Kelleytoons

I'd use another word but I don't want to offend anyone. So today I park at Publix to do our weekly shopping and as I'm picking out a spot I notice a car that looks amazingly similar to mine and as I drive past, sure enough, it's a C-Max in Ice Storm so I HAVE to park next to it: When I get out I notice it has a higher trim package, and it's an Energi model. It's also got a scan code on the left side to get into one of the gated communities we all (mostly) live in around here, but I'm positive this is the one my friend spotted at Plantation down the road, at the courts that I *don't* play at. While I'm admiring this another guy comes up and asks me about my car and is all excited about the C-Max and goes to admire it and notes that it has more headroom than the Prius and I talk about how it handles better, etc. and while we are talking the Energi owner walks right past us and starts to open his back and put his one bag of groceries in to leave. So I stop him and tell him how I own the car next to him and... he seems remarkably unimpressed. Indeed, I can tell I'm wasting his time, he doesn't want to engage at all. I ask him if he LIKES his Energi and he says, "yeah, it gets 70 mpg" but all in a way that just means "It's too much to bother to talk with you". I tell him about the forum and he acts as if perhaps he'll check it out (but he won't which is why I'm safe in posting this). So we had a LOT in common and he didn't care at all. I realize everyone is different but I sure hope I never get as old as this guy (who seemed about 50 years older than me, which is impossible -- in point of fact I'm probably older than he was. I just don't act it). Sigh. At least the guy who DIDN'T own a C-Max was interested in talking about it.

Well, I understand that point and do appreciate the feedback, Eve. However, I don't have much (any?) chrome trim on the car (we don't have that package and I kind of hate chrome trim so I'm glad we don't) and I do think having black screws there would be much better. It sounds like I'm anal and I'm really not, but it just kind of irks me that I can't easily solve this problem, so I'll probably continue to hammer away at it (not obsessively, mind you, but just something to do when I'm out and about). Plus... it gives me another excuse to drive Maximis (to the parts stores :>).

Well, the second link is for bolts, not screws (and thus won't work on our C-Max's). And the first one is a special order item, not carried in the stores (and, yes, I looked at both Autozone and other auto parts stores). And for that price ($11) I could get a plate holder AND the screws (which themselves should cost less than $1). Now, you get 25 in that pack, which is why it's ridiculously expensive. I only need two (if I had 11 other friends we could go in on it, but...) I'll try Lowes.

Wait. Maybe the problem is simpler -- have you called your aunt yet? Otherwise, yeah, I think a reset is about all you can try now (hopefully that will fix it -- otherwise it's haunted).

Yeah, and some folks *never* adapt. I'm still amazed that most barbershops/hairdressers won't take debit/credit. Every place in the country (EVERY place, including movie theaters which were also a long holdout) now don't require cash or check, but I've yet to find a place to cut my hair that will (it's truly the only place I need cash for -- I don't use hard currency anywhere else, and I haven't written a check in the last decade). I'm looking forward to NFC, so I won't even have to carry a credit card. Perhaps even within my lifetime I can do away with the need for a wallet (I can dream :>).

I hate to buy a plate holder just to get those screws, but I can't find them anywhere else (at least so far -- I need to check Lowe's, maybe even today). The two hardware stores I went to said "Just paint the screws black" but that seems like an awful lot of trouble for something I *ought* to be able to buy for less than a dollar.

Gee, I've always (at least so far) found it to be very responsive and easy to use voice for an address (then again, I'm using the latest version, A5).

??? You mean the Nav system? Because I sure don't know how any other screen would show locations of anything. (I may have to try letting the gas go that low -- so far we've always filled it up when it's about 1/4 full).

No question this is one of the things that attracted us -- we were going to get a small SUV like the Escape for precisely this reason, as we've driven the Durango now for going on two decades and kind of like being up high. While Maximis is not "high" she sure doesn't make us sit down on the ground like a skateboard (I couldn't believe how the Honda Civic Hybrid we drove did this -- was my Prelude *really* that low to the ground? Makes me feel real old nowadays).

Hmmm, and I almost WAS caught dead in one (because it moved like a slug when the traffic was bearing down on me). No matter -- eventually Darwinian selection will remove all the Prius owners from the face of the earth <g>. (So how the heck did THIS old thread get revived? Someone feeling bored this morning?)

