By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
They had one in the showroom that had what I wanted, AWD, leather etc, but IIRC it stickered for the better part of $30,000. My Legacy Limited stickered at about $28K once I added what I wanted and I paid $25K for it.
So far, one month and about 800 miles I'm very pleased. I've gotten 25/30+/24.6 on the three times I've topped up the tank. The second one was all highway, the other two were all town and I just wanted to see what it was averaging.
easypar
When my roll up garage door is open it's 7' 4" above the garage floor.
Will the open and fully extended rear hatch of a 2010 Outback clear that height? It sure would make retrieving groceries out of the cargo bed difficult if I'm constantly whacking my open garage door with the Outback's hatch door.
Thanks for any insight you may have.
Bob
Got home and she called her dad without my knowledge to ask his opinion. I came inside and she says...I think we need to look at something american made...and proceeds to tell me she called and sounds like he laid a guilt trip on her, by some roundabout way relating buying a gmc/chrysler/ford to the number of people leaving Michigan and therefore not as many kids to teach(quite a stretch if you ask me and she is a teacher obviously) And she says she feels a little guilty. I got a little po'd and laid into gm why people arent buying their cars. Can anybody find me a comparable vehicle that the big 3 make thats comparable in price/cargo space/fuel eff./ and ride quality to a outback? As stated earlier, we have an envoy so pretty much in the truck ride category right now. sorry for the long post...kind of irked me.
Not likely. ...And if even you do find something, who's to say it's made in Michigan?
Heck, the Legacy and Outback are made in Indiana. Hard to find something more American than that!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_of_Indiana_Automotive,_Inc.
Bob
Now if I can just figure out a way to speed up the clock while I wait for the 3.6 Limited that I ordered last week.
Is her dad helping to pay for the new ride?
I think the quickest way to cut him off is to ask him what % of the new car's price, and ongoing maintenance costs he's chipping in with.
If I had done to my wife, what your wife did to you; discuss a big ticket purchase outside of the two of us, it would be reeeeaaaaal quiet around my house for a couple of weeks until she got over it.
You two need to get what YOU want, not what someone who isn't paying wants.
Sorry, but it had to be said.
easypar
I'd jokingly offer to sell the car & buy an American nameplate if he'd write the check. He'd laugh & that would be the end of it.
Not long after he died, my mother-in-law bought a Camry.
Great guy. I didn't always agree with him, but I miss him.
He a nice guy, like jimbres says...just dont always agree with him.
Is your father in-law writing the check(s) for your next vehicle... he sounds like a complete and total control freak and perhaps Catholic? Unfortunately GM and Ford really don't make a vehicle that has the same market niche as the Outback. Chrysler is simply out of the question - why buy junk.
The proof is in the pudding. Go look at used Outbacks... notice how well they've stood up over the years - then go look at some GM products and I think it should be very obvious and apparent that the Outback outshines them.
I can't believe a married man and woman have to bow to her father in-law.
Can you spell dysfunction? :confuse:
There is no one who will go out of their way to buy American more than I on anything that I can still find that is still Made in USA. There has been no one who is more GM oriented than I. I went to the GM Institute co-op engineering school many years ago but never worked for GM. Have always bought GM cars except for Subarus for the wife. I almost bought a new GMC pickup this summer to replace my 2000 until I saw that GM management (03 VIN) now has them made in Mexico. Why would I support Mexico?
My 2003 Cad DTS with few miles had a sticker of over 60K and today is worth only a little more than the 2002 Subaru OB that I recently traded in on a 2010. I blame GMs problems on selfish stupid management that wanted huge compensation and private jets but had no concept of making quality reliable cars. The unions weren't the problem, it was politicians and management that could not come up with the same priorities as Americans. Then we had those Presidents and Congress that were in the bag to lobbyists and Wall St who refused to demand fair trade and equal entry into foreign markets. IMO they sold out the USA.
Sorry now off my rant.
Unlike some of us, most people know almost nothing about where a vehicle is designed and built, but they think they know that Ford, GM and Chrysler are American. When Subarus are built in Indiana and many products of the Now Much Smaller Three are built in Mexico and Canada, it begs the question how are we really to know how beneficial our vehicle purchase might be to our neighbor? Buy what you like. It encourages car companies to make what you like.
Our '05 Legacy wagon has been great, but that model is no longer made. If you are into the glorified psuedo-SUV wagon thing, might as well drive a few of them. The Hyundai Santa Fe and Tuscon are also worth a look.
