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Comments
Bob
-juice
Bob
-juice
Ross
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b3087c50258e
Bob
Does the Baja have to be registered as a truck, or was that reviewer talking about Texas only? That would cut into sales in my opinion.
Mark
-mike
Nice to see it being used as intended by the designers. What kind of fish did you catch? Turbot?
-juice
* inside joke - many Subaru Crew members are named Dave, Mike, or have at least one K in their name
bold rise letters bewteen the rolling bar.
-juice
Bob
http://www.auto.com/reviews/bajaa9_20021009.htm
http://www.auto.com/reviews/bajab9_20021009.htm
Actually, neither review mentions any lack of power.
The 2nd guy writes for the Tribune, so he's not exactly a perfect source. He's talking about the Borrego, but my guess is it's speculation at this early point.
-juice
It would be a tough choice between that an the all silver model. I know, the silver would be easier to keep clear...
Bob
Just a reminder that every Thursday you can join the Subaru Crew for a chat session from 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. Stop in to talk about Subaru or just to say hello!... We had a great turnout last week, but there's always room for more, so stop by and join in this week! Hope to see you there!!
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And a preview of NEXT week...
Mazda charged me a rather ridiculous $28 for the one on my Miata. Some people say Subie parts are pricey, but I disagree, so I'd love to be able to point to an example.
-juice
These cost, what $2, at an electronics supply house ?
-brianV
Bob
I bet it would be $14 or so from a wholesaler, Liberty Subaru. But better to pay $8 and not get a CEL.
-juice
I agree about the Black Baja. It looks great and was my second choice - I actually liked it a little better than the red, but black cars and the Florida sun are not the best combination. It's funny hearing about snow. I went for a drive last night to put some good break-in miles on my car - I drove down US 1 to St. Augustine and back up AIA along the coast. At 11:00 PM it was still 81 degrees. I had the windows and sunroof open and the radio turned up - I'm really happy with the stereo (and the upgraded speakers, though I can't really compare to what the sound is like without the upgrade). The self-dimming rear-view mirror is actually pretty cool also. I turned it off to see the difference - It really works!
Bob
* =I know it sounds unconstitutional, but these neighborhoods do exist...
Bob
That may be true, but they likely signed these covenants well before the Baja existed. They were aimed to discourage ownership of traditional trucks. So now someone who has signed a covenant, and has seen (and would like to purchase) the Baja, may be out of luck.
Bob
Ya know, Subaru market geniuses THINK they know who to sell this car to, but I think they're wrong. The people who have gotten most turned on by it are all over 40, most over 50 (I'm 50 myself). I had one older woman today come up to me, ask me if it was mine, and tell me how pretty it was! That kind of surprised me...I don't think it's particularly good looking myself, but I love what it does.
Maybe Subaru needs to try another marketing slogan: "I ain't dead YET, baby."
I couldn't agree with you more. BTW, I'm 57.
Bob (also, "I ain't dead YET, baby.")
Went into a local Subaru dealer to look at a WRX with my family. My son's turning 16 and I wanted to show him the car. Frankly, at 54 it was probably more a "mid-life" excuse for me to buy it. Anyway, much to my disappointment, the family decided it wasn't practical even as a second car (we have a '94 Land Rover Disco).
In another part of the showroom we spotted this yellow thing we had never seen or heard of, called a Baja. The family went nuts. Wife and kids fell in love with it. I thought it was perfect for our lifestyle, whitewater kayaking, sailing, skiing, etc. So your comments above, are right on target about the demographics.
We left, and later decided we had to have the Baja. Went to another dealer and asked the price. He said it was MSRP, period.
Here's the interesting part. During the winter I'm a part time ski instructor. I remembered that the Professional Ski Instructors of America, a group I'm a member of, is sponsored by Subaru. Subaru has a VIP program where, as a PSIA member, you can buy any new Subaru at dealer invoice. I contacted PSIA, got an authorization form, printed out the Edmunds invoice pricing info, brought it to a local dealer, got the car, a yellow 5 speed, at dealer cost, and in a few weeks will be driving it home. If any of you are National Ski Patrol members or AASI Snowboard instructors, the same deal applies.
I'll let you know how I like it when I get it. Haven't even driven one yet.
PS. Dealer will change the tires to Dunlop Wintersport M2s, for trade in on Potenzas plus a few hundred bucks.
/WebX?ed_displayMakeModelRelatedDiscussions@@.ef0816a!make=Subaru&model=All
Or, if you want to weed out many of the extraneous topics, and just want to keep it to the "Subaru Crew," check out:
/WebX?ed_displayMakeModelRelatedDiscussions@@.ee9204a!make=Subaru&model=All&conflimit=Owners%2520Clubs
If you liked the Baja discussion, I'm sure you'll find the others just as informative. It's a good and very enthusiastic group. Welcome aboard!
Bob
I look forward to learning from the "experts".
