Sorry Ogged. Nobody has any opinions on the Volvo V60.
You know this is the car I'm probably getting, right?
Because I've been defrauded by German industrialists. Oh, the irony!
So you decided to go with Swedish industrialists for your next fraud victimization?
Volvo was sold to the Chinese right? Is the V60 made in China?
I have just two payments left on my car. That will equal a $3K raise in net annual pay.
You know this is the car I'm probably getting, right?
I did not!
That will equal a $3K raise in net annual pay.
Yeah, not looking forward to payments. One upside of driving an old car is that I haven't had a payment in over ten years.
Not the V60, but the S60 Inscription is.
I had a sweet '86 240DL that I sorely miss. They've gotten a lot more luxurious, it seems.
Nice. Very nice. You probably aren't good enough for the Polestar anyway. I want a new car so bad. There's a CTS-V wagon in my work garage and I've let the owner know I'm a buyer if they ever want to sell the dream to me. But I'm cash poor and am getting car schizophrenic. Current fantasy -- combine a new Miata with this ultra low mileage perfectly kept '73 Coupe de Ville that's for sale near me. So some days, drive like a nimble single 22 year woman who knows about cars, other days steer a land yacht like you're about to break into the fucking Watergate Hotel and record conversations on those giant double reel tape recorders. Best of all worlds.
My first car was a 1973 Volvo station wagon that probably saved the lives of both me and my brother when I rolled it in spectacular fashion at the age of 16. Looked like it had been hit by a tornado and we walked away unscathed.
10: Yes, a tad bit more luxurious. I still drive a '90 240 that I bought 14 years ago for $2k. It's at ~275k miles. I'll miss it when I have to upgrade.
11: Humanity exists on a spectrum. On one end, all the single ladies. On the other, G. Gordon Liddy.
On one end, all the single ladies.
This reminds me: has Lemonade been discussed here? I was so annoyed with the ubiquity of "Single Ladies" that I had paid no real attention to Beyonce, but I sure was blown away by the visual album.
Update: my Mother's Day present was also extremely well received.
My brain can't parse 'Polestar". It tries 'pole-axe' the 'pollster', then gives up. In conclusion, Volvo sucks.
+n. It even fucks up my spelling. Fucking Swedes.
15: It was the source of a certain amount of dramatic irony around here.
A friend of mine has one of those (she's driven Volvos for safety ever since she contrived to turn a Landrover on its roof), and she swears by it, if that's any help.
Ex #2 had an 86 or 87 DL which had the most uncomfortable bucket seats I've ever had the misfortune of sitting in. We used to measure trips in "ass hours" and "ass minutes." After 30-40 ass minutes you were seriously beginning to hurt and 2 ass hours were excruciating.
I just do not get Volvos. I've test driven three in the past few years, and they're just not my thing. The new one I drove a couple of years ago had a nice interior and really nice brakes. Really, really nice brakes. None have been anything I would describe as sporty. Really. And yet everyone loves them. They're safe and durable, yes, but maybe I just don't understand fun?
I love Volvos, but I don't think I'd consider them super fun (NB: I have not driven the fancy new ones). I wish Saabs were still in production, though. Those are fun.
I used to work for a guy who drove Saabs and would occasionally give me a lift. He was very upset about them discontinuing. As a passenger, it seemed OK, but much like most other cars in its class.
You don't have to go all Polestar to gets satisfying level of performance.
As noted in the OP. The V6 R-Design makes 325hp, and the Polestar makes 345, but for an extra $10,000.
None have been anything I would describe as sporty.
In the same vein, it depends a lot on which specific trim of which specific model you're driving. Just in the V60 line, there's a 100 horsepower difference between the top and bottom models, with different suspension tunings for each as well.
What exactly happened to Volvos when they made them less boxy? Are they still up there in durability/reliability? I drove my parents' '92 240 wagon in high school and liked it - not "fun" of course, but doughty. I had the vague impression they got more expensive and less noteworthy.
I have car payments, but I'm already saving for a subaru do that our next car will be either cash or a very low payment.
Everybody is reading this thread and mentally surfing the last vowel, right?
Stupid phone. Switching the last vowel.
25/26 - most Volvos blow but the V60 is a reasonably badass wagon. Don't fuck around w their other offerings.
