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NEWS 626 - 31 Comments
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Very nice! How do you like it so far?
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Yep. I'm retiring the Saturn that has served me well for 15 years! The plan was to drive it til it died but it's still going strong... it wins! With my recent back troubles I was getting tired of getting in and out of such a low car. So it's time for something new! I've been looking at these for a while after having gotten in one a year ago.
It's a 2009. I never thought I'd buy new car, but with gas prices down, the economy in the toilet, and the 2010's coming soon, I got what I considered a good deal (under invoice, where as they were getting over MSRP a year ago!). I'm aware that the Prius (like the Hummer) is iconic and represents a certain belief system to some people. So I know I may find myself defending my choice of car. As y'all know I'm hardly the greenest person around -- Like Penn & Teller I think a lot of recycling is BULLSHIT -- But I think the technology and gadgets on this thing are super sweet. And it fits our needs perfectly. For what looks like a small car they are roomy as frak!
And gadgets? Did I say gadgets? It's a their "package 6", so basically has every option:
cruise control, heated outside mirrors, 15-in. 6-spoke alloy wheels
with trim rings, tonneau cover, seatback pockets, Smart Key System [2], backup camera [3], Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) [4], anti-theft system and auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink® [5] universal transceiver, JBL® AM/FM 6-disc in-dash CD changer with nine speakers in seven locations, auxiliary audio jack, MP3/WMA playback capability, satellite radio capability [6] and hands-free phone capability via Bluetooth® [7] wireless technology, High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps and integrated fog lamps, voice-activated DVD navigation system [10], and leather-trimmed seats and steering wheel.
The bad news? We decided that Angie will be using it daily for work because she drives the most miles. I'll use the Sienna minivan for putzing around town and going to work. We'll save a ton on gas. I think I get it Saturdays though! 
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Ross said:
Very nice! How do you like it so far?
I freaking love it! I feel like George Jetson in this thing -- it's like driving a space ship. I'll have to show you guys this weekend!
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Congrats on the car. She's a purdy little thing, aint she.
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Ross said:
Very nice! How do you like it so far?
Whats that? Whats that you say Ross? Couldn't hear you over that fact of you being so damn OLD.
Happy Birf-day you Motherfucker. You old-ass BEEEEYOTCH!
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Thanks, Fatstain. I must be getting old because the last time I looked, you were older!
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Nice wheels, Zilla. A friend of mine has a Prius, and yeah, it's pretty sweet. Does it have a built-in GPS?
BTW, off topic, but have y'all heard about this?
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Swerb said:
Nice wheels, Zilla. A friend of mine has a Prius, and yeah, it's pretty sweet. Does it have a built-in GPS?
BTW, off topic, but have y'all heard about this?
Yeah, it's got GPS and that's fun to play with. I can see that being useful at night because of my bad night vision -- it's nice seeing the street names coming up on it. And when you set a destination, my Prius talks me though things. Turns out it's a she. And she's got a herny voice.
Dude! The Wolverine leak is so two days ago! I have it already, but I think I'll wait to watch it til after I've seen the real thing. I don't want to ruin the movie experience, but it may be fun to watch afterwards to see some of the rough effect work, scenes that got deleted, and whatnot.
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One thing that drives Angie bat-shit-crazy with the Prius is that it beeps (in the cabin) when you go in reverse. It's some safetly feature because the car is so quiet, I guess. Well we asked the dealership if that could be turned off and of course they said no. Well, I searched the 'net (sure enough! it bugs other folks too!) and I found the equivalent of a "video game cheat" that let me turn it off. Sweet.
I also got the HomeLink thingy on my rearview mirror programmed so it opens up my garage door. So I can get rid of the remote control button that always fell off my visor in the old car.
I'm still playing with things... Lots of goodies!
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Yeah, my car beeps when we switch to reverse, too. It also has some kind of sensor that beeps at you as you get closer to bumping into something. Kind of annoying, but a small price to pay overall, I think.
As for Wolverine, I spotted that one online the day it came out too. I considered getting it but from what I read, many of the effects were unfinished, and basically there is no real point to watching a movie like that except for effects (I expect the movie to suck overall, but hey, I said the same about Watchmen which wasn't bad, I admit).
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Cute car, I'd hit it!
Actually I really like it. My ex-coworker had one and I drove it around. It felt tight and smooth. Quit as shit. I also think it gets better mileage in the city than highway. If they made a station wagon version, I'd consider trading in my 4Runner. They do have a Highlander hybrid but that bitch is $48K. Fuck them.
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Jackzilla said:
Well, I searched the 'net (sure enough! it bugs other folks too!) and I found the equivalent of a "video game cheat" that let me turn it off. Sweet.
I've been throwing this idea around for a while, but it'd be nice to have the equivalent of 'settings' for your car. Maybe it's stored on your key electronically, or a USB drive or whatever. Stuff like 'invert Y axis' and 'southpaw' like you'd see in the settings screen of a game. Obviously, you wouldn't want to invert the y axis in your car, but stuff like that. Seat positions (yes, I know some cars have that), radio presets, heating and A/C settings, and notifications (Enable Backup Alarm?)--kind of like disabling the tutorial popups in a game. Never driven this car before? DEFAULT!
