Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
Boy, you take a few weeks off, and everything's changed! Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year.
You too Fib!
Bob
I echo those sentiments! Steve, are you sure you only took a couple weeks off?
Actually I couldn't get in for a while, then I just got busy at work coming into the holidays and basically stopped trying. Not a fan of this makeover. And what's with the silly faces?
I don't know... you're the one making them! You tell me!
I'm getting more used to it, but there are still some QOL stuff that I would really like to see implemented in the near future to let me let go of the prior iteration.
It is good to "see" you here nonetheless! I hope the job, family, and weather are treating you well! Did you end up retiring your old girl yet?
I don't know who thinks these changes up Steve but this one needs ditching. In relation to other car forums that I frequent Edmund's has always been the most cumbersome to navigate, posting photos has always been especially frustrating. This latest iteration just carries on in the same vein.
Cheers Pat.
Sure! Go on then..I am..
Always wondered. I do love the sound of those and the A too..when they go by at about 25 mph. Or even just sittin' there idling FTM.
OK:
I'll start by describing the controls and which hand or foot operates the device. There are two levers on the steering column; the right hand is the throttle, left hand is spark advance. To start by the hand crank (in front below the radiator) spark must be somewhat retarded to prevent a broken arm from backfire! In models with electric start, there is a left heel pressure operated switch located next to the seat bottom. Before starting, the transmission must be put in neutral by pulling the long lever protruding from the floor at the far left to its middle-of-travel (latched) position with left hand. There are three pedals on the floor, two located like brake (right) and clutch (left) except the functions are different: Left pedal has three positions - full down = low gear, middle of travel = neutral, all up = high gear. Right pedal is brake. There is a third pedal between them and closer to the driver which when depressed is reverse. The left hand floor lever for the trans is also the parking brake when pulled all the way. There is another decision to be made before starting: Choose either spark coil or magneto ignition (if one doesn't work, try the other!) There is a separate coil unit requiring individual adjustment for each cylinder. I don't remember driving the 1924 Model T more than 45 mph at which speed the exhaust manifold glowed red!
I wonder what the DMV would say if I arrived for my driver's test in a Model T.
Interesting process to be sure. So how did it actually manage clutch duties?
I'm thinking the DMV would have to allow the driver's test to proceed as per usual. I would bet on that in Cda. They're big on equality here.
You'd be busy though with all the arm and hand involvement, adding in hand and brake signals into the mix! lol
So what determined which means of spark, outside temperature? And each cylinder had to be adjusted manually..as in on-the-fly? Cool...now that's back when people who learned how to drive either cut the mustard or they didn't. I still maintain that drivers tests should be done with a mandatory manual tranny, even if their choice later is an auto. It sure would separate those who can relate to what is really going on when friction to the road is engaged.
Most V8's (gas jobs) exhaust manifolds in a p/u pulling a heavy trailer on a grade, will also glow red.
But 45 in an old T...I'll bet that felt pretty fast..lol
The Model t Ford had a predecessor to the Hydramatic transmission...a planetary transmission with foot actuated bands instead of hydraulic as used in today's automatic tranmissions . There was no clutch. The later Model A used a conventional shift fork-actuated sliding gear change mechanism with a clutch.
The spark adjustment was only setting the vibrator points as I recall: Think of the points of a doorbell buzzer that need careful spacing to work. Erosion of the contacts also was relevant. This was not an on-the-fly adjustment.
Wes, I've come to find that a well kept 12 year old OBW is the perfect first car for an almost 18 year old daughter. I had a local Subaru guru do a thorough brake overhaul (calipers, rotors & pads). He loved the condition of the car, saying it was in even better shape than the Forester he'd restored for his own daughter (a classmate of Emily's). As far as the HG (oil, not coolant) leak, he said to just keep driving and we'll reassess in a month or two. So far, everyone is happy!
I have to admit this. I simply enjoy driving the old OBW more than the new one, and still do so as often as I can steal away the car from her.
Hi all! I hope everyone had a good christmas and new years! I too have had a ridiculous time trying to get back in here.
Oh well, I guess it's progress.
Wishing a great year to all of you! (Contrats Bob!)
tom
And for good reason! Your '01 is a much better "driver's car" than the new one, plain and simple. I owned three OBWs and thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but when it came time to purchase our fourth Subaru, I quickly took a new OBW off the table. I was, for a short time, trying to convince my wife to go for a (slightly) used 2008 or 9 OBW, but was sold on the Forester after giving it a test drive simply due to the vast amounts of passenger space (and not terrible driving dynamics) compared to either of the prior generations of Forester and Outback.
I suspect that car will stick around for quite some time to come.