My wife's family were Volvo people until those went upmarket and then they migrated to being Subaru people. As Subarus have gotten classier, there seems to be a shift going on toward Hyundai.
So when your wife trades you in, it's going to be kind of a compliment.
Of all the topics to bring KR back, I would not have guessed Volvos.
The wife has gone Volvo wagon to Jeep Cherokee to Subaru baby suv. No idea what's next, and I'm hoping "next" is a decade away, but she's not impressed with the plastic on the Subi.
(Not the Polestar though, man
Word. High 50's is pushing into Macan S territory.
Just embrace uncool suburban dadhood and get the minivan already. We bought a lightly used Odyssey EXL last year and I love that thing.
I took the boys to the dealership this week
"Sure is a nice dealership you've got here. Shame if something happened to it..."
get the minivan already
That's what I have! I love the utility, but this feels like a stretch where we can splurge a bit on a car, the kids will fit in something not too big, and I still have the reflexes to drive fast. Vroom.
ogged, I thought you said a while ago that you were uncomfortable driving much faster than 80 mph. I take it that the Vroom has to do with pickup rather than speed achieved. ?
No doubt about it, it's fun to drive a car with a lot of zip, or pep.
As a boring suburban dad, ogged fantasizes about replacing his minivan with something a little sportier, but not too sporty. A nice Volvo, say. Similarly, he fantasizes about moving somewhere that feels more like a small town without being an actual small town.
you were uncomfortable driving much faster than 80 mph
90, in the minivan, precisely because it's a minivan.
I have zero opinions on cars except that in about 2.5 years we can ditch ours and go back to transit/zipcar or city car share, yipeeee!
BUT I do have a random question - anyone here (poster or lurker) have any connection with, know anyone at or have opinions on Kenyon College? A mock trailer who is quite dear to me is headed there and I would like if possible to know if there might be connections that could set her on a welcoming path.
Teo, as a boring suburban husband, any car purchase is subject to approval. That said, I can't really take issue with your larger point.
Kenyon College?
1) Great swimming program.
2) I have a good friend, now a lawyer, who went there and would likely be willing to speak to your person, although my friend's info will be twenty years out of date.
That's in the part of Ohio without all the serial killers.
Or at least not the part where they catch them.
48 - thanks! Heebie has my email. She is law curious and might like to hear about someone's experience going from Kenyon to law school.
Just email me at ogged at unfogged and I'll put you in touch.
"ogged, I thought you said a while ago that you were uncomfortable driving much faster than 80 mph. I take it that the Vroom has to do with pickup rather than speed achieved. ?
"
Isn't that basically what everyone wants? I mean, most modern cars can do 100mph, but it'd be very rare to drive that fast. But fast 0-60, or 0-80 times are fun, and also have some practical use. It's quite handy being able to squirt quickly out of trouble, or pass safely, or whatever.
I have a small car which has 10 second-ish 0-60 times. That's fine, and it's quite quick 0-30, but if I am wishing for a faster car, I'm generally wishing for something that has fast acceleration and goes round corners fast, not something that has a high top speed.
I learned last month there's a slow leak in my 15 year old car that's expensive enough to fix to make it not worth fixing when the car finally dies, which still might not be for a year or two. I don't want to think about choosing a car, but I guess I have to.
It's fun to watch the fancy cars around here get to the traffic jams sooner. Less fun are the people who drive fast cars slower than anyone else, who are either trying to avoid the attention of the police or just owning the car for status and not for anything it can do.
53 - yes. "Slow car fast" is what people call it. Since you can't get much real world use out of going 150mph there's a lot to be said for the car that gives younthe feeling of driving fast, switching gears, acceleration etc while not immediately getting you to over 100mph. Current good candodate would be eg the Ford Fiesta ST.
Still driving, sort of, the 93 Ford. 35k miles, 20k of which in the first ten years. Had a problem 15 years back with the doohickey that connects cam shaft to serpentine I think, but that was common to that model. Gas pedal wire broke 5 years ago and that was a hard part to find. Back right light lens assembly doesn't match, and I spent a week in junk yards trying. Suspension might be getting shakey. No accidents, one speed trap ticket in thirty years.
Worried about taking the old friend to Colorado this summer, cause don't want to break down on the way back and have to wait for parts in OK.
