nirvansk815
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join:2001-06-18
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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| reply to No_Strings
Re: More Malfeasance in Sacramento
I got my first car when I was 18 (working at Target); 89 Honda Accord, 75,000 miles, $1500.00. I can't say I know what it feels like to get a new car at 16; he is one lucky ducky. Cool car!
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No_Strings
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join:2001-11-22
The OC | reply to CurtesyFlush
You are. |
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jig
join:2001-01-05
Hacienda Heights, CA
| reply to No_Strings
said by No_Strings  :My first car was a '59 Fiat that my brother and I ran around in our field when I was 14. Working on a farm all through high school, I was driving all kinds of mechanized contraptions. Getting a license seemed like a pointless formality. 68 bug here, and in northern NV. bugs have just enough clearance to go from Carson City to Incline village without using a paved road (but i'm not doing that ever again).
It's hard to find space around here to give them some time behind the wheel. I'm also trying to teach both of them (younger one is 14) to drive a stick, but the S4 isn't very accommodating for beginners. there are a few dry lake beds as you go further east that would be great, though you may want to just rent something with a stick. also, can't you go up to el toro and toodle around the strip?
I don't get it either. Snow tires always seemed to work in the snow belt.
hmm. i can understand why someone from Ohio would never need them, but if you go much up 395 way, they are absolutely necessary. front wheel drive helps a lot, but you won't get into/out of most skiing places north of bear lake without them. even with 4wheel drive.
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dogma
Premium
join:2002-08-15
Boulder City, NV
| reply to CurtesyFlush
Sound like???
So as a side story;
In High School at Crenshaw when I was 16 back in the mid-'70's and had begun driving, I knew another guy my age named Mike Stennis. Mike was one of the sons of a successful Black Restaurantur, a guy that owned a chain of ...yes...Fried Chicken joints called Golden Bird (and was that shit delicious!). Mike, although he lived in the district for Crenshaw High, went to Palisades. His parents thought he deserved a "better" school.
When Mike turned 16 his dad gave him a brand new, 1976 Dino Ferrari . He had a vanity license plate: WICKED
At the time, Pali had some rich kids driving Porches and Vettes, but Mike's Dino trumped them all. We all took pride in his car, as a community thing. Mike wound up going to the University of Hawaii, and came back to try to run the family business after his fathers death. Unfortunately, when it came to actually earning his own way in life, Mike was pretty much a failure. He ran the chain into the ground and it filed BK, and was sold at liquidation...to a couple other friends of mine.
The big question is, obviously his father wanted only the best for his kids, and "others" were giving their kids expensive stuff, and the dad earned his riches as a self-made millionaire. So why not shower his family with the best...hell he could afford it.
But what affect did this have on Mike? Did it screw him up? Or was he simply not the aggressive individual his dad was? |
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No_Strings
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| Jig,
As far as I know, there's no public access to what's left of the runways at El Toro. I've taken them out in parking lots or less-traveled roads, but I wish they had a lot more drive time before they hit the road legally.
Dogma,
I understand your dilemma. It's one I wrestle with regularly. To answer your questions:
It's a family car, scaling back from the X5 we don't need as much any more.
Scholastic milestones were established as prerequisites to each stage - the permit, driving school, taking the written test and finally the driving test.
He has a job - a summer one, anyway - and is contributing to the expenses while playing on two teams (one 18 & under where he has a 1.something ERA against incoming college freshmen), chores around the house and helping out with a grade 3-5 camp. Oh, and working out and girls.
One of my concerns was my family's well-being and the likelihood of being stranded somewhere driving a beater vs. a new, under-warranty vehicle. Yes, we have AAA, too.
Finally, the Audi and to a lesser extent the X5 are off-limits for now. The X5 is a beast. It's big and heavy, but with a quick V-8 and a 0-60 as good as mine. Bad combination. My car is just insane for an inexperienced driver. Far too much power. Both would be hideously expensive to insure with a 16 year-old male. Knowing that most new drivers have at least one unplanned stoppage, it seems irresponsible to allow that to happen to the German steel/aluminum vs. some Japanese sheet metal.
Will shared access to a Toyota ruin the kid for life? Look me up in the old folks' home in 10 or 20 and I may have an answer. It's equally likely I will have forgotten the question, though. |
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CurtesyFlush
Bababooey, fafafooey, tatatoothy.
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join:2002-08-23
Fontana, CA | So you got rid of the BMW SUX? I mean SUV?
