Subaru Crew Cafe

xwesx

an R.E.M. reference in this post title, FWIW

Hahha... caught that! Good one, Jeff. :P

kate5000

It's the same design as on this photo:

http://www.jeep.com/en/liberty/gallery/photo.html

is it a new one? looks similar to previous one to me...

paisan

I would not be suprised to see some of the CVT technology come from Nissan. They already share VDC with Nissan as well as a lot of switches in the cars and the Nissan CVTs seem to be holding their own in terms of reliability and performance.

-mike

saedave

I would not be suprised to see some of the CVT technology come from Nissan. They already share VDC with Nissan as well as a lot of switches in the cars and the Nissan CVTs seem to be holding their own in terms of reliability and performance.

And the Subaru auto trans guts come from a Nissan subsidiary. In earlier years Subaru shared its AWD system with one Nissan model not sold here. However, I would not be surprised to see the non-CVT auto trans be supplied by Toyota's supplier soon.

leo2633

Completely aside from transmissions, the side-view mirrors on my 2001 Forester S have NISSAN embossed in the underside of the mirror housings, so there has definitely been a working relationship between these two companies.

Len

paisan

Yup all the power lock and window switches are also from Nissan. We modify them in our Impreza security updates and they have Nissan imprinted on em as well.

-mike

ateixeira

That's the outgoing model. The new one is boxier and more masculine looking.

jeffmc

For those interested, here's info on & pics of the '08 Liberty:
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/liberty-2008.html

ateixeira

I'll give them credit for establishing a good family resemblance. It either looks like a big Patriot or a small Commander, depending on how you look at it.

That interior sure looks basic, though. And the gas mileage numbers are painful, 15mpg city for a compact SUV? :sick:

rsholland

I agree. I like the looks of the new Liberty and Commander. They look like Jeeps. Unfortunately I understand the Commander may get axed. I'd rather see them keep that and kill the Grand Cherokee. The only really bad thing about the Commander is the 3rd-row seat—and it's awful.

Bob

ateixeira

They already have the Durango and the Chrysler clone to cover the 3 row market.

paisan

i heard the same thing about the commander, once this body hits the end of it's life cycle it's toast.

-mike

robr2

And the gas mileage numbers are painful, 15mpg city for a compact SUV?

Well it is a BOF design and those are 2008 EPA numbers - even with a better COF and more efficient engines, the numbers went down.

ateixeira

True, let's see the real-world numbers once they come out.

rsholland

Not a BOF design. The only Jeep that BOF is the Wrangler. The unit-body Jeeps started with the '84 Cherokee. it's got a small frame welded to a unit body, for extra strength and rigidity; same with many new SUVs, as well as the Honda Ridgeline.

Bob

robr2

Thanks for that info Bob. I thought all the "Trail Rated" Jeeps were BOF.

So I presume the Compass doesn't have the mini-frame?

rsholland

Not sure about the Compass. I don't think it has, but I could be wrong.

Bob

ateixeira

Compass and Patriot are normal unibodies.

Compass is basically a clone of the Caliber, i.e. nothing special. But no Compass model is trail rated.

The top-end Patriot models are indeed Trail Rated, and still unibody, so it's unique in that way. They use a CVT with low range gearing to get that rating.

I wonder how well it would actually do in Moab, though, given the ground clearance and overhangs.

ateixeira

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/07/18/brazil.plane.crash/index.html

Flying there is just a mess. We were 12 hours late arriving to our destination last December. Air Traffic Control is an oxymoron. The airport is a mess, workers constantly on strike and work slow-downs.

I hope this at least gets them to put things in order. :sick:

paisan

Mixed city driving on the LGT is yielding me 20.5 mpg driving to work this week so far. Not as good as the 28.5mpg on the highway but still not bad. I rarely use 2nd gear or 4th gear in city driving 1-3-5 is about all I've been using.

-mike

ateixeira

More details creeping out...

