Kelleytoons

Well, I bought mine two months ago -- not sure what it's going for now but I'm sure you can search eBay and find a good deal.

Yeah, and just to note that I got the A5 card off eBay for $35 and it was the same factory card (in the packaging) as those you buy at the dealership (so no real need not to get one, if updated maps are important to you).

Sorry to hear about your issues and hope you get some satisfaction through the state system. Yes, a USB plugged in should NOT drain your battery, even if it was charging (way too low a load). And I have several USB devices plugged in all the time and even when we haven't driven Maximis a few days there is no problem.

Yeah and with gas here now at 2.87 (and falling) those gas cards are a *real* good deal (assuming you use them right away :>). In essence you are then getting gas for 2.31 per gallon, which this old man can't even remember when the price was that low.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I'm not sure what it is with all the neutral colors on the C-Max. Maybe they feel like folks are like Prius owners (slow, conservative in every way). Given how the car drives I'm actually surprised there aren't more vibrant options offered (although for us Ice Storm is perfect, my second choice might have been the red one).

Yeah, this is the one I saw during "The Amazing Race" (and I think they showed it two weeks in a row) when I mentioned the sighting in that thread. As I said in that other thread, I found it a very nice commercial and it's actually the first one I've ever seen (I have seen the C-Max briefly mentioned in a total lineup commercial, but never on its own). Then again, my wife and I don't watch many commercials (that's why God invented DVRs).

Now that the weather here has cooled off I'm routinely getting 50+ mpg on nearly any trip -- last night both to and from The Villages (about 20 miles from us) we averaged 55 mpg (over a mix of mostly 50mph speeds -- some 40mph, some 60mph, but probably averaging 50). I'm assuming that's because we don't use the air conditioning, but I'm also assuming it has something to do with me putting air in our underinflated tires. Now, I know that when we have to start using the heater it will go down again, but we don't need much heat here in Florida so perhaps it won't be too bad.

My current projector (a Panasonic) is 1080p and it's gorgeous. But, as I said earlier about LCD/LED screens, 4K is just around the corner and it will come to projectors as well. If you are happy with your picture and can hold off for at least two-three years I think you would be better served waiting until then. At the very least the prices of the 1080p units will come down (although truth be told my Panny 1080p projector was half the cost of the 720p it replaced, and it's far better in every regard. The price of early adoption in the case of the 720p unit). Because I'm so old I can't really afford to wait -- five years for me is just about a lifetime (sigh). So despite the fact I have more patience with life in general, for things that I can use and enjoy now I really have to pull the trigger. That said, I *may* not live long enough to have a 4K projector (although at the moment I'm thinking of expanding my screen -- right now it's 9' but the room could use a 12' screen and I think the projector is capable of pulling it off. OR, I might get another... But my 720p projector is collecting dust under my feet and I'd hate to end up with another piece of technology going to waste).

I always live life on the bleeding edge but in the case of HDTV I was *somewhat* late to the party (I had an HD projector but had not replaced our CRT displays until they finally gave out). I'm not a big fan of plasma -- there are LOTS of reasons, but today the best one is that you can easily get a MUCH better picture (say 30% better) and spend MUCH less (say half the cost even of a plasma close out). To put it another way, if you are buying a 55+" set and paying more than $700 or so you're getting ripped off (and the sweet spot today is about 55", although personally I'd never have a set that small -- we have a 60" in our bedroom and that's about as small as I'd ever go. Then again, our theater room screen is 9' so it's all relative :>). The biggest issue you'll face in today's market, particularly if you're an early adopter, is that everyone will start to push the 4K TVs, which right now are about where HDTV was 8 years ago. I used to scoff believing that it really couldn't get much better (my 9' screen is better than anything you can see in the actual theaters, for example) but now I'm not so sure. I think within the next five years we'll be looking back at HDTV the same we now do at 480p television, wondering how we could have ever thought that picture was decent enough. So if you ARE a late adopter I'd wait at least another two or three years before spending major bucks.

