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Subaru Crew Cafe

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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Just shopped around and found the same unit for under $1200, a bit more with shipping.

    One cool thing is that the Panasonic offers an optoin rear-view camera add-on for $199 list price, so for $1400 or less you could have that and NAV, too. But you need a double-DIN slot.

    I just love the aftermarket. :)

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Sounds pretty good juice, but where would you install it? It would have to replace something on your dash, wouldn't it?

    Bob
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    After some Googling I found it for $1105 shipped. Pretty amazing.

    Bob - it's a double-DIN sized in-dash unit. It replaces your stereo, basically. If you have just a single CD, it replaces the stereo and the storage slot beneath it.

    I could install this myself easily - in fact you may recall I've already done two 6CD changers that are double-DIN, i.e. the same size and install location. I might have to mount an antennae but I'm familiar enough that I think it would be fairly easy.

    This is certainly a solution for us. Half the price in any car, 6.5" screen, built-in. It has touch-screen and gives voice commands.

    Dennis showed me his Garmin c330, and that one is portable and a bit smaller, but much more affordable. They also sell a c320 where you upload maps to an SD card, and that's even cheaper. It's a 3.5" screen but it's just $430 for the cheapest model.

    Advantage? Carry it with you, it has a re-chargeable battery so it could go from car to car. Also you can hand it around for someone else to help with entering data.

    Cool stuff. To be honest I did most of the research on this today. Dennis gave me some good tips to get me started.

    -juice
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    ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    finger's fine .. thanks swampy ... :P
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Just e-mailed those guys yesterday to ask them to pop in and say hello, FWIW.

    Anyone in touch w/Don (Yellow Bike Don)?

    -juice
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    njswamplandsnjswamplands Member Posts: 1,760
    how is the lady with class without her class :P
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Yeah, where has Loosh been recently?

    How's Patti been doing?

    Ken
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    ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    fine .. considering that today was the last day of SUMMER SCHOOL ... and ... I'm not without my 'class' even when school isn't in session
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I have been on touch lately, and she's doing well. :)

    I called her to join me at Miller Subaru at the Solberg event but she got the message too late. I ended up calling her husband's cell phone instead of her new work number! DOH!

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=106555#1
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    No doubt aided by SH-AWD.

    Thing is, RL has been getting clobbered in other mags, as least from what I've seen.

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Probably because it's tuned a bit "softer" than the others it's competing against, and the fact that most car magazines have a decidedly "performance-oriented" bias.

    Bob
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    p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    I went with 35% on the front windows and 20% on the rear. This set up keeps the interior noticeably cooler and affords some privacy but avoids the "gangsta" look that limo tint (5%) denotes :D

    If you can, look at some of the tint jobs that your installer has performed to make sure that you're satisfied with the work. (Juice- because it's easier to work with, it's normal procedure to cut the tint to fit on the outside of the glass first before applying to the inside surface).

    Metallic tints last longer and shouldn't fade but as you'd expect, they cost more. I believe that Edmunds has an entire topic dedicated to tinting and you'll find plenty of useful info there :)

    -Frank
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/tw/tochigi.htm
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    robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    juice and bob - I know you enjoy these:

    www.zoomzoomlive.com
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Thanks Rob! I just registered for Sat @ 10:30! Juice, you coming?

    Bob
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I already had registered, and e-mail you before I read that, Bob.

    -juice
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    subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    I registered for the Chicago one in October. And the GM in motion thing too, in Chicago at the beginning of October.

    -Brian
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    The SF date is the weekend of my brother's wedding. Can't skip out on THAT!

    Ken
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    See if you can borrow one so he can drive off in a cool convertible. ;)

    -juice
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, I finally ordered one. Got the Garmin Street Pilot c320. Similar to the c330 Dennis showed me at the beach, only no hard drive, it uses an SD slot instead.

    $424 delivered, seems like a deal. Now the long 4-7 day wait. :)

    I already have SD cards, so I'll replace the 128MB card it comes with, and use a bigger one, maybe 512MB or even 1GB (just $80 or so). With 1GB I can probably load the whole country.

    It gives voice instructions, plus it's touch-screen. 3.5" screen size, full color, rechargeable battery, comes with power cord and suction cup mounting bracket. The unit is tiny - so portable enough for any car we have.

    Why this one? I liked that is has an internal battery. It runs for up to 8 hours, so I can actually go inside the house and load addresses, then take it back to the car and go drive. Most units have to be plugged in, limiting the portability.

    Thanks a lot to Dennis for his patience in anwering my 700 or so questions during my shopping process. I promise to share a full review with everyone here.

    -juice
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    njswamplandsnjswamplands Member Posts: 1,760
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    lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    you're slacking off, juice!
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Good question, I only played with it for a few minutes, I do seem to recall a soft female voice. Hope I like her just as much as I liked Becky. ;)

    -juice
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    rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    Don't you mean :P , or :blush: ? Rob M.
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    Congrats on making the buy decision. Sounds like you did your HW and know exactly what you're getting into.

    I'd love to hear your review of it once it's in.

    I'd prefer solid state memory over a HD too, especially in an automotive application. Is the SD version as fast as the HD model?

    Ken
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    So I should use this :sick:

    Just kidding.

    Don't know about speed, Ken, good question.

    I found out that all of NA fits on a 1GB SD card, and I already have one of those. Problem solved.

    Plus if I want to buy an SD card with maps for Brazil or Europe, I can.

    The person that pays more for a Garmin c330 can't, because it only has a built-in hard drive.

