Ford Flex fridge + Ohio = license to DUI
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 26th 2008 9:20AM
posted May 26th 2008 9:20AM
[Buddy's Beer Barn photo courtesy of mpaulda]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Ford Flex fridge + Ohio = license to KILL !
they have a bear barn near my house!
bear barn?
A bear barn, eh? I thought the only place to go for drive-thru maulings was Yellowstone National Park?
It's only illegal if the container is open... having beer in your car is not illegal. Having open beer is.
In Denmark and some parts of Sweden drunk driving is totally legal
I've been to Denmark and that's just not true...
wrong
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6920720.stm
owned.
Ultra Luxury cars such as the Phantom and Maybach have had coolers for years. Then Audi A8L got it and brought that type of luxury down to the average consumer.
I don't see a problem with having wine/beer coolers in a car or limo.
State laws have already mandated when and where you are allowed to have open bottles or alcohol on board so if people get caught by the police breaking the law - they'll just have to pay the price.
I personally don't drink alcohol so if I had this I'd use it for Sprite and Coke.
I didn't know the average consumer drives an Audi A8L
Though the average consumer doesn't buy an Audi A8, seeing as it's 70 grand, it is a car that is sold in a dealership that is probably close by to you. And the Phantom retails for $300k, which is far above what the A8 sells for.
The Dodge Caliber has a built in cooler. Also, my parents 1987 Toyota van (ToyoWagon for U.S. Space Cruiser in Europe) had a cooler as an option.
BTW, ToyoWagon/Space Cruiser = Fail. Way to put the engine in the middle of the car. Made a nice footrest when I was kid in the back seat, though.
Drive through beeratoriums aren't just a mid-Western thing. I have one right in my town in Eastern PA. They know me there.
Step 1 - Pop trunk.
Step 2 - Wait while one case of Yuengling Lager is deposited.
Step 3 - Pay $25 ($21 for the beer, $4 for the tip because those guys are alright!).
Step 5 - Drive home and enjoy.
and because you're an average consumer, the guys who work there recognize your Audi A8L as soon as you pull up.
If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
Yah, there's one that I know of in Rhode Island. I'm only 20 though, so I wouldn't know anything about beer...
>_>
Nice thing about PA is, these and other distributors are the only places allowed to sell alcohol--not going to see it in your Wal-Marts, or even (AFAIK) in Sheetz.
If only I could get Yuengling here in Georgia....
Ahh, Sheetz MTOs and Yuengling lager... memories (snif).
I guess I'll just have to make due with my Fat Tire and real Mexican food.
@Eric
"I guess I'll just have to make due with my Fat Tire and real Mexican food."
both of these things are quite familiar to me, am I detecting a fellow southern Californian or at least a southwesterner?
This is a glorified thermalelectric cooler (ergo Peltier device with a car built around it)... been in Mercs and BMWs for yonks.
so you need to cruise around for 1 1/2 hours before it is drinkable - unless you are a Brit (Pommie) or VB drinker here in Oz... ;) then warm works for you!
I prefer mine cool to cold sittin' on a veranda or on the beach... no need to drive - just fill an eskie with ice and Stella Artois (yes, I know - snob beer) and let the wackos kill each other on the road.
Cheers! ;)
Uhh, no, summary says that this runs off the car's compressor.
Stella? That's no snob beer.... it's nice beer - but no snob beer.
Also, ice in beer = no good. Drop the habit man, your taste buds will thank you.
"Also, ice in beer = no good. Drop the habit man, your taste buds will thank you."
Only in the most dire circumstances! I will admit to plonking an ice cube in my suds but only once or twice. Drastic times (warm weather and warm beer) call for drastic actions. I'm not proud of what I've done.
Robert - you are so right - but it must be a pretty lousy cooler to take 2 1/2 hours to chill that small a space!
Tom - the ice is for the eskie (cooler to you) not the beer. Urp... almost hurled when I thought of ice in my beer...
Nope like it really cold... vodka cold. But not completely frozen.
Stella is a snob beer here in Oz - $19.50 a six pack!
I will sip a Stella this weekend for ya! - every day is Saturday when you work for your self - and every day is Monday :(
Cheers!
