Very disapointing fuel economy from recent roadtrip...

[KansasWaldo]

Cool story. My 5 year old Jeep could populate traffic, additional travel times, and re-route me. Without pulling anything from anything. It just did it. UConnect was awesome. The one thing I will say that Chrysler got 100% right. NAV in Subaru and Mazda vehicles continues to be a downfall.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of cool stuff with electronics in American-made cars. They do seem to do a better job of keeping current with GPS and sound options.

I never said the Mazda NAV was excellent. I simply said it works. Obviously since I use an iPhone app instead, it doesn't work well enough to meet my expectations of a GPS.

 

[craigo]

Yeah, I've seen a lot of cool stuff with electronics in American-made cars. They do seem to do a better job of keeping current with GPS and sound options.

I never said the Mazda NAV was excellent. I simply said it works. Obviously since I use an iPhone app instead, it doesn't work well enough to meet my expectations of a GPS.

For some reason, Japanese brands are often terrible at software user interfaces. I used to have this Sony bluray player that had a Netflix/Hulu interface that was a total joke... the most infuriating and slow abomination ever. Japanese websites tend to look years outdated as well. For the newer Mazda connect interface it was led by a USA team.

Android auto and the apple version are pretty nice, they'll replace everything eventually.

 

[KansasWaldo]

For some reason, Japanese brands are often terrible at software user interfaces. I used to have this Sony bluray player that had a Netflix/Hulu interface that was a total joke... the most infuriating and slow abomination ever. Japanese websites tend to look years outdated as well. For the newer Mazda connect interface it was led by a USA team.

Android auto and the apple version are pretty nice, they'll replace everything eventually.

Oh god, don't even get me started on BluRay or SmartTV interfaces. I have a Sony for both products, and they're both horrific when it comes to navigating the UI. I ended up just building a media PC and using that for everything.

I do like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It'll be nice to see those integrated at some point.

 

[Rarebit]

Maybe I've just owned loud vehicles (*cough* Subaru *cough*), but I've found it to be very quiet. Sure, you can hear the road. My wife was surprised at how quiet it was compared to our Mazda3s and previous vehicles. Then again, we've also never owned or driven anything upscale. Ignorance is bliss.

My latest 2 vehicles have been Mazdas. Before that, a Volvo, which I drove for 15 years. No doubt the Mazda CX-5 is a little noisy. I rode in my neighbour's Lexus E300h recently. The damned thing is as quiet as a vault. Boring to drive, but very quiet. It's not the trade-off I'd make but for those who value isolation from the outside world over handling, it's probably a good compromise.

 

[ALafya]

70mph is about 10-15mph under the speed limit many places I go on road-trips.

Not passing any judgment (hey, 85 would work for me!), but where, other than Texas, is the speed limit 80-85? I've never been to Arkansas but Google says 70.
Here in CA, the maximum speed limit is 70, on freeways passing through unpopulated areas. Though I5 in the central valley, between SF and LA, is notoriously known as a place to do 80-85 easy.

 

[KansasWaldo]

Not passing any judgment (hey, 85 would work for me!), but where, other than Texas, is the speed limit 80-85? I've never been to Arkansas but Google says 70.
Here in CA, the maximum speed limit is 70, on freeways passing through unpopulated areas. Though I5 in the central valley, between SF and LA, is notoriously known as a place to do 80-85 easy.

Driven through Arkansas quite a bit, and 70 sounds about right. There are some spots in Kansas where it gets to 75, but that's mainly in the middle of nowhere. I do enjoy the spots in Texas that are 80-85, but that's not the norm.

With that said, I come across drivers going 80+. I also see said drivers pulled over several miles down the road fairly often. 80 or more is simply not safe, even if it is enjoyable. Wrecks tend to be much more violent at those speeds, and the time to react is also severely diminished. I'll stick to the right lane at the speed limit and let the speed demons go by. I prefer to increase my chances of getting home safely to my wife.

I've wrecked at around 88 MPH before many years ago due to a car not paying attention. Luckily, I wasn't hurt even after tearing a guardrail partially out of the ground and rolling three times. I firmly believe the wreck wouldn't have been as bad if I was going slower.