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sholling
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join:2002-02-13
Hemet, CA
1 edit | reply to No_Strings
My dad had a simple solution. If I got a part time job and saved I'd be able to afford something but I wasn't going to be driving his cars. When I turned 18 I had just enough saved for a used Honda motorcycle. Great mileage and a lot of fun. I didn't have my first car until I was was 18 and had been out on my own for for 4-5 months. It was an old beat up Austin Healey 3000. I loved it. 
Like this one but a bit beat up. But Damn it fun!
Dogma, getting him hooked on public transportation will just leave you with a failure to launch on your hands.  What you should be doing is finding (really soon) a late 60s or early 70s V8 Camaro or Mustang and making a father/son project out of fixing it up for him. He can do extra chores for spiffy parts. If he has his own blood sweat and tears into it he'll appreciate it more.
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No_Strings
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said by CurtesyFlush :So you got rid of the BMW? (moderated, er, edited for your amusement)
Not yet. It's slated for retirement in about a year. It's getting used a lot less, though. |
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CurtesyFlush
Bababooey, fafafooey, tatatoothy.
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join:2002-08-23
Fontana, CA | So he's sharing the Scion with whom? Wher's the toyota fit in?
I'm so goddam confused.
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No_Strings
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join:2001-11-22
The OC | Toyota Scion.
Sharing with the wife, mostly. |
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HappyBunny
Hi. Cram It.
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join:2001-06-23
Long Beach, CA
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| reply to No_Strings
My parents told me that if I wanted to drive something other than the family station wagon with its so uncool wood paneling (1976 Plymouth Gran Fury Wagon!), I could buy it myself. So I saved money from my job slopping nursing home swill food and bought a 1971 primer gray Toyota Celica. I thought it was really awesome because it had orange shag carpet in the rear window! I put in a loud stereo (my dad helped me) and I thought I was the coolest (I wasn't but who cares?). I drove around with the Cars and Meatloaf blaring from the 8-track player. It was MY car, so my parents couldnt take it away when they were pissed at me, either 
Why rob a kid of that pleasure? What fun is it to just have it given to you? I went to a Catholic girls' high school, and nobody there drove new cars--everyone had old beaters like I did. Of course, we didnt live in the OC, so I guess that makes a difference. I certainly didnt know anyone who had a BMW, not even an adult who did! |
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HappyBunny
Hi. Cram It.
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join:2001-06-23
Long Beach, CA
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1 edit | reply to jig
said by jig :hmm. i can understand why someone from Ohio would never need them, but if you go much up 395 way, they are absolutely necessary. front wheel drive helps a lot, but you won't get into/out of most skiing places north of bear lake without them. even with 4wheel drive. Is it because the snow is deep? Or because people here can't drive in it? We didnt even buy "snow tires" in Ohio--do they even make those anymore? We just bought all season radials. I once drove in a blizzard from Toronto to Cleveland--snow belt all the way, right thru Buffalo... with nary a snow tire.
I still am not sure WHY they are needed, other than people are told to use them. |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
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2 edits | said by HappyBunny :said by jig :hmm. i can understand why someone from Ohio would never need them, but if you go much up 395 way, they are absolutely necessary. front wheel drive helps a lot, but you won't get into/out of most skiing places north of bear lake without them. even with 4wheel drive. Is it because the snow is deep? Or because people here can't drive in it? We didnt even buy "snow tires" in Ohio--do they even make those anymore? We just bought all season radials. I once drove in a blizzard from Toronto to Cleveland--snow belt all the way, right thru Buffalo... with nary a snow tire. I still am not sure WHY they are needed, other than people are told to use them. You do know that the snowiest place in the US is here in CA, the Sierra Nevada's. Buffalo gets a TON, no doubt, but nothing like Donner can get.
About tires, people in Ohio and the "snow belt" must be a bit crazy, because when we lived in Pocatello, ID (90-97), we ran studded snow tires in the winter, and most everybody else there ran at least snow tires. We had them put on in the late fall, (Big O would store our summer tires), and then in the Spring we would go and have the summer tires put back on.
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HappyBunny
Hi. Cram It.
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join:2001-06-23
Long Beach, CA
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| said by RR Conductor :You do know that the snowiest place in the US is here in CA, the Sierra Nevada's. Buffalo gets a TON, no doubt, but nothing like Donner can get. About tires, people in Ohio and the "snow belt" must be a bit crazy, because when we lived in Pocatello, ID (90-97), we ran studded snow tires in the winter, and most everybody else there ran at least snow tires. We had them put on in the late fall, (Big O would store our summer tires), and then in the Spring we would go and have the summer tires put back on. Studded tires and chains are actually illegal in Ohio. Go figure. I've never used either. And I have never put a car in the ditch in bad weather!! |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
·Comcast
2 edits | reply to No_Strings
I am surprised to hear they don't allow them in Ohio, they certainly do in California, Idaho and Utah. They also use pure salt on the roads back there, in ID they use a mix of half salt/half sand/gravel, and around here (we do get some snow in the winter), they put sand/gravel down on icy and/or snowy days.
