akirby
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Posts posted by akirby
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776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who:
(1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
(2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant;
I'm pretty sure that someone sitting on top of you ramming your head into the pavement fits that exception to being the aggressor.
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Hence my conclusion that IIHS is not suggesting that vehicles like the one akirby alluded to are unsafe.
Your conclusion and the average consumer's conclusion may be totally different.
Show a consumer a test report that says a vehicle scored Marginal or Poor and tell me how they're supposed to respond?
And what about Brady's headline:
Four luxury sedans fail new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test
That's how consumers will be presented the test results and that's the impression they will get.
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What they said.......
2 stars imply an unsafe vehicle - period. Like jpd80 said - just raise the bar to 7 or 8 stars so that existing 5 star cars are still 5 star cars but the ones who can pass the tougher test get more stars.
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They're still being called Top Safety Picks for the 2012 and 2013 awards if they pass the existing four tests.
And you don't see the contradiction in that?
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I'm all for it, if the benefit is to increase safety for the consumer, why not.
It doesn't bother you that a really, really safe 5 star rated vehicle that was a top safety pick last year is suddenly touted as being unsafe now? Spin it all you want, that's the net result of this new test.
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Injuries might be down, but cost of repairs has certainly increased dramatically. And considering most claims don't involve injury of any kind, the bulk of the money insurance companies are dishing out is likely for vehicle repairs.
Understood but I think we hit that plateau about a decade ago or more when we added dual airbags and crumple zones and painted bumpers. Since then I think it's just been the normal rise in the cost of goods. I could be wrong - I don't think I've seen actual repair cost averages.
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In other words, he's no better or worse than anyone else. It's not semantics to suggest that Paul Ryan is not the wunderkid of budgetary policy that is suggested. It's a simple criticism.
What does someone's opinion have to do with his actual fiscal accumen? Nothing. You hate anything labeled Republican or Conservative and you do nothing but look for ways to attack or criticize. Others do the same thing with Liberals and Democrats.
It's turned into a game of college football where your team is right and your team must win so you support everything your team does and you attack everything the other team does. And that goes for both sides.
It serves no purpose other than to prevent us from getting to a common ground and actually solving problems. If the Republicans got off their religious high horse and stopped talking about gay marriage and abortion (which have nothing whatsoever to do with running the country) and the Democrats would stop hating rich people then we might actually be able to have some bipartisan solutions that benefit the country.
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The thing is that each time the IIHS implements one of these tests, nearly ever car finds a way to achieve the top score within a few years. Each test they've implemented started out with a high failure rate: 40 percent offset in 1995, SUV side-impact in 2004ish, roof crush in 2009 or 2010....
Certainly the insurance companies have a profit motive, but it's about encouraging design changes that help them pay out less in injury claims. But if anyone can provide any data showing a spike in insurance premiums among these cars, please feel free.
Maybe the better question is whether insurance premiums have gone down as cars have gotten safer? I know mine haven't. This gives them an excuse not to lower premiums as cars get safer.
If their costs go down due to fewer injuries but their premiums stay the same, who pockets the difference?
It would be much better if they used absolute numbers rather than relative measurements. Let's go back to the old 5 star rating system from 10 or 20 years ago. Why not just add stars as cars get better? So a car that was 5 stars in 2002 would still be a 5 star today but newer cars may be 6 or 7 stars now. It keeps the relative rankings intact.
Resetting the bar forces car mfrs to keep up or risk sales from poor public perception - even though the 2 star cars of today are much much better than the 5 star cars from 20 years ago.
And those expenses get passed on to the customers. That's probably good when you're talking about percentage improvements in the double digits but at this point we're talking about tiny fractions of improvement in real world outcomes and at some point it's simply not worth the cost.
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Your right transit, the speedometer doesnt phase me anymore.. Another question to the group.. What is the purpose of the wifi connection? I set it up to my router while in my driveway, but what did I gain from doing this?
Until they get the web browser enabled - not much.
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Strange that no source is given or even hinted at and no more information provided than what we've seen here months ago.
I have no doubt that we won't see any "halo" cars right away because it's not financially responsible at this point. But I'm not sure that the proposed lineup is accurate either.
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>>>>>have used a 2" hitch mount bike rack several times already.
Tell me about the bike rack.
I've never used on and have been looking at a Thule Swing-Away
Any info wold help. This was one of the motivators to jump from Focus to Escape, after trying to shoehorn a mountain bike into the back of a Focus (no can do)
I have one although I've only used it a couple of times. They work great, especially the swing away models so you can open the rear without removing the bikes or the rack.
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That would be an astute statement if I had mentioned that the there were none better than the Democrats at budgetary measures, but you won't see me pontificating about either sides ability to create budget policy. If you look at the statement crowning Paul Ryan the king of budgets you could understand that this isn't a him or them situation it is a critique on the elevation of Ryan's status as a budget planner. I have merely suggested he is mortal like the rest of them.