G'day
As you folk shiver, think of us in Australia! Australian Bureau of Meteorology is warning of possible temperatures above 50C (that is 122F for you)! There is even a suggestion of 52C (126F)
How about setting up a swap arrangement?
Cheers
Graham
Or meeting in the middle works for me.. I knew someone somewhere was getting unseasonal temps when ours were..except being being in the other direction.. :sick:
As long as our weather is fabulously warm (15-20F, which is what, about -6C?) for January, you all can keep your oddball extremes!
We're up to 110 to 150 inches here, depending on who you ask. My back thinks we've moved to Valdez and I gave up on the garage - down to one narrow lane for the Subaru. Some meter reader came by the house this morning while we were running errands. I knew someone had been here - they left snowshoe tracks!
It's up to a balmy 6 above today; nice change from all the below zero stuff.
The Subie is complaining about all the extra duty it's being put to. Neither door on the passenger side will open now unless I unlock them with the power switch. Go figure.
Meter readers??
I have not seen a meter reader in years. My electric and gas meters send out a radio signal read by a utility employer driving down the street with a receiver. My water meter sends a radio signal to an transceiver that sends it to the town.
This is the first place we've lived since Anchorage converted in the 90s that still has meter readers. In Boise they had to drive the truck up the driveway to get close enough to the signal. They do both water and gas by hand here; haven't notice the electric guy but it's not a digital meter. Welcome to the boonies....
G'day
So, if they remove all the meter readers, who will the dog be able to bark at? Our dog has scrupulously barked at meter readers, canvassers, religious visitors and charity fundraisers for years. She charges a fixed fee of one dog treat per person seen off the premises and is very effective. However caller numbers are decreasing so she might have to find different ways to collect dog biscuits.
We have recently moved to smart meters which poll the data back across the power lines. supposedly they are about to implement monthly billing from this.
Cheers
Graham
Letter carriers and UPS and FedEx drivers are still fair game although the smarter ones carry their own dog treats!!
We have had smart meters for many years but the utilities have yet to implement off peak pricing.
I saw this story the other day and was happy to see the driver got released from the hospital today. Be forewarned that there's a pretty gruesome photo accompanying the article and it's really amazing anyone survived the wreck (Forester got creamed by a logging truck in a foggy mass accident in Boise last Thursday). Kudos to Subaru.
idahostatesman.com
Ah, that'll buff out!
Amazing that nobody died in that pile up. Speaks volumes to how well modern vehicles protect us from our own absurdity.
So now you can't add a title/subject to your post, or reference a prior post when replying? That takes away from the conversational manner of the larger pages like MTM. I wanted to post about my recent alternator failure, but the "Problems & Solutions" page doesn't work as it used to. I guess just start a new thread?
Oh, no... Steve, please do not do that! If it were easier to track and see discussions, I would not mind new threads at all. But, I don't have time to go hunting for new threads out there (and I imagine others feel the same way). If they don't show up on my tracked discussion list, they must not be important enough to view.
you can't do the automatic post chain linking, but you can quote relevant text of the post of interest.
"...recent alternator failure"
yikes! which car???
edit - never mind, i found your other post.
I just got my Ancient members badge 10+years. I have to say this is the most civil car forum on the net. Here if you have a question you can be sure that if anyone knows the answer, it will be posted in a short time.
Now I frequent a number of forums and more often than not if you ask a question you will get a snarly answer directing you to check a search function.
Notwithstanding that most of the search functions on these forums are for all intents and purposes useless, type in a request and invariably you will get pages and pages to scroll through and you still may not find an answer. As well, at least in my estimation it takes as much effort to type a nasty directive to the search function, as it would to have answered the question in the first place.
I guess what I am saying, it is the civility and general decency I have found here is what keeps me coming back.
Now in saying that, this latest update to the site is for the birds, rather than being more user friendly, I find it even more cumbersome than the previous version
Cheers Pat.
We've worked very hard to create and maintain that atmosphere you appreciate. When the website tolerates the rude behavior and "go look it up" responses, it keeps people from returning. At Edmunds, we actually want a friendly place for people to discuss cars and trucks so that people can find the info they need, and will want to come back again.
As for the new platform... it's like moving to a new house or apartment - doesn't quite feel like home right away, but in time, it does become just that. We simply couldn't live with all the crashes and such the old platform was exhibiting more and more frequently... and it was horribly outdated, so it was not a matter of a simple upgrade to a newer version. It's all-new for the staff too, so hang in there and we'll make it "home" again.
Hey I got my 10 year badge too (I think, I can't seem to find it.
