|
|
This topic comprises 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Buying a new truck
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 02-22-2013 08:28 AM
quote: Manny Knowles
Road trips make me wish for: Cruise control and built-in GPS.
Cruise control: Yes! Navigation: Meh...
I think navigation is the perfect example of marketing things that people don't need. To be honest, I think its use is limited.
Most of your trip is going to be long stretches of driving on the Interstate. Most of that is going to be, "INTERSTATE--NINETY-FIVE...DRIVE--TWO-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-THREE--MILES."
If you pull off to get gas or use the restroom, you're only going to confuse the damn thing. Most of the time, you'll stray less than a mile off course. It's easy to find your way back to the highway. Just look for the red, white and blue signs, dummy! By the time the damn thing is done re-CALC-u-lating, you're already half way back to where you left off. The "detour" button/option isn't really much help, either. You'll spend more time pushing buttons than driving.
How often do you really use a navigator? Certainly not on your daily drive to work. You won't use it on 99% of your driving around town. If you need to find an address, your iPhone/iPad/Android will do the same job just as well. Plus, you don't have to pay extra money to have it. You've already paid for your phone.
The only time I've found a navigator to be really useful is either the "last mile" between the interstate and your destination or on highway loops/interchanges around cities. However, in both cases, your iPhone can handle the job just as well.
I still prefer to use Mapquest or Google Earth and print out the directions. Then I can circle the parts that I need to pay attention to on the "last mile" or I can make notes about things I want to remember. I put it on a clipboard and toss it on the passenger seat, next to me.
I find the Garmin/TomTom/Magellan GPS navigators to be little more than expensive toys of limited use. Why should you pay extra money to have one permanently installed in your car?
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 02-22-2013 10:39 AM
A standalone GPS unit goes for maybe $200 and works fine. A built-into-the-car one that does the same thing is usually a $1k+ option. Even for those who have a use for it, I don't see the point of the built-in version.
What I find fascinating about the car market at the moment is that some new cars are actually cheaper now than equivalent used cars. Very few new cars were sold in the 2009-2010 time period, and cash-for-clunkers took lots of otherwise good cars off of the market. I recently toyed with the idea of selling my 2003 Honda Accord and replacing it with a newer model. The off-lease three-year-old Hondas (~$16-17k) are selling for almost as much as brand-new ones (~$20k), and my 10-year-old car with 150k miles is still worth upwards of $5k. I ended up not buying anything, though, because I took a new full-time job and now take the train to work. My old car runs fine and I am putting almost zero miles on it now, so I will keep it for at least another year.
The other interesting thing about the car market is how much "optional accessories" add to the price of a new car. The aforementioned Honda sells for about $20k in its stripped-down version (which is perfectly good, and includes power windows/locks/steering/brakes, CD player, etc.). With all of the options (leather seats, V6 engine, navigation, fancy wheels, sunroof, etc.), the same basic car sells for almost 50% more. The base model is a good deal and worth buying, but I don't see how the options increase the value of the car by 50%. And the options add to the maintenance cost. I used to think that the V6 engine would be a good idea, but then I compared the maintenance schedules for the V4 and the V6. The V6 requires significantly more maintenance and is more expensive to buy. I concluded that it was not a worthwhile option.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010
|
posted 02-22-2013 02:09 PM
Randy I disagree about the air bags preportedly being primary restraints.
However I do agree with the gismos and gadgets like touchscreens and crap trying to pull people into new cars. All that crap is dumb. I also agree on the not much improvement in the last 10 years as far as economy etc, except for one major milestone; direct injection. It opens a whole new world of opportunities. A 0.5 liter engine can now make what a 2.0 liter made 15 years ago. They just arent exploiting it like they should.... But they will, they have to now with the new regulations in place, all cars have to average x mpg by 2016 or something, I don't remember off hand.
I enjoy GPS, but wouldn't pay the extra $1500 or whatever it would cost to have a factory setup.
I'm also somewhat of a car guy, I DO like things like cruise control, bigger optional engines and higher trim levels, heated leather, sunroof, etc. But I really enjoy driving and those just add to the experience for me. All the media distractions though.... not so much.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 02-22-2013 02:10 PM
I don't know why people think I'm opposed to seat belts and air bags when all I actually said was that I was skeptical of an explosive charge, two feet in front of your face, which was originally thought of as a replacement for seat belts but, in actual practice, turned out to only be supplemental.
iPhone/Android/Garmin/Magellan/TomTom, et. al., GPS hardware is often updated one or more times per year. New software updates come out, sometimes, monthly. Map updates come out at least twice per year. When those hardware, software and data updates come out, how hard is it to apply them to a built-in system versus a handheld? It's virtually impossible to update hardware in a built-in. Firmware and software updates for built-ins probably have to be done at a dealer, for a charge. Data updates might be user-installable but I don't know. On the other hand, software, firmware and data updates can be done on a handheld device quite easily by the user. Hardware updates can be done for a few hundred bucks, just by buying a new unit. Cheaper if you can sell the old one off via Ebay, etc.
For all of that expense, time and trouble, how often does the average person really use a GPS navigator? A few times per year? That utility will likely change for somebody who drives as part of his job but, still, how much of your long distance driving is actually on familiar routes? Once you are familiar with that "last mile," how much would you really use it? Finding restaurants and stores, etc., for sure but how much else?
You already have handheld devices that can do the same thing, usually for free and often better. You already have laptop or desktop computers that can access Google Earth, Mapquest or other free, on-line services. It's money that you don't need to spend.
Besides, just on principle, you ought to be doing your homework and studying your route, while you are planning a trip, before you even get into the car. You should not be relying on any device, handheld or built-in. You should know where you are going, the general route you are going to take, an estimate of how long it will take and whether there are any hazards to look out for on the way. Not doing your homework, beforehand, is just plain stupid. That's why we read stories about people who drive their cars off cliffs because their in-car GPS navigators told them to.
Handheld GPS devices are all right, given the limitations we talked about above. Built-ins are just a stupid waste of money.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 02-22-2013 04:07 PM
quote: Buck Wilson
Randy I disagree about the air bags preportedly being primary restraints.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#As_a_supplemental_restraint_.28SRS.29
quote:
The auto industry and research and regulatory communities have moved away from their initial view of the airbag as a seat belt replacement, and the bags are now nominally designated as Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) or Supplemental Inflatable Restraints.
Airbags were first designed in the 1940s and 1950s as a replacement for seat belts but were found to be unworkable. Later, in the 1970s, when technology advanced, airbags were reintroduced as a supplement to lap belts and shoulder restraints.
The first propellants, as conceived in the 40's were supposed to be from compressed air released from a cylinder upon impact but the bags wouldn't inflate fast enough. Later, in the 70's sodium azide was used; similar to solid rocket propellant. Sodium azide is poisonous and creates caustic byproducts. Later, the formula was changed to guanidine nitrate, another solid rocket propellant. It is no less explosive but it is less toxic.
I remember seeing videos (movies) made in the 1950s discussing the virtues of airbags in cars and the distinct impression they gave was of a "big fluffy cushion" that inflates to save you. The truth is, during a collision, there is something like a 40 millisecond window of time for that "big fluffy cusion" to inflate. That's not a lot of time. Something that inflates in that amount of time is anything but "big" and "fluffy." In order for a bag to inflate in 40ms, it takes a virtual explosion.
No, I am not against airbags, per se. I'm just telling people that they need to have a healthy amount of respect. There IS a pellet of explosives two feet in front of your face.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
Printer-friendly view of this topic