Fake Starbucks Coupon is Heartbreaking

Someone created a coupon for a free cup of coffee at Starbucks, but it was fake. When you scan the QR code, the N-word pops up on your phone. Supposedly, it was white supremacists, and it's probably idiotic enough to be their work. The surprising part to me was the reactions I saw on the nightly news.

Solutions to Potential Accidents

Jacksonville has plenty of potential problems on the road, especially the fast surface roads that are treated like mini-expressways. On my side of town, that's Beach, Atlantic, and McCormick. I decided to take one area of concern to me that I know well and suggest some solutions. While I know this has been looked at before and deemed un-fixable, I believe that the city might want to reconsider before someone gets into a major accident for lack of planning, which I would argue happens daily in Jax.

Your Broke-Ass Lincoln Will Never Get Fixed

Shana B says:
I would be more than happy to look into that for you Mr. J, what is your VIN?
Brian J says:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shana B says:
Mr. J, I do see the recall on your vehicle for the airbag inflator. We do not have parts at this time but we are working closely with our suppliers to try to expedite parts to repair the vehicles. You will receive a letter when parts are available instructing you to make an appointment at your dealership.
Brian J says:
OK, national site says there's no recall, And I've been waiting for three years. I guess it will get fixed after the fiery crash.

That's a real interaction between myself and Lincoln. I've been getting recall notices for several years now, and it's probably because I get a new one in each state I move to (two). But it also means that Lincoln is not doing enough. It's supposed to be a higher-end car brand, but those brands don't wait until enough people die before they fix a problem. A real high-end car brand would give me a loaner car until the dealership gets the parts. Or a new car. Something that isn't a potential death trap for three years.

I don't care if this is all Takata's fault. I hope several disgraced Japanese businessmen jumped off tall buildings because of this, but that still doesn't fix my car. Takata is out of business, and some people have gone broke, but that also does not fix my car. 

You know what will fix my car? If enough people die in MKZs, then it will get moved to the front of the airbag list. That's probably what happened with the Ford Ranger and Mazda pickup. But that's not a good reason to get moved to the top of the list. Someone in an MKZ needs to be the first to die in order to get the recall. I told my wife that old, slow Lincoln drivers have probably made them safer, even when there's an airbag disaster. Or the Lincoln airbag failure isn't as catastrophic for some reason. It doesn't matter. If these are all basically similar problems, the same deaths that happened in high-sales cars will eventually creep into lower-sales cars. Even ones driven by old people and my wife. 

My suggestion for any real automaker that wants to show it's more about customer satisfaction and safety than money is to replace my car or get me another car to use. This could come from Ford/Lincoln or a competitor. Or from a local dealership. That would be North Florida Lincoln or Bozard Lincoln. Feel free to offer me a safe car until you fix mine. It's not going to happen. I guess I'll just have to wait until the airbag fails so that I can sue Lincoln for not shifting into high gear to fulfill its contract with me as a customer. 

When I had recall problems with my Samsung washing machine, I made the decision that it would be my last major appliance from Samsung. I think three years is long enough to wait for Lincoln to make this whole airbag thing right. Unless something happens immediately, as in before our family trip this July, this will be the last Lincoln we own. I am sure that other manufacturers screwed up just as much, but I don't own those brands right now.

Even though the NHTSA website gave my car a pass (Ford did not), this is the recall info on the NHTSA website for my car:

January 11, 2018 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V046000
Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

January 10, 2017 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V024000Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Rupture
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

May 31, 2016 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V384000Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Rupture
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

[UPDATE]

I'm going to start documenting all the instances that this airbag situation is affecting my family's life, since I've decided to at least not ride with front passengers in the MKZ.

4-24-18
I did not offer to go with my wife to Ulta. Ulta is not my favorite place by any means, but I normally would have gone.

6-4-18

I avoided using the car about a half dozen times, but it's a nicer car than my Saab, so I guess I chose shrapnel over safety some days. Got a recall notice that offers a loaner at $45 a day. We'll see if anyone is really willing to do this, since automakers have been fighting the idea since it was floated. Text message with chat buddy lady with local Lincoln dealership was worthless. Maybe by forcing the issue and actually asking for a loaner, I'll get on the top of the parts list.

A few hours later, and I already realize that I've been put on top of the marketing list, complete with another form letter email for my collection. But I won't relent on this one. Ford has decided to off $45 a day for me to not be able to sue the company for millions, so I will comply. I just hope I don't have to drive around in a Chrysler 200 or something awful.

Local Jax News Reporters Not To Go Bra-less to Support Protesting Teen

While it was never discussed in the news, I thought it might be interesting if local news reporters decided to not wear bras to support (pun intended) a local teen who was sent home from high school for doing the same thing. While the teenager's school dress code did not specifically bar bra-free females, she was told it was distracting. And it was.