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Again, traffic levels in the DC Metro area are nowhere near back to normal, but they are certainly higher than they were early in the pandemic.
Best example is we still have no rush hour. You have free flowing traffic basically all the time save for there being an accident or something, so certainly not back to normal.
Again, traffic levels in the DC Metro area are nowhere near back to normal, but they are certainly higher than they were early in the pandemic.
Best example is we still have no rush hour. You have free flowing traffic basically all the time save for there being an accident or something, so certainly not back to normal.
Perhaps it depends on what considers "normal". True, a lot of people either aren't working today, or are working from home (telecommuting). But, last March and April (2020), it was almost spooky......I grew up in this area, and I hadn't seen traffic-levels like that I was a teen in the 60s....perhaps even less traffic. So, specifically compared to last spring (which was the intention of my comment), yes, we're back to what is going to be considered normal for this area, at least until the pandemic is over, or more people start commuting or shopping again.
Nevertheless, Insurance companies absolutely loved the Saturn S-series, not only because they did well in crash-tests and protected people, but because the body panels never dented, never needed conventional bodywork, and, if they had to be replaced after an accident, simply unclipped right off the space-frame, and a new one attached. Sometimes, if the paint-color were still available, those new panels could be ordered right from the factory already pre-painted, which made it a lot easier at the body shop.
Lol, of course you'd find a way to go off on a Saturn tangent in your own thread about your Encore GX.
Perhaps it depends on what considers "normal". True, a lot of people either aren't working today, or are working from home (telecommuting). But, last March and April (2020), it was almost spooky......I grew up in this area, and I hadn't seen traffic-levels like that I was a teen in the 60s....perhaps even less traffic. So, specifically compared to last spring (which was the intention of my comment), yes, we're back to what is going to be considered normal for this area, at least until the pandemic is over, or more people start commuting or shopping again.
Normal is traffic levels back to the way they typically were pre-pandemic. So no, its not back to normal. We don't know what is going to be considered normal in the future.
Perhaps it depends on what considers "normal". True, a lot of people either aren't working today, or are working from home (telecommuting). But, last March and April (2020), it was almost spooky......I grew up in this area, and I hadn't seen traffic-levels like that I was a teen in the 60s....perhaps even less traffic. So, specifically compared to last spring (which was the intention of my comment), yes, we're back to what is going to be considered normal for this area, at least until the pandemic is over, or more people start commuting or shopping again.
I haven't been in to downtown Philly since the pandemic started, so I only know about my suburban commute. But if DC metro is anything like around here, I agree that traffic is certainly up from where it was in the spring of '20, but there's no way I'd call it "normal" by any stretch. I'm looking out my office window and there's 7 cars in the parking lot (out my side of the building) of a 90,000 square foot building. Pre-pandemic there would be dozens. Similar levels in the other 3 buildings in the park. Fewer school buses during the morning rush too. "Normal" isn't really relative, unless you are suggesting we have reset to a "new normal".
Took it out on a night-drive this evening....had it on mostly-lit but a few unlit roads as well. My vehicle's Select-trim version's Halogen headlights were just fine for the conditions I had, even on the unlit two-lane road. IMO, paying extra for the Essence Trim level's LED headlights would have been a waste of money, although the Essence Trim-level does have two things that I would have liked....the wide-angle rear-view mirror that is camera-operated, and the automatic tilt-down side-mirrors in Reverse. But I'm satisfied with it the way it is.
Here's the nighttime dash-lighting.....sorry the gauge-panel came out a little blurry.
Thanks, but not as nice as it could have been. I'm tempted to try and re-do that gauge-panel shot. For some reason, my I-Phone-7 is sensitive to the tiniest bit of motion in the camera-lens....and it's difficult to brace it against something solid with some shots.
too bad the led are not standard on all Buick’s.
Perhaps so from your point of view, but, for my purposes, I don't need them.....the halogens on this vehicle, particularly with the high-beam, are more than adequate. And most of the rest of the outside lighting, even on the Select Trim-level, is LED as it is.
I think this little Encore is nicer than what a Lexus offers...
Yes and no. Definitely nicer than the last-generation NX, in and out. I also like it more inside than the UX, but the UX has excellent road-manners for its size, and a smoother power-plant.
The latest Toyota Venza (see my full-review) also has excellent road-manners/refinement and an impressive interior, but is one size larger than the Encore GX, and is somewhat more expensive. IMO it should probably have been marketed as a Lexus......and would have made an excellent replacement for the former NX.
For a turbo three, not terribly impressed with the gas-mileage so far (low/mid 20s) on 87-Octane)......suburban-driving mileage more or less comparable to my FWD V6 Lacrosse with a much larger power plant and the same transmission. I have the Encore GX in FWD most of the time (there is a FWD/AWD button), am easy with my right foot, and don't travel heavily-loaded....all of which should increase mileage. However, temperatures have been very cold lately (which lowers fuel-mileage), I don't use the engine stop/start feature on the GX most of the time (I don't like those systems), and the engine only has a few hundred miles on it...not fully broken-in. I expect mileage to go up a little with warmer temperatures and a few more miles on the engine.
On the Lacrosse, you pretty much had to use the engine start/stop system......or figure out ways to fool it or circumvent it, because there was no shut-off button. GM partially-rectified that problem in later vehicles.....but the current button only disables the system temporarily until the next engine-start. You have to keep pressing the button each time you start the car and drive off. From what I understand, it is bureaucratic/political.....the EPA will not allow a permanent shut-off button, despite the fact that many customers want it. There are aftermarket systems to get around that, but I'd rather not fool with them while the vehicle is under warranty.
I have not test-driven the latest-generation Porsches to verify it, but, from what I understand, that company gets away with offering a once-and-for-all deactivation-button for the engine start/stop system. Why they can (or do) when other companies don't (or can't) is an interesting question, and there are several theories.
I can get low to mid 20s on my fire breathing v8 LC500
can also be in mid teens too with big foot driving.
Air temperature can significantly affect fuel mileage. The generally warm conditions in Florida (compared to most other states) help. Bring your vehicle up to a typical D.C. winter, and your mileage will probably drop. Keep going further, to, say, upstate NY, and you will really notice a difference.
01-22-21, 07:36 AM
and there are several theories.
