musicmafia

1. Y 2. Not needed 3. Fine 4. Sounds so good I havent noticed 5. No difference noticed

PS how do you post images in the thread...it only allows url and links for me?

I forgot all about this thread. Will attempt to post some pics of my install from a year ago. Ended up using my JBL amp from my other car. probably overkill, can barely turn it to 1. Custom box built to fit the space with just enough air to make one JL Audio 10" sub kick some arse. Letting the stock speakers handle the mids and highs. It sounds awesome! http://postimg.org/image/l7zvunfn1/

I guess I'm an idiot. Just posting my opinion on my experience. Forget withholding, it seems unfair that the $4K should be dangled by the car companies yet is only available in certain circumstances. At least my state just sent me a good ole fashioned rebate check. This used to be a friendly forum.

maybe not directly but indirectly if i had not withheld (i.e. pre-paid) all those taxes (and/or claimed my legal deductions like mortgage interest, medical, etc), i would have owed money at the end of the year and could have used the credit to offset that so it all seems relevant to me

My purpose of this post is so people will know that they may have to do some special tax planning (during the same year they buy their FFE) in order to receive a benefit from this credit. If you buy your car towards the end of the year as I did, you may not have much time to do this so plan ahead so you don't get burned.

I don't think most people feel they should have to contact a tax expert before buying a car, especially when the $4K is promoted as a "rebate" you will receive later. If car brands and dealers are going to promote these "credits" claiming to offset purchase prices, then yes, I think the very least they could do is hand you a sheet of paper explaining what it really is and how to actually get the credit....or at least direct us to information...but maybe that's too much to ask when spending almost $40K cash...I was given bad information and per my OP, was lead to believe this "rebate" would be refunded to me at tax time (as part of federal incentives to promote EV''s/PHEV's)...

yes that is what i am saying.....IF i had known, i could have easily reduced my withholding as you did, which would have given me more money every month and left me with a bigger tax liability so I could have received an actual benefit from the credit....

you are correct...to actually receive the credit, you either have to be lucky or do some planning ahead of time....like most folks, i was completely unaware of how this worked. with my other write-offs and deductions i was already set to receive a refund and was unable to receive the credit.

The $4K federal "rebate" is a deceptive advertising scam! Despite what we are told when we buy these cars, it's not a federal rebate incentive for buying cleaner energy vehicles. In reality, it is just a potential tax credit that you will only get if you plan your taxes so that you owe money at the end of the year. I just completed my 2014 tax return and it said my "available credit" was $4001.00 but after my other deductions, my actual "total credit" is ZERO! Why? Simply because I had other write-offs, had withholdings and I am getting a refund. It added ZERO to my refund. Apparently the "credit" does not carry over to next year. The $4K just evaporates. If you're like me and you like to plan your taxes so that you get a refund, you may not be seeing a a dime of this $4K. Had I known this I could have easily reduced my withholdings (from my own company), which would have increased my paychecks and allowed me to use the $4K credit against taxes owed (assuming you owe more than $4K at the end of the year). I'm guessing a lot of people think they are getting a tax break but in reality they are not. When negotiating a purchase for a new FFE, do not assume you will automatically see a $4K "rebate". This sucks.

hey meyersnole, I managed to figure out a workaround but it's far from ideal. Its not that difficult, but very time consuming and just plain ineffecient. I have accepted that, although Windows Media Player (one of the most popular music players in the world) is a Microsoft product and Ford's Sync is "powered by Microsoft", WMP playlists are simply NOT recognized from USB by Ford Sync. During development, Ford probably could have asked Microsoft to ensure this compatibility and I'm sure some engineer at Microsoft could have hit a couple buttons and made it so, but alas it does not. For music-oriented folks like me, with huge libraries of songs and large playlists, this is a major disappointment. Here is what I am doing to get my large WMP playlists to play from USB in my FFE. Technically the WMP playlists still do not work. This method allows users to copy all the songs from any playlist and offers options to re-sort them in bulk, versus having to manually rebuild playlists of hundreds of songs. At the end of the day, you end up with Folders of songs on your USB that can be manually selected on the MFT screen. Here is what I am doing: I import my wpl playlists into Amok Playlist Copy (google it, free download, doesnt require java like SyncPlaylist). Once in Amok, I then simply choose the option to re-sort them (by number serially), then I export the renamed files into their own folders in the ROOT of my usb (not in the main music folder). I had to manually create a folder and name it to match each playlist. If you're doing this right, when you plug in your usb drive it should show your main MUSIC folder and each individual "playlist" folder: USB root: Music (folder with all the songs) Title of "playlist" folder 1 (containing the numerically renamed files) Title of playlist folder 2 etc etc I cant voice command the "playlist" folders in Ford Sync BUT I can hit browse on the screen and see the list of playlist folders and I can manually choose the playlist folder and it will play just like a playlist. It is merely a folder containing those songs in a way that is read by Ford Sync but at least it works. Others say Media Monkey can sync m3u playlists to usb, but so far I cant get m3u playlists to work from USB on Sync. I dont use itunes either. My portable library is @ 5000 songs, all 320-400kb WMA (Windows Media) files. My main library is @ 100,000 songs in FLAC format but most of my playlists are from the portable library via WMP. It would take forever to rebuild the playlists. The workaround is okay but I am definitely still dreaming of an easier way to play and sync my WMP playlists from usb. My MP3 player is big and heavy (60gb) and doesnt work well with Ford Sync. USB is so much more convenient.It is very unlikely Microsoft will ever hit the magic button to make this happen, although I'm guessing that other WMP users are frustrated if attempting to use USB drives versus dedicated portable music players.

picked up the car, looks great....in the sunlight it looks like a medium tint but in the garage or at night it looks a lot darker...glad I didn't go darker for sure...having black interior gives a darker appearance as well. I'm happy with it and the installer did a great job with all the little windows, no rough edges, looks perfect.... FF, the going rate around these parts seems to be $300 or more but audiolab in laguna hills does great work and only charged me $204 out the door. next I have to decide what to do with my sound system...I pulled a big box with two JL 10's and a huge amp out of my last car (a caddy) and it's bigger than the whole trunk in the energi...think im gonna have a new box built and just go with one 10 in a small box. will still eat up some space but the stock system isn't doing it for me and I already own the gear so it won't cost much to add the bass and cross over the stock speakers to just do mids/highs.

love the boss. great story. been a while since I hit a buck ten but back in the day I had a vette and a grey market 5 speed 928 so I do remember the rush for sure...I also still have copies of dozens of tickets for all kinds of stuff...like you said once they got you, they look for every little thing....my favorite was disturbing the peace cuz my stereo was so loud......hell, I'm old enough to remember my friend's original boss 302 ;) I see your point about the windshield, does help it blend in...

mine is at the shop now being tinted...I didn't even ask about the percentages, they just showed me a sample of each of their tint films and I took them out to the car and chose a medium for the front and rear windows and a medium/dark for the back windshield or whatever you call it....

hotlap, that's good to hear...post some pics so we can check out your ride....im getting tinted tomorrow...haven't seen the films yet but going light to medium :)