BRAKIE mobilman44 But going from a 10 year old vehicle to a new one would be "shell shock" for those not at home in the world of today's technology. How about going from a 20 year old car to a 2015? That would be beyond shell shock but,as long as my 20 year old Buick with 161,000 plus miles continues to run as well as it does I won't even think about buying a newer car.
mobilman44 But going from a 10 year old vehicle to a new one would be "shell shock" for those not at home in the world of today's technology.
How about going from a 20 year old car to a 2015? That would be beyond shell shock but,as long as my 20 year old Buick with 161,000 plus miles continues to run as well as it does I won't even think about buying a newer car.
On average, I keep my cars 17 years.
Rich
Alton Junction
mobilman44But going from a 10 year old vehicle to a new one would be "shell shock" for those not at home in the world of today's technology.
I think today's new cars with their whiz bang technology gizmos is one reason I won't buy a new car however, the main reason I don't want the monthly payments.
Congratulations on getting your new car.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
You're welcome.
Well, its finally here - and all mine!
Built on 8/3, went via CSX from Louisville to Kansas, spent some time there for railcar repairs, got on the UP tracks and made it down to the Westfield (just north of Houston) auto terminal where it was finally unloaded on 8/22. Made it to the dealer on 8/24, and ready for me on 8/25.
Of course right after I got the call a major storm front hit the area, so I begged off until yesterday morning to pick it up. We did just that yesterday (8/26) morning, and now its home safe and sound.
Gotta say this...... as the wife has a 2014 Edge Limited with all the tech bells and whistles, getting familiar with the controls of the 2016 Escape Titanium is not such a big jump. But going from a 10 year old vehicle to a new one would be "shell shock" for those not at home in the world of today's technology.
Anyway, thank you all for putting up with my personal non MR thread, and showing interest and insight into the process. And thanks to Mr. Otte for allowing this to remain here!
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Getting close. Even when everything goes right. rail can be a liitle slower than Priority Mail or FedEx...
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Thank you Dave! Just got a call from the dealer, the SUV will be moved to the dealer today/tomorrow, inspected & cleaned and I'll pick up tomorrow or Wednesday. Ha, it ain't over til its over............
Your railcar was spotted and unloaded on 8/22. The empty car is on its way to Brownsville TX.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
mobilman44,
I know exactly what you are going thru. I ordered a new Plymouth Grand Fury that took forever to arrive. It was the first year with the tail fins and the car I ordered was the one Chrysler showed in their TV adds, same color and eveything. I got indigestion every time I saw the add. The dealer made phone calls trying to find out why it was taking so long. Finally when it arrived it was almost black covered with dust from a RR yard that must have been nothing but cinders.
Boy, would I love to have that car now.....hope your's is worth the wait.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
Thank you Dave! I've driven by there when there were well over 100 autoracks there or in a string at Old Town Spring. Given our rainy weather lately, I'm not too surprised it hasn't unloaded.
Any chance of you letting me know when it does? I sold my car last Monday and am pretty anxious to "get my own" again and not drive the wifes.
Nope. Not spotted for unloading yet.
Hi again!
I "ASSUME" the autorack is at the unloading facility, and may even have unloaded and is gone. Can anyone confirm that? My ability to do so isn't working.
Thank you!
mobilman44 Hi again! I'm reminded that I didn't answer Sheldon's question (I forgot)...... My last 7 Fords (all ordered SUVs) had tow packages. My reasons are two fold. One is that the package included a larger radiator or a trans cooler, and the newer vehicles a "sway control". On a trip thru Needles in the summer, the temp on the Explorer stayed right in the middle - and it was 111 with an oven like wind blowing. The other reason is actual towing of course, which for me was limited to small rental trailers for wood/yard stuff/etc. It's been awhile since I towed anything, however. Living down here in "truck country", that factory tow hitch and hook up is probably the only option that never really depreciates.
I'm reminded that I didn't answer Sheldon's question (I forgot)......
My last 7 Fords (all ordered SUVs) had tow packages. My reasons are two fold. One is that the package included a larger radiator or a trans cooler, and the newer vehicles a "sway control". On a trip thru Needles in the summer, the temp on the Explorer stayed right in the middle - and it was 111 with an oven like wind blowing.
