Well, maybe that person can use their depth perception to realise that the gap to the car in front is closing?
In reality, most people are only one step above moron and should not be let out into the world without proper supervision.
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Engine braking doesnât show a light either, downshifting to slow down is a thing.
And wow, why would I want to always be changing speed?
Based on my limited experience this is how everyone in the Midwest drives. 
Tip of the day. If you want to bling out your car, do not buy an ignition switch bling ring if itâs made of metal. This is for ignition switches where you put the key in and turn it, rather than push-button ignitions. The metal ring may dampen or block the RFID signal from the key. They engine might start, but as soon as the anti-theft system realizes the key isnât there, it will shut it down.
Now I can post it here at last.
Wanted to keep it a surprise from the ooklets, and we succeeded.
The Sharan is past its sell-by date, and we are looking at getting rid of it. Will post feedback on this later.
But I bit the bullet, and bought a nice secondhand Daihatsu Terios. This have permanent 4x4 but without the low range gear selection that big 4x4âs have. It is still in good condition, but it have the usual secondhand car scratches, cuffs, dings etc.
Today I got the chance to pit it against our Mitsubishi Pajero.
To my surprise and utter delight the engine got enough torque at 1100~1300~2000rpm to practically idle up on a steep incline with loose gravel and stones without missing a beat. It is a 1500cc engine, the Pajero have a 3.6l engine.
There was no need to rev the engine and ride the clutch at all - you just nudge the gas pedal and the engine got enough torque to do the rest.
Awesomeness.
Plus it is light on fuel as well, which is a big plus as opposed to the gas guzzling Pajero.
We plan to keep the Pajero for heavy haulage when the situation calls for it.
This time round we used a reputable dealer who inspects the cars first before putting these on the showroom.
This mean you know exactly what problems are there with your new/secondhand car, and can adjust/budget for it much better.
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Congrats! I know youâve been having trouble with the Sharan for quite some time.
Daihatsu tried selling cars in the US for a bit in the early 90s (the Charade was their most well known model, a compact sedan) but they didnât last long.
Hurricane Idalia caused a lot of damage in Florida, including flooding. Some of the flooding includes salt water. If salt water gets into the battery of an electric vehicle (two Teslas so far), it creates electrical bridges inside the battery that can cause fires days after the vehicle has dried out.
Thatâs something I wouldnât have even thought about. Water reaching external terminals, causing a short, yes. But getting inside the battery and it has to be salt water? No.
Another reason why not to do this and taking it a step further: Do not put any kind of stick-on accessory on the center of the steering wheel. It can become shrapnel in an accident, even more so if it has rhinestone on it. The manufacturerâs logo in the center of the steering wheel is designed to stay in place when the airbag deploys. Anything you add to it wonât.
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Daihatsu shut down production in Japan this week after it admitted it was forging safety test results for over 30 years on about 64 models of vehicles, including those sold under the Toyota brand, their parent company.
In April, Daihatsu admitted to violating standards on crash tests on 88K+ cars, mostly the Toyota brand in countries like Malaysia and Thailand.
An investigative company released a report last week with 174 more cases of Daihatsu âmanipulating data, making false statements or improperly tinkering with vehicles to pass safety certification testsâ.
Dang. This is a lot more than what Volkswagen had done, which was to program their cars so that when they were undergoing emissions testing, the engine altered its output to make it look better during the test.
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That reminds me: I have a pending recall for my vehicle at the dealership for an emissions issue. Much less of a scandal: just a normal recall for an older Jeep, but Iâm starting to think Iâm getting the usual Dealership reluctance to do recall work. (Do Dealerships get paid less for recall work since the manufacturer is paying?)
I kind of knew that this was more prevalent in electric vehicles since thereâs more computers in them for managing the batteries and such. Over the Air (OTA) firmware updates are another factor you have to deal with when buying a new car. Is that just on electric vehicles or are they used for vehicles with gas, diesel or hybrid engines?
Whichever it is, I hope the failed update recovery is robust. Having a computer or phone get bricked is bad enough, but you typically wouldnât end up stranded if it happened.
Our '19 Subaru Ascent (neither diesel, electric, nor hybrid) can connect to a WiFi network to download updates for the in-dash infotainment system. https://cdn.subarunet.com/stis/doc/ownerManual/Gen3_1_FOTA_MID_HOWTO_v7software.pdf
I donât think thereâs a way to update the ECU or anything else OTA. Dealers donât generally update those anyway unless thereâs a recall of some description.
Iâm not sure if thereâs a way to update the software on my Ram without a dealer trip. I donât have the UCONNECT system because I was trying to keep the truck as cheap as possible.
My wifeâs 2020 Mustang needed a a recall. After two days faffing around they find out you need both key fobs to update the main computer. We only had one, which is what they sold us there, so in order to do the recall I had to blow $300 on a key fob.
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I have a Jeep with UConnect and itâs possible to update it⌠but itâs a chore. Iâm guessing dealers have a tool tomdomitmor just experience as itâs a lot of steps even for someone whom probably executed the Contra code nearly daily for at least a year growing up.
Some models of Hyundai and Kia cars from 2015 to 2019 with turn-key ignitions are often targets of thieves since they donât have an electronic immobilizer. The number of thefts increased a lot last year because you can do something with a USB cable to steal it and that got shared on sites like TikTok. Depending on where you live, your insurance company might not offer coverage for them.
I havenât looked to find out what it is, but Iâm thinking it might be similar to how some barrel locks could be opened with certain ballpoint pens.
My Ram 1500 had Sprint for connectedness, now it has Tmobile, I canât get the stupid dongle to do the dongle thing so I am on a different cell network. So the map and traffic and weather and gas station stuff doesnât work. Which is fine, except when I was out of cell coverage while travelling, the only time that stuff is worth messing with, this would usually still connect.
Not really a ânewâ car as I saw this while trying to schedule service for my 3 year old truck, but this is a new low in dealers trying to make every penny they can from naive customers on service visits.
Yes. $25 to walk around the truck and say âyup, all the light bulbs are lighting up.â Hell, I do that every time I hook up a trailer, should I get a cookie for it?
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Ainât end stage capitalism the greatest?
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I had forgotten about this. Someone decided they wanted it more than I did, or more accurately, they wanted specific parts from it. What was left led to the âwe pay you the amount to get an equivalent vehicleâ clause in the insurance policy. The thieves actually did me a favor. 