TheWizard

Ahhhh... that makes more sense. Still, couldn't you get one of those laptop mounts that position it on the passenger's side above the console near the dash (like police vehicles)? That might eliminate the need to move the lid so much and be closer to your line of sight. They go for about $100 on Amazon and just bolt under the passenger's seat track front bolt.

Why on earth would you be trying to read or operate a laptop while driving? That makes cell phone use look tame in comparison. If you need to use the laptop, pull over to do so.

Like live conversations, forum discussions tend to wander to related points around the central topic. Personally, I've found this discussion quite interesting and members are making well-reasoned points contributing to it. As long as it remains civil and somewhat related to domestic vs foreign products, I see no reason to limit it to strictly responding to the OP's post.

You can activate the 1-2-3 slash menu in Excel. Starting with Excel 2010, go to the File tab, select Options->Advanced then scroll down to the Lotus Compatibility section and put a check in the Transition navigation keys box. Now you can use Lotus shortcuts like /FO to open a file. I don't think it works with macros but there are times when the slash menu can be quicker than mousing through Excel menus. Alternatively, you can use keystrokes to go through the Excel menu as well (e.g. Alt-F then O for file open). Oh... and Word Perfect is still available (although not free) from Corel.

The world average is 22% but the weighted average based on GDP is 29% so something between 25% and 30% for an economy as large as the US would be right in line with the weighted average. Those are statutory rates (rates in the tax code). Actual rates paid have been substantially lower - averaging about 19% in the US because of deductions and write-offs. Many of those deductions have remained after the cuts so the effective rate for corporations now is ridiculously low... lower even than most individuals pay. It's one thing to promote business in an effort to boost the economy (which really didn't need a boost at the moment) but giving away the store is something else entirely.

As for Lotus 1-2-3, you can now download it from IBM's website so you won't need a CD drive for that.

I have to agree that cutting corporate tax rates was a necessary thing to make America more competitive. The 39% rate we had before the cut was pricing us out of the market. But I'm pretty sure that the cuts went too far... cutting the rate to be more in line with other countries (say, somewhere between 25% and 30%) would have helped a lot without having quite so much impact on the deficit. If America's corporate tax rate was in line with other countries then the other advantages of building a business here would have more influence on corporate decision making.

No, that is a huge over-simplification and not true in many cases. I've already pointed out what terrible products were produced by American auto makers before foreign competition came along. The same is true of electronics and many other fields. Left to their own devices, American companies (and admittedly, those of other countries as well) will build the cheapest product they can get away with selling. But beyond that, in today's global economy it's difficult to determine whether a foreign owned company that produces product here is better or worse for the country than an American owned company. For example, a few years ago when Honda Gold Wings were being made in Ohio, there was more American content in them and more money staying in the US from their sales than from that icon of American manufacturing, Harley Davidson. Most of that profit stayed with American Honda in California and with American investors through stock on the NYSE... of course some went to the parent company in Japan but on balance it was a great benefit to America. Similar situations exist with foreign auto makers building vehicles in the US. They employ lots of people, invest lots of money, and much of the earnings stay here. It's no longer a simple case of "foreign companies take money offshore while American companies keep it here".

I haven't seen a Ford rep on this or any other Ford related (Mustang, F150) forum in quite some time. It's a shame because they were helpful resources.

If it should happen again, try pressing and holding the start/stop button for about 10 seconds to turn it off. That's a built-in override primarily designed to allow shutting off the engine while the vehicle is moving but should work when parked as well.

Make sure you disconnect the battery before using the tool. It's easy to insert the tool into the socket far enough to short against the center pin at the bottom.

There are universal aftermarket systems which do the same thing but would cost far less (not to mention being easier to install and get working). They range in price from about $50 to $180 depending on what features you want. A basic beeping front parking sensor kit with four sensors is about $57 on Amazon.

Actually not really... the OBD II interface is well documented and mandated by law. It was done that way in order to prevent OEMs from eliminating independent repair shops by having secret and proprietary diagnostic and maintenance interfaces. Tunes are just an extension of that capability. But you will notice that some manufacturers (especially Chrysler) go to great lengths to make it difficult to make changes.