When I look at our car under nearly all conditions it appears blue to me, but *every* now and then it will change into a sort of sea-greenish color. It did so for the first time in months last week -- both my wife and I remarked as we came back to where we parked it how different it looked. That is for us one of the charms about the car, though, is that even though it looks blue to us most of the time even the blue it looks varies. But as folks have remarked here on this thread, to some people it looks green most of the time -- just the opposite of what my wife and I experience. I think the color effect varies so much by individual that you'd have to look at it for yourself to see what *you* make of it. Color is tough anyway (how do we really know WHAT anyone sees as the color "red", for example?) but in the case of Ice Storm it really is a "your mileage will vary" sort of situation (which applies a lot to the C-Max in general <g>). (I can say this that in general green is one of my least favorite colors, particular some of the greens that are present in manufactured stuff, but that our car never looks anything other than really nice to me. I didn't want anything really garish, and I didn't want any neutral tone so Ice Storm was really the only color left and I'm glad we went with it).

We got the SE because we did not want leather. However, we got the package with the MFT which we DID want, and I'm glad we got it. It works fantastic and is worth the price (and, as I said, it does eliminate at least a potential battery issue). While SE models with the upgraded package are harder to find, you *can* find them, and get good deals on them, particular the 2014 models (which ours is). I suspect if you put it to your dealer they can come up with something that meets your pocketbook (we didn't think it would meet ours, but they figured something out :>).

Well, if you aren't a fan of the show (the absolute best reality show in existence, and while some may see that as faint praise it really isn't -- my wife and I really love it and have been entertained by it for a decade now) I can see how you might not stick with it. I'm not sure if it's an acquired taste or not, but the rhythms and manners make it something you really need to pay attention to. And unlike a lot of reality shows, this is one you really need to watch from the very first episode (hard to come in the middle and make sense of anything). They've used Ford vehicles throughout the run of the show and my wife and I have always joked that it's a way of getting people to watch commercials who, like ourselves, just fast forward through the real ones. And over the years I have been impressed by how the technology was displayed, which is a big reason we leaned towards Ford in the first place. So in that regard they were successful at least with us <g>.

And for my two cents I do believe that those cars without MFT tend to have more battery problems than those with it (which is still another reason to think that SE models, who mostly don't have it, are more prone to these issues). And life is too short to worry about this particular issue, which has to be affecting a minority of cars or Ford would have a problem selling ANY of these.

The C-Max segment lasted 7 minutes and 14 seconds. As I thought I had recalled, only two teams were able to correctly run the challenge (making it under .1 a gallon of gas). Six teams failed. After it aired there was a commercial for the C-Max Hybrid (first one I have ever seen). And the winners of the leg did win each an Energi, which Phil said "This is THE car to own if you love sustainability!" (I'm not quite sure that's a great tag line, but I AM sure it was one he was fed by Ford :>). (I went back and watched the Tivoed version).

Yeah, so far I haven't seen anything to indicate C-Maxs are affected. One thing that's important to remember -- air bags aren't *nearly* as effective as preventing injuries compared to seat belts. Being a passive system (in which the operator does not need to do anything, even as trivial as buckling their belt) it's very helpful for those who aren't so conscientious, but in reality you'd most likely be better off not having an air bag if you DID use your seat belt all the time (because an air bag even properly deployed often causes injuries -- just not critical ones). I want this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnyhkBU1yaw

In other "still more reasons to worry and not enjoy life" news, those of us living in Florida have particular concerns about this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/business/it-looked-like-a-stabbing-but-takata-air-bag-was-the-killer.html While the cars in question were Honda the body of the article does state that even Ford may be affected by this. This is like a really awful Good news-Bad news joke. "The good news is that your air bag went off and prevented you from dying in the crash. The bad news is that it went off and then killed you."

I can at least report that iOS 8.1 did fix my bluetooth issues with my iPhone 6 Plus -- I can now receive calls just fine (I could always make them). Anyone who has 8.0x should *definitely* update to 8.1.

Okay but... The newer Garmin's *will* recognize your phone and pair via bluetooth (and even via USB if you so desire) and that was my point. You really ought to get something you can easily replace rather than try and put something inside your car that (leaving aside the anger issues for a moment) might fail you and then need to be easily and simply disposed of and substituted for. If not Garmin, then a similar, *portable* type of replacement. Again, all punching aside, these sorts of things will definitely have issues -- ALL of them, and a built-in $$$ solution just doesn't make sense for someone like yourself (this isn't a put down -- some folks have more patience than others. Right now, for example, my 6 Plus won't receive calls via bluetooth although it works properly otherwise. It ain't the MFT -- this issue is with a lot of makes of cars and Apple will have to fix -- but I am willing and able to wait for it to be fixed even though my 4s worked just fine). Only when a more integrated solution like Apple Play is available for all vehicles will we see a lot more ease with this stuff (but even that, as good as it will be for those of us who like iOS devices, may still pose problems for Android users). It just goes with the territory that trying to accommodate all these different things isn't easy, particularly for a car maker who really shouldn't be in the computer business anyway. (BTW, this reminds me of this story )

