CarpeNivem

Yes, unfortunately the adhesive is very strong, so you really do only have one shot. A weaker adhesive definitely would've been more appropriate, but I really wanted it to match. The white adhesive is the right stickiness, but the black is the right look, and I decided looks matter more, because that's kinda how I roll sometimes. ;)

I'm really curious which brand of aftermarket system you have, so that I/we can know to avoid it.

So, here's what's new for 2014... The software upgrades are easy. The dealer takes care of that (and for many of us, probably already has). Moving on to the hardware upgrades, obviously replacing our transmission is out of the question, so skip that one. As for the aerodynamics, I wonder, how feasible might those be? What does everyone think about each of those? * Hood seal, probably simple to swap old for new. I bet it just snaps in. * Tire air deflectors, maybe tricky, perhaps impossible. Might be part of significantly larger pieces, not worth replacing, might not. * A-pillar moldings, I have no idea. * Rear liftgate area, what does that mean? I wonder if they're like those gas pods at least one forum user has been experimenting with. And of course the last one is easy. We just need to figure out what weight the new oil is, and start using it at our next changes, right? So all in all, I'm thinking really the transmission is the only guaranteed "can't be done". Everything else miiight be possible. Of course, it might not really matter either, but I'm curious anyway. :)

To be clear, someone didn't hit us with their door; they hit us with their entire car. They rammed right into us. Our front bumper required considerable repair. The fog light filler panel (whatever it's called) needed to be replaced, as did some other (probably aerodynamic?) black piece underneath the bumper. The CMax been in the shop since last Thursday, while we were out of town. We'll be picking it up later today, presumably good as new. But, yeah, this was not a door ding. This was not caused by someone parking too close and opening their door too hard. I know the headline implies that, because that's the most popular meaning of "someone hit us in a parking lot", but like I said, just to be clear, this was caused by someone literally driving their car into ours. Oh, and sadly, no, there are not any cameras at the park. It's just a public park, not a business. There's not even anywhere really to put a camera. :(

Business may have died down anyway, so perhaps this doesn't need to be said, just in case, I'll be out of town this weekend, starting this evening, and unable to ship anything if it's ordered. I'll be back on Monday.

How difficult was it to install the speakers? I've heard they're not screwed into place, or something, but instead mounted in such a way that makes removal very tricky. I forget where I read that, but it was very likely elsewhere on this forum, so I should probably go look for it. I'm very interested in upgrading my sound system some day (hopefully soon). The more I'm able to learn between now and then, the better.

My wife was at a nearby park, enjoying her day, while our beautiful new CMax was minding its own business in the parking lot, until someone ran into it, destroyed our front bumper, and then left! :swear: I'm so angry that whoever did it just took off. You gotta take responsibility for stuff like this, ya know? I realize it's just a car, the damage is only cosmetic, no one was hurt, and it'll all get fixed eventually, but dammit, NOT COOL, anonymous stranger. Not cool! The nerve! The self-entitlement! Ugh, I've tried to cool down, and I've edited this post accordingly, because maybe my anger was too strong and too petty before. It actually upset me just how ugly I let this incident make me. I know that I need to calm down, get the car fixed, and move on. There are more important things in life to worry about than paint. And deep down, I really do know that. But... :sad: ...it's really pretty paint.

Wait... Even makes Sirius sound good?! That's a pretty bold claim! I am now VERY interested in this product. What else can you tell us?

Updated to 3.6 relatively smoothly. USB thumbdrive wasn't recognized at all the first time, needed to be formatted FAT instead of NTFS, no biggie. Worked after that, didn't take much time. I cleaned out the car while it processed. I've noticed a few improvements, which have all been mentioned, but I've also noticed a feature removal. You can no longer user lowercase letters while naming a favorite navigation destination! That really bugs me, a lot. I think it's great that the software was upgraded at all, and I really have noticed a lot of improvements, but seriously, why remove the Shift key from the favorites naming screen? Like, just, why? THINGS IN ALL CAPS LOOK RIDICULOUS AND WRONG. ( <- See? )

So, it seems the Fusion piece costs more to ship, because its size pushes the packaging out of the "document" realm and into the "parcel" realm. I swear the post office makes these things up as they go along, but that aside, the first one is on its way now (don't worry about the extra cost; it wasn't much, and I appreciated the opportunity to try something new anyway). However, because of this, and the slightly increased difficulty, I think it would be fair to charge a little extra for subsequent Fusion pieces (just in case anyone else wants one), right? I mean, is that fair? Here are some new links... [Links finally removed on 12/17/2016] I plan on making two Fusion pieces and three CMax pieces this weekend, so I'll have stuff ready for shipping, just in case.