In the eyes of the law, reverse engineering software is the same whether it's on a computer, a mobile device, or a vehicle. Accessing a menu in the software to make changes is, of course, permissible because that is the intended function. But examining ("hacking into") the software in an effort to find and change undocumented settings is technically illegal under the DMCA.

The Supreme Court has ruled that modifying software for your own use is not a violation of the DMCA which has sections prohibiting reverse engineering and "hacking". The ruling came in a case about cell phones but would apply to any software where you own the device containing the licensed software. However, it does not address whether the software provider can take steps to make it difficult or impossible to make modifications as this would appear to do. So Ford is completely within their rights to take this step. The comparison to Windows isn't quite accurate as Windows provides a documented interface (Control Panel, regedit, etc.) which allows you to change configurations. They do not allow you to make code changes or any other undocumented modifications. I agree that Ford really should offer expanded configuration options for customers but they are under no obligation to do so and if they can make money by locking it down, why wouldn't they? It's just business. We can vote with our feet by going elsewhere to buy vehicles if we don't agree (or as you suggest, make it part of the deal).

Whether you prefer the Edge or the Sorento (or any other comparable vehicle) is a matter of what features are important to you at the time. The point is that you have that choice if you don't simply "buy American" without evaluating the options. In our case, the '13 Edge Ecoboost Limited vs the '15 Sorento EX V6 was an easy choice. The Kia has all the luxury features we wanted (leather, heated/ventilated seats, etc.), more cargo capacity including under-floor storage, gets much better mileage, has a 10 year warranty, and has a decent infotainment system (frankly the '13 MFT was crap although recent versions are much improved). There are some things that the Edge did better but overall my wife loves the Sorento and hated the Edge so the choice was obvious for me - divorce is way too expensive.

You're right about the difference between the letter of the law and practical application of that law. I've posted exactly that in other threads here. However, since a catch can affects only the emissions system (and that is very easy to prove even to a non-mechanic), a small claims court would be unlikely to uphold a dealer claiming that a catch can could cause any significant, non-emissions failure in the engine or elsewhere. And a small claims court action costs very little to file. So yes, this would be one I would be willing to take on the dealer about. Now tunes, forced induction, cams, even exhaust headers and other more extensive modifications are probably not worth taking a chance on because, even if you know that they didn't cause a failure, you might have great difficulty proving it to a judge who is probably not mechanically inclined.

Assuming the car still has balance of warranty (as a 2017 model with only 21,500 miles), the ESP plan will cover a total of 5 years/ 60,000 miles from date of original service by the first retail purchaser - not from the end of the factory warranty. That means the $2500 is actually buying only 2 years / 24,000 miles beyond the factory warranty. In that case, $100 per month seems a little steep.

Nothing voids a warranty except misuse (i.e. racing). An individual repair may be denied warranty coverage due to a modification, aftermarket part, or lack of maintenance but that is only if the issue was caused by that modification, part, or lack of maintenance. Even the "big evil" engine tune won't void a warranty although almost all engine repairs could be denied warranty coverage if a tune is found (but you could still get your power windows fixed, for example). A catch can might be used as an excuse to deny warranty coverage on the emissions system, especially the EGR system, but other than that there is no warranty consideration. And even if spray cleaner were a problem, it would be difficult for a dealer to prove or even know unless the owner is dumb enough to go in and say "I put some spray in the intake and now it runs rough".

Here is a generic diagram of how projector headlamps work: This is the same design whether using halogen bulb projectors or HID projectors. HID lamps don't burn out in the same way a halogen lamp does. As they age, HIDs gradually shift their color toward the blue (and eventually violet) end of the color spectrum and lose brightness due to reduced output (lumens) and reduced effective light (because of the color shift). Eventually they get to the point where you can see that they're on but they produce no usable light to the road. Perhaps, if the vehicle already has HID lights, they're just reaching the point where they are noticeably dimmer than they should be because they're wearing out. In that case, simply replacing the bulbs should resolve the problem.