Mike
Here I believe you can't park a commercial vehicle on the street for more than X hrs. and may not be allowed to park it in your driveway unless it's commercial property. In reality? No one cares unless it causes a problem, and even then your neighbor will just come over and say "Yo, what are you doing parking that POS around here?"
-mike
That said, such restrictions on personal freedom have nothing to do with communism per se. Fascist states are just as good at restricting civil liberties, and more common in today's world.
Given that communism has been disgraced, it's fascism that we need to guard against today.
Subaru's marketing department really blew this model launch! The car's been on the dealer's lot for over 45 days, with no marketing material to hand out customers. Inexcusable...
The only thing I can figure is, the brochures were designed (and probably printed too) when an error of apocalyptic proportions was discovered, forcing a redesign and reprinting. Nothing else would make any sense.
Where do I think the error is? Probably on the spread that would feature the options. I understand Subaru has not been happy with prototype tonneau covers. Could it be that a (rejected) tonneau cover picture got printed, forcing a reprint?
Bob
Altered Demographics? Geezers love Bajas? ;-)
Maybe it's nostalgia for the Ranchero/El Camino days? Or maybe that a modern, high quality car-based pickup is finally being offered?
skiwee: great story! I thought the Baja would draw in showroom traffic that would help sell other Subies, guess I got it backwards.
Side note: your name is "Mike", and we've always had lots of Daves and Mikes in our group. You'll fit right in.
Bob: they could've photochopped the tonneau cover and saved time and money.
-juice
Bob
I'd consider a Baja, with the right engine option and price. I'm 33 (for one more day!).
-juice
Appreciate the feedback juice. Amazing that the Baja was never on my radar screen until I went into a dealer. Now that we're getting one, my daughter says she sees ads on MTV!
PS My dealer still doesn't know anything about the tonneau cover (when available, price, who makes it, etc.).
Mike
Bob
Maybe a turbo Forester next year. It'll depend on our finances.
-juice
Besides the tonneau (soft or hard) issue, what about cargo slats that will fit into the bed pockets? Because of the small "tabs" at the top of the pockets, you can't just use pieces of lumber. I've asked sales people about this, and they have no answers.
There are lot of these types of questions, that nobody has answers to...
Bob
Bob
-juice
Bob
-juice
All-Weather-Package
Offer it at least as an option, however, it should be standard, as it is on all Legacy-based Outbacks.
Dual Range 5-speed manual
If ever there was a Subaru model, that could benefit from this feature, it's the Baja. Currently Subaru has geared down the Baja, which results in a lower EPA rating, as well higher-rpm highway cruising. If it had the dual range transmission (now offered in virtually every market other than North America), you could re-gear it so that you have the same EPA rating and relaxed cruising that the Outback enjoys, and you could use the lower gear range for hauling. SOA has said this is unlikely to reappear. Well, they said the same about the Hill-Holder clutch now found on the Forester, so there is hope.
Self-Levelling Rear Suspension
Again, if ever there was a Subaru model, that could benefit from this feature, it's the Baja. The Baja on display at the New York Auto Show had two mountain bikes in the rear using the bed extender, and the tail was starting to sag. Can you imagine how it will sag with 500 pounds of bagged mulch in the bed (and you know there will be owners who will do this)? Again, the Self-Levelling rear suspension is offered in virtually every market other than North America. The Baja *really* could benefit from this feature!
Offer the H-6 as an option
Even though it will be most likely saddled with the automatic, it needs this engine.
Get their act together in terms of options!
'Nuff said...
Bob
I'd pick the H6 first. You could probably then relax the gearing and solve two problems.
The AWP and options list are probably quick fixes, so do those next.
The self-leveling sounds great, but 10 year old Legacys are going through $2-3 grand repairs. Unless the air bladder technology has advanced a lot, I'd put that on hold. My buddy has that on his Venture van and it's been problematic for him, too.
A low range for the 5 speed, or just give it a 6 speed, and give the auto a 5 speed with shiftronic.
-juice
The parts already exist, so where's the budget issue come into play?
<< I'd pick the H6 first. You could probably then relax the gearing and solve two problems. >>
But you'll be stuck with an automatic...
<< The self-leveling sounds great, but 10 year old Legacys are going through $2-3 grand repairs. Unless the air bladder technology has advanced a lot, I'd put that on hold. My buddy has that on his Venture van and it's been problematic for him, too. >>
That's a problem for the next owner. I never keep vehicles that long. Perhaps Graham can give us some *current* insight on that. I believe his Oz-spec Outback has that feature.
<< A low range for the 5 speed, or just give it a 6 speed, and give the auto a 5 speed with shiftronic. >>
Again, the dual range already exists, and in good quantities (unlike the 6-speed). I'd go that route.
In terms of priority, I think they can all be done at once. The parts exist, there's no (real) development time or costs involved. The only costs would be to gear up production of those items, and inventory/storage issues.
Bob
Sure, it could use a bigger engine or higher towing capacity, but right now it'll really fit my needs as is. I wanted some sort of truck, but never wanted to actually drive a truck. So this just fits.
-Fido (i-club.com)