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Comments
Bob
http://www.gay.com/business/article.html?sernum=330
and YES it's Subaru-related ....
The 75-year-old driver panicked and jumped out of the vehicle with the two men still crushed between the Jeep and a wall. He claims that the Jeep went out of control.
What's your first thought as to what happened? Mine was that the older driver hit the accelerator instead of the break. At least I thought that until I heard the next piece...
The Jeep's engine was still revving before the driver turned off the accelerator and jumped out. The third photographer, attempting to save his colleagues, leaned into the Grand Cherokee, started it, and put the vehicle's shifter in reverse. The Jeep quickly accelerated away from the building and the trapped men, so fast that it ran over the photographer who put it in reverse.
The two trapped men are in critical condition, and one has completely lost a leg.
Scary stuff. I'm usually skeptical of "unintended acceleration" claims, but I think this one is genuine.
Edit: here's a link to an article on it, from the same paper the photographers worked for: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,590045642,00.html
-Ty
Here is what Auto Pacific says about Miata Owners:
Who is this buyer? Miata owners are most likely male (63%), married (68%), college educated (68%) and 47 years of age (median). They are mostly working professionals, managers and retirees that have an annual household income of $82,400 (median). They enjoy listening to music, using their home computers and spending time with friends.
68% are married so I wonder what their wives think about them being gay. LOL
Ty: I don't think we have nearly enough detail. The accelerator pedal could have gotten stuck in the carpeted floor mats, it could be something that simple.
I guess the 2 were already pinned, but in any such situation the brakes are far, far more powerful than the engine and could at least prevent further forward progress. Or it could simply have been put in nuetral. The driver made several errors, even if it's not entirely his fault.
-juice
Whatever the cause, this kind of incident is a sober reminder of how to handle this kind of situation:
1. If you loose control of acceleration, put the vehicle in neutral FIRST. Let the engine rev all it wants; if it's not in gear it can't accelerate.
2. Then apply the brake.
3. Don't shut off the engine until you've come to a complete stop. Shutting off the engine prematurely will cut off your braking and steering ability.
Be safe everyone!
-Ty
-juice
I presume GM's CVT you refer to is the one in the Saturn Vue. They delayed production several times and probably still have not figured it out. It's tough to manage that torque with a moving belt.
Nissan has the Murano CVT, I think that's one of the more successful designs. Audi has a CVT on the A6 which has also been successful. The A6 CVT actually managed 20 mpg city, but it's only FWD, no quattro with CVT.
We'll see how Ford does, hopefully better than GM. And the 500/Freestyle will offer CVT with AWD, I believe. If so they'll even trump Audi.
Subaru may be too small to amortize the costs of a new CVT that could withstand the torque of its best engines, particularly the 2.5T.
-juice
Bob
-juice
~c
Bob
Bob: in the context of the ECVT, Subaru no longer builds a Justy, so naturally that feature disappeared.
-juice
This will be interesting to follow. It's a cross between a 4-door sedan and a coupe; not as practical as a traditional sedan, but more practical than a 2-door coupe. This is a new model, and is not a replacement for either the 4-door E-Class or 2-door CLK. I think it looks absolutely stunning.
I wonder if any other carmakers will offer such a configuration?
Bob
DaveM
I thought I'd repost my question since it was not previously answered:
Does the 04 XT radio have an AUX input so I can install Sirius radio without requiring a separate FM modulator?
Thanks,
Dave
Joe
Now if MB were to replace the E-Class with this vehicle, I'd be complaining. That's not the case however, so those who want rear headroom still have a choice within the MB family. BTW, if it's just kids who will go back there, headroom is less of an issue.
Bob
DaveM
For most people who buy coupes, the rear seat is mostly an afterthought. Anybody who uses the rear seat often, won't be attracted to this type of car.
Personally, I'd rather have this set up, than a 2-door set up
Bob
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosconsumer/0402/26/f02-73738.htm
Bob
http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=11951
This time in Oz.
Bob
-Ty
-Brian
What I'm not clear on, is it just the increased ground clearance that makes the new Outback a truck? Is there a certain ground clearance limit, that once you exceed that, a vehicle can no longer be classified a car? Are there any other issues with the new Outback that classifies it as a truck? I've heard about deep tinted windows (does the Outback have this?), and the EPA turbo loophole thingy.