Yeah, it's a bit thinner and considerably longer. It's only 1" high, instead of roughly 1.6", to account for the glovebox itself not being as tall, and much longer, at 16" instead of 10". The Fusion glovebox is WAY wider than ours. The Fusion itself, I think, is way wider than ours. It was difficult at first to cut a piece that long and still keep the edge that straight, but with some practice, I got it. And with that practice, the next one will go much quicker. :) I'm loving the practice, actually! I feel like every one of these has been nicer than the one before it. I almost feel a little bad for the earlier customers. The last one I sent out (to MA) was definitely the best so far. Just remember, mine's the worst one. I have the first. But they all work the same. ;) To your other question, I hadn't been keeping track, but I just checked my PayPal records and it seems, wow, I've sold 10 of them. Awesome! :drop: Although, to be clear (hehe), before anyone thinks that's ninety-nine dollars, remember that PayPal takes a piece of each sale, the post office takes their cut, the plastic and adhesive aren't free, and I've really been taking my time making sure each piece is cut and sanded smoothly. I still throw out pieces I've finished and then decided aren't good enough. So while I've definitely collected quite a bit of money (thank you all!), and I have to admit, it hasn't been TOO difficult, the truth is, it hasn't been all that easy either - ask Mrs. Nivem; she'll tell you. ;) Mostly though, I really have to say, it HAS been flattering, so thank you all again for that. I mean it. :love_shower: ( Edit: Wait, I just remembered, I've sold 9. I see 10 sales receipts because my dear Canadian friend paid double. :victory: )

Test fit in a showroom Fusion went perfectly! :yahoo: This one is ready for sale... (What appears to be imperfections the plastic are actually the results of having used a flash. In reality, that piece is flawlessly clear all the way across.) I also shipped out the CMax one that had been ordered recently, so if you're my silent Massachusetts customer, I haven't forgotten. You'll have yours soon. :victory:

Okay, not gonna lie, the Fusion edition was considerably more difficult. Nevertheless, here it is: http://i.imgur.com/gsKsSMC.jpg I'll swing by a Ford dealership tomorrow for a test fit, but I think it'll be perfect.

Also, re-looking at my own picture in the beginning of this thread, it's funny that I now think that's the worst one. All of the others have nice rounded edges. I've made so many for other people, I forgot to go back and remake my own. Haha. I should really do that. :)

Rubbermaid shelf liner, as mentioned by someone there, would actually be cheaper, yeah. That's another good idea, which I hadn't thought of. It wouldn't do anything for stuff on top of other stuff - like my Sirius channel guide, for example - but it'd probably still work overall for most things. Oh, and round things, it wouldn't work for either; they'd still roll off. But still, yeah, most things, I'll grant, that would be totally fine for. It really is another good idea. Keep in mind, I didn't get into this as a business venture. This was just an idea I had for my car, and felt proud enough to share. That others would be interested as well came as a surprise, which I welcomed and embraced, seemingly to the delight of many, but a surprise nonetheless. I'll make them as long as people want them, and/or feel no dismay if others don't. Speaking of which, fresh plastic has been acquired for the piece that was ordered earlier today. I haven't had a chance to shape it yet, but I plan on doing that and getting it in the mail tomorrow.

What kind of alarm/starter did you have installed?

Exactly. I noticed that too. The glovebox is shorter overall, so the lip would need to be smaller, for easier access to put things away or take them out. When I made my own, I experimented with height and found roughly 1.5" was just tall enough to be useful without being cumbersome. I'd probably make two or three prototypes, take them to a dealership, and stick them in one of the showroom Fusions (with Scotch tape, of course, for immediate removal) to see what works best. I'm thinking probably 1" tall or less, but whatever works.

Would you like one for the Fusion? I visited a Ford dealership yesterday and took some measurements. Not only should the whole thing be longer, but it also shouldn't be as tall, and the adhesive shouldn't be as thick. That said, I could easily make one to these dimensions, if you would like. Just let me know.

The two recently ordered shelf-fixers (one today and one Saturday) have been made, and were just shipped out tonight.

I'll ship you my last one later this afternoon. Yup, that's right folks, no more inventory. I will gladly make more if/as they're needed! In fact, I even purchased myself a new cutting tool (not just for this, I'm sure I'll find other projects) so it'll be fun to try that out. Regardless though, I'm really glad everyone has enjoyed them so much. :)

Got it. I was able to remove those two screws and then wiggle the entire assembly out of place. There's a cable clipped in towards the bottom of the housing which also needs to be unclipped. The housing needs to be wiggled a LOT in order to get it out if the car, but it can be done. And once it's removed, then changing the bulbs is quite easy. All told, it took about half an hour to change 4 bulbs, which is still pretty long compared to any other car, but not terrible.

The one under the floor? I have jumper cables, an umbrella, and an ice scraper under there. :)

Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in this struggle. I also think the headlights are in dire need of upgrade. If you're used to upgraded lighting, as it seems we are, then the CMax's stock headlights are definitely lacking. Maybe it depends where you live, though. If there's adequate street lighting everywhere, then alright, I guess. But in the dark mountainous roads of Colorado, I can't imagine being stuck with original bulbs, let alone getting used to anything less, so I've upgraded every car I've owned, usually with great success. That said, I tried to do the same with the CMax, and bought a set of Philips' VisionPlus (pair of H1s and pair of H11s) but then found myself quite stumped about how to install them. It's more than just the space being cramped; there's also no slack at all on the wires. I'm not even sure removing the housings will help. I figure I have to, but I haven't tried yet. I think I have to simply because I don't know what else to do, but even still, I wonder if it'll be enough. Tell us - it's been months since you created this thread - have you figured it out since?

You're welcome. :) Yours was shipped out yesterday, by the way.

^ and thinner. It's very important it be thin!