Tag: General

Summer in Seattle.

Average temperatures in the 60s. Thirty straight days of sunshine (fantastic climbing weather). Completion of my ‘required’ climbs. Weather that begs and screams, “Go Play Outdoors, NOW!”

Fresh local produce, especially strawberries and bing cherries. (California strawberries don’t cut it). Berry bushes everywhere, laden with fruit. Halibut and salmon, fresh from the docks. It’s so good to be back.

Why Spending Cuts Aren’t The Answer

…

Although it is extremely hard to cut existing programs, it is easier to avoid launching new ones. But much of the new spending proposed by the president is for public investments with high rates of return. Failure to make these investments will actually make us poorer. For instance, if the government borrowed a trillion dollars at 4 percent and invested the money in projects with an annual return of 7 percent, we’d actually be richer each year by $30 billion than if we hadn’t made those investments. And because investment in the public sphere has been neglected for decades, there are thousands of shovel-ready projects with extremely high rates of return. — Robert Frank

Thank you Robert, for helping me see the silver lining in that $700b stimulus package.

car cost per mile

cost per mileWhile car shopping, I  built a spreadsheet of vehicle costs. Here is a graphic presentation of that data. Costs are based on Consumer Reports data and 12,000 miles per year.

The cost per mile is nearly identical between the family sedans. That is largely because the largest cost (40%) of car ownership is depreciation. 

My 09 Fusion V6 with everything except AWD costs are lower because I paid cash (no interest) and paid $10k less than retail. I could have gotten the same low cost per mile on a Jetta TDI, but it would have been a 2006.

Nobody was offering deals on the Prius in December ’08/Jan ’09. In most cases, dealers were charging above retail. Now I’m hearing of people getting $5k discounts on them right now. A recent news article was titled, Hybrid sales go from 60 to 0 at breakneck speed. With the tax benefits, available discounts, and low cost of ownership, the Prius might be worth considering right now.

Microsoft SYNC phone integration

Surprise surprise. Microsoft SYNC doesn’t suck. It is far from perfect, but it is one of my favorite Fusion features.

It did not start out that way. I became acquainted with SYNC when the car salesman tried to show me how easy it is to sync with my Bluetooth equipped phone. When he resorted to the manual, I politely steered the conversation elsewhere. When he got busy filling out paperwork, I skimmed the 78 page manual and paired my iPhone and uploaded all my contacts.

Then I tried to use the voice activated calling feature. “Call Jennifer Simerson,” I would say. And it would pick some other person from my 548 contacts and start calling them. Grrrrrrr. Finally I figured out that the sync process was a bit retarded. Microsoft’s NIH syndrome keeps them using reference implementations of  standards like OBEX and SyncML. They write their own, get it badly wrong, make some fixes, and eventually arrive at something usable. They weren’t there yet when my car left the factory.

After calling the wrong party a couple dozen times, I finally deduced that when it imported my contacts, it mapped them all last name first. And it also included middle names. If a contact had a middle name, I could not call them without saying their middle name in the voice command. After a few days, I figured out how to call home, “Call Simerson R**** Jennifer.” 

Then I discovered the version 1.2 update. Duh, it’s from Microsoft. Of course. It needs an update! I downloaded the update and installed it but it didn’t help. Days later, insight struck. It’s from Microsoft. You can’t just install it the update. You also have to reboot! So I performed a “Master Reset” of the SYNC system. Then I re-paired my phone to it and had it sync all my contacts. Voila! All my contacts synced properly. I can call home by saying, “Call Jennifer Simerson.” 

The handsfree functionality works superbly. Talking while driving is now fun and much safer. I predict that in another decade, every car will have this functionality. My kids will be hard pressed to remember a car that didn’t have phone integration built-in.

SYNC also supports text messaging via Bluetooth, but it doesn’t work with the iPhone. Yet.

Fusion features

“The Fusion rides and handles very well, again thanks to the sound Mazda platform. Steering feel is fine, brakes are excellent, handling is good, but limited by the 16-inch tires.”– Orlando Sentinel

I took a test Fusion from the dealership over to a nice wet freeway ramp with a 90 degree entrance. I aimed for the inside of the curve under wide open throttle, trying to bust the tires loose and drift across the lane. The Fusion grabbed hard and true and we launched out onto the freeway without a hint of tire slippage. Inside, Jen let out her ‘there he goes again’ sigh while I and the car salesman wore big wide grins.

The traction control system worked so perfectly that I didn’t even notice it. Except that the tires never broke loose. I briefly considered turning off the traction control so I could  have a little oversteering fun. But it was so unobtrusive and effective that I left it in control. 

Having driven my Fusion for a week, I still love how it handles. It brings back fond memories of driving a Miata. Minus the wind and road noise.

“Overall, the Fusion is engaging.  It tracks steady and true on twisty roads and flatters the driver in a way that the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry can’t.”  — Road and Track.

Where my SHO and Jetta both had very predictable oversteer, the Fusion is wonderfully balanced. There is no tendency towards over or understeer. I suspect I’d have to turn off the traction control to achieve either. The steering wheel is incredibly responsive. There’s no slosh and no twitchiness, just a subtle anxiety to act upon my intentions. The car holds straight and true through the curves without even a hint of body roll. The Fusion longs for that next twisty stretch of road.

“The Ford Fusion we recently tested didn’t rocket to 60 mph with any urgency, and didn’t have the most dramatic styling, but the Fusion still left everyone who drove it thoroughly impressed.” — Motor Trend

Unlike Motor  Trend, I got the V6. Unlike the Sentinel, I got the 17″ wheels.  The Fusion doesn’t have the catchy appearance of some cars so there was no love at first sight. But it didn’t take long for us to be “thoroughly impressed.”