Subaru Crew Cafe

paisan

Mark, knows he can use the trooper whenever he wants

-mike

lark6

What about a (Mercedes) Freightliner/Dodge Sprinter passenger van, since you seem to like somewhat off-the-wall vehicles?

You know, Bob, that thought has crossed my mind a couple of times. I think back to walking through the one on display at the '03 NYAS with you and Juice, and I think the Sprinter would make a great mobile office or race team vehicle. You could also load it up with servers, routers, other IT equipment etc. and make it a mobile disaster recovery site. I wonder what its towing capacity is like.

Ed

rsholland

5K I believe.

Bob

lucien2

I like the versatility of the various wheelbases and configurations

rsholland

they have only a 2.7 5-cylinder turbo diesel, with a 5-speed tip-tronic automatic.

Bob

volkov

Man Khabibulin was spectacular tonight. Did you see him make the block and then knock the rebound out of the air with his stick? OOOH Mama. Almost singlehandedly won that game for Tampa. I understand that the TV audience numbers in the US stink for these finals. Man that's a shame. They have been great, on-the-edge of your seat matches every time.

Nicholas

paisan

5K towing. It's not a bad choice, a bit utlitarian for me though.

-mike

locke2c

it was a good game. I'd really hoped for more action the whole series, but it hasn't been bad by any means.

I'm a generalist hockey fan but do like fast-tempo teams. I liked the way Calgary and Tampa played all the way in, but I have to admit to favoring Tampa now. ducks for cover ;-) either team certainly deserves it and hasn't had an easy ride in.

~c

bat1161

Thanks Mike, I appreciate that.

Mark

ateixeira

Diesel fuel right now is a whole lot cheaper than gas. Around here it's usually the other way around, but not now. TDI owners are thrilled, I'm sure.

-juice

ozman62

Tampa wouldn't have gotten anywhere close to overtime last night. But you guys are right, it was an extremely entertaining game, if a little nerve-wracking for us Calgarians. Go Flames Go!
Owen

dcm61

http://www.autoshowinmotion.com/English/main.asp

NY (Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum) 6/10 to 6/13

Boston (Gillette Stadium) 6/17 to 6/20

Philadelphia (Philadelphia Park - Home of Smarty Jones - a Triple Crown winner tomorrow?) 6/23 to 6/27

Cleveland (I-X Center) 7/8 to 7/11

You've seen the vehicles at the auto show. Now experience over 100 of the hottest new cars, trucks and SUVs on the planet from behind the wheel at the AutoShow in Motion. Test drive the exciting General Motors family of vehicles and then compare them with Honda, Ford, Toyota, BMW, Chrysler, Lexus, Dodge, Mercedes and more too numerous to name.

One minute you're stepping on the accelerator of a Corvette down a speed course, the next you're taking a HUMMER H2 off-roading. If the vehicle can do it, we're going to prove it!

And you can do it all with no pressure to buy, so there's nothing to slow you down. The only thing we want you to do is drive what you like and have a great time doing it. AutoShow in Motion – The world's only auto show where we hand you the keys.

DaveM

ateixeira

Philly is the closest to DC they get, eh?

-juice

atlgaxt

The Auto Show in motion in general is an interesting experience. Just don't get too excited about taking a Hummer "off Road". In Atlanta it was a couple of piles of dirt in the parking lot of the Brave's stadium that I think I could have navigated through in a Kia Rio. Definitely not worth waiting in line to drive a gussied up Chevy Tahoe up a pile of dirt.

dcm61

Maybe they had other locations earlier in the year or all slots are full ??

DaveM

ateixeira

Could be. Not worth the drive to Philly to sample VersaCrap. ;-)

-juice

atlgaxt

No - its not worth it to sample versa crap. But they do have lots of non GM vehicles there for you to drive. Only problem is that I have been twice in two different Atlanta locations. I think the second one had shortened courses (both were pretty short). After your experience in Vegas the Autoshow in Motion might be a serious let down. You won't get any 140 mph cruising here. It is basically a short, low speed course and they get a little nervous when you squeal the tires. That said, where else are you going to get the chance to actually drive a wide variety of cars (not just GM) over a several hour period? As I have said before it is a pretty gutsy move by GM to put their product out there against their competition. The only problem is neither time I went was I swayed towards GM... however I have developed a serious hankering for a Nissan Titan that I know I can never justify buying. I think.

rsholland

http://www.theautochannel.com/F/news/2004/06/03/198310.html

VW's new V10 turbo diesel uses an alloy block, with plasma coated cylinder walls! That's got to be a first for diesels...