 

[Unobtanium]

For some reason, Japanese brands are often terrible at software user interfaces. I used to have this Sony bluray player that had a Netflix/Hulu interface that was a total joke... the most infuriating and slow abomination ever. Japanese websites tend to look years outdated as well. For the newer Mazda connect interface it was led by a USA team.

Android auto and the apple version are pretty nice, they'll replace everything eventually.

My 370Z Touring/NAV wasn't bad at all. The traffic/routing functions of my Jeep were superior, though, but as for interface, it was far from bad.

 

[Unobtanium]

Driven through Arkansas quite a bit, and 70 sounds about right. There are some spots in Kansas where it gets to 75, but that's mainly in the middle of nowhere. I do enjoy the spots in Texas that are 80-85, but that's not the norm.

With that said, I come across drivers going 80+. I also see said drivers pulled over several miles down the road fairly often. 80 or more is simply not safe, even if it is enjoyable. Wrecks tend to be much more violent at those speeds, and the time to react is also severely diminished. I'll stick to the right lane at the speed limit and let the speed demons go by. I prefer to increase me chances of getting home safely to my wife.

That makes no sense. You drive 80-85 and are comfortable with it, when absolutely NOTHING about your vehicle or reaction times changes secondary to the sign, and often, ZERO changes have been made to that section of road since the 70mph sign came down and the 80-85mph sign went up. Yet 80 is "unsafe" in areas that a sign does not tell you it's safe. Absurd.

Now, I can get on board if you're going to argue about speeding tickets, but to make up some story about a sign magically making a behavior safe/unsafe? Bah!

In the middle of Kansas live deer. Deer go through cars stem to stern at 75. Deer are unaware of your 5-10mph faster speed limit. Deer live all over the US, and in no state can they read these new posted limits. Life is risk. Take your pick. But don't justify it based on some sign by the side of the road.

 

[Unobtanium]

Not passing any judgment (hey, 85 would work for me!), but where, other than Texas, is the speed limit 80-85? I've never been to Arkansas but Google says 70.
Here in CA, the maximum speed limit is 70, on freeways passing through unpopulated areas. Though I5 in the central valley, between SF and LA, is notoriously known as a place to do 80-85 easy.

I travel a lot in TX and LA. Speed limits in both range from 75 to 85 on the roads I drive. In AR, the speed limit is typically 70, but flow of traffic down I49 is typically 75-80. You can slow up traffic and make people swerve around you by driving 70, sure, but if you think you're doing yourself or them any safety favors...

I do a fair bit of training in Roberts, LA (near Hammond).
http://theadvocate.com/home/340351-82/i-49-speed-limit-increased-to.html
^75 is the speed limit for hundreds of miles of my trip.

I go to San Antonio often to visit friends and people in the firearm industry.
Many miles are at 75mph, and here is the 85mph section:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/24/fastest-road-in-america-opens-to-motorists-in-texas/
Here are more roads I may frequent on my path:
http://www.txdot.gov/driver/laws/speed-limits/approved.html

I am guilty of typically driving 5 over. Whether that's 80, or 90, effectively. If you don't drive 5 over, honestly, well, more power to you, but that's not what I'd call the norm.

.....So to tell me "Oh, you drive too fast. You need to keep it under 70..."...imagine my amusement.

 

[KansasWaldo]

That makes no sense. You drive 80-85 and are comfortable with it, when absolutely NOTHING about your vehicle or reaction times changes secondary to the sign, and often, ZERO changes have been made to that section of road since the 70mph sign came down and the 80-85mph sign went up. Yet 80 is "unsafe" in areas that a sign does not tell you it's safe. Absurd.

Now, I can get on board if you're going to argue about speeding tickets, but to make up some story about a sign magically making a behavior safe/unsafe? Bah!

In the middle of Kansas live deer. Deer go through cars stem to stern at 75. Deer are unaware of your 5-10mph faster speed limit. Deer live all over the US, and in no state can they read these new posted limits. Life is risk. Take your pick. But don't justify it based on some sign by the side of the road.