But I feel I should do something a little adventurous as it winds down. Haven't been ten miles from home in twenty years. Fucking Yankee relatives are living forever, it's amazing. Not that I'd go.
Speed? I'm the guy you hate on the freeway onramp.
My dad had a Cadillac that you could get up to 120 and barely feel like you were moving if the road was straight and level. I started to use the cruise control for safety.
The (decrepit, used) car that I had access to when I was in highschool managed to replicate the effect in 56 by having a ridiculous transmission that meant it needed to be in third gear to go over twenty miles an hour. Every time the light turned green you got to feel like a racecar driver. I guess it was good to learn on in some ways because you could start it in second without stalling it (third if you were facing downhill).
59: That happened to me with the diesel Mercedes (83 300CD). Stable, weighed a ton, slow even acceleration. I was doing around 90 on a county highway when I looked at the speedometer. (I am still glad that I insisted on buying, and paid for, that frivolous car, which devolved to my ex when we split up and was the car hit at over 100mph from behind with him, his wife and newborn son inside. I don't think they would have walked away from it in any of his previous vehicles. The baby was fine, hooray for carseats. His wife was pretty badly injured. Justice could only have been served if he had received a selective brain injury that flipped all the "evil" switches to "good" and the others had been miraculously unharmed.)
53
I find I can "squirt out of trouble" or "pass safely" quite easily in my Accord, even in "Eco" mode* and D (rather than S: sport). Living as I do in the Boston area, 0-60 or 0-80 in any short time frame is not in the cards, except maybe between two badly timed stop lights.
* My dashboard does look at me scornfully if I do this, I must admit.
Okay, if nobody else will step up, I'll do it.
Back in February or so I acquired this bike for my daily 17x2km commute, which has worked out pretty nicely. The thick wheels and internal gears make it more comfortable and stress-free for leaving outside than, say, my road bike was, and I could add mudguards and racks to it without worrying. All in all, ++ would buy again. I've recently been experiencing some shifting issues, but I probably just need to twist the barrel adjuster there.
I want a bike that let's me ride like Peter Sagan avoiding a crash.
Being married to a muscle car guy has introduced me to a whole weird subculture of which I was previously unaware. People take selfies with his car. It's weird.
Was this guy one of them?
[Warning: Auto-launch sound, in more ways than one.]
People take selfies with his car.
Leaving us hanging like this is unacceptable. What kind of car?
My Prius C is sluggish between 40 and 65 but quite nimble from 0-30. It's a dream when darting in and out of city traffic.
I miss my zippy Civic Si. When I first got it and was driving it wearing heavy hiking boots I was constantly burning rubber when shifting into first and even seconf gear from a stop. That's pep.
I have to think about buying a car here which I'm not thrilled about. Everyone goes for large SUVs which I don't like. Give me small and zippy anytime.
I have a prius which is slow, boatlike, and phenomenally noisy on any but the most even road surfaces. On the other hand, I only need it for fishing and visiting my mother and it is almsot certainly the last car I will ever be able to buy, so we're lumbered with each other.
74: The Prius C drives more like a regular (small) car than the standard Prius. The latter does not feel like a normal sedan.
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Can this be a travel thread too? I am planning a trip to visit relatives on Victoria island and in Vancouver for late August/early September.
Any suggestions for things to do? Any members of the unfoggedtariat living there now?
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80 My parents have recently sold our vacation home in Qualicum, after 35 summers. I've been down to the south end lots of times over the years, but know the middle island best. Do you see yourself getting up that way?
Aren't we down to one practicing Canadian?
73: Right now, a 2015 sublime green Challenger. I put a pic up in the pool--he did the badging and graphics himself, though this car has needed far less work than any of his others. I'm used to him stinking up the kitchen baking tail lights, and spending tons of money on swaybars.
81: I've never been, so I don't know. I believe that Tim's great-aunt lives right in Victoria proper.
There's nothing like walking into the house and smelling a fresh-baked tail light. Or maybe that's bread.
The changes he makes are generally pretty subtle unless you know what to look for. His aesthetic is pretty much "this is what the manufacturer should have done from the start." For the last two Camaros, that ended up being quite a lot of work.