When I am inclined to drop 25-30k on a car (both the Legacy and the Accord were just shy of 20k) I would probably want to look around a bit. Heck, check out the Equinox just to say you did.
We bought our first Honda Accord in 1976, and had a number of other Hondas since then. He (my father-in-law) liked the Hondas, but really would rather have had us buy American vehicles. He could never understand how Honda could make such a great vehicle, yet the Americans couldn't. Every car he bought, since I knew him, was American (except the Opel)—and he had problems with every single one of them.
Bob
As for you FIL - IMHO, since it's not his money, it's not his business. But sometimes keeping peace in the family is more important than anything else.
Since he won't shut up about it, perhaps you should.
My wife is seeing some friends today and they have an older outback. I told her to check it out and see what the interior differences were like, esp backseat room.
My own father hated foreign cars and never bought one. I tortured him by test driving all sorts of weird stuff and parking them in the driveway for his opinion (which I already knew in advance...) - from the first Civics in 72-73(?), to every Fiat, the last Triumphs and MGs, even a Simca, sold by Chrysler dealers brand new for like $1595. But when I needed a college car, I brought him along for the first one I negotiated on my own - a slightly used 69 VW. He was negative until he drove it fairly quietly. After his drive, he turned to me and said "If you don't buy this car, I will". I traded in a 67 Mustang GT + $700 for that VW. I still have a soft spot for old VWs.
* tell him you test drove a Fusion, but found out it was made in Mexico
* then you drove a leftover Equinox with the 3500 engine made in China
* then you drove a Subaru built in Indiana
Save the Monroney sticker with the percentage of US content.
You felt very STRONGLY that your fellow Americans in Indiana built the best car of the three, and felt no need to buy an import.
Add the fact that you think labeling these imports as "American" is sneaky and it offends your sensibilities.
On 2nd thought, skip the last part.
Limited standard model (no moon roof or navagation) with only two options (protection package 1A and trailer hitch). You never know, maybe a relatively spartan 3.6R will just breeze through the process. I've read on other blogs that it takes two months for the 6 cylinder engine and transmission to get shipped to Indiana from Japan. It's worth the wait to me so I can get the car configured just the way I want.
I used to have a Dodge truck and then bought a Toyota Tundra because of the reliability and the deal. My friends at work who had Dodge, Chevy and Ford trucks gave me some crap. I pointed out that since I had the only truck that was made in this country I was the only one who helped feed the families of those in the industry. As they sat around and compared war stories about things that went wrong with their trucks they kept looking to me to join in. I kept saying sorry, no problems, no dealer visits. After several months of this 2 of the guys relented and said they were going to unload their troublesome trucks and go Toyota.
When I bought my first Forester my Dad was still alive, and he was also of the "buy American" mindset. He did have an open mind though and as I showed him the quality and technology he ended up thinking I made a smart purchase. He enjoyed riding in it as I took him on errands and doctor visits, especially in bad weather.
I suggest that you gather the frequency of repair data from Consumer Reports and show it to your FIL, then explain that since you have family concerns you need to be really smart about how you spend your money so as to not detract from the quality of life you want to provide for his daughter. I bet he loves his daughter more than he loves GM. Family peace is important but so is reason. Blind loyalty can cost money.
While I understand the sentiment, I gotta call BS.
The F150 is manufactured at Dearborn Truck in Dearborn, MI, Wayne Assembly is switching from Truck/SUV to cars. Explorer, Mountaineer and SportTrac are made in KY, and the Ranger in Kansas City, along with F150 and Escape. There have also been enough issues with Toyota truck frames, transmissions, and brakes as of late that I am thinking your experience is from the early 80s.
The idea is to buy a vehicle that meets your wants and needs. Everyone has different criteria for that. When we got our Legacy wagon in '05, we wanted a fun to drive, relatively efficient manual transmission AWD wagon. We chose between the Legacy and the VW Passat 4motion. Ford, GM, and Chrysler don't support that segment (of course at this point, neither does Subaru
I guess my point is to define your own vehicle purchase criteria. Then find something that meets that criteria. If part of that criteria is you want to support R&D in the US, or manufacturing, or whatever, that is fine, but I don't know about excluding vehicles based on where and who manufactures them.