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
·Comcast
2 edits | reply to HappyBunny
said by HappyBunny :My parents told me that if I wanted to drive something other than the family station wagon with its so uncool wood paneling (1976 Plymouth Gran Fury Wagon!), I could buy it myself. So I saved money from my job slopping nursing home swill food and bought a 1971 primer gray Toyota Celica. I thought it was really awesome because it had orange shag carpet in the rear window! I put in a loud stereo (my dad helped me) and I thought I was the coolest (I wasn't but who cares?). I drove around with the Cars and Meatloaf blaring from the 8-track player. It was MY car, so my parents couldnt take it away when they were pissed at me, either Why rob a kid of that pleasure? What fun is it to just have it given to you? I went to a Catholic girls' high school, and nobody there drove new cars--everyone had old beaters like I did. Of course, we didnt live in the OC, so I guess that makes a difference. I certainly didnt know anyone who had a BMW, not even an adult who did! I didn't have a car in High School either, I either drove my parents car or truck, drove friends cars or had friends drive me. When we moved to Pocatello in 1990 and I started at Idaho State University, my grandpa and grandma cook (dad's parents) let me have their 1980 Toyota Pickup (they didn't use it much, as their main car was an Olds Cutlass), it was a stick and my grandpa taught me to drive it, I sure do miss him! It was an AWESOME little truck, I had it until 1997 when I traded it on a 1997 Dodge Neon (which I still own), those are the only 2 cars I've ever owned in my 37 years
Edit-Nobody at Covina High had BMW's or cars like that, in fact, most didn't have one. Now, it was a different story at our rival, South Hills High, they were the "richies", and drove expensive cars, they had the money, we were middle to upper middle class
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jig
join:2001-01-05
Hacienda Heights, CA
| reply to HappyBunny
yes, bun, it's because of the depth. even deep tread snow tires glass up (fill up with snow, making the tire 4 slippery snowballs) in very short order. chains would help in black ice conditions, but they eat up the road unless there's enough snow pack to keep the whole vehicle up. a decent alternative (especially for front wheel drive) is cables.
i'm pretty sure you don't have to go much further north from toledeo to hit some areas where chains are useful (even with the total lack of elevation change).
RR - studded tires are illegal in all parts of CA. it's questionable whether they're illegal even in NV. also, i'm willing to bet that the rockies get a whole hell of a lot more snow than the sierras.
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
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4 edits | They get quite a bit jig, but the Sierra Nevada's are the snowiest place in the US. The snow they get in the Rockies is more powdery, with a lower water content then the "Sierra Cement".
Edit-Actually, Studded Snow Tires are legal in CA from November 1st until April 30th
"What are the dates for studded snow tires?
Studded snow tires are permitted in California from November 1 until April 30 each year. During this time, studded tires are permitted in any location within the state. Studded snow tires are not considered tire traction devices and may not be used in lieu of chains" »www.amtrakcalifornia.com/hq/traf···creened"
In Idaho, they are allowed from October 1st to April 30th. Some other dates for Intermountain States-
"Studded snow tires legal from Oct. 1 to April 30....
Studded tire laws vary in neighboring states:
· Montana: Oct. 1 – May 31
· Nevada: Oct. 1 – April 30
· Utah: Oct. 15 – April 15
· Oregon: Nov. 1 – March 31
· Washington: Nov. 1 – March 31
· Wyoming: Legal all year"
»itd.idaho.gov/highways/WinterMai···e.03.htm You'll see they are legal in Nevada as well.
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jig
join:2001-01-05
Hacienda Heights, CA
| huh. seems they changed the law in 2006.
well, then, let me be the first to say that studded snow tires suck, especially in socal. they reduce traction in the wet, there's almost never enough snow down here for them to be useful, and, as you point out, they don't alleviate the requirement for chains, AND they mess up the roads (because people can't remove them as easily as they can chains).
they were also illegal in NV, but i guess that law changed too. seems silly to change it.
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Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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Redwood Valley, CA
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1 edit | said by jig :huh. seems they changed the law in 2006. well, then, let me be the first to say that studded snow tires suck, As a previous, 7 year user of Studded Snow Tires, I can tell you they don't suck when you are trying to get around on icy or snowy roads, I can tell you that We ran them every winter in Idaho, and they made a HUGE difference.
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