Especially for hybrids and electric cars--since they usually have a pretty complex set of user-interface screens. How about setting hotkeys and favorites?
Now, if you're not used to having these options, you know who you are, you might be saying "that's too confusing, it's just one more thing to track or pay attention to". To those of us who take advantage of the ability to customize, it would save a lot of time and frustration. How about I plug my memory stick into my PC and configure it through a nice UI.
Come on, auto-industry, you're designing for GenX and beyond--I think we're happy with the number of cup-holders. Now let's get to the good stuff!!!!
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I agree, Spider! Why has so little changed with automobiles in the last couple decades? Besides safety features -- which granted have improved enormously -- a lot of the automobile basics are the same out of tradition.
Honestly, that was part of the appeal of the Prius for me: not just the state-of-the-art hybrid engine but the unusual little goodies like keyless entry, and such. And it actually does have user settings you can log into -- but I think it's mostly NAV stuff (I haven't messed with it much - it might include radio presets and such?). But you're right, all your settings should be programmable and saved: seat position, radio presets, mirror positions, etc.
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Watched Wolverine over the weekend. Meh.
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I knew it! I tell you, it looks like Elektra to me: throw in a bunch of characters from the comics, but implement them in a half-hearted, not-very-true-to-the-source fashion.
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Yep. That's about it. I should say that it's about what I expected. They tie it into the other X-Men movies a little at the end but it's no where near the level of X2 (the best of the bunch). I was looking forward to seeing Deadpool, but he's hardly in it and in the end they sew up his mouth (the "merc with a mouth" without a mouth? WTF?!). And they really mess with the source material like you say (which is forgiven if it's super sweet, but unexplainable if it isn't).
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Please tell me Hugh Jackman at least waxed his chest and appears shirtless....
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The whole point of Wolverine is that he's a hairy mofo! You're lucky they let him off as easy as they do! In the comics, he's practically furry!
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That's hernie Jack and not too hairy! I may have to go to the movie now! Who cares about the storyline.
Wasn't Wolverine only 5' 3" in the comic book? More like a trimmer Danny DeVito and less like a hot Hugh Jackman? It's Hollywood Ross!
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So has anyone else seen Wolverine besides Zilla (and obviously, Swerb)? I was pretty excited to see it until all the shitty reviews made it clear that it's one to wait until video for.
Star Trek, on the other hand, I am dying to see. Though Star Wars is still better.
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Re: Wolverine
Don't know about the movie, but the game seems pretty sweet, if the demo is any indication. Though it seems VERY linear, it might be worth a play-through.
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Be careful Jack! I hear the traffic fines in Michigan are pretty costly when tailgaiting leads to a Level 10 Rectal Breach!
It will be hard to talk your way out of that ticket when your plates say 2FUNKY...
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RobotSpider said:
Jackzilla said:
Back on topic: Bunky just pointed out that the sales tax on my new car will be tax deductible on my '09 income taxes. Sweet! The deals just keep gettin' better! :)
It's good that the government is paying people money to drive around in suppositories. Seriously though, do you merge onto the highway in that? Or is it more of an insertion?
:)
The combined intellect of both Bells and myself have spent an inordinant amount of time parsing this post -- it's like panning for gold and we just can't find a nugget in all this muck! What are you trying to say?
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I could be mistaken, but I think he's referring to the shape of the car.
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Ross said:
I could be mistaken, but I think he's referring to the shape of the car.
Upon further reflection over lunch we gathered that. Good one, Spider!
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Ross said:
I could be mistaken, but I think he's referring to the shape of the car.
Precisely.
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Well I just got back from biking my ass to the local megaplex to see Star Trek. Wow! Huge thumbs! Better than I expected, and I did expect it to be good.
Hate to say it, but Zilla is right: it's better than any of the Star Wars prequels. Probably better than any other Star Trek movie, too. I dunno, I just got ahold of the HD version of Wrath of Khan, I'll have to watch it soon to verify.
I was particularly impressed with the guy they got for Kirk. He was the best casting of the movie, IMO (though I have always thought Bruce Greenwood was underrated and he was excellent as always). I always thought Zachary Quinto would make a good Vulcan from the first time I saw him on Heroes, but actually he wasn't quite as good as I was expecting. Maybe it was the voice, since Leonard Nimoy's is much deeper. Anyway, the rest of the cast was pretty good (though McCoy was hamming it up a bit) - and I particularly liked Scotty, though Swerb was right in his review that he showed up on the scene a bit too late.
The whole alternate reality explanation for their violations of Trek canon worked really well for me. I'm sure it enrages some slice of the Trek faithful, but hey, you can't please everyone, and if you want to make your money back on your big budget flicks you've got to appeal to the mass audience. Still, there were more in-jokes than I could count and I don't think the smile left my face for the whole two hours. I'm impressed. When's the next one?
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