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How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

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Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#171

Post by vGPU »

flagrant_taco wrote: post #144
ethbr0 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How'd the MR2 drive? I've had one of those on my quirk to-buy list for awhile.

I loved that car, it was a second gen turbo with t-tops. It's effectively a street legal go-cart, actually very si.ilar to an early Lotus Elise if you've ever driven one. I never had issues with it spinning around on my, though I was always very aware of how centered the weight balance was so it was clear when I was getting close to the edge. I'd take a car like that over a true high performance vehicle any day. Taki…

I've always wanted to drive one of those. Sadly, it will probably never happen now.

My personal favorite was a beat-up manual C5 vette. Clutch drops at 6k all day long. Seat sliders were broken so it would wobble around rather alarmingly. Mufflers stolen by some hoodlums.

Incredibly fun.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#172

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

Retric wrote: post #167
ethbr0 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parent was likely talking about activities for which there is only a "mobile app" solution, with no fall-back human option. The usual pattern is: 1. Company releases mobile app 2. Company directs users to mobile app, for data collection purposes, and releases new physical activities app-first. Backup, non-app methods are an afterthought 3. At some point, the non-app methods are so broken, under/unstaffed, that they'r…

Do you have any examples? I’ve only seen something vaguely like that with Reddit.

I can't easily send money to an arbitrary person via Zelle because my bank only allows that through their app. Website only supports requesting that they mail a paper check to that person which will take some time.

I prefer not to have any connection between my phone, which is easily lost, and any financial data.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#173

Post by mlsu »

ethbr0 wrote: post #145
flagrant_taco wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved that car, it was a second gen turbo with t-tops. It's effectively a street legal go-cart, actually very si.ilar to an early Lotus Elise if you've ever driven one. I never had issues with it spinning around on my, though I was always very aware of how centered the weight balance was so it was clear when I was getting close to the edge. I'd take a car like that over a true high performance vehicle any day. Taki…

I had a Miata second gen 6-speed for a few years, and 110% agree on the fun level of street legal go-carts, over heavier but more powerful. Thanks for the impression. I'll make sure to test drive one if the opportunity comes up. RIP Miata/del Sol/Elise/MR2/S2000/CRX era

Had the same car.

Crashed it once, bought the exact same model cash the following week.

Oh those were the days. Miatas too cheap to meter.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#174

Post by cosentiyes »

javajosh wrote: post #60
hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #53

It’s becoming impossible to practice what you preach when it comes to data privacy. ‘Don’t like it, don’t buy it’ is difficult to execute unless you don’t mind not having a car, mobile phone, tv, browse the internet or even go out in a public place. There needs to be regulation and at least the ability to at least easily opt out of any of this insanity, but until there’s one (or probably many) widespread data-breache…

The EU seems to have it's act together. Things in the US won't change until the elites feel that pervasive surveillance impacts them personally and negatively.

Yes, the EU is doing what needs to be done (criminalizing end-to-end encryption) /s

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#175

Post by flagrant_taco »

vGPU wrote: post #171
flagrant_taco wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved that car, it was a second gen turbo with t-tops. It's effectively a street legal go-cart, actually very si.ilar to an early Lotus Elise if you've ever driven one. I never had issues with it spinning around on my, though I was always very aware of how centered the weight balance was so it was clear when I was getting close to the edge. I'd take a car like that over a true high performance vehicle any day. Taki…

I've always wanted to drive one of those. Sadly, it will probably never happen now. My personal favorite was a beat-up manual C5 vette. Clutch drops at 6k all day long. Seat sliders were broken so it would wobble around rather alarmingly. Mufflers stolen by some hoodlums. Incredibly fun.

When I was 15 my mom's boyfriend wanted to impress me. We went for a ride in his candy cane C5 one evening, hit 118mph on the interstate on ramp.

Really gave me an appreciation for that powertrain...my mom was less appreciative.

Come to think of it, that's probably part of why I loved the thrill of an MR2 when technically driving at legal speeds

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#176

Post by soultrees »

WirelessGigabit wrote: post #121
OnlineGladiator wrote: post #25

For many cars it's relatively straight-forward to disable the cellular modem, and sometimes it won't impact the other functionality of the car at all. Chances are someone in a forum somewhere has done the legwork for you. Do a google search and realize how easy (or hard) it is to do for your vehicle. Most of the time it won't even impact your warranty, apart from the modem you've purposefully disabled and no longer c…

Except that is the same modem that is used to call emergency services when you get into an accident.

