New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #40

oldfattradguuy kk wrote:

Ya got me beat by 6 years but I’m on my 7th truck :)

I went 24 this year on a good deal, the one safety feature I can’t turn off is the auto breaking anti rear end collision feature, it takes time to get used to.  I thought I would be turning the others off but decided to leave them on and get used to it. Decided I like the adaptive cruise control on curvy Idasippi roads.

I had a demo this summer, got pulled over for speeding fiddling with the cruise control, at the end of the conversation the state trooper said “if this was your truck I’d give you a ticket, but I have a new Subaru and can’t figure out half the shit in it…” 

Nice guy 

The back up brake on mine can be turned off but when I have the bikes on the rack there is a very loud and annoying buzz in reverse but with no bikes no noise. The adaptive cruise is way too complicated for me.

Kevinmurray wrote:

The back up brake on mine can be turned off but when I have the bikes on the rack there is a very loud and annoying buzz in reverse but with no bikes no noise. The adaptive cruise is way too complicated for me.

1. Turn cruise on. 2. Set speed. 3. Set interval distance (from wife’s ‘23 RAV which has similar controls to late model Tacomas). Literally three button clicks, takes less than three seconds. It is one click, one button more than on my ‘08 Tacoma. In fast moving traffic, adaptive cruise is awesome (unless you zone out and end up following someone on the freeway at 60 mph)

Bill Lundeen wrote:

My wheels have almost fallen off: 1989, 330,000 miles, rusting apart, takes a lickin' and just keeps on tickin'. Bought it 20 years ago in Mammoth Lakes CA with 73,000 on it. I LOVE THIS TRUCK! Still my only vehicle... It's retired now: no more snow, no more rugged 4WD, no more living in the back.  Temperate north California  coast. Treated like a baby now.

Sweet! I suspected that you would still be running that classic. They don’t make them like that anymore. 

A great day.  The season is just getting started.

I've never driven a late model Subie or Lexus. Are you telling me that all of the controls for climate, ventilation, and other settings are layered into menu's on the touch screen only?

We have two vehicles, neither new, a 2020 Jeep Rubicon/Recon and a 2018 Chevy Silverado 3500HD 1 ton truck. We use the Jeep for sport off-road and it's Barbara's daily driver. The big diesel is my ride, and does solid duty hauling loads. We're just pushing the house building project across the finish line, and I don't wants my tradespeople driving around for materials. They know how to build, I can drive. The other day I had over 3,000 pounds of tile in the bed from Gillette WY to the jobsite, about 80 miles. That was effortless for the truck, but it's rated for 4,500 with the Firestone Air Command suspension.

Ergonomics in both are great. Each has a touch screen that can be used to adjust all kinds of setting you don't want to be messing with while you're driving. Below the screen all of the functions you want access to while driving are laid out with well lit buttons and knobs with tactile feedback. Both have good sound systems with controls on the steering wheel, but the Jeep has better logic. You can navigate through files on a usb stick easily from the wheel with getting all distracted. 

Regarding the stick vs auto debate, things have changed. Modern auto's using a variety of tech have left the venerable clutch pedal and stick behind. The 8 speed auto in our Jeep has been a huge success in the off-road community. I laugh robustly at the person who buys the rare new Porsche that still has manual when the PDK transmission will out perform it hands down every time.

Jeeps, with their WWII aerodynamics and heavy drive trains are not known as economy cars. But I am surprised that the 6.6L diesel making about 500 horses and just shy of 1,000 pounds of torque consistently gets 4-5 mpg better mileage than the 2.0L 4 banger Jeep.

Frank Stein wrote:

1. Turn cruise on. 2. Set speed. 3. Set interval distance (from wife’s ‘23 RAV which has similar controls to late model Tacomas). Literally three button clicks, takes less than three seconds. It is one click, one button more than on my ‘08 Tacoma. In fast moving traffic, adaptive cruise is awesome (unless you zone out and end up following someone on the freeway at 60 mph)

Three steps, two more than I am willing to do. Had an astro van years ago and only had to turn it on, very simple.Basically I just have never had much use for cruise control.

Don't like heated seats either.

My 2018 Tacoma has kept me from rear ending someone once.  And I love the adaptive cruise control.  I drive long drives a lot and to have the truck just pull up behind someone going slightly slower when in traffic and not need to turn the cruise control off and not run over the other car is great.  The only complaint I have with my truck is with the automatic transmission, also my first.  It tends to hunt gears a lot when driving in the hills but does have a sport mode to lock it into a gear so that it can't constantly upshift.  I do turn the lane drifting alarm off most of the time but I can remember a few nights where it would have been great when I was driving and I was really too tired to do so.

My wifes volkswagon on the other hand has some really stupid limits.  You can't adjust the stereo settings while driving.  Did they not consider that maybe the passenger was doing the adjusting?  And the volume control on the stereo is not fine enough and goes from too soft to too loud with one click.