In Detroit, real estate agents will bring their own tail lights to throw in the oven during open houses.
Bought a car on Wednesday after my last beater gave up the ghost. 1995 Grand Marquis. Paint job is shot, body is pretty rusted out. But everything mechanical seems to work. $500. Crossing my fingers that I get a job this week (two live possibilities, although one is fading fast.) if I do, first paycheck and I'm signing a lease for either a Hyundai Elantra or a Mazda 3. If I don't get the job, well, I hope I can get three months out of the thing.
I basically just want my current car to last forever. 2004 Passat wagon, manual. Handles great, plenty of zip, no stupid infotainment. It'll hit 100k this summer, and it's generally held up well, but it's going to start getting expensive soon (it's probably already overdue for new shocks etc.).
The V60 is an obvious replacement, but is nowhere near our budget. Which is basically zero anyway. Ugh.
88: Not that I'm getting into prophecy, but my former college roommate bought a 20 year old Grand Marquis while he was starting out and today he's very successful. Successful as a mortician, but everybody has problems in life.
Don't buy pre-need funeral arrangements. It endangers a cliche.
88 Best of luck on the job front.
They probably still are basically giving VWs away, I'd imagine. The 2015 Passat I got at the end of the year cost 20% less than the 2000 Passat I bought in 2000. The old one has a 6 -- but they charged me the 4 price for it -- and thus a neat jump between 60 and 90 mph. Haven't needed to test out the new one on that, but it's what all that fancy stuff with the shifter is for, right?
84 You should email me, there's lots of neat stuff up-island. One thing I never got to do was swim with the salmon in the Campbell River. You're coming later in the year than my usual visit, which might be an advantage for this.
I am planning a trip to visit relatives on Victoria island and in Vancouver for late August/early September.
I don't live there, but did take a trip to Victoria last year. A few suggestions:
1) Don't bother with Butchart Gardens. Lovely, but very crowded and touristy.
I didn't have any fish while I was there, so I can't recommend any seafood places, but I did enjoy both, this pizza place (which is close to a lovely park which, among other attractions, has live peacocks and, somewhat to my surprise, this Caribbean restaurant (the only disappointment was the house-made mango ice cream which was terrible -- so I can't vouch for everything on the menu).
It was fun to browse through Cherry Bomb Toys.
Also, for a slightly-off-the-beaten path tourist attraction there's Hatley Castle which is both lovely and the location they used for the exterior of professor X's school in the X-Men movies.
In Vancouver I recommend Dim Sum at Floata and highly recommend Phnom Penh (I recommend the salt and pepper squid and pea tendrils).
Definitely worth visiting the Vancouver public library. Stanley Park is great -- compared to Victoria there's no shortage of things to do in Vancouver, are you looking for specific recommendations.
I like Butchart Gardens, but except for once have only gone off-season when it's less expensive, less touristed, and not everything is in bloom. There's a botanical garden on the UBC campus that might be worth visiting if you visit the UBC campus, which has a lot of ugly buildings but spectacular views, especially around the area of the Museum of Anthropology (worth visiting).
I didn't do much sightseeing when I was living in Vancouver, so I doubt I have anything to recommend beyond the stuff that anyone recommends: Art Gallery, Stanley Park, UBC, etc. If you like walking along the water, two possibilities are Wreck Beach (near UBC) and Iona Beach (near the airport). If you like giant malls, there's Metrotown in Burnaby. There are also various neighborhood commercial areas that might be nice if you like walking around where there's shops on streets, beyond downtown and Gastown, which everyone always recommends. Vancouver has no freeways, which I think makes it a much nicer city than it would have been otherwise.
I had the omakase at Tojo's in Vancouver, which was fantastic. Touristy? Maybe. Also pretty expensive. I'd probably try to find some good but affordable izakaya if I went back. Also did the full walk around Stanley Park, which was cool. Boat trip to Victoria: pretty. Drive to Whistler: very pretty.
The anthropology museum at UBC is required, as is the lamb with turmeric potatoes at Vij's. You should also walk through the Moshe Safdie-designed central library and eat at Bao Bei.
They don't have a rule against eating in the library?
On Victoria, the Butterfly gardens sounded kind of neat, and they are near Butchart.
