Brad

[Brad]

Air Force vet, University vet, RETed here in Alabama. Had to drive over 100 miles to find our Connect Titanium. His name is...........(Does anyone else name their cars?) Indy. A play on adventure - GO, the color - Indigo blue , Indy-go or Indy. Yah, I know it's pretty corny. I'd like to know what accessories  owners have installed, problems you've had and the fix. Good part vendors for Ford parts or accessories. 

Brad

[Mike Chell]

Welcome to the site, Brad.

1)  I don't name my vehicles, including my 2017 T.C. cargo version.  They're just machines that do the jobs of hauling me and materials.

2)  I've done a few modifications, internal for storage and function, externally, a trailer hitch.  Oh, and a back up camera because mine didn't come with one.

 

So far, I've got only minimal complaints.  Lack of storage being the worst thing.  No way to aim the A/C vents to properly blow air on me while driving. 

A 16 gallon fuel tank is about 10 gallons too small, especially since the low fuel warning comes on with 3 gallons still in the tank.

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

3 hours ago, Brad said:

(Does anyone else name their cars?) Indy. A play on adventure - GO, the color - Indigo blue , Indy-go or Indy. Yah, I know it's pretty corny.

 

Corny or not, shows you thought about it. In my book that's good. I don't really name my vehicles but I do refer to my pickup by the man we got it from. He's been dead now five years and we have had the truck 13-14 years and I still refer to it as if the truck was still his. Always will.

[Fifty150]

8 hours ago, Brad said:

 

Had to drive over 100 miles to find our Connect Titanium.

 

 

 

 

Life in The Big City is different.  I can't imagine doing that.  Why didn't you ask for a delivery?  If they wanted to make $$$XXX, they would have brought it to your front door.

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

12 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

Life in The Big City is different.  I can't imagine doing that.

 

I'll say it is, I'd rather drive 100 miles just to AVOID driving thorough a big city. To each his own, but there isn't a thing there for me. Too rushed, too dirty, too noisy. On a hot summer night, I want to sit on my front porch and listen to the cars rust.

[Mike Chell]

I hate city driving, too.  No, actually, I just hate the other people driving in the city.  Too many idiots not paying attention to the road.

 

But, alas, I have to drive right through the heart of Orlando each way, every day.

[Fifty150]

People in cities are there for a reason.  They want to be there.  That's almost the same reason why people aren't in the city.  They don't want to be there.  Not often, but every once in awhile, you will get someone who is willing to switch.  I grew up living in The City, but spent a lot of time outdoors.  As a kid, we often left The City for hunting, fishing, snow sports.  Interesting dynamic growing up next to an ocean, was that we got to go into the ocean.  That is completely different from boating and fishing on a lake.  For me, Big City life offers culture, diversity, entertainment.......but the best part is.....are you ready for it?  Public Transportation.  Living in a city with reliable transportation, means that I can actually take buses & trains, and get anywhere I want 24 hours a day.  I love having 1st class SWAT team ready to serve a warrant by kicking in my door, Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, NHL, casinos, strip clubs, Best of Broadway, Opera, Symphony, Michelin Star dining, happy ending massages, a race track, night clubs, museums, zoos, and an international airport all right outside my door.  We have neighborhoods.  You can literally walk out your front door, take a walk around your block, and find groceries, a butcher, a fish monger, a produce stand, a bar, a marijuana dispensary, a rub & tug, a synagogue......everything that other people have to get into their cars and drive to a mall to access.  But I get it.  People also want peace, quiet, personal space, safety, and a less frenetic pace in life.  The only thing that I would not trade, is immediate access to medical technology.  Certain life saving procedures are only available in medical facilities in large cities.  I hope none of you ever find yourself in a position where the local doctor says, "we don't do that here, the nearest hospital that could do that is XXX hours away". Same reason why I will never retire to a 3rd world country to live like Dennis Hoff in a brothel.  You can get a sex change in Thailand, but not open heart surgery.  Or at least you wouldn't want the breast implant doctor to do your heart surgery.

[Mike Chell]

1 hour ago, Fifty150 said:

You can literally walk out your front door, take a walk around your block, and find groceries, a butcher, a fish monger, a produce stand, a bar, a marijuana dispensary, a rub & tug, a synagogue ...

 

... Shot, stabbed, mugged, accosted by beggars and homeless slackers, propositioned by hookers that may or may NOT be of the opposite sex ... the list goes on and on !!!

[Fifty150]

5 minutes ago, Mike Chell said:

 

 

hookers that may or may NOT be of the opposite sex ...

 

 

 

diversity and tolerance.  Can't we all just get along?  Some people have to travel to Thailand to get a hooker NOT of the opposite sex.  

 

When hookers are right outside of your house, we call that "front door service".  

