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j/k...Mike and I were at the Koni Sports Car Challenge races at Homestead...great fun (though I am somewhat sunburned despite slathering sunblock on). Met a bunch of drivers; Andy Lally, Bill Auberlen, Hugh Plumb, Charles Esplenaub, and Jack Rousch also. I have a bunch of pics on my Facebook page, but here's two more thumbnails
BTW, Lally lost the race by 0.133secs after 2 hours or so. The day before, Randy Pobst won his race by 0.129 secs. Great racing...
I'm still hopeful she'll learn stick, but it may have to be an auto.
That sounds like a killer deal- but I was looking at the PRHT too- here in Seattle she would definitely be driving with the top up 90% of the time!
tom
Bob
Got 2 coats of Rain X on the windows. Took about 5 minutes because the vehicle is so small. My van takes me forever and must have about 6 times as much glass.
Rain is beading up and rolling off the glass, the way I like it. The faster you drive, the better it works. :shades:
Also, Bob and I noticed there isn't a lining in the storage bin behind the center console. I made a paper template, cut to size, then traced the pattern on an old mouse pad I had that was matte black. Used 2-sided tape to secure it and created a padded lining for that bin.
Now if I store a GPS there it won't slide around when I drive hard.
I also created a lining for the tiny little bin next to the 12 volt power adaptor. For now I have coins there and they no longer slide around on plastic and make noise.
Eventually a GPS may end up in that spot, but my Nuvi 205W is too wide, so it may have to be a small-screen Nuvi 205 or 260 model.
I still want to line the glove box, so I may get some of that felt material with glue backing like I did for my Forester way back when.
Still gotta rig some padding for the bottle holder on the driver's door, which seems to love rubbing my knee. Minor annoyance but I know I can fix it so I will.
Finally got the top down today, for the last couple of miles here in town, and in my garage now. Nice thing is that with the soft top you had to leave it up to keep the vinyl stretched, but there is no such problem with a hard top, so it can be left open as much as you want.
Bob
I have trouble finding 6th at times, probably because it feels unnatural to me. I have to get used to it.
The clutch is very light so bumper to bumper traffic is OK. Actually the very low 1st and 2nd gears actually make it easier. A nice surprise.
Right now I keep playing with the seat, trying to find the ideal position. I'm still not sure if I like have my legs straight out, below that bottle holder, or sitting close with my knees bent, above the bottle holder.
-Brian
I can still turn the wheel all the way around, so my reach is OK, really.
SOA is planning some sort of celebration. The car is expected to be sold in the next few weeks.
Bob
CRV and Escape get marginal ratings.
Bob
In a photo comparison, IIHS showed the top rated Tiguan roof virtually untouched by the test; one small dent and no broken windows.
The Kia, bottom rated, was virtually destroyed.
But...
another picture of all 12 cars (from the poorly playing video from their site) showed substantial damage to all the vehicles.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26083138&postcount=31
Bob
It's good that these are now available, though, because you know they'll be forced to make improvements.
Kurt: feeling better about passing on that Escape hybrid now? With the weight of the batteries it probably would have crushed even more.
Except that ACE has nothing to do with rollover type accidents. It's designed to spread out the forces of a frontal collision to minimize injury:
http://corporate.honda.com/safety/details.aspx?id=collision
so ... I'm finally home and telling husband about the day ... he says .. oh .. look down there by your chair ... that little shelf on the bottom of the table .. and it looks like there's some sort of book down there under some pamphlet stuff ...
he bought me an HP mini for my birthday ... I've been looking at them because I drag the laptop with me every day to work ... so I've been playing with it for a couple hours now and I LOVE IT ...
while it doesn't have the hard drive storage that some have, it has enough .. and for what I want it to do for work, it will be fine ... I have a huge stand alone storage drive so it's fairly easy to trade files that I carry with me and the program we use for work stores everything online, so I mostly need odd storage for word documents ... even that I can load remotely to the school servers ...
anyone else using one of these minis or netbooks?
oh yeah ... and I'm sure we'll take it with us when we travel in the Subaru ...
Brenda
Bob
(and I refuse to admit to being a year older until May 7! - don't you have a bday in May, too?)
Bob
I know I'm comparing two cars with several design versions between them, but the new one is so much more refined.
Several things took some getting used to:
Visibility - Thicker A pillar, raked windshield, rear visibility slightly decreased. Side view mirrors however are superior.