In other words you're just arguing semantics for no good reason.
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I ordered the trailer tow package on my 2013 Titanium. It gave me a 2" hitch and a 4 pin lighting connector on the rear bumper. Came with everything but the ball that I would need to pull a trailer. Haven't tried it with a trailer yet but have used a 2" hitch mount bike rack several times already.
Trailer tow should give you the hitch and everything except the ball. Trailer tow PREP only gives you the wiring and the tranny cooler IIRC.
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He does get that, but in this case it was that his budget plan was as I said before unrealistic and unobtainable.
As opposed to the Democrat's version which is also unrealistic and unsustainable?
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Precisely. There is a whole factory putting this problematic "suv" together. Ford should pull an engine out of the factory and take care of the actual person that paid (a ton) of money for their vehicle than the potential customer that may buy the one that isn't built yet.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush......and if I were this customer.....Ford wouldn't have a bird in the hand. It has been appalling how badly Ford has handled this.....especially with a vehicle so vitally important as the Escape. This smacks of arrogance...."we don't need to please this customer because there will be many more".
It's not that easy to just "pull an engine out of the factory" and you also have to remember this affected tens of thousands of customers, not just one or two.
What they should have done is make sure the customer has a nice vehicle to drive while waiting for repairs and may throw in something extra for the inconvenience. No mfr is equipped to fix something like this overnight.
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>>>>Consumer Reports does not have enough data to predict the reliability of this 'new' engine technology.
That's inaccurate information. The Eco-Boost motors are some of the most thoroughly and rigorously tested ever to be put in a vehicle. I got interested in them kind of by accident. I spent years doing motorcycle test riding and got an e-mail from an engineer friend one day. He told me that he couldn't share the details but his firm had been contracted to do the mandated HVN testing on the Eco-Boost motor and that, during the time they were doing the testing, his entire staff was amazed with the motor. I may opt for the extended warranty but I have no hesitation in trading in my 2012 Focus Titanium (with every available option) on a similarly equipped 2013 Escape that is being built today and delivered 9/6/12,
I am eager to see how the experience is but my sense is that Ford has hit one out of the park.
P.S. - Does anyone know precisely what is included in the "Trailer Tow Prep Package"? I am picking the vehicle up half way across the county and need to haul 2 motorcycles back to NYC. I'm wondering what wiring comes in place and what needs to be done . . ditto for the hitch. I am hoping all I need is a 2" ball.
I think trailer tow prep only includes the wiring harness and possibly the tranny cooler.
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He gets criticism from the left because of his "draconian" cuts and from the right because he doesn't go far enough.
Exactly my point. Any time one side brings up a possible solution it gets shot down by the other side and we never get anywhere. We need bipartisan solutions.
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There have been reports that the SE Hybrid will also have Intelligent Access, but the order guide has never been updated to reflect that. For now it's only safe to assume that you will need the Titanium or MKZ to get it.
It was confirmed by a Ford rep on Facebook that the hybrids gets push button start, but you're correct that the order guide doesn't say that.
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It seems like you can only get push to start and dual exhaust by getting the Titanium....can anyone confirm this for me? Thx.
Not sure about dual exhaust but Intelligent Access is only available on the Titanium.
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I was just clarifying that the $700 navigation option did not include the 8" color touchscreen - that comes with MFT already.
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When both sides spend all their time attacking the other side instead of focusing on what needs to be done to fix the problems and working together - we're all screwed.
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The $700 (at least in the states) buys more than just navigation... You also get the 8" color touch display screen and the MyFordTouch system with its integration and additonal features. MFT has been the subject of much discussion and it is eqaully loved and loathed, so that might be either a plus or negative, depending on your perspective. We thought it worth it and and ordered it on ours.
You have to get MyFordTouch first then it's $795 EXTRA just for the Navigation software and maps.
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True, but I think the GC/T&C/(Routan) is the only minivan sold here that rides on its own platform. Odyssey shares with Accord (more or less), Sienna shares with Camry,, Quest shares with Altima/Maxima, and, as I just found out, Sedona shares with Optima. We could start to go back and forth about all the modifications that would need to be made, but I think that's been done ad nauseam here.
But it's also kinda hard to stipulate a "world-class" minivan when that segment, like the full-size pickup, is almost exclusive to North America.
Minivans are so unique they may as well be unique platforms. The features are certainly unique. It's not that it can't be done - just that it would take a big effort and a lot of resources to do it.
The F150 is only sold in North America but I don't think anyone would argue that it's world class.
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Flex?
I like the vehicle, but Ford can spare it.
Sure, they could spare it but it would take more than that to pay for a new minivan. Flex is just a tophat on a shared platform. And that platform isn't suitable for a world class minivan.
2012 MKZ, other luxury sedans earn low ratings in tough new IIHS test
in Ford Motor Company Discussion Forum
Posted
The 3 most common headline verbs are Fail, Flunk and Struggle.
i rest my case.