Wow -- seriously? You must be young -- while I have to admit in my old age there is great satisfaction in smacking some things (I've found that both the pool pump control board AND our dryer electronics membrane board "respond" to a well timed smack and then work -- and this weekend the dryer finally stopped so we are replacing it) I would *never* hit a computer. It would be like striking a nun -- just not in my DNA. LOL. Since I use almost exclusively the voice commands and since MFT functions superbly for me when doing so, I don't understand that frustration at all. My own advice would be to get it replaced with... (wait for it) another MFT front end, and then try and learn how to use it properly. Or, more seriously (and please don't get mad and want to smack me) I would suggest you really aren't the sort that should be owning these sort of things. Get yourself a portable GPS and whatever passes nowadays for a walkman (something that puts out sound through built-in speakers) and use those in the car. That way, when you get mad (and you will -- as a former therapist I can promise you this will not change) you can just throw them out the window (and please only do so when you are at a complete stop).

I don't think it was the Energi they got, but perhaps -- I could take a look again (maybe I will -- TiVo hasn't deleted it yet). Yeah, a lot of them went over the limit. AFAIR only two went under (out of the nine pairs). But a lot of them seemed confused by even what the challenge was (I remember one of them thought they had to go OVER that limit. LOL).

IceStorms (and our color as well), nice post. Today I was going out to tennis and in a hurry and pulled onto the highway in front of our development (typical speeds are 65 or about 10 over the posted limit) and I only needed to go about one block (I was literally going across the street to the next development to play) but rather than wait for a large break in oncoming traffic (which I usually do) I just kicked it and easily got out and over to the left lane to make my turn. I never drive to endanger anyone (least of all me) so there was AMPLE time for the oncoming traffic to reach me, but I also don't want anyone to even have to put on their brakes. By the time I was up to speed (in that block, mind you, so less than three seconds or so) I was at highway speeds with the nearest car at least 10 car lengths away (they were much further away when I started, naturally). The first (and only) time I tried this in a Prius I was nearly run over (and it was a large semi that almost surely hit his brakes since he honked and I heard the air sounds come on). It took at least two or three times as long to get up to speed in that vehicle, which was enough to convince me never to want one. Anyway, even after all that I got 52 mpg (admittedly just a trip of less than 3 miles, so ICE very little except for those three seconds).

Well, the Hybrid ad wasn't filmed there, to be sure. But, yes, they had to have imported or somehow gotten at least, um, nine of the Energi models over there for the contestants to use. Is it sold in Denmark? Because that's where they ended up and where the "official" who monitored their gas consumption for the drive was stationed. At first when the host, Phil, mentioned it was a Ford C-Max I thought it was going to be one of the European ones and not either an Energi or a Hybrid, so I was glad they specifically mentioned what it was. And the winner each got a Hybrid, as that was both mentioned and the badge shown (leading into the commercial, naturally :>).

Just got through watching Friday night's episode of "The Amazing Race" and totally aside from it being my wife and my favorite reality show we had the fun of seeing our C-Max featured prominently on the episode. They were in Sweden and given each an Energi to drive to Denmark and do it in an efficient manner or have time deducted from them. Very few of them managed it, but they ALL commented on how nice the ride was. And then, immediately after that segment, Ford ran a C-Max Hybrid ad (first one I've ever seen) which was very nicely done, having a woman who appreciated both the ride, comfort and size of the car as well as the efficiency. And the winners of that leg of the race both got a C-Max Hybrid to take home -- so, again, a nice plug at the end of the show. I've seen this done throughout the seasons with other Ford vehicles and, truth be told, I was always impressed by the Ford models they showed and felt it to be a very effective advertisement that I couldn't skip past (unlike all the rest of the ads which my wife and I Tivo through). So it was doubly nice to finally see our own vehicle shown.

No, this is not possible (has been discussed here elsewhere, but just be aware that it would require a refit of the existing hardware and thus ain't gonna happen).

Well, at least it's pairing (and working) properly with my bluetooth earphones and speaker system. But that's a one way pair (similar to making a phone call, as opposed to both making and receiving). And I realized I wrote wrongly -- Monday's upcoming release is NOT 8.01 (which was already out) but 8.1. Sorry (write in haste, edit in leisure). We will see what we will see <g>.