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2391 messages, Last post on Nov 30, 2005 at 6:50 AM
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Karl Brauer is the Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, which means he finds himself in a different vehicle almost every day of the week. If you want a daily road test review regarding the latest cars and trucks to hit the market, along with commentary on everything from auto industry happenings to L.A. drivers to his latest close encounter with Johnny Law, this is the place to be.
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Replying to: explorerx4 (Oct 21, 2005 3:41 pm) The problem was it was very expensive and many people probably didn't want the added complexity on their truck/suv. |
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Replying to: dieselone (Oct 21, 2005 3:45 pm)
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Replying to: explorerx4 (Oct 21, 2005 4:39 pm) I agree. I to my boat quite a bit, and wouldn't pay extra for 4ws, just so I have to worry about something else to go wrong, though I know a few people that have it and they love it. A friend of mine used to have a Prelude with 4ws and it was very cool. It definitely had a different feel to it. Once again, Preludes were expensive in their day. Probably just another neat idea that people probably don't feel the need to pay extra for. |
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Replying to: extremebigdog (Oct 21, 2005 2:49 pm) Yeah, they would lose 'em. They wouldn't have any money to move! Okay, I'm being harsh. And Santa Monica is a sweet place. You're right about walking, it's good there. There are, as you know, about a thousand homeless guys per mile, which makes a stroll on the beach kinda discouraging at times. But here's the thing about So. CA that I find vaguely amusing. It's one of the worst places to actually drive -- the traffic is so bad almost all the time that most 'driving' is going 17 mph in neverending gridlock. And the roads are often in crap shape. There are a few mountain roads that are kinda quiet, but they are few and far between. Where I live now in sorta Nowheresville, I can drive as fast as I want, often, and not worry as much about cops or congestion. And I'll stand by the fact that companies have a hard time recruiting new people to come to LA. And, yes, Karl, we'll put you on the spot. Would you stay? As you know, the rest of the world is a big place 
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| is ridiculous. I have found myself watching some of the shows on TV about flipping houses and I have seen quite a few dumps that are bought for $500,000 and sold for close to $1,000,000. Spend $1,000,000 out here you have yourself a mansion on close to 100 acres. We have 1800 sq ft on the main level of our house with a full basement that includes another 700 sq ft of living space (if we finish it). The house sits on an acre with a view of the trees and hills. I couldn't imagine giving that up to pay twice as much for half the house and land. | |
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Replying to: splatsterhound (Oct 21, 2005 5:45 pm) I actually pride myself on knowing the world is a big place. Makes me a rare commodity in California.  The question can't be as simple as "Would you leave California?" because I have several follow-up questions: 1. Where am I going? 2. What, if any, change in corporate policy/structure might accompany the move? 3. What, if any, change in pay accompanies the move? Yes, there are companies that pay less when they move to places with a lower cost of living, though I doubt Edmunds would do that. 4. How many of my team will be coming? 5. Is there a contingency plan for coming back if it doesn't work? etc., etc. But I can tell you this, I definitely don't have the "California or death" mentality of most residents. If Edmunds decides to move to, say, Austin, Texas I'll be on the first flight to help scout locations. I'd have to do more investigation on somewhere like Tennessee, but it's very possible I'd happily come along if the company went there. And actually, there are many parts of California that I would still like to stay in or near. While the housing cost ridiculousness is pretty much statewide, many of the other things are localised to SoCal (traffic, pollution, terrible schools, etc.). That's why I live in Ventura county and deal with the commute (which on the PCH isn't bad -- usually). It's really the "Los Angeles Mess" that gets me down. BTW, this "mess" as I define it extends from the Mexican border on the south to Santa Barbara and Bakersfield on the north to Las Vegas on the nothwest to Pheonix on the east. Basically, anywhere I can't drive on the Wednesday before Thanksgiviing or the Sunday after Thanksgiving without feeling like shooting myself. Being in Ventura gets me as realistically out of, and away from, the mess as possible while still allowing me to work in Santa Monica. I got much more house than I would have in L.A., the local public elementary school is actually capable of teaching my kids, air pollution isn't an issue, and neither I, nor my kids, are exposed to angry homeless people ranting on the street corners in the middle of the night, or the constant honkings of road-raged Angelinos (both happened regularly right outside my condo in West L.A.). It's also refreshing to take something like a Viper Coupe or Ford GT (both parked in my garage as I type this) out on the road and within 10 minutes be in a location where I can actually use their capabilities. As properly noted, the "car capital of the world" is one of the most un-car-friendly places on earth if you want to do more than 20 mph on a regular basis. |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 22, 2005 8:11 am) I've got a lot of respect for what you say, Karl. I used to live in Ventura County too. It's about the last nice place in So. Cal that's soooorta affordable (but that has changed too).The schools are decent there and the air is clean. And yes, the PCH is about the best artery for traffic. You obviously join the 10,000 Hispanics driving south from Oxnard/Ventura to Malibu who work as housekeepers/gardeners/cooks for all the rich folk in Malibu who can't bear to lift a finger. And, as you know, you get to see the homes with the Benz Geladenwagen, the BMW and, course, now the Prius parked in the drive. (They're environmentally attuned, don't you know  Anyway, I'm glad that I wasn't alone in finding it very odd that the supposed capital of car culture is just a miserable place to drive a car on most days. I can now fly in a jet halfway across the country to LAX in the same time it took me to travel from, say, deep in Orange County back to Ventura County. 100 miles. Four hours. That's in the middle of the day. That's normal, as you know. Perhaps the LA scene also affects how you folks review cars. Maybe I'm off the mark, but when you sit in traffic going 7 mph for hours at a time, you notice much more the interior of the car. All this talk about 'soft touch' dashes and clever cutting-edge design and such sorta mystified me, because I touch my dash about once a month, when I dust it. But in LA, you get a looooot of time to study the interior of the car (and pound your head on the steering wheel). Obviously, wehre gridlock isn't an issue, a driver pays much less attention to the INSIDE of the car and focuses on how it drives. Also, mileage is always poorer in So. cal cause you're either driving 7 mph or 85 mph. There is no middle ground. Your long-term test fleets probably suffer lower mileage than most people get away from LA. This is probably all the same old junk you hear from others, but I'm now typing in my office with beautiful leaves on the trees turning color in my huuuuuuuge house with outstanding local schools and I don't have to worry about earthquakes, or wildfires, or even mudslides. So, yeah, Austin Texas or just about anywhere else sounds pretty good to me compared to LA.
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 22, 2005 8:11 am) I have never been to Cali , but do not think I would like to live there based on the traffic and other problems. Seattle or Portland would be cool. I really enjoy living in the Detroit suburbs, but lately we have been discussing the possibility of moving. The state of the American auto industry is pretty shaky. If GM ever files for bankruptcy this region is screwed (more than we are). We have talked about leaving before the ship sinks. |
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| It's far out in the 'burbs. Not even the suburbs. I think they call where I live the exurbs or something. I'm even 20-30 minutes from the nearest Wal-Mart. I like it like that. LA is a nice place to visit. But i wouldn't want to live there. I used to be stationed in 29 Palms about 15 years ago. I'm sure it has changed a lot by now. But aside from the heat, I kinda liked the place. | |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 22, 2005 8:11 am) The mess here in los Angeles also gets me down sometimes. However, L.A. does have some excellent features such as wonderful weather, beautiful beaches - and gorgeous L.A. Babes!
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