You're not going to find a double DIN head unit to fit the dash opening without it having a touch screen and probably DVD. No navigation is easy as that's a different price range. Most will come with satellite radio compatibility but not with the adapter needed to make it work so you wouldn't have it but could add it later if you wanted. There are some cheap and some inexpensive head units out there (not everything that is inexpensive is cheap) but at the really low end they generally aren't compatible with steering wheel controls. You'll probably have to spend somewhere in the range of about $200 to get good quality and steering wheel compatibility. Then you'll have to add installation items like wiring harness adapter, antenna adapter, mounting kit, and steering wheel control adapter for $50 - $100 more. In that price range your best options will be Pioneer and Kenwood. They both have their advantages and disadvantages but based on your needs I would recommend a Pioneer. Their Super Tuner III really is the best FM tuner in the market. If you had been looking for navigation I would have recommended a Kenwood because they use Garmin for their GPS.

For those of you old enough to remember, the influx of foreign made vehicles was a wake up call to the Big Three when it happened in the 70s and it helped make American cars much better and worth buying. Before that, American small cars were crap like Pintos and Chevettes while the big cars were inefficient land yachts. The popularity of inexpensive and efficient imported small cars forced American OEMs to start building better cars (although it took them a couple of decades to do so). I buy the vehicle that best suits my needs regardless of origin. I have a Mustang that I love, and I've had Camaros, Firebirds, etc. all of my life - but I got rid of the Edge in favor of a Kia Sorento because it is a better vehicle for me right now. I'll buy an American vehicle if it's equal to or better than a foreign alternative but if everyone subscribed to the "buy American" ideal then the OEMs wouldn't have as much competition and we'd regress to the old days of them producing what they want instead of what the consumer wants. Competition is always good for the consumer whether it's domestic or foreign.

Having worked in the parts business on both the dealer and manufacturer sides, I can tell you that it is true that more than one part number may be assigned to the same part but not within the same product line. If an Edge spring has a different part number then it is different in some way from other Edge springs. But it is not uncommon for the same part to have different numbers across product lines - in this case an MKX part might be the same as an Edge part but still have a different number because they get it from a different supplier or some other reason. One example I'll never forget... most Honda motorcycles use the exact same oil drain plug washer as Honda automobiles yet the motorcycle part number is different and more than three times the price of the automobile part. However, the Accord EX part number isn't different from the Accord LX number (or even from the Civic number for that matter) so the idea that part numbers change between trim levels for no reason other than pricing isn't the case. The ordering and inventory management issues alone would make that impractical but more than that, manufacturers wouldn't want customers to hear about such a practice which could be a violation of antitrust laws - and things like that tend not to remain secret for very long.

Selecting AMP versus D2S is not a matter of choice - you have to choose the one that matches the projector you're using. If you have factory HID then the replacement will be D2S. Otherwise, you will use AMP which is the type that matches with aftermarket systems which use standard halogen bulb styles (H7, H9, H11, etc.). 55W systems are not recommended since nobody, not even Morimoto, makes a 55W watt HID capsule. So you're just overdriving a 35W bulb with a so-called 55W ballast. "So-called" because most brands don't even make a true 55W ballast so you're really paying more for power you're not actually getting. Morimoto is an exception here... their 55W ballast really is what they say it is. So you pay more for a 55W system, you get only about 25% more light output despite a 57% increase in power, you drastically shorten the life of the 35W bulb, you generate enough extra heat to seriously damage the reflective surfaces in the projector, and you lose color accuracy and consistency. All-in-all, not a good choice.

You should probably go with 245/65-17 rather than 235/65-17 as the 245 is a closer match to the circumference of the 20s you have now and they have a 160mm sidewall height (compared to the 122mm of the 20s). To gain additional sidewall, you could even go to a 70 series tire like a 245/70-17 which would give you 171mm of sidewall although it would put your speedometer out by 2.9%... noticeable but within acceptable limits (i.e. at an indicated 100kph you'd actually be going almost 103kph).