It’s not ‘when’ it’s ‘if’. And let’s be honest here, if you get into an accident, someone else is already calling 911 as well.

So in exchange for being spied, your data sold to third parties (likely), and knowing every place you visit at every time and know your movement patterns better than anyone, you get the protection of someone calling you, (if it’s a serious accident you’re probably not answering and if you’re answering, you can probably dial a cellphone. At least 9/10 of the 1/100000 chances of a serious accident).

Just curious if the trade off is still worth it for you? I don’t know, I know I don’t.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#177

Post by Tanoc »

vic-traill wrote: post #17
blueridge wrote: post #2

https://archive.is/9IU8W I've got an old (2002) car, I love the buttons and knobs. No cameras, no screens, no key fob, no voice control, no electronic "safety" features, no tracking. The 4L straight six engine is still going strong at almost 300,000 miles. What's funny is watching my friends attempt to back out of the driveway or parking lot without a camera and screen. They put it in reverse and their eyes go right…

2005 Honda Civic LX w/ under 100,000 KM on it. In Canada, but first (and only previous) owner spent winter in Arizona and there has been no previous winter driving. Car is a champ. I can adjust everything via tactile controls. Sensors exist, but fewer sensors. (Note, this next sentence is me talking out of my ass) There is a whole industry built on replacing faulty sensors that are not detecting the fault they were d…

There has been a smaller advance in actual crash safety since 2000 than there was between 1980 and 2000. The only big leap forward since then was rollover standards where vehicles above a certain weight must be able to support their entire gross weight on their roof. Essentially any car designed and certified after 1998 is safe enough in an actual impact to prevent death or major injury barring structural failure like rust that compromises the crash cell and crumple zones. Most modern safety features introduced since the early 1980s are actually proactive rather than reactive in that they aim to prevent errant behaviour rather than protect from dangerous situations. Blind spot monitoring, lane change assist, and backup cameras for example are all proactive versus seatbealts, airbags, and crumple zones which are reactive.

2004 is around the last time we had mechanically simple cars with majority reactive safety systems and cars made before that cutoff date are getting increasingly more expensive to both enthusiasts and used purchasers.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#178

Post by npteljes »

voz_ wrote: post #26

Who cares though? I ask this elsewhere here too, so apologies if I am being redundant. Everything tracks me. My phone, every neighbors camera pointing out toward the street, the eyes in the sky, office buildings, grocery stores. I don’t care though, because I am no one. It’s such a non problem or issue for my day to day, and I couldn’t imagine choosing my car over something like this. However, on HN, I constantly see…

To understand why some people care, I think it's useful to separate immediate real-life concerns, and more abstract, larger picture concerns. As an individual with limited energy, empathy, and frankly a finite lifespan, caring about this constantly is probably not productive, or healthy. This changes when we're talking about where the world is going, how different societies compare, in time or in different places. Then suddenly larger concerns like the general erosion of privacy, the global change in climate, and the rise and acceptance of extremist ideologies make sense.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#179

Post by npteljes »

rektide wrote: post #37

Computing as a whole has obliterated user agency. This is just one of many manifestations of a system run rampant, where consumers can't even begin to understand what it is their purchasing & using. It's not a free market - the market can't adjust - if buyers can't even learn what they are buying. I do hope some day we can make computing more visible & honest.

100%. And if it's not obscure enough, the ever-connected high-speed internet takes care that it remains so.

Re: How the most popular cars in the US track drivers

#180

Post by vGPU »

flagrant_taco wrote: post #175
vGPU wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always wanted to drive one of those. Sadly, it will probably never happen now. My personal favorite was a beat-up manual C5 vette. Clutch drops at 6k all day long. Seat sliders were broken so it would wobble around rather alarmingly. Mufflers stolen by some hoodlums. Incredibly fun.

When I was 15 my mom's boyfriend wanted to impress me. We went for a ride in his candy cane C5 one evening, hit 118mph on the interstate on ramp. Really gave me an appreciation for that powertrain...my mom was less appreciative. Come to think of it, that's probably part of why I loved the thrill of an MR2 when technically driving at legal speeds

I agree, small, low slung manual cars let you have fun without breaking too many laws. You can’t do that with modern cars anymore. I took a c7z for a test drive. Took it sideways going ~75mph, but the car was completely numb and unfeeling. I knew that it wasn’t the car for me, because I’d kill myself or someone else trying to eke a thrill out of it.
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