Is "Tojo" like "Smith" or something common in Japanese? It seems sort of like calling a restaurant "Göring's Waffle Haus".
There are eateries outside but near the entrance to the library proper but inside the same building, does that count as eating in the library?
I've never been to Bao Bei and don't know where it is, but it's probably not a pizza place with unusual combos, or a Blenz, or uh, a bubble tea place? I don't remember all the places in the library building.
Those aren't bubbles. It's just tapioca.
101: It's not one of the most common Japanese names, but it's not terribly rare either. It can be written with several different kanji combinations, so the Mr Tojo who founded the sushi restaurant may not use the same ones as the WW2 general. But as you can't change your name in Japan (though you can use a legal alias), whatever the kanji are, he's stuck with it.
103: He ain't heavy, he's my pudding
The insect zoo in Victoria was surprisingly satisfactory. They had pettable scorpions. So was the maritime history museum if you're into boats or disasters - very boffiny, the small print on the placards gets seriously explanatory.
94.1: I hope this has something to do with Tom of Finland.
102: Bao Bei is in Chinatown. Which, as you know, is reasonable walking distance from the library. Oh hey, a person should also eat sandwiches at Meat and Bread.
They should really change that to "Mete and Bred"
Also, of course, you should swim at the Kitsilano pool, which is right on the bay, and 150 yards long.
When I wanted to go to Chinatown, I went to Richmond.
We will not actually be staying in Vancouver proper but Burnaby. I don't know whether that means that we should rent a car in Vancouver. We plan on renting a car in Victoria, of course.
109: Meat and Bread has a Victoria location too.
It depends on what you plan to do in Vancouver. If you're in a part of Burnaby with good access to Skytrain, getting to downtown isn't too hard and walking distances aren't that far. The bus system is decent, but if you want to go anywhere far off Skytrain, like UBC, you have to do more planning. It can take a while to get across the city, especially on the non-express buses.
Do any Knifecrimean mineshafters have opinions about motorbikes?
I have a full UK license and a Yamaha MT03 that I brought over from Switzerland and should make road-legal, but it's a pain. Regardless though, I'm thinking of getting something larger, for reasons of both grunt and comfort. I'd like something that's comfortable to ride all day - so upright riding position (I'm tall), a windscreen etc - but more powerful (I'm heavy) and still good in the curves. No need for offroad or track days, but I'd like to be able to carry a pillion and/or luggage. So it sounds as though I want a sports tourer? Or an "adventure" bike? A friend recommended a Ducati Multistrada.
mmm, I've been jonesing for an old V60. In a moment of weakness, I even told a british soldier to let me know if he was selling his when he rotated out the local N/ATO detail. But I don't really want one with right side steering.
I looked at the Jalopnik review of the 2016, and I think I preferred them when they looked more SUVish. Though I imagine there is better space utilization in the wagon. Course, I've also really been wanting a convertible to avoid the itch to get on a motorbike in the mountains.
Instead I have a beater VW Touran with the bumper zip-tied on.
I have no idea about motorcycles, but just now I saw a woman in what I think must be vegan motorcycle boots. She was carrying the helmet so I assumed she must have ridden in a motorcycle, but instead of leather boots she had what looked like a more flexible type of ski boot. There was thicker bits of plastic in places, I'm guessing where contact with the road was more likely.
There's a circa 1990 240 living on our street these days; a couple weeks ago one of the kids referred to it as "that old-fashioned car." I just said fuck it, and moved my things into the nursing home down the block.
Update: Didn't get one of the jobs. It was a contract gig where they were going to hire two fairly senior people to do complementary roles as part of a larger project. There were three candidates for the two roles. They've apparently decided to only fill one position at this point (didn't get it) and redesign the second position as a lower-level role to be filled at a later date. Dammit.
For the second position (the one I said was fading fast), I pinged the hiring manager today after hearing about the other role. She said that her decision was taking longer than she thought and she'll get back to me by Wednesday. This was after I got to the final interview and she decided to hold the position open and interview a few more people. She told me I was still in the running when she informed me that she was going back to the well, but I started to think this one wasn't going to happen either. The response today makes me think she's in active negotiations with another candidate and just wants to lock that down before letting me down.