 

7 minutes ago, Mike Chell said:

 

... Shot, stabbed, mugged,

 

 

Don't look down upon me for how I make my living.  At least I am proud of my work.  I do it with pride, and practice my craft well.  That is what is wrong with kids today.  They don't care about how they do their jobs.  Nobody takes pride in their work anymore.  Just look at how the goofball balanced my tire.  Make America Great Again!

 

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

12 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

The only thing that I would not trade, is immediate access to medical technology.  Certain life saving procedures are only available in medical facilities in large cities.  I hope none of you ever find yourself in a position where the local doctor says, "we don't do that here, the nearest hospital that could do that is XXX hours away".

 

There are basically three kinds of people in this country. The have-nothings, the have-a-littles and the haves. The have-nothings are screwed from the beginning since they have nothing. The have-a-littles spend their lives trying to hold on to what little they have. The haves have no interest in the have-nothings because they have nothing the haves want to have. The haves' only interest is in having what little the have-a-littles have.

 

The greatest medical technology in the world means nothing to the have-nothings because they have nothing to have it with. This technology is only of interest to the have-a-littles if they have enough to have it or if they have employment which allows them to have health insurance. If the have-a-littles lose that employment that they had and then need the greatest medical technology in the world, they soon move to the ranks of the have-nothings. The haves have it and couldn't care less who else has it.

 

Universal healthcare is long overdue in this country.

[Mike Chell]

8 minutes ago, OLDSCHOOLFOOL said:

Universal healthcare is long overdue in this country.

 

Ha ha ha ... too funny.  You did mean this as a joke, right?

 

Who is going to pay for that?  

 

There aren't enough "haves" to pay for all the "have nots".   MOST of the "have nots" already live off government hand-outs which we can't afford even now.  

Since ANYONE can go to the emergency room and cannot be refused services, we already have a universal health care system.

 

Oh, wait ... there is a way for the Nation to have "Universal Health Care" !!!

EVERYBODY who earns more than $100,000.00 a year will pay 35% tax or more ... then we can support all the people who choose to not work.

[G B L]

I suspect that There is enough money spent on health care right now to cover everybody if the voodoo was taken out of the system.

[mrtn]

3 hours ago, Mike Chell said:

Who is going to pay for that?  

 

Oh, that's easy. 33% of our salary goes to "social insurance" (flat tax, plus 1% for unemployment support), which also funds "free" healthcare, which covers most medical needs (apart from extremely expensive treatments such as some new cancer treatments or new surgeries you need to be taken to Switzerland for or something).

[Fifty150]

Part of the problem is that healthcare is "for profit". Taxpayers cannot and should not, contribute to the exorbitant profit margin of private healthcare.   If healthcare were socialized, operated by government for the people, the cost would decrease dramatically and everyone would have access.  

 

Once upon a time, public safety was private and for profit. Don't pay the fire service, and they will stand there to watch your house burn because you're not a subscriber.  Don't pay the patrol cop, and the cop will stand there as you are being victimized because you're not a subscriber.  Even today, in SF, people can still pay for, and recieve, private police service.  The rich can, and still do, buy the police.  

 

That is where we are now. The cardiologist will watch me die of heart disease, because I can't afford to pay for treatment.  The nephrologist will do nothing for my  failing kidney if I don't pay.  I am not a subscriber.  

 

It's a fair market economy. For profit healthcare should be allowed to exist.  But that doesn't mean that the government cannot operate a nonprofit healthcare system, like Medi-Care, and make it available to all.  Wait, wasn't that what Clinton tried to do? 

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

2 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

Part of the problem is that healthcare is "for profit". Taxpayers cannot and should not, contribute to the exorbitant profit margin of private healthcare.   If healthcare were socialized, operated by government for the people, the cost would decrease dramatically and everyone would have access.  

 

Once upon a time, public safety was private and for profit. Don't pay the fire service, and they will stand there to watch your house burn because you're not a subscriber.  Don't pay the patrol cop, and the cop will stand there as you are being victimized because you're not a subscriber.  Even today, in SF, people can still pay for, and recieve, private police service.  The rich can, and still do, buy the police.  

 

That is where we are now. The cardiologist will watch me die of heart disease, because I can't afford to pay for treatment.  The nephrologist will do nothing for my  failing kidney if I don't pay.  I am not a subscriber.  

 

It's a fair market economy. For profit healthcare should be allowed to exist.  But that doesn't mean that the government cannot operate a nonprofit healthcare system, like Medi-Care, and make it available to all.  Wait, wasn't that what Clinton tried to do? 

Pretty much spot on brother. Except I think Clinton wanted to let the private market keep their fingers in the public pie.

