G. David Felt

+1, pensions are a dying dinosaur. They are not sustainable.

Yes...we also have that concept in Quebec. I dont think its mandatory...yet...for new home contractors to comply in building energy efficient homes , but if a home owner buys an energy efficient home, he gets subsidized by the Quebec government. Tax breaks and Welcome Tax rebates are applied. Novoclimat is what this standard is called in Quebec. My home is a Novoclimat home. What the government gives you back: http://www.efficaciteenergetique.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/homes/#.Vi-kaCum3aQ http://bonestructure.ca/en/ecohomes-through-novoclimat-20certification/ Now...what are those standards in insulation and stuff? Im trying to find a website to list those standards, but I cant find any at the touch of my fingertip. I need to dig deeper. The Quebec Government also subsidizes home owners that wish to convert their older homes into energy efficient ones also. Washington does not give any rebates for home owners to update to a more efficient home but I would love it if they did. Here is a web site that does a good job explaining the R value and how thick each value is. http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/6109/title/understanding-the-r-and-u-values-of-insulation.aspx

Back on Consumer Reports rating: So I found the following story that is supposed to explain how CR tests their auto's and yet with reading it I find many things stated by CR to be a bit fuzzy and confusing. This is a quote from the story: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/consumer-reports-automotive-ratings.htm Types of Consumer Reports Automotive RatingsWhen you check into a vehicle, you'll be able to drill down to many different specific parts to see how they fared in tests and surveys. Here's a list of the various vehicle areas rated by Consumer Reports: Engine: major Engine: minor Engine: cooling Transmission and clutch: major Transmission and clutch: minor Drive system Fuel system Electrical Climate system Suspension Brakes Exhaust Paint, trim and rust Body integrity Body hardware Audio system Consumer Reports requires a minimum sample size of 100 cars to publish auto reliability information; however, most models have much larger samples numbering into the thousands. Over all it leaves one to believe they try their best but clearly work in a grey fuzzy world.

That is an interesting take on managing when you do certain house hold choirs. So do they have higher energy home building standards than in the past to conserve energy? Example here in Washington state, Homes built up till 1986 were all 2x4 walls, did not matter exterior or interior. They they stared to incorporate green code into home and business building. Now homes built today have to have 8 inch thick exterior walls with R22 minimum insulation. This compared to the 4 inch thick walls back in 1986 with an R4 insulation. Same with windows, Single pane 1986, then double pane 2 inch thick and now Triple pane 3 inch thick windows. The whole idea is to minimize heat or cooling loss as well as power consumption. Amazing how quiet the new homes are especially with the way they are building them. Most homes now have the electrical, water, outlets, etc done on the exterior walls and they do a dense spray foam and then sheetrock. This makes the home very tight and quiet. Lower priced homes still have traditional instulation used but more and more they are going to spray foam to really quiet a home, seal it tight and make sure it is well insulated.

But he did state it correctly, I followed the links and even the Canada government shows it as $6.21 per KWh. The web site unless I am miss understanding is wanting people to stay under the 30KWh thresh hold. Seems crazy expensive but that is what they post and say on the web site. Still electricity is cheap but they do have a big hit for heavy users according to the web site.

Would love an extended drive in the ELR from Cadillac. Would also love to experience driving around in a woody.

WOW, that is cheap for the first 30KWh, so have you ever hit the 50 KWh rate? Amazing what they charge, $6.21 per KWh would make me want to change the home heating from electric to gas.

^ if the AWD system works fine and no other major issues, then yes, winter beater.

Like the interior, warm and nice. Enjoyed reading about the updates they have done to the car. Sadly they are still jelly bean bland on the outside.Their body style leave much to be desired. They have not learned how to push the envelope.