I'm pretty stumped at this point. Unemployment has run out and I'm living off my retirement savings. I'm willing to switch industries, but marketing communications seems to have left me behind in the last few years. Outside of my industry, everyone is looking for experience in online marketing (e-mail campaigns, content/inbound marketing, managing ad networks and optimizing spend, etc.) This stuff wasn't required at my last full time gig (it's now starting to infiltrate into my area, but it--the industry--is a late adopter).
So, do I just start over? I have serious bills to pay (rent, child support, etc.) and I have zero money coming in. Do I do a boot camp of some kind (UI? UX? Vanilla Internet Marketing)? Something else entirely?
Thoughts appreciated. If you want to ping me privately, please hit me up at the other place (if we're already connected) or at the lined e-mail address. (Sorry to use the blog for my lame problems, but I don't really want to drop this on my public FB feed and you guys are a bunch of smarties.)
I do wish you the best and will send thoughts your way, but I don't know anything useful to add. Except maybe you can get the child support adjusted. I don't know about that either, but it sounds reasonable. Also, for me it always just takes a lot of time. I've had to spend over 6 months on my last two job searches.
Thanks Moby. I appreciate the thought, but I really don't want to drop child support below its current level--my ex is kinda scraping by as it is.
122: I have nothing useful to add. Very sorry. Hope that once you can get something you can get help dealing with the stuff that was a struggle. And if stimulants would be helpful, by all means get them - even if you don't qualify for the full ADHD diagnosis.
Also, I know this sounds awful, but can you temp while you look? Our hospital systems here have a lot of temp jobs, some of which are semi-professional. If you got in, might you be able to try for jobs to evaluating medical device contracts? A lot of hospital systems are starting to change how they procure stuff. Sometimes, just being in and having a supportive supervisor can get you in to something better.
122 - that sucks. No advice, but sympathy.
126: I've been sifting through that kind of opportunity, but you're probably right that I should dive deeper into the temp world. I'll do some research.
Thanks!
Sorry, Chopper. My employer has a lot of jobs in your general vicinity (Ea/g/an, mostly) but I don't know much about what any entail. I recommend keeping an eye on the listings just because the benefits are relatively good. It's nice to talk to someone who understands the purpose of child support and takes it seriously, but I also realize there are times when scaling it back is appropriate. I hope you have things sorted out way before you get to that point.
Sympathies, Chopper. (Let me know if you find a UI/UX boot camp, too!) I wish I could believe that my aggressively-hiring employer might have a position for you, but I think it's too long a shot if you're not already in tech (no marketing jobs this month), and I don't want to waste your time with needless stress. I am sorry, though. There are so very many invisible people in your position; I have no idea how they hide so well, but it's bad for morale to have all that illusory isolation, goddamn it.
The ice cream truck outside is playing something from "Swan Lake." What's up next, "The Miraculous Mandarin"?!
Sympathies, Chopper. I've temporarily given up on my career after making it to the final cut after months-long application processes for two sweet jobs, so now I'm doing landscaping. On the plus side, I work with a mostly Mexican crew, so I'm learning Spanish. I expect to be able to conjugate "chinga" fully by next week.
Who doesn't want a career manscaping Mexicans?
Sorry to hear that Chopper, that sucks mightily. My sympathies. What Moby said about it taking time is certainly true and is in my experience good to keep in mind. And temping sounds like a good, uh, temporary solution.
132 Not if you're doing it right. Or something.
Do I do a boot camp of some kind (UI? UX?
My BIL does UX supposedly it's a hot area. He got a great gig at Overstock and since then has been headhunted by other companies in the area. SLC is pretty happening on the tech front lately so if you do a boot camp or something you should look out here.
A friend recommended a Ducati Multistrada.
Have you looked at the Triumph Explorer? A lot of people swear by the comfort and that shaft driven triple. They just updated the line for 2016 and for what you'd pay for a base Multi you'd typically get a Triumph with a lot of extras.
135: Funny you should mention that, I spent yesterday looking at the now-discontinued Tiger 1050. I'm more looking at buying secondhand, but thanks even so - I should have a look at Explorers, too. The Multistrada looks as though it can be pricey in terms of maintenance, which doesn't surprise me too much. However, I'm starting to think that I'd prefer something more reliable, particularly since I've read a couple of horror stories about Multistradas having computer meltdowns while riding.