Throttle response - This is my first real experience with an electronic throttle (no cable). I feel a little disconnected, and there is a slight pause before accelleration.
Slightly less interior room. I guess I just have to keep fit.
Loving the power adjusting seating, and the seat warmers are so much more effective than in my 98.
Handling and drive characteristics with the larger wheels and lower profile tires is a big bonus (17" vs 15").
It is so much smoother and quieter that I find myself going a bit faster than I should.
Wowed by the instrumentation and console layout, especially at night.
The Harmon Kardon audio system is very nice, and pretty much on par with what I had in the 98. The ability to play mp3 disks and having the AUX-In are wonderful.
The center armrest extension turns out to be more than a 'nice to have' feature. It adds greatly to driver comfort over time.
The pricing with the $2000 cash back and 2.9% financing made it a super deal. Subie Bucks took some of the sting off as well.
Yes AJ, I checked the tire pressure when I got it home. All were at 28, so I pumped them up to spec (32 front & 30 rear).
Felt a bit of heartache giving up my trusted friend, but my new Roo will be with me for the next decade knock on wood (no more Plood!).
Alan 09 OB-SE (250 miles)
Quartz Silver Metallic
Bob
Mark
Cheers!
Paul
ACE™ helps enhance occupant protection in the passenger cars and light trucks we make, while at the same time ...
They emphasize occupant protection first.
Recession pricing mean it's a buyer's market.
Happy B-day Brenda. You should have asked for a new keyboard, I'm sure the old one was worn out...
ducks and runs!
All-track-drive.
ACE™ helps enhance occupant protection in the passenger cars and light trucks we make, while at the same time ...
They emphasize occupant protection first.
Yes they do, but what you expect them to say - it's a safety system. But it's one designed to work in front end collisions. If they mentioned roll over situations while discussing ACE, your original comment would be valid.
"Indeed, the chassis changes combined with the optional $500 Sport package (Bilstein shocks, limited-slip differential) diminish understeer and give the MX-5 the lift-throttle rotation it lacked before. The new Miata actually breaks away from the backend now—as is proper for a rear-drive car"
It's interesting that the addition of an Limited slip Diff makes the rear end drift more, in their case at least.
I keep wondering how '08 Foresters with LSD's compare to '09's which do not, in terms of rear end stability? Reading between the lines of mags like CU and others suggest '09 is better. Then again, '09 has VDC standard and a different rear suspension.
Took my HP Mini with me, and when I walked into her office, there on her desk was an ... HP Mini ...
She also got one last week from her husband for her bday .... Is this in "the book"?
Sustained an apparent catastrophic internal engine failure. Big, ugly, metal-on-metal bang bang bang noise. It was fine at shutoff the night before, just started at startup the next morning. Shop thinks either a connecting rod or rod bearing gave it up. Either way, the motor is no more, and the value of the car prohibits a replacement engine. So, we're down to a 1-Subaru family for awhile. Sigh.
Good news: Anybody in the market for a new car at the moment? I have a couple Owner Loyalty Certificates, good for $600 each. One expires 4/15, the other 6/3. Despite the paragraph above, we're not shopping anytime soon. Let me know (email address in my profile)
Cheers!
Paul
'Twas a good little car for us, and it will be missed.
DW mentioned the other day that as soon as we're done hauling kids & stuff all over everywhere, negating the necessity of the Suburban, she thinks she'd like a Forester!
Another convert
Cheers!
Paul
My dad passed away weekend before last.
He was 84, it was not an unexpected event, but it still caught us a bit by surprise.
He had been failing both physically & mentally over the past year. His quality of life, quite frankly, sucked. He slipped away in his sleep when nobody else was looking - we should all be so lucky when our time comes.
The funeral was Monday, I got the last of the out-of-town family to the airport yesterday, and now I finally have a chance to catch my breath.
He had a good life, left a legacy of service, and he's now in a better place.
Rest in peace, Dad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q38t4MZi6c
tom
never easy even when expected
will be thinking of you and your family
Bob
The car thing pales by comparison.
I'm keeping that in perspective, at least
Cheers!
Paul
They changed the engine a little, increasing the redline, and piped intake noise to the cabin (who knows why it's too loud as is), and made some other minor changes, but I even have the same summer tires.
Just passed the break-even point so I'll have to test that easy-to-drift theory. :shades:
Paul: sorry to hear about the engine failure. Hopefully you can get some salvage value out of it, at least.
Edit: just read the next post about your dad - very sorry to hear it. At least it was peaceful. May he RIP.