The other reason is actual towing of course, which for me was limited to small rental trailers for wood/yard stuff/etc. It's been awhile since I towed anything, however. Living down here in "truck country", that factory tow hitch and hook up is probably the only option that never really depreciates.
Again, thanks for the reply. Maybe this is just a different market here in the east, but all three Explorers we have owned came with tow pagages off the lot with out being special ordered, as did my old truck and my new truck.
Our dealer does a large business in trucks and SUV's and the RV lifestyle, and the use of small/medium trailers is very popular here, most customers of those tyes of vehicles want tow packages - so a large percentage of the vehicles on the lot have them already.
My new F250 has a serious tow package - 12,500 lb hitch receiver, built in trailer brake controller, sway control, heavy duty radiator and beefed up trans coooler, extendable mirrors, not to mention multi style wiring connectors - I'm sure your ESCAPE is similar.
Two of the cars we did special order were Crown Victorias, because we wanted the police equipment high performace package - dual exahaust, a few extra HP, stiffer suspension, larger/wider tires, heavy duty trans cooler, alternator and radiator, and automatic air ride rear suspension. They were great cars - 1997 and 2002.
Hope it shows up soon!
Sheldon
Larry, thanks for that reply, but it amazes me that the OP reported the car shipped from Louisville on August 3rd, and it still hasn't arrived at his Houston area dealership on August 19th.
richhotrain What a joke. The car manufacturer can assemble the car with all of its options faster than the amount of time it takes the railroad to get the assembled car to its destination. Good thing that it wasn't being shipped into the Chicago area. Rich
What a joke. The car manufacturer can assemble the car with all of its options faster than the amount of time it takes the railroad to get the assembled car to its destination. Good thing that it wasn't being shipped into the Chicago area.
Rich,Like I mention autorack trains bypass the dreaded terminal dwell time unlike smaller blocks of autoracks moved in a general freight consist.. Terminal dwell time can take up to 40 hours at some of the major yards.
I've seen freight cars set 2-3 days on the CSX/NS interchange track at Marion.NS has a local crew station there the crew uses part of the interchange track as a yard lead.
dehusman And Dehusman reports it went by Wunshe Cafe (partially burned down, darn it) which means it is at Westfield now - the autorack facility near here. Or not. Just because its at Spring, doesn't mean its at Westfield. It will probably take a day or two for the cars ahead of it to be unloaded so it can be spotted for unloading. The pace of unloading is set by the haul away companies that unload the cars and dray the autos to the dealers.
And Dehusman reports it went by Wunshe Cafe (partially burned down, darn it) which means it is at Westfield now - the autorack facility near here.
Or not. Just because its at Spring, doesn't mean its at Westfield. It will probably take a day or two for the cars ahead of it to be unloaded so it can be spotted for unloading. The pace of unloading is set by the haul away companies that unload the cars and dray the autos to the dealers.
The CSX and NS runs autorack trains from mixing center to mixing center and that means the auto rack trains bypasses the dreaded terminal dwell time.
Yes, that was my wishful thinking (a rare thing these days)...... The fellow at Ford said they have had cars sit for more than a week at the terminal.
I've gone by there a number of times, and it is always filled with strings of autoracks - as is the yard in Old Town Spring.
mobilman44 This is the daily driver......... 2016 Escape Titanium with the 2.0L turbo. Like the last 8 vehicles, this was ordered as I wanted the tow package and the light stone interior with the silver exterior, etc. Of course the 2016 is the same as the 2015 except for the new software package.
This is the daily driver......... 2016 Escape Titanium with the 2.0L turbo. Like the last 8 vehicles, this was ordered as I wanted the tow package and the light stone interior with the silver exterior, etc. Of course the 2016 is the same as the 2015 except for the new software package.
That sounds very nice - we love both our FORDS, a 2012 FLEX Limited with the 3.5 Eccoboost and my new truck.
We have been driving FORDS for two decades, all have been great vehicles.
We have special ordered a few of them, others our dealer had what we wanted or was able to find what we wanted.
If the smaller Eccoboost is anything like our 3.5, you will be very happy.