)
Oh well. I'm getting used to this again, but it was nice seeing new posts
Well I traded my BRZ in for a Toyota Avalon hybrid. As much as I loved the BRZ and there are not many cars available at any priced that are more fun to drive, I could not for the life of me get my sons to practice driving stick.
We also needed a big comfortable cruiser to take on road trips and I must say the Avalon is a very nice car. Near Lexus levels of refinement and they stiffened the car up so it doesn't drive like an old Buick. It's nice to be getting 40mpg and not polluting the environment as well!
Wow Tom, going from a BRZ to an Avalon hybrid! That's about as radical a switch that I could ever imagine.
I'm wth you on your son's not wanting to drive a stick. My son was the same way, and my daughter had little interest as well. Sad to say, but 3-pedal manuals are on the way out for sure.
One positive thing about owning manuals, more and more car thieves can't drive a stick.
Bob
KCRam: Another "ancient" member weighing in here! More than just new, it lost some important search functionality, like the ability to insert a title. Yes, you can always just start a new tread, but for a long running commentary like "Meet the Members", Problems & Solutions, etc, the lack of titles means it just becomes a mash with no way to even visually scan it for a beginning or subject. Any chance of fixing that??
I think that happened to us several years ago. Came out one morning to find the driver's window broken and the door open on our old Honda Accord. But they didn't steal the car!
OTOH, during college, my older daughter took great pride being the only girl among her group that could drive a manual. She had a blast driving my Impreza during Thanksgiving. It was the lowest mpg (by >4mpg!) than I've ever had before or since.
Perhaps a disappointment, but a blessing to be sure! If my kids don't want to learn to drive a stick, then they'll save me a LOT of money during their teen years! No need to carry any insurance for them! If they don't drive stick, they won't drive at all while they live at home (or, use my cars and my insurance, at any rate).
...and clutch replacements too!
lol Wes. Thank would work if our other cars were all stick too!
Yeah bob, kinda radical an exchange, but in reality it means I'm looking for a new car.
We have gotten similar commentary from others, and we looked into that possibility in this software package. At the moment, it's on that "nice to have, but not critical" wish list.
Just did my first oil change on the Impreza.
The good news - the oil drain plug was NOT installed by a 1000 lb gorilla. (He was assigned to oil filters that day. At least, with the oil filter conveniently located on top, it wasn't too difficult.)
The bad news - the Fumoto valve from my Legacy doesn't fit.
'12+ Impreza takes F-108 or F-108N
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VCB9WC
@dcm61 - '12+ Impreza takes F-108 or F-108N
Thanks!
Went to the Philly car show yesterday. Met up with Ed and his wife and son. AJ couldn't make it as he was coaching his kids. Serge ended up going Saturday. We were all supposed to go on Thursday, but Mother Nature dumped a load of snow on those plans.
The show was okay, nothing special. They had the new STI Launch Edition on display and the Legacy Concept. The STI looks very good in person, but then Subies always look better in person than in photos. Bummer that the new production Legacy was not on display, same with the new WRX. Also a bummer that the STI was roped off, so you couldn't sit in it.
Bob
Ouch! They were taking the "car show" title a little too seriously! "I said you could see it, not touch it!"
Well that's not uncommon for a model that's not expected out for a few months. I'm guessing there's only a couple of them available for shows and press reviews.
Apparently Bob is getting too old to flirt with the show girls. They don't seem to have an issue with ropes when AJ is around.
P.S. Did my invite get lost in cyberscape?
Ha! Yes, my flirting days are long gone.
No, your invite got lost in that gray matter somewhere between my ears. Sorry... I simply forgot. My sincere apologies. Next year for sure—but remind me/us!!! We did all our communicating via Facebook group private messages. Not sure if you're FB friends with us. If not, you need to be.
Bob
Actually the embargo on STI road tests was lifted today. So there are a bunch of tests now out on the Net. As with the previous generation, STI is a bit more intense than the WRX, but the WRX is by far the better value.
Bob
Hey! It's been like ... forever!!! Survived a new PC, Win 8.1, multiple family emergencies and finally finding the time to log in and navigate the new site. So much to catch up on. Saw the pictures of the 2015 Legacy. Love it! Disappointed that there is still no turbo option. Getting ready to trade the 05 LGT, now at 142k. Would have more miles but drove my now 'antique' 30 year old 83 Mustang GT all last summer and fall. Mikey is all grown up and graduating High School in a couple months. We miss Thursday night chats. Hello to all my friends! Rob M.
High school, wow. Was going to ask if you still called him "Mikey" or if it was now just "Mike". Welcome back!
Hey Steve! He is still Mikey to me. Still building things ... bigger and more complex now.