The weight-saving aluminum cylinder block enables another important new technology to be introduced—plasma coating of the cylinder walls. This process, developed by Volkswagen and used here for the first time on a production diesel engine, creates a surface layer in the cylinders with a thickness of a few tenths of a millimeter—a few thousandths of an inch—and makes the cylinder walls permanently resistant to deformation and wear

Bob

volkov

Pretty impressive fuel and Torque numbers, but 7.5 for the 60? That's just sick. So's the price. With that kind of power, they should be putting out a full size SUV. 5 Passenger vehicles are useless to us as a vacation vehicle because we need 5 seats, luggage space and dog space. I'm sure we aren't that that unique. That's why full size minivans and Suburbans sell. For all its faults, I love the road feel of the Suburban, tows well and it has serious space. Do they have a diesel yet? I'd have bought one in 2000 if they had. They already have it in the 2500 series, so the option would be a seamless addition.

volkov

I know you addressed this recently, but I can't find the post. Can you bolt MY04 STi springs on WRX suspension, and is it worthwhile without replacing the struts? I know it would drop the car, but only a little. Or is it better just doing wheels/tires and sway bars to improve cornering??

Nicholas

rsholland

No diesel yet in the Suburban.

7.5 sick? I don't think so; not for a diesel. Pricey? No question, which unfortunately will mean very few units will be sold here.

Bob

locke2c

They won't be sold at all in any state using California emissions!

btw, he meant "sick" in a positive way. LOL

~c

rsholland

I need to think more like an oxymoron, and not just like a regular moron.

Bob

rsholland

I never thought I'd see an alloy block diesel, but VW has pulled it off with their new Touareg TDI. I wonder is Subaru is considering an alloy block for their upcoming diesel? With their desire to keep vehicle weights down, and now with VW's success, I wouldn't be too surprised.

Bob

locke2c

I want to know what the liners really are. "Plasma" is not a metal. It's a state of matter! :-P

They're probably nikasil like most other aluminum blocks have used since the 80s. Maybe it's some new metallurgy based on that.

~c

lucien2

c_hunter

They just like to say "Plasma".

Craig

locke2c

are you drunk? cos I could see it being entertaining in that case. LOL

~c

c_hunter

It's an impressive sounding word that Dilbert's managers would throw around for importance.... "all the critical parts have been plasma coated".

I think all they do is superheat gas (to 30000 F) with an electric arc, and then use it to deposit coatings (ceramics, metal, etc) on parts (which remain relatively cool in comparison). Pretty neat idea.

Craig

locke2c

sounds correct to me-- so what I want to know is what that plating is.

~c

kens

LOL. "Captain, we need more dilithium crystals to power the plasma conduits and increase hull plating!"

Ken

c_hunter

I bet it's carbon or ceramic (or a combination).

Craig

locke2c

I really doubt that. Ceramic coated pistons have only the very top coated and very bad things would occur to the cylinder walls if it were on the skirt at all.

It's a metal. Too much friction for carbon or ceramic.

~c

c_hunter

Carbon and ceramic are usually fine if they are designed for lubrication. In fact, some rings are actually made with plasma moly and ceramic edges! Ceramic coated pistons have been implemented for their thermal properties, and I don't think friction/wear was a driver in those cases.

Here's a good article that discusses some of the materials used in the cylinder liners.

http://www.iom3.org/divisions/automotive/news3.htm

"Various materials can be used to produce the coating, especially iron-carbon alloys with various chemical compositions. As the coatings are generally applied using the APS method (Atmospheric Plasma Spray), the coating attains a certain degree of oxidation that has positive effects, since the correct type of oxides are formed if the oxygen content is correctly optimised.

The oxides FeO (Wustite) and Fe3O4 (Magnatite) are to be seen as solid lubricants that improve the tribological properties of the coating and it’s machinability.