The Tundra wasn't around in the 80's, came out as a 2000 model mid 1999. Mine is a 2003 and has been flawless except for a TSB on a fuel filer neck seam weld. Yes Toyota has had it's share of problems with frames, mostly in the T100 days, and other things you mention, plus the 5.7 l V8 problems when they first came out in 2007. And lets not forget the floor mat issues of the newer ones. My truck is in the years of the potential rusty cross-member that holds the spare tire in place, but mine is pristine even though I drive in New England winters and salt. I was only comparing MY specific truck to other specific trucks of similar years and how their owners felt about how little value they got for their money.
My point was not that Toyota is automatically better just that I broke out of my traditional mold and looked around when I wanted to purchase. My Tundra and all my Subarus have been the best vehicles I have ever owned, and I have owned about 60. In fact, as much as I like my truck I would not buy another Toyota unless they learn something about customer relations from their dealings with Subaru.
By me opening my horizons I ended up very pleased, and I am not sure that is much different than your final point. My friends were the ones with the blind brand loyalty and they felt they paid dearly for that.
The Legacy, Outback, and Tribeca are made in Indiana.
The Forester and Impreza are made in Gunma, Japan.
Less than shocking since its rated at 11 mpg.
My point was not that Toyota is automatically better just that I broke out of my traditional mold and looked around when I wanted to purchase.
So you established your own criteria, found something that met the criteria, and purchased it? That is an excellent point and might have gotten slightly lost in the original message.
By me opening my horizons I ended up very pleased, and I am not sure that is much different than your final point. My friends were the ones with the blind brand loyalty and they felt they paid dearly for that.
Yup, always better to buy something that meets your needs/wants criteria...better for you, better for the brand you bought, and better for the brands you didn't buy.
I think your role is to be sensitive to your wife's predicament and not let the situation, regardless of your purchase decision, cause conflict in your relationship.
You and your wife will be amazed at the interior differences between the '09 (& older) and '10 Outbacks. The older model was more pleasing to the eye from the outside, but far less functional/spacious on the inside.
Wouldn't say its a real crossover, to us its still the ugly duckling compared to others we looked, but the inside looks good and it drove real well and certainly better than the others. Reminded us of my ex BMW 330Xi, without the sticker shock.
If only we could get delivery of our order.....
I mean the boxer engine was never known for its great gas mileage, and most people buying Subes seem to be at least somewhat interested in mileage.
Or it could be a conspiracy on Subaru's part to keep their CAFE numbers high. IIRC the 3.6 is rated at about 20 average, while the 2.5 is about 25. Although the tiny numbers of Tribecas that they sell is keeping the average up by itself.
Just a couple of thoughts.
easypar
But it may attract an entirely different demographic that is unlikely to buy the four cylinder. The six does not have the annoying rapping exhaust noise of the four which my earlier Legacy had as did a new Forester I test drove. There is not just a performance difference! My 3.0R replaced a VW eight cylinder (W8). The 3.6R six competes in a much higher price class.
Now if they would just put on folding mirrors again I probably would buy a new
The only difference may be that Subaru actually sells a Legacy wagon in other markets.
Notice I said ordered, Subaru NE (SNE is for some reason different from SOB) has a HORRIBLE ordering and information system. Beginning to wish I hadn't saved some money and ordered through them.
Dealer says its normal - so much for 6-8 weeks :P
My order was placed in the system Mid November and I STILL have no confirmation from the factory of a delivery date.
Supposedly I should hear in 7-10 days - just the anticipated date availability not the actual car :mad:
My hunch is that Subaru is saving this feature for the mid-cycle refresh, which will probably happen in 2012 or 2013. Can you wait for a couple of years?
When I asked about the Tribeca they told me the 3.6R would be here first.
In fact I wonder why they made them so different.
I think the Legacy wagon was compromised to make the Outback the way SoA wanted it, not the other way around. Look how big/tall it is.
Further and I quote "A factor that may have further complicated the availability of delivery information for you since you ordered the vehicle is that Subaru of New England is an independent distributor and their order process and receiving information is internally controlled by that region.
They do not have access to our pipeline and we do not have access to theirs.
Liaisons conduct the flow of distribution information. Also important to note is that Subaru of New England places allocation orders according to what they see as popular sellers with certain options, so if you may have ordered a unique option/color combination outside of what is on their usual allocation, we may not be as easily able to fill the order in a specified amount of time. "
A 2nd email told me that end of February delivery should be considered a worst case scenario for my vehicle.
Seems it pays to approach SOB direct, if stuck in SNE no information limbo land.
Good luck!