That airport has a short runway. At one point they closed it to bigger jets, but public pressure forced them to re-open it. The majority is not always right.

Also, they repaved the runway recently, but had not quite finished installing the drains for water runoff. They rushed the re-opening of the runway before it was truly complete.

The big plane landed, basically hydroplaned off the runway. :sick:

paisan

http://www.pbase.com/paisan/lgt_poc_0707

lucien2

very very nice....

...but....you're Italian. Why ya got Pat's sticker on the back? LOL

paisan

My buddy who I bought it from left it on there. Gotta change it to an ITL one

-mike

hypov

IRL, ITL...

if I find one for my car, it'll be SIN.

-Dave

ateixeira

Just don't ask me to put BRA on my car!

Looks good with the tint, mike.

xwesx

Looks good with the tint, mike.

Looks great! Can you actually see through those?! :P

How did it do at the track?

paisan

No problems seeing through them they are only 20%.

Track was good, hadn't been on-course in almost a year, so was very rusty. The HTRZ tires which have dry rot on the edges from the previous owner of the tires/rims putting armor-all on them didn't help inspire confidence along with it needing better brake pads and fluid flush.

But got it up to about 130 on the speedo on the super-speedway section of Pocono long course. Very much enjoyed it on the track!

-mike

ateixeira

Get some new pads on there and bleed those brakes. Maybe get some track tires and leave those for winter?

paisan

The HTRZs are summer tires. I only bought the tires to get the rims, the tires weren't too relevent. I'll be getting Azenis 615 sports for summer in 235 width for those rims and I have the stock rims with Hakapalitta Nokian snows for the winter

Still averaging 21.5mpg around town/commuting, 28mpg on the highway with cruise control.

-mike

ateixeira

Falken Azenis are summer tires also, right?

I've heard great things about them in Miata circles.

lucien2

I'm rocking a set of Firestone Wide Ovals on Luke's recommendation, and have been very impressed so far. FWIW.

rsholland

The X-Games are coming up, and as such Edmunds just did a story on Pastrana, the hero of last year's event.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=121914?tid=edmunds.il.ho- - me.photopanel..2.*

Should be fun to watch, as he'll be in a new race-prepped '08 WRX.

More here on Straightline.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/3161

Bob

ateixeira

That roll was incredible. Kept on going, too! The crowd went nuts.

jeffmc

http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicle/all-rank-08.htm

Check out the list of '08s recently tested by the EPA... the lineup of PZEV Subarus (Legacy, Outback & Forester) were bested only by the CA-spec Ford/Mazda hybrids in terms of least total air pollution! The Subies even beat the standard-spec hybrids. :shades: Way to go, Subaru! I'm very impressed.

Now Subaru needs to ADVERTISE that their PZEV vehicles' emissions are cleaner than those of many hybrids. Any SOA execs listening??

ateixeira

I'd like to see them sell PZEV models outside of states that require those, including the warranty on emissions related equipment that goes with those!

ladywclass

i haven't seen the "PEZ" model ... so the hood pops up and candy comes out?

ateixeira

My brother and I (the sons that could afford to help) helped my mom pick up a brand new Honda Fit in Brazil. She traded in that Fiat Palio her 3 sons gave her outright 6 years ago. It was already rusty, so you wonder if they're using galvanized steel or if it's just the fact that she lives beach-front.

Any how, here's a pic. :shades:

PS I didn't get a single response or reaction in the Fit thread. Those Honda guys are a tough crowd.

jeffmc

PEZ... very funny. Maybe instead of emitting only water vapor, it'd emit only pez candy. It would look like a parade everywhere you drove, with children lining the streets, waiting for your car to pass by so they can dash out to get the candy.

jeffmc

juice - you probably needed to post a photo that looked like it was taken in Brazil to get a reaction. Where are the masses of unusal minicars in the background, or the beaches & bikinis?