It is also possible to apply non-corrosive coatings of iron-based alloys by adding chrome and molybdenum. These coatings are resistant to sulphuric and formic acid when used in internal combustion engines. Adding fine particles of tribologically functional ceramics can reinforce the materials, which increases the compression strength and abrasion resistance and reduces the tendency to scuffing. These MMC coatings have already been tested and are especially suited for high performance petrol or diesel engines."

locke2c

interesting about ceramic cylinder walls... chrome-moly is a metal, ceramics are not. so cr-mo isn't surprising.

here's the industry leader in coatings:
http://www.swaintech.com

here's a coated piston


~c
(has a swain piston like that in his YZ250.)

ateixeira

If the GM thing were closer, maybe.

-juice

hypov

'04 -> 04 will work, '04 -> pre-04 won't work.

-mike

volkov

One of my boys was in tears. Calgary is his team. Sure most of Canada just went into mourning too. The Stanley Cup just doesn't belong in Florida.

Nicholas

locke2c

Sure it does! Tampa was the better team in game 7, especially before an absurd call gave the Flames a powerplay for their one goal... but I wouldn't have blamed that mis-call for Tampa loosing the game if that had happened. it was just a goal, and it did give Calgary life but a comeback wasn't to be.

besides, a lot of those Tampa players are Canadians. I'm sure when they bring the cup home for their 2 days, the locals won't mind seeing it.

~c

p0926

My condolences to all the Calgary fans. The Flames went a lot further than anybody thought and had a good shot at winning the Stanley Cup but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It sure would have been a story book ending if the Flames had won game six at home in overtime.

-Frank P

ateixeira

Hockey in Florida? They have ice there? ;-)

Next thing you know they'll be selling Subarus there in numbers...

-juice

ozman62

disappointed about the Flames loss. But I think they were just out of gas, every series was so difficult for them to advance through. Along with that disappointment, there's a huge feeling of pride in our team, though. They gave us so much more than we could have expected, and they left it all on the ice every game. At the end, injuries and a well deserving Tampa Bay team ended their Cinderella story. Maybe the shoe will fit next year. It's a bittersweet day in Calgary, but we're still having a parade!
Owen

rsholland

http://edmunds.com/future/2005/ford/escape/100158149/preview.html- ?tid=edmunds.h..reviews.rightbanner.1.*

rsholland

http://www.subaru-global.com/topics/ms/2004ch/

A lot of carmakers are now eying China. I don't ever recall seeing so much press coverage on the Beijing Motor Show.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7217&sid=17- - 3&n=156

Bob

ateixeira

The Edmunds review was probably the most favorable. Very positive press in general, though.

Ford gave the press a sample to drive around NY at the auto show and it averaged excellent mileage, not bad with press wags behind the wheel.

Toyota has pledged to maintain their leadership. It's a nice green halo to have, people tend to forget that the V8 in the Tundra, LX, and RX is one of the dirtiest engines built today.

-juice

fibber2

Bob - It doesn't surprise me in the least! With better than a billion potential consumers, it is the market to compete in. Having been there three times ('85, '96, '03), I have seen incredible changes on the roads. Private auto ownership is exploding as the overall standard of living is rising rapidly.

And think of it from the mfgrs standpoint: Land, resources, labor - all at rock bottom prices. Emission standards, environmental impact statements? Forgetaboutit.... We spent a week in Nanchang (Jiangxi Province). One of several steel and car mfg centers of 3 million or so. A city jammed with new cars.... China is the place to be!

Steve

ateixeira

Nah, I say enter the market in India. Much bigger middle class there. With outsourcing lots of 20 somethings with disposable income, too.

-juice

fibber2

No. Try transparent aluminum....

Plasma has been defined by some as the 4th state of matter. Take a gas and dissociate it into reaction crazy ionic components either thru the use of an RF field, or impact energy transfer (phonons - basically sound energy). The reaction frenzy either creates etching of the target material (the engine block), or deposition of a coating, depending on the choice of gas, tuning of energy to fuel the reaction, directionality of fields, partial pressure in the chamber, etc.

Fun stuff.....

Steve

fibber2

at least in part, because of their road construction projects. They want to become a personal transportation nation.

Steve

locke2c

It does sound like a polished vehicle from the hybrid powertrain aspect but I'm curious to see the other metrics; ride quality/handling, weight, cargo space, instrumented acceleration testing, etc.

~c