[sKiZo]

Even makes a difference what state you live in here in the colonies. I was lucky enough to be living here when I suffered "catastrophic injuries"  in a recent motorcycle accident. That automatically triggered Michigan's no fault insurance, which covers EVERYTHING related to those injuries for life. Real cadillac plan too, as it forces the insurance company to cover pretty much anything the doctors order, even much of which would be considered "experimental"  with a normal plan. Something like 650K USD later, haven't had to pay one cent out of pocket, and we've still a long way to go.

[Fifty150]

Sounds like a lot of people would like for government to take  over private services, and offer it like an entitlement.  I feel the same about utilities. We should all have clean water and running water.  Nobody should freeze in the winter because they can't afford heat. In this country there's no excuse for hunger. Every American should have access to education; be it higher learning, trade skills, or just certificate programs for employment.  Why can't we send kids off to barber college so that they can make a living?

 

Oops....makes me sound like a socialist!  Un-American!

[Beta Don]

10 hours ago, Mike Chell said:

Oh, wait ... there is a way for the Nation to have "Universal Health Care" !!!

EVERYBODY who earns more than $100,000.00 a year will pay 35% tax or more ... then we can support all the people who choose to not work.

When Mitt Romney's dad (George Romney, former Governor of Michigan) ran for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination the tax rate for anyone making $100K was 70% (millionaires paid even more) and guess what?  -  None of the Republicans back then were campaigning on cutting tax rates!!

 

Things are much different now  -  Pass HUGE tax cuts for the rich (who don't need them) and then tell us there isn't enough money to support Medicare and Social Security.  The first half of that just happened and they told us all we should be celebrating.  The average American got a $25 raise . . . . which went into his gas tank because we're entering a trade war with nearly every country on earth  -  Everything is gonna cost way more next year and then when you younger people get near retirement age, you're going to be really disappointed when you see what's left of Social Security

 

Me  -  I'm retired military, so I have the best health care in the world with no co-pays and no cost prescriptions . . . . for life

 

Don

[windguy]

Nice hijack of a 'welcome' thread  

 

Welcome to the forum Brad.

Would love to see some pics of Indy.

 

PS - and thank you for your service

[Fifty150]

Brad, 

 

Sorry about your thread.  This is how quickly things spiral.  Threads are fluid, dynamic, and organic.  They take on a life of their own.

[Fifty150]

28 minutes ago, Beta Don said:

 

 

because we're entering a trade war with nearly every country on earth  - 

 

 

https://nyti.ms/2mI511S

 

Edited August 26, 2018 by Fifty150

[Fifty150]

11 hours ago, Mike Chell said:

 

 

 

EVERYBODY who earns more than $100,000.00 a year will pay 35% tax or more ...

 

 

 

We are a nation divided.  For some of us, $100,000 a year is low income.  In some parts of the country, $100,000 qualifies you for subsidies, below market rate housing, your kids get free school lunch, and even participation in entitlement programs.  I'm sure that rankles the rest of the nation, that with 6 figures, I have to apply for government housing & food stamps.  i can barely afford to drive a Transit Connect.  

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44725026

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/us/bay-area-housing-market.html

A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that a San Francisco metro area family of four bringing in $117,400 a year qualifies as “low income." Last year, the cut off was $105,350. An annual salary of $82,000 now puts single adults in the “low income” bracket as well.Jun 28, 2018

San Francisco families earning $117,000 qualify as 'low income'

https://www.cnbc.com/.../families-earning-117000-qualify-as-low-income-in-san-francis...

[Fifty150]

Didn't we go through this Trade War with Europe during the Johnson Administration?  Isn't that why we have a Chicken Tax?  The Chicken Tax that Ford avoids by bringing in the Transit Connect as a wagon, then stripping the vehicle into a cargo van?

[windguy]

21 minutes ago, Fifty150 said:

Brad, 

 

Sorry about your thread.  This is how quickly things spiral.  Threads are fluid, dynamic, and organic.  They take on a life of their own.

 

I totally disagree with your assessment. The forum was never like this back in 2014 when I joined. It was very cool then and up until about a year ago. Primary focus was on TC's, vans and things associated with them. Not political BS. I don't want to read that crap. If I did, I'd join a political forum and read the venom there.
 

[Mike Chell]

Yep ... we hijacked the thread.  I apologize for that.

I didn't realize how many dreamers we had here, though.  How many believe that high taxation and government control of everything would actually "fix" anything.

 

It's been a fun ride ... but I can't, I just can't go along with that line of reasoning.

 

My Transit Connect is just a vehicle.  It doesn't have a name, nor does it have any "loyalty" from me.  It'll serve it's purpose and be replaced by some other vehicle in time.

 

Please, everyone enjoy your site, I won't rile up the waters anymore.