New tow beast time

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1st Sail
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by 1st Sail »

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beene
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by beene »

Sorry Tom.... I meant Q7... not A7

Happy new year

G
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by mastreb »

seahouse wrote:
Hey Matt - you mean there was no massage setting on your Merc? :D
You joke, but it's an option on the 2015 GLS.
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by seahouse »

I partly joke Matt. Cadilliacs :D have had them for several years, maybe others too.(?)
:wink:
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Tomfoolery »

And here I was impressed with the electrically adjustable lumbar support, both in magnitude, and location, as well as the seat and mirror location memory feature on mine. :|

:D
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Russ
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Russ »

mastreb wrote:
seahouse wrote:
Hey Matt - you mean there was no massage setting on your Merc? :D
You joke, but it's an option on the 2015 GLS.
Mercedes probably leads the pack in extravagant options.
Only Mercedes can charge $550 for an LED illuminated star logo and only $575 for a trailer hitch.
Image

Then there is the Selectable Cabin Fragrance on the S550. New-car smell is so bourgeois. The S550 lets you activate a scent-control system to “perfume” the interior. Mercedes-Benz offers specially created scents including Sports Mood, Nightlife Mood, Downtown Mood, and Freeside Mood (that last scent’s name might make more sense in German). All of the scents are intended to be subtle fresheners. An empty vial is included with the purchase of the car for you to fill with your own alcohol-based fragrance.
Image

Now my new Viper is going have Stryker Red Paint — SRT Viper, $14,600. The most extravagant paint option we've come across recently is on the new 2013 SRT Viper: a remarkable hue called Stryker Red is a $14,600 option; that's enough to buy a new Kia Rio. SRT says that the three-step painting process takes seven days to finish, and that the factory paint shop allocates one day a week to process nothing but Stryker Red cars. The result truly is one of the most stunning shades of red available anywhere

Image
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RobertB
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by RobertB »

Oh yeah, can you imagine the insurance agent's response when you tell him someone scratched your fender :o :?
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Russ
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Russ »

Tomfoolery wrote:And here I was impressed with the electrically adjustable lumbar support, both in magnitude, and location, as well as the seat and mirror location memory feature on mine. :|

:D
That is a cool option. My new Highlander has similar features. Read the manual, I bet yours does this too. What I found was the keyless FOB can be recognized by the car such that when it's detected and the car is started, all driver preferences are set to that FOB. Like his and hers key FOBs. Things like seat position, mirrors, temp controls and head unit controls. All my presets, EQ settings, GPS destinations, bluetooth phone speed dials and dash display prefs are configured simply by having my FOB in my pocket.

I didn't really want the tech package, but now I'm glad. The blind spot monitor seems frivolous and for the most part it is. I can check mirrors just fine, however when backing out of a parking spot, it uses some kind of side looking radar on the rear and beeps if a car is coming down the parking lane as I'm backing out. I found this very useful when parked next to big vehicles blocking my view.
It also has some kind of radar behind the logo in the front grill. It uses this with the cruise control. Set the cruise and it beams radar forward at cars in front of you. If the car in front brakes it disengages the cruise and by golly it actually hit the brakes on my car to avoid a collision. Freaky, but cool.

My '13 Highlander had a back up camera, but this one is smarter. Turn the wheel and it displays a yellow pattern where the car will track. Backing into a space is easy, just aim the yellow pattern into the spot and the car will go there.

Dash has some cool displays. One that is fun in the snow is a diagram that shows AWD torque power to each wheel. Clearly, the car starts with full power to the front wheels, then adds torque to the rears as needed. If one wheel slips, you can visually how the tranny adds power to the other wheels. I like fun displays. They added a 4WD lock button for trouble spots.

I bought a Toyota/Lexus USB computer cable on Amazon. It lets you run dealer Techstream software. From here you can monitor every switch and sensor in the car as well as program custom features like disabling seatbelt warning chime and rolling down all windows, opening moon roof from the remote FOB. I'm a geek and love being able to mod my car's computer.

I'm not gonna tow the Mac with the car, but I will tow other toys with it.
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by seahouse »

Back in 2000 my Lincoln LS had key fobs that allowed the car to recognize who you were as soon as you unlocked it. It would set the seat, wheel, mirrors to either my or the Admiral's settings if she was getting in to drive.

The new Explorer Sport tow beast does this too, plus the pedal positions, climate, plus the vehicle settings schema, connects to my phone, all without touching the fob in my pocket. Just touching the exterior door or tailgate latch handles locks, unlocks, or opens them if it senses you are within a few feet of the perimeter of the vehicle. Spooky. It knows who you are. :cry: And the majority of settings (entertainment, climate control, navigation etc) are set by voice commands.