Boardwalk in the 70's? Well, that's before my (Disney) time so I can't say what was happening back then. However, I'll tell you for sure that *now* the Boardwalk is all third party employees and I would not trust them to park my car (or almost anything else). The other two places I'd be careful about right now are Swan and Dolphin. Every other Disney property ought to be okay (except for Disney Springs nee Downtown Disney, which is in a state of flux. However, even parking yourself there is going to be problematic for the next couple of years. Your best bet right now is to park at Casting across the street and take a little walk -- safer for a whole lot of reasons).

Where in Disney? You know there are on-site properties and there are third party places (where the employees are NOT Disney employees). You just have to know what is what (and I do, which is why I know who to trust). I'd be amazed if it was a place where they used Disney cast members as valets (they have changed this quite a bit, as it used to be ALL valets were cast members but in recent years more third parties have taken over). Oh, and I saw it was in the 70's that it happened to you, so not Disney World (which is the only property I'm familiar with) or at least not with Disney valets (they didn't start using cast members until the 80's). Disneyland is a whole other kettle of fish.

Yeah, and a lot of people are up in arms about it (it's not a very good album, and you cannot -- absolutely cannot -- get rid of it. Oh, you can try, but it will come back, like a bad penny). A sad last gasp from a once great band, promoted by an otherwise stellar and forward thinking company. A shame that it came out on a day that otherwise is pretty exciting (I'm staying up until 3am to order the new phones for my wife and I).

Yeah, the only valet's I trust at all are at Disney (and having worked at Disney I know how very stringent they are -- you can't get away with ANYTHING there). Park and walk -- it's better for you.

Yeah -- like I said, the gas card is MUCH easier (just shop regularly and use the card as you would your debit/credit card). If your wife is that good at doing the more complicated stuff she ought to be able to keep an eye out for the Publix gas card sales (quite honestly since I shop there once a week I just ask, although it's usually easy to tell because if I'm there on Fridays it's pretty busy with everyone wanting the cards).

Yeah, that's kind of the size of what I'm currently using -- not "bone shaped" but otherwise the same general dimensions (I'll snap an image if I think of it when I go out to the courts tonight). I don't know if the strap is all that necessary, at least for me, as the pillow stays in place while I'm driving (and yet moves when I need it out of the way).

My hunch is about this time next decade we'll all have those -- not necessarily the really large ones, but every home will have one to be able to print out small parts and such. However, even if I did have one (and I also happen to have all the other tools necessary, like 3D software and scanner because, well, that's kind of my job nowadays) it wouldn't be the solution I'm looking for. I want something soft, at least as soft as an arm rest normally is. So the best that could do would be to give me a skeleton on which I'd still have to place some kind of cushion (and if I'm going to go that route I might as well just craft the whole thing out of harder foam, which I also have tools to do since I used to do a lot of puppeteering). Which I would do if the pillow I'm using didn't work (and may still give a shot down the road). None of which is as good as a sliding armrest, though, so perhaps we'll see what MichaelM's cryptic posts have in store for us (if it's "waiting for the next Ford" that might not be an acceptable solution, though :>).

Right, and I found in general that the Wynn-Dixie stuff doesn't pay off in general because you have to buy gas at places where the gas is more than you would save (because it's rarely as much as $1 and more like a few cents). And it's more complicated than just using the gas card (which is really just like a credit card). But you guys should definitely do the Publix thing -- if nothing more, you could shop at them once a month and then do Wynn-Dixie (assuming that's your regular thing) the rest of the time (I will stop by them to get their rotisserie turkey, speaking of which I should do so soon :>).

So very true. And not that I was much of a speeder before (never really exceeded 5 or so over posted) but I now find it very peaceful to drive slightly *under* the limit -- never impeding traffic, mind you, but just cruising along enjoying my tune and my high mpg.

Coincidentally (or not) I got my Exterior protection in the mail today. Covers my exterior "against damage including UV Rays, fading, discoloration, acid rain, snow [yeah, not likely here :>], ocean spray, tree sap, insects (including love bugs) [their wording, not mine], bird droppings and more". I have it for three years, with option to renew at that time. So -- not worried (yeah, no protection against rocks, but that's a whole other story and not particularly relevant to the OP). It cost me $350 (so less than some solutions and more comprehensive).