"Stella is a snob beer here in Oz - $19.50 a six pack!"
my god, I'm glad I'm living in Belgium
€ 9 for 24 bottles here (about $12)
My lord... that's the price I pay for a nice Belgian Abbey Dubbel 4-6 pack. Preferably Maredsous. Drink your Stella and be proud - but I'd lobby for some lower prices on your alcohol.
And my apologies for confusing the terminologies! Ice in a cooler is acceptable and expected.
Jeff - A nice beer can be had at room temperature. Well, it depends on the beer and the room's temperature - and your taste buds... but I think some Belgian Dubbels/Triples and American IPAs are best without ever touching the fridge. Try it sometime! The worst that'll happen is you have to pop it back in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Dammit Q! I can't even get PBR for that price.
ah, good old wifebeater
its not a snob beer its "reassuring expensive"
oops 2 1/2 hours... sorry the pain pills are doin' me in - long obviously painful story...
good pills though :P
Heh..
Cheers..
Is that Pabst Blue Ribbon in there??? Seems Ford and Pabst go hand in hand...
Maybe it's Denis Hopper's...
It comes standard in Toyota Land Cruisers nowadays
PBR?
This is new, how?
I once owned a 1991 Toyota Previa van that had a nice little fridge in front. It, too, ran off the A/C compressor, and could actually produce ice.
Compartment was just the right size for a six-pack...
Being from Ohio, this headline caught my eye. Unless I missed something- what does this have to do with Ohio? ...Other than stereotyping us as a bunch of drunk rednecks.
Because we have drive-thrus. I don't think they are legal in other states.
It's a midwestern thing. We have them in parts of Michigan, too. Actually, they're drive-thru party stores, and they do the whole selection: Beer, wine, liquor, tobacco products, milk, pop, a few snacks, and one I knew of years ago, just over the border (not in Michigan) did fireworks. (Most major fireworks are illegal in Michigan, and so Michiganians frequently drive south to Indiana or Ohio to get "the good stuff" and then bring it back (illegally) to celebrate the 4th of July in Michigan.)
Back in my old hometown we had a drive-thru party store, and it was pretty convenient. I was just a teen, but it still allowed my lazy butt to stay seated while I was sent to pick up milk, soda pop, and bread.
Thank you ZeroCorpse for saying "Michiganian". I hate being called a "Michigander".
Rocking the PBR!
Hellls yeah.
I can't think of a more American optional extra, apart from maybe a Big Mac dispenser in the glove box.
gun rack. sadly, its an aftermarket accessory for pick ups.
And we wonder why Ford is bankrupt....
What would this have to do with Ford having financial difficulties? VW runs TV commercials promoting the cooled Glovebox in one of their models. As noted by other commenters, many other makes offer a similar feature. So what is it that makes you think that this feature that other automakers do well with is somehow going to bankrupt Ford? Remember, you can put things other than beer in it, too. (And FYI, the photo above is doctored, it contains cola in the original)
Ford isn't bankrupt, obviously they're having financial difficulties, but of the 3 major American auto companies, they are currently the best off and actually making some profits again.
Thank god you dont live in Pennsylvania with the beer drive throughs.
You cant buy a six-pack in one here only a case. The beer distributors hereare fighting the sale of beer in grocery stores on safety concerns.
That barn is in El Paso.
Buddy is the proprietors wife. Really.
They also have the best beer and wine selection in El Paso.
Ohio isnt the only state, I live outside philadelphia in bucks county and worked at a drive thru beer store. It has been around actually since the 70's I believe. I remember one day when a customer drove their car into a pallet of yuenglin bottles breaking nearly half the pallet's worth of beer (what a waste). Needless to say he was blacked out and doesn't remember it. There were also many times when we, the workers would almost get hit by cars when a nice drunk would come thru. Thankfully we never served any of them, and even at times told them the only way we would sell the beer to a passanger (who wasn't intoxicated) and that they must drive home.
American beer = Canadian water.
In Ontario there are two places to get alcohol, The Beer Store and the LCBO. both are crown corporations. I havent seen many beer stores without drive thru windows and I have seen at least one LCBO with one.