I never said I was comfortable. I said it was enjoyable. Heck, taking risks can be enjoyable since it gets you out of your comfort zone. It's simple physics when it comes to driving faster. The faster you go, the harder you'll impact anything in your path. Life is risks, but mitigating those risks can also decrease the likelihood of something bad happening.

Nowhere did I say that a sign changed my viewpoint. I merely said that I found traveling at those speeds enjoyable even if it is riskier.

 

[KansasWaldo]

....So to tell me "Oh, you drive too fast. You need to keep it under 70..."...imagine my amusement.

Oh, us folks in Kansas always get a bad rep by the people over on the Missouri side of the river for driving too slow, mainly because most of the drivers drive the speed limit.

Personally, I'll never tell anyone how to drive unless they put myself or someone I care about in danger. Speeding is fine by me as long as you're not being reckless in the process. The idiots that decide to swerve in and out of traffic to save a couple minutes off of their commute annoy me though.

 

[Unobtanium]

Oh, us folks in Kansas always get a bad rep by the people over on the Missouri side of the river for driving too slow, mainly because most of the drivers drive the speed limit.

Personally, I'll never tell anyone how to drive unless they put myself or someone I care about in danger. Speeding is fine by me as long as you're not being reckless in the process. The idiots that decide to swerve in and out of traffic to save a couple minutes off of their commute annoy me though.

Agreed, but to me, someone doing 70 when everyone else is doing 75-80 is a hazard.

 

[Unobtanium]

I never said I was comfortable. I said it was enjoyable. Heck, taking risks can be enjoyable since it gets you out of your comfort zone. It's simple physics when it comes to driving faster. The faster you go, the harder you'll impact anything in your path. Life is risks, but mitigating those risks can also decrease the likelihood of something bad happening.

Nowhere did I say that a sign changed my viewpoint. I merely said that I found traveling at those speeds enjoyable even if it is riskier.

Yeah, that makes sense. Gotcha.

I look at it this way...at 70, I'm going to likely be maimed. I'd rather go on and do 80 and just die. In my line of work, I've seen it all, and I'll take 80 and done, thanks.

 

[KansasWaldo]

Agreed, but to me, someone doing 70 when everyone else is doing 75-80 is a hazard.

Here, you can get a ticket by going 5 over. If everyone is going 75-80, they'll just take their pick. It happens.

I moved to Kansas from Atlanta. Everyone typically went 10-15 over there. I usually went 5-8 over to keep up with the flow. I'm perfectly fine with getting behind some slower moving cars in the right lane. That's why slower traffic keeps right.

 

[KansasWaldo]

Yeah, that makes sense. Gotcha.

I look at it this way...at 70, I'm going to likely be maimed. I'd rather go on and do 80 and just die. In my line of work, I've seen it all, and I'll take 80 and done, thanks.

That's one way of looking at it! Trust me, I used to have a lead foot. I'm 31, but ticket free for about 6 years now. I had 11 speeding tickets prior to my viewpoint changing. It took realizing what a wreck will do at higher speeds to finally slow me down. Sure, I'm more likely to be maimed instead of killed, but I'll take that risk.

 

[Unobtanium]

Here, you can get a ticket by going 5 over. If everyone is going 75-80, they'll just take their pick. It happens.

I moved to Kansas from Atlanta. Everyone typically went 10-15 over there. I usually went 5-8 over to keep up with the flow. I'm perfectly fine with getting behind some slower moving cars in the right lane. That's why slower traffic keeps right.

Slower moving traffic IS 75mph here, often times.

Yes, you can get a ticket by even doing the speed limit when the officer hits a car next to you and swears it's you. Happened to a friend of mine. He had just gotten a ticket and was being super paranoid about his speed when it happened, and saw the cop, and observed his legal speed, and was ticketed for significantly over said speed. Now, it's possible my friend somehow was mistaken, but he wasn't lying about it. Point being like you said...risks. How much would it suck to be doing 70 and get a ticket for 75 because the cop radared me and then pulled YOU over? THAT would suck...

 

[KansasWaldo]

Slower moving traffic IS 75mph here, often times.