Kristian Solem wrote:

I've never driven a late model Subie or Lexus. Are you telling me that all of the controls for climate, ventilation, and other settings are layered into menu's on the touch screen only?

We have two vehicles, neither new, a 2020 Jeep Rubicon/Recon and a 2018 Chevy Silverado 3500HD 1 ton truck. We use the Jeep for sport off-road and it's Barbara's daily driver. The big diesel is my ride, and does solid duty hauling loads. We're just pushing the house building project across the finish line, and I don't wants my tradespeople driving around for materials. They know how to build, I can drive. The other day I had over 3,000 pounds of tile in the bed from Gillette WY to the jobsite, about 80 miles. That was effortless for the truck, but it's rated for 4,500 with the Firestone Air Command suspension.

Ergonomics in both are great. Each has a touch screen that can be used to adjust all kinds of setting you don't want to be messing with while you're driving. Below the screen all of the functions you want access to while driving are laid out with well lit buttons and knobs with tactile feedback. Both have good sound systems with controls on the steering wheel, but the Jeep has better logic. You can navigate through files on a usb stick easily from the wheel with getting all distracted. 

Regarding the stick vs auto debate, things have changed. Modern auto's using a variety of tech have left the venerable clutch pedal and stick behind. The 8 speed auto in our Jeep has been a huge success in the off-road community. I laugh robustly at the person who buys the rare new Porsche that still has manual when the PDK transmission will out perform it hands down every time.

Jeeps, with their WWII aerodynamics and heavy drive trains are not known as economy cars. But I am surprised that the 6.6L diesel making about 500 horses and just shy of 1,000 pounds of torque consistently gets 4-5 mpg better mileage than the 2.0L 4 banger Jeep.

I don't know about Lexus but yes Subaru made that design choice for many of their recent models. Incredibly frustrating and annoying. At least they didn't put the turn signals on a touchscreen. Which believe it or not happened with some Tesla models.

Diesels usually get much better mileage than gas cars but the energy density of diesel fuel is up to 20% higher than gasoline per gallon. The higher combustion ratios they use also means more of that energy is transferred to the drive train rather than going out the exhaust pipe as waste heat. I had a VW TDI sportwagen that was a great car for long road trips as I would get 50 mpg. Too bad part of the reason for that was VW cheating on the emissions test.

Kris, you are going to make big trouble at my house. Tony really thinks he needs another car even though the current one is two years old and pristine.  But now he’s fully in the Hyundai camp. I didn’t realize that some guys treasure their cars so much – – Tony remembers everything in his life in terms of what car he had at the time. And they were all sort of “muscle cars” in the 70s and 80s. So maybe it was a Chicago thing.

But since we started watching Landman I have wanted a big truck. I have nothing to haul and no place to go but I could try and come up with something. Billy Bob Thornton’s truck is probably a 2017 Ford F – 350 super something. I guess if you are earning big bucks from oil drilling, you can have any kind of car you want.

I bought my first Lexus for practical reasons. As a single mom with kids and a business, I didn’t want to be stranded anywhere and I couldn’t afford to spend days sitting at the dealership waiting on repairs. I also had some conscience about gas mileage and this was Lexus’ first hybrid.  It worked out so well I did it again in 2016 with a slightly used SUV and a very extended warranty. I gotta say it’s been great. I’ve been asked over and over why I would pay 2000 bucks for such a long warranty – – well spread out it didn’t add up to much monthly but if anything goes wrong with this car, I just pull up to the service dock leave the key in the car and they send me off within minutes in a brand new loaner.

But the big changes between 2016 and 2025 are huge. I forgot to mention that now there’s some kind of projection from the front panel onto the front window so that looking straight ahead I can see the speed , time and gas. I wish I had taken a picture because it’s kind of a laser thing—no one else can see it. And no, you can’t adjust anything while the car is moving. I’m surprised it let me tell it where I want to go – – it seemed to have a mind of its own.  When I returned it, the service guy said “too techie for you?”  Yeah, a little bit!

Lori: “I forgot to mention that now there’s some kind of projection from the front panel onto the front window so that looking straight ahead I can see the speed , time and gas. I wish I had taken a picture because it’s kind of a laser thing—no one else can see it.”

In the planes I flew we called that a HUD (Heads Up Display). I’m surprised it has taken this long to find its way into cars. 

I drive an old guys car, pretty low tech compared to current models.  Sheree has a new Volvo that is extremely high tech, too much for me.  My all time favorite car was my 1963 Corvette, 327cu,in,, 340 hp, 4 speed, it could break any speed limit in the US in second gear.  Top end, scary.  Wish I still had it.  Second favorite was a 57 Chevy,  I got the shop manual and could maintain/repair anything on it.  Rugged and simple, but sketchy driving on slick roads.  Switched the rear differential from 3.70 to 4.56 for (legal, on the Dover, N,Y. track) drag racing and won my class.  Thinking about this now and realize that I am so ancient!