There are a lot of options on vehicles today that might be considered frivolous or luxury that are actually safety features, such as heated steering wheel (allows you to drive with better control by not having to wear gloves) and venting moon roof (allows you to hear things going on around you that you would otherwise not be aware of) for example.

Things that were found only on luxury vehicles a few years ago can become standard equipment on even entry-level vehicles today.

Yeah, I'm with you guys, I like all the tech stuff too, although I am not an early adopter in that I have waited a few years for the growing pains to be ironed out on the In Vehicle Tech before buying.

Tech fugit. (Technology marches on). :D

:wink:
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Russ »

seahouse wrote:The new Explorer Sport tow beast does this too, plus the pedal positions, climate, plus the vehicle settings schema, connects to my phone, all without touching the fob in my pocket. Just touching the exterior door or tailgate latch handles locks, unlocks, or opens them if it senses you are within a few feet of the perimeter of the vehicle. Spooky. It knows who you are.
Yup, exactly. FOB stays in my pocket, I walk up to the car and it turns on the puddle lights and interior lights. Touch the handle and it unlocks everything and knows who I am setting all my prefs. Spooky and cool use of tech.
And the majority of settings (entertainment, climate control, navigation etc) are set by voice commands.
Voice control is cool and my car talks to me. "You have a new text message. Would you like me to read it?" A pleasant woman's voice reads my deep voiced senders text in rich sound via the car speakers. Weird.
There are a lot of options on vehicles today that might be considered frivolous or luxury that are actually safety features, such as heated steering wheel (allows you to drive with better control by not having to wear gloves) and venting moon roof (allows you to hear things going on around you that you would otherwise not be aware of) for example.
Exactly, this isn't a $70k Lincoln or Mercedes. All this tech comes in a $42k Toyota.

I live in the tundra, and don't wear gloves. Heated steering wheel is nifty, but we are tough enough to steer without it. However, your point is well made. Some of this tech is a great advance in safety. Airbags everywhere now. Simple things that make driving safer. I learned to drive in a car with only one side view mirror.
Toyota has a feature that uses a mic in the front seat to amplify the driver's voice and pipe it to the back seat. No more raising your voice to yell at kids in the back.

This new radar braking system is kind of freaky. It will brake if you don't to avoid collision.

Next up, the Google self driving car. But can it launch a boat?
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by dlandersson »

Feb 2015 Consumers Reports has its auto evaluation, including mid-size and large SUV's.

Got me thinking about a Lexus - or a Suburban - more seats. 8)
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Russ »

dlandersson wrote:Feb 2015 Consumers Reports has its auto evaluation, including mid-size and large SUV's.

Got me thinking about a Lexus - or a Suburban - more seats. 8)
If I needed seats and a tow beast, I would be looking at a Suburban.
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dlandersson
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by dlandersson »

Yeah, I keep coming back to that. Suburban wasn't in the latest CR. :wink:
RussMT wrote:
dlandersson wrote:Feb 2015 Consumers Reports has its auto evaluation, including mid-size and large SUV's.

Got me thinking about a Lexus - or a Suburban - more seats. 8)
If I needed seats and a tow beast, I would be looking at a Suburban.
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by Y.B.Normal »

"Then there is the Selectable Cabin Fragrance on the S550. New-car smell is so bourgeois. The S550 lets you activate a scent-control system to “perfume” the interior. Mercedes-Benz offers specially created scents including Sports Mood, Nightlife Mood, Downtown Mood, and Freeside Mood (that last scent’s name might make more sense in German). All of the scents are intended to be subtle fresheners. An empty vial is included with the purchase of the car for you to fill with your own alcohol-based fragrance."

I just throw an old pair of gym socks in the glove compartment. :D :D
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Re: New tow beast time

Post by dlandersson »

I think this is a nice "tow beast" theme song. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I51JXp ... cLwk#t=191
Y.B.Normal wrote:"Then there is the Selectable Cabin Fragrance on the S550. New-car smell is so bourgeois. The S550 lets you activate a scent-control system to “perfume” the interior. Mercedes-Benz offers specially created scents including Sports Mood, Nightlife Mood, Downtown Mood, and Freeside Mood (that last scent’s name might make more sense in German). All of the scents are intended to be subtle fresheners. An empty vial is included with the purchase of the car for you to fill with your own alcohol-based fragrance."

I just throw an old pair of gym socks in the glove compartment. :D :D
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