Very good question. The Benz CLS400 I had over the summer had a bad habit of its navigation system freezing up on me and me not realizing it until 5 or 10 miles down the road. Then it would reboot which seemed to take 2 - 3 minutes. 5 or 10 miles and the rebooting would take 2-3 minutes... That is a heck of a long time and distance for a computer driven car to be without any guidance...especially when hundreds of cars are being encountered in that period of time and distance... Then there is the question of maintenance. People dont change their oils, brakes...on a regular basis... Heck, people dont even check their tire pressure any more. Plus...it is a well known fact that all these sensors we have in modern cars eventually fail... Add all that up...on an autonomous car that is 6-7-8-10 years old, with 90 000/120 000/150 000 hard daily driven miles with a very minimal amount of maintenance done to the vehicle...what happens to all that computer technology and all those sensors let alone the mechanical side of things that fail on today;s cars on top of all the autonomous driving smart technology computer systems? Meaning... A brand spanking new autonomous car will perform flawlessly the first 1-3 years....what happens to that autonomous car when wear and tear actually occurs down the line and proper maintenance is not performed? With airplanes...rigorous overhauls for maintenance is made on a very regular basis...we all know that the cars on the road are not all exactly in pristine showroom quality with near 100% flawless mechanicals... What you do not realize that this is a step towards never owning a car again. You lease for the right to have a car to drive and at the end of the 3 year lease the car goes back, gets shredded and recycled and they produce a new self driving car that you have to pay for. This is the new model of perpetual payments for life and never owning a car again.

OK, so how much per Kilowatt hr? Washington state which is 100% Hyrdo powered and they just built a couple of huge wind farms on the Columbia river so do not know how that factors in, but we have always had almost the cheapest electric cost in the nation. One reason the aluminum plants all came here. Our Home rate is 6.94 cents per Kilowatt hr. Only 2 other states are cheaper than us at 6.90 and 6.92. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ Course on this Gov web site they show us as the cheapest in the nation. http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/204.htm So what is your rate?

Yup a PROUD Total NERD!

That would Rock EV in the Electra!

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. Did you take it back for return or exchange? Costco has a great return program and while the say 90 days, I have seen them take stuff back that was far older. They are the Nordstroms of Big Warehouses. Awesome customer service. 90 days is only for electronics. Everything else has no pre-determined time limit. See like most people, I see the 90 day sign and ignore the rest. So that probably helps them also.

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. Did you take it back for return or exchange? Costco has a great return program and while the say 90 days, I have seen them take stuff back that was far older. They are the Nordstroms of Big Warehouses. Awesome customer service.

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. I realize Costco has various different product for areas depending on where you live, but they do have a nice assortment online that can be shipped anywhere. http://www.costco.com/wash-wax.html I do like the Mothers packages they have, one that is local here in Seattle but does not seem to be online is their $99.99 bucket package. This is a 5 gallon bucket with 3 pack of mitts, and their premium exterior car care kit. Another package they do not have listed is their Mothers Drill Rim cleaning and polishing kit which is $29.99 at Costco and I find it in the auto parts stores and Fred Meyers for $39.99. They always seem to also have a few generic packages also. There is a 3 pack of 1 gallon containers, Cleaner, Wax and Clearcoat sealer for $19.99. So this always last me the year to keep my auto's clean. Some of their auto options that I would pass on, the GOODYEAR Wipers. I have tried them and even though Costco brings in their top of the line version and sells them for $9.99 per individual blade, I have never had anything beat the long life and clear windshield I get with Bosch wipers. Thought I did find these new blades online that I have not seen in the store. http://www.costco.com/Scrubblade-Platinum-Wiper-Blade.product.100041251.html# Anyone ever hear of Scrubblade before?

Back on topic, My $100 Auto wish! $100 gift card to Costco, so I can replenish all my auto cleaning supplies. They have awesome kits.

Nothing Like a Clean engine bay! Nothing like a Easy Motor / Transmission combo. Remember the days of Velour Upholstery? Remember the day of High Quality Stereos?

I hope this is approved and moves forward.

Warranty cannot denie claims if you use the proper spec oil but not a name brand.

wow, that is a cool take for the 21st century. Way to go for posting this.

Maybe like in the Movie Demolition man. The steering wheel will get folded into the dash when in self driving mode. So you just have to relax your hands in your lap or play with your phone or what ever else you want to do.

Delphi has self driving auto's doing cross country trips in the US racking up more miles than the MB, so how is MB considered the leader and what about Google and their 700,000 miles driven so far over the last 5 years? MB is NOT the Leader in Self Driving auto's.

WOW, I am feeling really old today in realizing I am one of the few from the 60's.

weird, never got what people that was interesting about pictures like this.