Yes, you can get a ticket by even doing the speed limit when the officer hits a car next to you and swears it's you. Happened to a friend of mine. He had just gotten a ticket and was being super paranoid about his speed when it happened, and saw the cop, and observed his legal speed, and was ticketed for significantly over said speed. Now, it's possible my friend somehow was mistaken, but he wasn't lying about it. Point being like you said...risks. How much would it suck to be doing 70 and get a ticket for 75 because the cop radared me and then pulled YOU over? THAT would suck...

Been there done that, thanks to Cottondale police out in Florida (could be Alabama, but cannot remember). Two lane highway and got pulled over when the cop clocked the car blowing my doors off. I was going 40 in a 35. Got a ticket for 60 in a 35. His reasoning for pulling me over was that I was closer after he pulled a 180. I tried to explain that was because I was going slower. Ticket ended up getting thrown out, but I was livid.

 

[Unobtanium]

That's one way of looking at it! Trust me, I used to have a lead foot. I'm 31, but ticket free for about 6 years now. I had 11 speeding tickets prior to my viewpoint changing. It took realizing what a wreck will do at higher speeds to finally slow me down. Sure, I'm more likely to be maimed instead of killed, but I'll take that risk.

I've seen enough wrecks at 50-60mph. Seen people come into my ER with their faces smashed, abdomens distended and full of blood, etc. etc. It's my conviction that speed doesn't matter as much as wearing your seatbelt, and praying to the right deity that morning, and not dicking with your cellphone/CD that fell on the floor, etc.

Interesting about your speeding tickets.

I am 30. I have had maybe half of that. 5-7 speeding tickets.

Worst ticket: 29 over (cop lied. It was significantly more than that. He just did us both a favor).

Most annoying ticket: Cop pulled me over on foot with a hand-held sign on a road with a 25mph speed limit. I did not see the sign because of the sun, and the road looked like a 35-40 to me. I was doing about that. Legitimately was not trying to lead-foot it, and debated with the officer until he showed me the sign (I wasn't an ass about it, and he threw me a ton of other favors such as ignoring a few things about the car, setting my court date MONTHS from then, etc.) because I literally could not believe it was 25mph.

Ticket I should have gotten but did not: Was doing 15 over, tail gating a cop, then brake-checked him when he threw the lights on after I got around him. It was an unmarked car and I didn't know, and was late for class, and he was one of those jerks who did exactly the speed limit. Not even a written warning. Asked me what was up, told him the truth about why I was late, and the guy let me motor on and said he knew what it was like to be late for things for reasons out of your control.

 

[Unobtanium]

Been there done that, thanks to Cottondale police out in Florida (could be Alabama, but cannot remember). Two lane highway and got pulled over when the cop clocked the car blowing my doors off. I was going 40 in a 35. Got a ticket for 60 in a 35. His reasoning for pulling me over was that I was closer after he pulled a 180. I tried to explain that was because I was going slower. Ticket ended up getting thrown out, but I was livid.

I have no moral feelings about speeding, so long as like you say I am not putting others at unwanted risk (if they are all doing 10 over, too...they accept). My goal is to get out of tickets/ avoid them/ get a deal with the DA/whatever it takes. If I CANNOT get out of them, then I view them as "cost of doing business".

 

[KansasWaldo]

I've seen enough wrecks at 50-60mph. Seen people come into my ER with their faces smashed, abdomens distended and full of blood, etc. etc. It's my conviction that speed doesn't matter as much as wearing your seatbelt, and praying to the right deity that morning, and not dicking with your cellphone/CD that fell on the floor, etc.

Interesting about your speeding tickets.

I am 30. I have had maybe half of that. 5-7 speeding tickets.

I used to drive very fast, so tickets were a natural byproduct of that. I agree completely about wearing your seatbelt and not dicking around while driving. To this day, I'm not an entirely defensive driver. I'm an assertive driver. I typically go the speed lint when it's reasonable to do so, but I also understand that reasonable speeds are often higher. Other driving behaviors, like merging or changing lanes, I'm always very assertive. Hesitation can cause wrecks.