Frank Stein wrote:

1. Turn cruise on. 2. Set speed. 3. Set interval distance (from wife’s ‘23 RAV which has similar controls to late model Tacomas). Literally three button clicks, takes less than three seconds. It is one click, one button more than on my ‘08 Tacoma. In fast moving traffic, adaptive cruise is awesome (unless you zone out and end up following someone on the freeway at 60 mph)

It's a great thing for relaxing a bit more while driving. I'm definitely less frazzled after a long drive using the auto pilot functions. Of course it took a few months of figuring out what all the buttons do but it has been worth it. The most intimidating thing about the new Honda is the car's manual, it is as thick as the holy Bible and takes up half of the glove box!

Daniel Joder wrote:

Lori: “I forgot to mention that now there’s some kind of projection from the front panel onto the front window so that looking straight ahead I can see the speed , time and gas. I wish I had taken a picture because it’s kind of a laser thing—no one else can see it.”

In the planes I flew we called that a HUD (Heads Up Display). I’m surprised it has taken this long to find its way into cars. 

That seems like it would be distracting as hell!!!!  Maybe one thing flying a fighter after intensive training, but for day-to-day driving, no thanks.

I think that if one of the automakers would just produce a 'basic old-fashioned' model ( though, obviously with the required safety and emissions features) it would be a big hit---especially amongst those of us in the 'boomer cohort'.

For the last two decades my city car was my wife’s 35 year-old Honda Civic that she bought in 1990. Manual crank windows, 4-speed manual transmission, no power steering, no air bags, no AC. It was as basic as a car can get, and my wife hated me driving it…especially on the highway. To make her happy, I bought a used Leaf this past February, and oh my god, I cannot believe how much more relaxing my morning commute has gotten.

I truly don’t understand the pining for old crap that broke down all the time, was unsafe, less comfortable, less efficient and had worse performance. But, I do have to admit that when we sold the Civic, we had to beat off buyers with stick. Some even wanted to trailer the car out of state. 

Frank Stein wrote:

For the last two decades my city car was my wife’s 35 year-old Honda Civic that she bought in 1990. Manual crank windows, 4-speed manual transmission, no power steering, no air bags, no AC. It was as basic as a car can get, and my wife hated me driving it…especially on the highway. To make her happy, I bought a used Leaf this past February, and oh my god, I cannot believe how much more relaxing my morning commute has gotten.

I truly don’t understand the pining for old crap that broke down all the time, was unsafe, less comfortable, less efficient and had worse performance. But, I do have to admit that when we sold the Civic, we had to beat off buyers with stick. Some even wanted to trailer the car out of state. 

I don’t think anyone is pining for old crap. I do think that some technology and the reality that it is tied directly to drivability is the main point of contention. I’ll give an example of what I mean. A good friend has a Honda Ridgeline, it’s a great and mostly reliable vehicle for him. It has several cameras to aid in visibility. One of the cameras failed and this caused his Ridgeline to enter “limp mode” where he couldn’t drive over approximately 35 mph. To add additional insult, the replacement camera was several hundred dollars and backordered, resulting in the loss of his primary vehicle for about 6 weeks. This is all information that he told me so if I misspoke it’s not an intentional dig at modern car tech. 

I truly don’t understand the pining for old crap that broke down all the time, was unsafe, less comfortable, less efficient and had worse performance.

And yet you did just that for 20-years   Glad you got to the light, er, turned over an almost-new Leaf!

In all too short a time we're gonna be gone. Old crap, new crap, its all crap and killing the planet anyway. Whatever makes you happy and jives with your code, go for it!

Frank Stein wrote:

I truly don’t understand the pining for old crap that broke down all the time, was unsafe, less comfortable, less efficient and had worse performance. But, I do have to admit that when we sold the Civic, we had to beat off buyers with stick. Some even wanted to trailer the car out of state. 

It’s not pining for the old crap, it’s likely just pining for when everyone was youthful and vibrant. You know, when it didn’t matter that you had to push the vehicle up a steep hill to the filling station up top.   

The people who design some of this crap obviously live in places where it never snows.  I have a 2014 Toyota corolla (yes, I am a cheap bastard).  It has that wonderful anti-skid function where, as soon as the tires start slipping, it is like you pushed the clutch in, game over.   I had just bought the car and was driving to go winter bouldering at nearby Farley.  The driveway in was covered in ice and snow, but I had plenty of momentum and was JUST about to crest the top into the parking lot when this wonderful feature kicked in.   So now I am going backwards down a slippery slope and I did a 180, almost going into the wetland to the side.  A real safety feature.   

Lori, I'm very close to my hitting my goal for the year. In 2012, I did 257 pitches (if we include my one regrettable boulder problem, which I'm not sure I want to count). This year, I've got 256 pitches in, due to a recent road trip to our friend Tim at Safe Harbor.

Here's Tim following Steve's lead of The Hanging Garden (5.9):

Tim leading Ellie's Belly (5.6):
Here's Bill following Tim's lead of Tonga (5.9):
Tim leading Black Doves (5.8-):
Me following Tim on our last climb of the trip, There Goes the Hood (5.7):