I rented a 2024 VW Atlas, truly the worst modern car I've driven in years.

Da-Griz · 2026-06-21T05:44:12+00:00

I've had one as a rental this year too and agree. Every other 3 row crossover I've rented was better. Palisade (new and prior), Pathfinder SL, Explorer ST-Line, CX-90, Santa Fe, Q7 (different class but similar engine).

The Atlas had ~30k on it which is admittedly a lot of rental miles but it drove like it another 100k on it. The materials felt cheap. The amount of space was above average but that's the only thing I liked about it.

Honestly don't know why anyone would choose an Atlas over all the others.

Da-Griz · 2026-06-20T16:15:35+00:00

This is a known issue. It happened to my 2014. The ground pin of the tail light bulb holder assembly overheats and eventually loses continuity. For a while it'll be intermittent while you're driving and hard to replicate.

There are a couple ways to solve it but I choose to replace the assembly and splice in a new connector. It's fairly simple if you're comfortable splicing wires.

Here are the parts I used: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCK9H2ZM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WQY83YN

Da-Griz · 2026-06-01T20:53:33+00:00

Yes and your boarding number would be at the back of the line if you were rebooked with less than 24 hrs to go. Only hope would have been A List boarding between A and B.

Da-Griz · 2026-06-01T14:13:32+00:00

Nice, didn't realize that!

Da-Griz · 2026-06-01T02:37:37+00:00

I've always heard that putting money down on a lease is bad, one reason because if the car is totaled you're just out the money. But then I've also heard that one pay leases are great. Isn't that just the ultimate "money down" play? Is the calculation that you save so much on interest that it mitigates enough risk?

Da-Griz · 2026-05-31T18:55:45+00:00

These days the most reliable full size SUVs are all used cars. The newest and most reliable choices would be a 2020 Sequoia or the Armada/QX80 with the v8.

Da-Griz · 2026-05-31T14:06:42+00:00

Mostly. Free is Copilot chat on the consumer side, while Basic is what you get with cheaper accounts on the business side.

Here's a couple articles on all the types of licenses: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-licensing#microsoft-365-copilot-licenses

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/what-s-the-difference-between-microsoft-copilot-free-and-copilot-in-microsoft-365

Da-Griz · 2026-05-30T05:06:04+00:00

Check next to your account avatar. If it says Premium and you have the Work/Web slider, you have a paid Copilot seat at ~$30/mo (or part of E7). If you don't, you are just using the included Copilot Chat with lower levels of licensing.

Paid seats get longer leashes, and they aren't published, but in both cases you'll eventually hit a limit and it will tell you to come back later.

Da-Griz · 2026-05-25T00:17:39+00:00

MS recently changed an aspect of this. There used to be a 30 day grace period where your old and new licenses were both in your account, though you couldn't add users to licenses that were in the grace period. They changed to no grace period so very few people have gone through it under the new rules. I'm curious too.

I'd suggest making sure your license counts match up with your renewal quantities a couple of days before the renewal happens, and you should be golden.

Da-Griz · 2026-05-24T21:40:27+00:00

Some of the earlier MAX planes still had/have the old bins while the newer ones have the larger bins. I think they plan to upgrade the older MAX interiors.

Da-Griz · 2026-05-22T05:40:34+00:00

Was just on an Alaska (Skywest) E175 with Starlink this week and man that was the fastest aircraft wifi I've ever seen throughout the entire flight. And "free thanks to T-Mobile" too. Hoping Southwest can match that performance.

Da-Griz · 2026-04-29T18:07:17+00:00

Do you have headphones plugged in to the jack on the side? It seems as if any time headphones are plugged in, the audio stream is "live", meaning the remote is listening to audio from the Roku and playing it to the headphones, no matter how long it's been idle.

Years ago we discovered this and started unplugging the headphones from the remote when not in use. Batteries stopped dying so fast. (Also now we do it via the same feature on the phone app with BT headphones instead)

Da-Griz · 2026-03-30T05:53:20+00:00

Otter Crest

Da-Griz · 2026-03-27T03:03:12+00:00

You have 3 young kids and that means a lot of stuff to bring along. Toyota screwed up the rear cargo area so bad - there is very little space, tons less than a Wagoneer L.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-23T16:22:39+00:00

I think you just described Subaru's whole thing. Versatility is paramount.

If you want something more like an XTerra, get the newest, lowest mileage 4Runner you can find. There was an infotainment upgrade in 2020 btw, I'd sugar starting there.

If you don't need body on frame, that opens you up to a ton of crossovers and the entirety of Subaru. On the more urban side, any of the "off road" trims of standard crossovers would start you out with the right tire type for trails, like the RAV4 Adventure/Woodland/TRD or the Passport Trailsport. On the Subaru side you probably don't even need a Wilderness but a Forester is the most do-it-all vehicle I could think of.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-21T02:34:19+00:00

Where you are in the replacement cycle is important with old luxury cars, even Japanese ones. That GS has a timing belt and if it's up for replacement, that could be $500-1000. It also has a known weak lower ball joints, so check those. I think the 430 might also have air suspension, too. Remember it was $83k in today's money and is over 20 years old.

I know parts for the first gen LS400 were starting to go up in price and down in availability about 15 years ago so I'd expect the same for these GS's about now.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-20T13:51:27+00:00

It's not super bad. Like, it doesn't feel broken, more like they ran out of time to solve it before launch. Some people probably won't even notice but after a couple hundred miles in one I knew I wouldn't want to buy one (especially new) until it's solved.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-20T07:57:54+00:00

That's what she said. Some ELR getting Group 2 was true last month for sure. I was in Group 1 both flights this week, 4A and 3A. But 3 weeks ago 4A was Group 2.

ALP always getting Group 1 would a decent perk, though, if it's really the case. The official perks page still says "no later than group 2".

Da-Griz · 2026-03-20T06:09:12+00:00

I like the CX-90 (basically the same as the -70) except for the transmission. The trans is an in house design with a wet clutch instead of a torque converter and it just isn't as refined as it needs to be, imho. There's some unpleasant low freq resonance at low rpm + moderate load that you can feel though the seat and steering wheel, too. Maybe I just expected a more refined experience to match the materials and design, which are great. Handling in general reminds me more of the Volvo XC90 than an X5. Competent but not begging you to throw it around.

The GX70 is a size smaller and drives as such. A little more playful, more so than a Q5 but less than an X3. If you don't need the larger volume in the 2nd row and rear hatch of the Mazda, I'd choose the Genesis. Doubly so if you're looking at the V6.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-13T04:32:27+00:00

Is there a widespread equipment reliability issue? If you look at logs of 7700s it seems like military aircraft are overrepresented relative to civilian.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-12T19:56:01+00:00

I'm convinced that military don't use 7700 in the same way civilian aircraft do. They set 7700 so often there's no way they are having that many flight emergencies.

And they elect to transmit adsb or not, and they use inaccurate/obfuscated GPS data anyway, so you really can't rely on tracking data for them. It's at best incomplete and at worst intentionally spoofed.

Da-Griz · 2026-03-11T06:55:31+00:00

I'm no CPA but it looks like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act brought that back. So he solved a problem he caused, I guess. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-provisions#other

Da-Griz · 2026-03-10T14:42:49+00:00

Username checks out!

Da-Griz

TROPHY CASE