While not large enough for our needs or tastes, the Escape is a very nice vehicle, and a Titanium at that - wow.
What do yo tow?
Our daughter drove a 2003 Focus for 177,000 miles - virtually no repairs, only maintenance. My new truck replaced a 2000 F150 with 240,000 miles - now for sale on the front lawn.
Post a picture or two when it shows up!
mobilman44 Got info that the car was in Mumford this morning, which is a junction of sorts by College Station (Texas A&M). And Dehusman reports it went by Wunshe Cafe (partially burned down, darn it) which means it is at Westfield now - the autorack facility near here. Hopefully I'll get "the call" in a day or two. Thanks all once again!
Got info that the car was in Mumford this morning, which is a junction of sorts by College Station (Texas A&M). And Dehusman reports it went by Wunshe Cafe (partially burned down, darn it) which means it is at Westfield now - the autorack facility near here. Hopefully I'll get "the call" in a day or two.
Thanks all once again!
So please tell us, what model of new FORD are you getting?
This reminds me of when my (then 11) year old daughters school sent her to Toronto to represent them in an english lit. competition. I had her flight on the flight tracker showing on the big screen in the kitchen going and coming.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Your truck just went by Wunsche Cafe.
Your truck just went by Kyle Field.
This is an 2015 F250 SUPER DUTY, they are still steel and will remain so from what I understand.
It is the 2015 F150 models which are now aluminum. Which leads to another story.
Unlike GM or RAM, FORD builds their F250 and F350 pickups (3/4 ton and 1 ton) on a completely different chassis from their 1/2 ton F150 models. The frame, cab, beds, suspensions are completely seperate designs, not just a "beefed up" verion of the lighter truck.
It has been this way for a quite a while now.
The new aluminum F150 was introduced late, and 2014 F150 models where produced until parts supplies ran out - well into early 2015.
FORD will not be producing any new aluminum F150 trucks with an 8' bed until 2016 models.
I needed an extended cab AND the 8' bed - to me a 6' bed pickup is useless.
So after some thought and research, I decided to go up the the 3/4 ton F250 version to get the cab/bed combination I wanted.
FORD builds more pickups than anyone - in fact, F series trucks as a group are the largest selling single product line in the automotive world - nearly 800,000 units last year - GM is a distant second at just over 500,000 - TOYOTA only built about 150,000 pickups........
The new aluminum F150 is a very nice truck, and combined with turbo V6 power promises to move light duty pickups into a new level of fuel economy and power.
But as I said, I needed the larger cab and larger bed, and I needed it now.
Interestingly, GM only sells extended cab/long bed pickups in their 2500HD, 3/4 ton lineup - not in their 1500, 1/2 ton lineup. The GM 2500 is their equal to my F250. RAM no longer sells that cab bed combination at all.........
Being much heavier, at about 6600 lbs, my F250 is powered by a 6.2 liter V8 with a very sofisticated 6 speed auto that has a number of shifting options. It is also 4x4.
My old 2000 F150, regular cab 8' bed, now has 240,000 miles on it and still runs well - but it was time, and I really needed the bigger cab.
When FORD does get around to making the F150 in this cab/bed configuration, they will automaticly require a suspension upgrade to the heaviest version of the F150 suspension anyway - so going to the F250 was likely a good move.
Fuel economy is not much of an issue for me, I don't drive real far, and much of my driving is "suburban" - milage not that great no matter what you drive.......but I need to be able to carry the stuff I need to carry, and have room for the grandchildren.....
Take care,
ATLANTIC CENTRAL I just bought a new FORD a few weeks ago - but I found one on the lot with the features and equipment I wanted: " target=""> " target=""> Hope yours shows up soon..... Sheldon
I just bought a new FORD a few weeks ago - but I found one on the lot with the features and equipment I wanted:
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Hope yours shows up soon.....
Thank you! That makes sense - 18th st being a repair facility. The Ford provided info stated it was there, but they thought it was just a junction and not a repair place. Westfield is the local autorack facility, about 10 miles southeast of me and about 8 miles from the dealer. Gee, arrival on the 19th , plus a couple of days to unload and transport to the dealer, plus a day dealer prep puts the vehicle in my hands on the 24/25th or so.
Again, thank you all for the info!