Bob
I could understand the harsh criticism if Subaru were the only auto maker using the loophole to their advantage, but, let's face it, Subaru is the LAST automaker to do this. IMHO, Subaru's change is far less insulting than Chrysler classifying the PT Cruiser as an SUV to make up ground for poor gas mileage averages in the rest of their fleet. At least Subaru's non-turbo vehicles have decent fuel consumption compared to the guzzlers (trucks and SUVs, mostly) other makes create.
Hmmm. As I ponder it, I'm thinking that some Subaru loyalists who saw Subaru as the only alternative, green-friendly, make in the market feel betrayed. That could explain the harsh words.
In a way, those types of customers are a bit betrayed. Subaru is moving towards a performance-oriented, more expensive, type of car. The WRX, STi, F XT, and upcoming Legacy turbos are clear indicators of this trend. Turbos don't do much for fuel economy, and this reclassification may have been the last straw for them. I'm just guessing here.
This gives some basic information under "Who classifies vehicles..." but there must be more. I just send an e-mail to NHTSA and I hope they will reply.
I think things like dark tinted windows are allowed on a truck not that it makes it a truck.
Bob
Bob
If Subaru came out with a new model as an SUV from Day 1, I think reaction would be different.
Bob
So, do you think Subaru is intentionally distancing itself from the green crowd? Are they pushing the performance envelope in order to move into an entirely new segment for them, or trying to increase their penetration to new markets while keeping the old one?
Bob
I don't think that Subaru is distancing itself away from the environmentally aware market intentionally. But it is a pretty small niche and they want to expand their share of the market just like everybody else. They are starting to see competition in the car based crossover segment and 240 HP family cars are becoming the norm. They have to change. I think the Outback is becoming an SUV only because Subaru couldn't meet market demands for SUV features and performance without sacrificing fuel economy.
edit - Bob makes a good point. Subaru gets something like 50% of it's sales in the northeast. Down south they don't even rate.
My concerns are the repeated references to becoming a "premium" brand, "premium makes" have a distinctive look that make them readily identifible, etc. There are LOTS of wannabe premium makes. I fear that in moving upmarket, they will distance themselves from their core customers.
Jim
Dave's complaint is valid even for kids, Bob. You have to put kids up to 80 lbs in a booster seat, my 4 year old still needs help getting the belt buckled and routed properly with no folds or creases in the belt, for safety.
So yes, the parent is going to bump his/her head every time they load the kids.
Dave: I do not think the XT has such an audio input, no.
-juice
OK, they've been popular with the green crowd in the past, but guess what? They're now on the wait list for the Prius and RX400H, or Highlander. Subaru will lose those sales, period. The PZEV Outback is just not that popular.
Without enough money to develop their own hybrid, they had to broaden their appeal, given these green customers are goners. Am I wrong?
Besides, why give trucks a break at all? I think only fleet commercial vehicles should, as the law originally intended. Under that very intention, a Hummer H2 is no more qualified than a Honda S2000, both are personal use vehicles and should meet the same CAFE standards (and safety standards, and emissions standards, and bumper standards, and rollover standards, etc.)
But instead we essentially have a system that subsidizes those who cheat. Period. That's a fact. If truck have easier-to-meet standards, they are cheaper to build, and more profitable.
So you are Subaru, you've lost the green crowd to the hybrids and won't have yours ready for 2-3 years at least, even throwing your entire R&D budget into them.
What would you do?
This was pure "if you can't beat them, join them".
-juice
Hmmm, what would I do if I were Subaru? (only half serious here) Beat the hybrids at their own game and focus on hydrogen. Nothing gets cleaner than water and oxygen emissions. Let Honda, Toyota, Ford, etc... spend loads of money on R&Ding product that could be antiquated before it seriously comes to market. Check out this little article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/02/13/hydrogen.reactors.ap/i- ndex.html Now wouldn't that be cool? I think it would be worthwhile just to be able to say, "Yeah, you may have 300 HP under that hood, by I've got a hydrogen REACTOR."
:-)
-Ty
And while a company as small as Subaru cannot afford to lose a lot of sales this present controversy is a storm in a teacup, it has already largely blown over.
BTW the real green crowd don't even own cars:-)
Cheers Pat.
Bob
Bob
Subaru has appealled to that group - which is probably pretty big - by saying for the past few years: Look at us - like an SUV but not an SUV.