    So I have more flexibility, for less money. The c320 was $424 delivered. The c330 ran around $560 or so delivered. The SD card runs $70 or so, so even if you include that it's about $60 less, plus you have a 128MD SD card as a spare.

    I'm happy. I hope it's not super-slow, I doubt that though.

    -juice
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Being Shows at TAS:

    image

    Sweeeeet!

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Lots of images over at nabisco.

    Bob
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    locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    oof, why is it so boxy on the backend?

    :blar:

    ~c
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    ...which could only mean more cries for a STi wagon.

    Ken
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    njswamplandsnjswamplands Member Posts: 1,760
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/08/05/139511.html
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    On national news yesterday there was a story saying many owners of cars that should be using premium gas, are now using regular gas because of the high gas prices. The reporter also mentioned that nationally more regular gas is being purchased, and that nationally less premium gas is being purchased, which supports that claim.

    They even interviewed someone from CR who gave his blessing to this trend by saying not all those "premium-recommended" cars really need premium. it was also mentioned that by using regular in place of premium you could save $150 – $200 a year on gas (at the current average national price gap between regular and premium, which is roughly $.21/gal.), depending on how much you drive.

    Bob
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    bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    Thanks a lot to Dennis for his patience in anwering my 700 or so questions during my shopping process.

    You're welcome. Actually, I think it was only 650 :D

    The voice is female and sort of robotic. I switched to using the British voice because it was a little less annoying than the American voice.

    I returned my unit because I'm thinking of getting one of the new models coming out this month. I miss Garmina.

    -Dennis

    p.s. - I don't see maps of S. America listed on Garmin's site.
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The Lancer wagon has been around for a while. If you check out the inside cargo space is pretty darn good, way better than a WRX wagon (which is almost a 5 door hatchback in comparison).

    That boxy shape can be pretty practical. And I much prefer the front-end of the EVO over the pointy Mitsu corporate nose.

    Oh no, Bob, you're gonna get another lecture from Colin!

    Colin: we're sorry, never mind, we're just cheap! ;)

    Dennis: so no match for Becky, the voice in the Tribeca, eh? I wonder if I could pay more to have that specific voice. :blush:

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Oh no, Bob, you're gonna get another lecture from Colin!

    I'm just the messenger, not the message. The fact of the matter is a people nationwide are doing this in record numbers. So it's not just "us" here at Edmunds, but everywhere.

    Bob
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    locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I'm tired of ranting about premium, plus I'm not thrilled with the extremely high gas prices in general.

    To me, it seems obvious that $150-200 per year is nothing in the overall TCO of a new vehicle-- payments, taxes and registration, insurance, and total fuel bill-- but I suppose to some it's easier to align that with 1 more dinner out with the family every 3 months. :P

    ~Colin
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.subaru-special.com/
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    subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    I'm going to keep pumping premium in to my F-XT, as long as they keep providing it around here. My fear is that they'll soon stop making premium, which did happen at least for a while in Alaska, IIRC.

    -Brian
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/05/576.asp
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Brian, having a Subie turbo, you really have no choice. Those cars have to run on premium. If you had an H-6, you could get away with running regular at the expense of some loss of performance.

    Bob
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    STis look out!

    Ken
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    jeffmcjeffmc Member Posts: 1,742
    Sure, you've seen the new Evo & all the new Subies, but have you laid eyes on the all-new 2005 "Rodedawg"? It's got a big, square cargo area for juice, & a full-size spare for Bob! :)

    Imagine... a hand-made, all-terrain, amphibious SUV for under $50,000. And it comes with a one-year warranty, so you can feel confident in your purchase. It's even got rear ceiling vents that appear to be constructed from those metal forced-air registers used in homes.

    (I wonder what percentage of owners die in these vehicles.)
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    subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    *I* know that Bob and have never put anything lower than 92 octane in my XT. My point was that what happens when/if they stop making premium? Sure would seem like they're heading that way with this perceived lower demand.

    $2.799 for 93 octane today

    -Brian
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    locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    trust me, premium is here to stay.

    now, the might make LESS of it, causing the price gulf to widen, but 91-94 octane premium is a sure thing across the continental US and Canada.

    ~Colin
    <-- still a computer guy, recently moved from the oil division to centralized IT
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.japanesecarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2050809.008

    Europeans won't get the 2.7L V6. The body is a combination of unibody and traditional frame, much like that found on the Honda Ridgeline. It sounds pretty strong.

    Bob
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    tell-tale signs of illegal modification such as window tinting, large spoilers, extra gauges or racing stickers

    LOL!

    I love it when people call these "mods".

    Jeff: that makes a school bus look sexy. :P

    Bob - you like that GV, eh?

    I liked the concept. That car seems a little small on cargo space, I'd have to see it up close. Suzuki has a great warranty but build quality, from what I've observed, was lacking. Maybe this will be better.

    Another thing about Suzuki is that their engines are neither powerful nor very efficient. I want both (example: Forester XT automatic, 230hp and 21/26 mpg).

    -juice
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Bob - you like that GV, eh?

    Yep. It has all the features I want and that Subaru refuses to offer.

    As to the engine, I think it's fine. It also has a timing chain and probably runs on regular fuel, unlike the F-XT. While I wish it had better gas mileage, I'm not slavish about it. As to power, it beats the non-turbo Forester in both horsepower and torque. The other good features more than make up for the EPA shortcoming IMO.

    Bob
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I might be able to get over all that, but I'd be checking build quality closely.

    The last Suzuki I test drove had visible mold parts, seams, exposed screw heads, uneven gaps, etc. It just looked built to cost.

    Would I like to see Subaru incorporate some of those features? Sure.

    -juice
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