Well, since I don't live elsewhere I can't say. It's certainly all the stores in the central Florida area (because they are covered by the ads). You might check your local ad online and see (like I said, they do it at least once a month so look for it every week for a while). I could kind of kick myself for not doing it before we got Maximis but honestly, while other folks around here talked about it for years I never paid it too much attention. Now I can't imagine passing up a week they offer it (even though we won't use the kind of gas we were using before).

Well, I can help Scuba (because he lives in Florida) but I don't know about you, Jaz. Every couple of weeks Publix has the gas cards for sale, $50 gas card for $40 (along with a purchase of $50 but with grocery prices the way they are that's NO problem at all -- I spend at least $150 per week at Publix and for that I can buy 3 gas cards). You need to watch for the sale on Thursday mornings (you can check online then) or, if you get stuff delivered (like a newspaper -- I understand they are hard copy printouts of items like you can see on the internet, but never had one myself :>) you'll get the sale stuff Wednesday night. Sales start on Friday (which is why, if you've ever shopped at Publix, they are sometimes VERY crowded on Friday mornings). They've been doing this for years now but up until the C-Max I never bought one (I know -- it's a long story). Now I get them every chance I get. The sales are unpredictable but they have at least one every month (they have had them every two weeks now for the last six weeks, though). They sell Shell, Rac-Trac and one other I don't remember (might be Hess, but don't quote me. I always get the Shell because a Shell station we pass every week always has the best prices of any local gas).

Nah, don't be jealous. Think of it this way -- it's an interesting look into something you might have to deal with some day. Let's face it, the majority of us here *are* curious about such things (and be honest -- if the infrastructure were in place and all other things, like distance, being equal, wouldn't you have gotten an Energi?). I look at it the same way I do about threads on bike racks, or getting fancy wheels and such -- if I don't want to read about it (and I don't) I just don't click on the topic.

I almost titled this "Because we love" but I have a peccadillo about using the word "love" for anything inanimate (you can't "love" something that isn't alive but I don't want to get into that discussion here). I saw a thread today about someone buying fuses for their C-Max to keep in the glovebox and my first thought was "I want that!" and I came to the interesting realization that Maximis has inspired me to care about vehicles again in a way I never thought I would. I suspect I'm a lot older than most of you (not all, but most) and in my younger days I also had my passion for my rides, tricking them up and getting them "stuff" like you'd buy a new girlfriend goodies to keep her (and you :>) happy. I had thought those days had long passed -- indeed, I was *certain* that all the joy and desire of anything that got me from one place to another was gone. Just transport -- nothing I saw in the street inspired me to even want it, and only the fact that our Durango was in a place where long journeys just weren't practical anymore (and even reliability was in question) made me start looking for a new car. And even then the list of vehicles was...meh. Okay, but nothing heart pounding, and while I looked forward to having reliable means of moving around I never thought I'd care much one way or the other about what it would be. And then I met the C-Max. So now I feel like I'm in my 20's again, back when dinosaurs (the place we get our fuel) ruled the earth. I bought a complete emergency kit, the roadside stuff recommended by AAA, a battery jumper, got my tunes back in order, bought six gas cards (20% off the gas price, so effectively I'm getting gas at around 2.60 per gallon right now)... and try and dream up places I need to go just to get in and take a drive. I don't think this would have happened with most other vehicles -- certainly not with the others that were on my short list (actually, the C-Max wasn't even ON my short list. That was due to our Ford salesman, thank God). It certainly hasn't happened in many decades now, of a lot of other new ones. Perhaps it will wear off -- I've only put about 2K miles on it -- but right now it's about the best piece of technology I own (and I own a lot of pretty cool stuff -- as a former IT person I tend to still live on the bleeding edge and get stuff I probably should have waited to mature). I sure *hope* I never get to the point I take it for granted (if so, I can always take a short trip in the Durango to remind me <g>).

Um, link to what you bought? (Because some of us just like to get stuff we'd probably never use in a million years -- I already have things in Maximis I *know* I'll never need but... "just in case", and in a half century of owning a car I've never blown a fuse. But just when you say never...)