There's a silver Fit that parks near my home every day... seems like a pretty good little car, but wish they were a bit cheaper.

rsholland

Good choice juice. Are Subies too expensive down there?

Bob

ateixeira

They were imported during the Collor presidency, when he opened the markets, but not any more.

So pricing would be prohibitive to get a gray market import, plus gas costs a fortune down there. I mean $5-6 per gallon.

The Fiat we bought for her had a sub-1000cc engine. Her new Fit has a whopping 1.3 liters of FURY BABY!

That's like a 5.7l Hemi to us.

lucien2

Well I took a stab at applying for a management slot...and I do think I'm going to get it. We'll see, no sense counting ones turbos before they've spooled. No increase in pay for a while, but opportunity to grow vs. the sales force.

But if I do, then one major perk is....company car. How does that work? Do they pick it and just hand you the keys? ("A Dodge Caliber?! NOOOOOOOoooooooo!!!!" :P ) or does one have some input into the decision? It'll be a sweetly bitter perk though, because I've enjoyed my year in the GF4. Don't know at this point whether I'll keep it or sell it. I could use the cash and the insurance savings, but on the other hand I have done some work on it like WRX brakes, 2.5RS seats, better stereo, etc., not to mention the trusty SSR Comps (which I'll probably keep no matter what).

jfl

Loosh,

It really depends on the company. I believe my company lets you pick Ford family cars so one of my co-workers selected a Volvo. Some other co-workers declined the company car because it had certain (negative) tax implications.

It's not a problem I'll need to worry about...

Hope it's favorable for you.

Jim

BTW: You should be careful not to offend our host, caliberchic. :surprise:

jeffmc

"You should be careful not to offend our host, caliberchic."

He'll probably wake up to find all of his posts deleted by a "system glitch". :surprise: (j/k, of course!).

Good luck, Loosh! Just try not to grow pointy hair like Dilbert's boss, okay? :P

robr2

As noted every company has different options.

My company pays an allowance so our sales reps are allowed to drive whatever they want.

A friend works for a Japanese company so his choices are Avalons or Siennas. A rep that calls on us went from an Explorer to a Freestar and is now in a Magnum.

In any case, expect some percentage of the vehicle/fuel/insurance to be on your W-2 as the IRS expects some personal use of the vehicle.

ateixeira

Just make it an SRT-4 model. :shades:

My best buddy has a company car, for him they basically let him choose from 2 or 3 cars. Last time around he had the choice between a Ford Escape (4 cylinder, auto, base model) or a Pontiac Grand Prix. He chose the latter.

Before that he had a Mercury Villager (needed the space).

Other companies just give you a car allowance, which is more flexible. Still, you don't want to put tons of miles on a car worth $30k. What do you get nowadays, 40 cents per mile or something?

I would stick with a comfortable, efficient, long haul car. Something good on the highway with lots of range and room for cases of wine.

Sadly that's generally the opposite of what we *want* - small and sporty.

paisan

Congrat's Loosh. I drive an explorer v8 and various durango's here at work. The new durango (latest gen) is the most comfy of all of them. Rumor has it our next vehicle in the fleet will be a hybrid escape. We are hoping after that we get hybrid yukons. All our new vehicles are going to be "hybrids" cause the company is going green. I did some nice offroading with the durango last week, scraped the paint off the sides while driving down a ROW checking the power lines.

-mike

ateixeira

Good point. Let's not overlook the big picture, here.

Congratulations, Lucien! :shades:

lucien2

...well, me, I suppose. I got the job. :shades: But this is a car forum dammit, so the important bit is......

Camry. Don't know yet if it's the 4 or the 6. I'll try to find out. Too bad there's no wagon, as you all know, that's what I like. Still, it sounds like the 2007 is a more capable handler than the previous model, so I figure a little visit to Tire Rack will yield a big improvement in the everyday liveability of the car. If it is going to be the 4, then I can hopefully lobby for a manual.