me.

I found community through a shared enjoyment of an activity that must be done as a group. Grass roots motorsports in my case, but any activity that needs you to be there with others should work the same. The key is that you should enjoy it and you should have time to interact with people. I like to make car go vroom, but generalize the approach and it should work.

My first season, I won an event with a hero run that sent me from 5th to 1st. When I parked, a random guy stuck his head in my window and started hyping me up for it. I still think about that 3 years later and it still makes me feel good. That feeling made me want to do that for others.

I started approaching random people I'd seen before and just starting a conversation. It was rough the first few times but it gets easier. You already have a shared activity so just start with that. I made a point to remember people's names or at least their car (bad with names, but cars stick for some reason). If the name didn't stick, I'll ask again next time and maybe bring up their car so they know I remember them. When I know their name, I use it when I see them again. Maybe just "Hey bob!" as I'm passing, but something to let them know someone there knows them and cares enough to say hi. They're not a stranger at least. If I haven't seen them in a while, I ask how they've been and spend a bit more effort on the conversation than just a "hey".

It started with the regulars. Now I'm looking for the new faces. I know stuff and they need to know that stuff, so it's easy to talk. If they come back, they should be able to find someone to talk to so I introduce them to some of the other regulars.

I look for people eating lunch alone and I go talk to them. Maybe 2 to 5 minutes, maybe longer. Depends on them. Sometimes I'm awkward. Sometimes I say dumb stuff. Whatever. I'm trying to help these people not be alone at a social event if they don't want to be. If they do, that's fine too, but I'll try again next time.

Some people are closed off and don't really want to talk. That's fine. I still say hi by name and see how it goes. Not trying to push, just keeping the door open. After a few times of trying, a lot of people will start to open up our let the guard down. Some don't.

I'm an introvert and all of this takes extra mental energy on top of the events being competition and work. I don't have the time to compete at the highest level every event because I'm spending time helping others. Rather than getting a better driver in my car to tell me where I'm making mistakes, I'm trying to get the less skilled drivers in my car so they can see why I'm faster. Instead of reviewing data over lunch to see where I'm losing time, I'm trying to build community. I want people to come back. There's a cost to it.

I moved to the middle of nowhere 10 years ago and had no local friends. Work friends are rarely real friends. Tech meets, young professionals groups, nothing came out of those. It sucks to go to a bar alone. None of that produced anything.

Motorsport has been the only activity I've tried where I've started making friends who I talk to outside the events. A lot of it is still about motorsports, but I've gained a few friends who I sim race with or talk to online in the off season. It could have been any other group or activity, but those are the people who made me feel welcome.

Real figures, there are at least 25 people I can walk up to and start a conversation with at an event and have good rapport, more that I know by name and just haven't clicked with, 2-3 people I consider actual friends. I started putting in the effort like this after my first season, so this is the product of 2 seasons of effort (winter doesn't count because there are no events). I'm still kind of lonely, but it's better and getting better.

I think it's that I put in effort. I know I've helped some of those people feel like part of a community. I gave them a few people they could talk to so they didn't feel so alone. Maybe my role was just keeping them coming back until they found their clique. Maybe I need more time to get to know them. Some introverts need an extrovert to help them get started. Sometimes that extrovert is an introvert tryhard.

The reason I do this is cause one guy stuck his head in my window after a run and said something like "bro that was awesome! Nice run!" And he was genuinely happy for me even though he barely knew me. I'm not good at that specific thing so I try in my own way.

I think people look for community. I did. I bounced off a few groups because I didn't fit in. I'm trying to do my part to help people "fit in". Tech solutions ain't gonna help here. Get face to face, make outsiders feel accepted, and see what happens.

And thanks, Clarke.

I thought 2010 was 9th Gen as well but by Wikipedia, it's not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(eighth_generation... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(ninth_generation) But the 9th Gen is roughly the same weight, though the hatch is significantly heavier so the best case does lose about 230lb if op was talking 9th Gen.

Early 2000s is 7th gen.

I own a 9th Gen si so the weight (about 2800lb for the sedan) is just a figure I remember.

Thanks for taking the time to give a thorough explanation. I'm going to have to spend more time reading through, but on a first read, I think you know way more about this than I do. I can't find "edit" to call out my mistake in the parent, but I agree it's a mistake from my lack of knowledge here. Sorry again for calling it bs. Your cynicism comment does hit home a bit, so I'll make some efforts to temper that in the future :)

They sell your location data, driving habits, etc. then the insurance company buys it and raises your rates. I declined it when I bought my Subaru and they registered my car to someone else's email address, giving someone else access to those features. That module is now on a shelf in my garage. I park in gear (manual) so remote start can launch my car into a wall.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/how-figure-out-what-yo...

If the industry was actually good at figuring out what the customer wanted, gm wouldn't be cancelling carplay.

The industry makes cars more expense because it makes them more money. Some consumers want big and flashy. Some want cheap and reliable with enough space for cargo and passengers. Only one of those is being served currently. The rest of the industry is drifting to the up market with even the base trim being too expensive for many consumers.

Looking at current sales trends isn't adequate to gauge consumer demand for products that don't exist because they can't be purchased and something else has to take it's place.

The 8th Gen Civic in heaviest config was about 2900lb. The lightest model 3 is about 3500lb. 600lb best case. The lighter config Civic was 2500lb (not usdm iirc) vs the heaviest model 3 being 4000lb.

Didn't miss that making software costs money. The point is making it protected costs more money and mainly hurts independent repair shops and consumers. Afaik, manufactures can set obd2 codes outside the mandatory codes, but still compatible with the protocol. If they elect to not do this in favor of creating their own protocol, I think we can agree that it costs more but does not have any benefit other than to the manufacturer and dealer network.

I do agree that diagnostics need to be open. I discount security because at the end of the day, an engine is a bunch of metal. Put a haltec on it and all that security means nothing. Doesn't mean we shouldn't have immobilizers, strong encryption in our key fobs, etc. Security should be to keep the car and the contents from being stolen in the first place. But a flat bed bypasses all security as does a chop shop. So given that low value of bcm to ecu and similar "security" once a vehicle has been stolen, I'd rather be able to swap a good engine into a good body and keep a car on the road rather than in the junk yard.

Sorry for the hot take of bs. I own both of my cars outright and the industry trying to keep me from fixing what I own has me a bit upset. The security argument in the parent post sounds a lot like the "don't give our keys to China" propaganda.

Calling bs.

It takes more effort to implement proprietary protocols and codes in addition to the globally mandated obd2 protocol. You can extend obd2 with additional codes that could be read by a simple device. It costs money to run servers that check your license to read those proprietary codes. It's not laziness.

The black market on stolen parts isn't affected by this. Catalytic converter are stolen and resold all the time and swapping one doesn't require anything more complex than a socket set and a new gasket (assuming the thief didn't use a cutting tool, but then you just weld). Cats also get sold for scrap, so not sure what the software lock is gonna do for that.

Hellcat engines get swapped all the time. ECUs get flashed by the black market regardless of the software locks.

But what we see this proprietary software get used for is blocking the ability to swap brake pads and block heated seats.

So it's not crime, but I'll agree on greed.