Subaru Crew Cafe

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Comments

  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    They were standard on ... never mind.

    DaveM
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    ...but i still don't have mine. My local inept dealer service department has repaired mine twice since Aug. 1 and it is back in the shop. It lasted 4 hours Sat. after they gave it back to me. I have now been without it for the most part of 6 weeks. More to come...

    T(formerly)WRX
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Looks like I may be picking up a beater/station car shortly! 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano V6, Automatic! Yum Yum!

    -mike
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,398
    mike, is that the Alfa bodied Saab or did it come later?

    Jim
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The 164 was the Saab 9000 chassis. The Milano was the last "Italian" Alfa. Rear tranny and in-board rear discs.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Aircraft-style brakes. Those are totally wild.

    Just don't expect it to be reliable. But they ooze character. I always liked 'em.

    -juice
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    paisan: Way cool! What trim level?

    When I came back from France in June I'd halfway convinced myself to sell the Studebaker and buy an old Alfetta or Giulia sedan as a track/auto-x/TSD/play car. But my better sense got hold of me as well as some responses I got in the Alfa forum here. IMO the Stude is as reliable as many Alfas 15-20 years its junior, but doubtless the Alfas are far more fun to drive.

    Ed
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    It's a v6, 2.5L, automatic, not sure if it's leather or not.

    Luckily for me, my subie salesman buddy who is gonna sell it to me, is also an ex-alfa mechanic, so if I have problems, it'll go right to him to get fixed :)

    I hear they aren't terribly reliable, but I am hoping the low milage on it will yield a pretty reliable beater car :)

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, you have a good contact plus a lot of experience yourself, I'm sure you'll manage.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    A supra or celica RWD or Starion first :)

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I liked Starions too, must've been an 80s trend. I remember the flares and the wide (for the era) tires, plus the turbo whistling by.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I believe they are even wide on todays stds. I think they were like 255 or something whacky like that! :)

    -mike
  • jlemolejlemole Member Posts: 345
    I had a Chrysler Laser XT. Big wide Goodyear Eagles and tremendous turbo lag, but it was a screamer when it kicked in!

    Jon
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I believe that was the equivilent of the eclipse.

    The Starion and the Conquest TSI were the ones that Juice and I are speaking of.

    -mike
  • jlemolejlemole Member Posts: 345
    I forget when the Starion and the Conquest came out. My Laser was an 86. But I seem to recall the same kind of body-styling: low-slung hatchbacks, wide low-profile tires and turbo. My recollection is that the Starion came out a little later than 86 (maybe 89, 90)? I seem to remember the Starion being offered in some ugly metallic purple color (almost like an eggplant).

    Jon
  • jlemolejlemole Member Posts: 345
    P.S: the sister car was the Dodge Daytona (which was a far cry from the original Daytona)!

    Jon
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    optical illusion-- all in the flares. stock tires on a starion/conquest were 205/55-16.

    they could easily mount 225/50-16 and many owners did. I've seen some with 245/45-16 for autocross but doubt that size would fit on unmodified stock fenders... definitely not stock wheels at least (too narrow).

    -Colin
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I'm pretty sure the TSi models of the Starion and Conquest wore 8" wide rims in the rear.

    -mike
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Ohhhh that car, the Daytona and Laser, they were actually 1/2 decent I heard. IIRC they had the 2.2L Turbo I4 engines, FWD, similar driveline as the Lebaron GTS of the day.

    -mike
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The TSi wore the 205s on 7" rims in the front. and 225s on 8" rims in the rear.

    http://www.cars.com/carsapp/national/?szc=10312&srv=review&am- p;act=search&mkid=10&mdid=111&yr=1987&x=3&y=1- 2

    -mike
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Ahh, the memories....Lebaron GTS, I had a black '86 with the 2.2L turbo. I think it was 140-ish hp, but you sure could hear the turbo whine when it kicked in (and those with WRX's think they had turbo lag - ha!). Digital dash, trip computer, and a computerized voice (that was quickly disabled) that reminded you to 'Please fasten your seatbelt' or 'Your fuel is low'. LOL!

    I still see a few halfway decent ones driving around town.

    -Brian
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I had the same car, same year, same color!

    Did you have leather too? I actually enjoyed that car, got it shortly after I learned to drive and used to race it around all the time! :)

    -mike
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Black must have been the popular color, I remember seeing quite a few of 'em back then. Yes, it was 'loaded', leather, pop-up sunroof, pw, etc. 3sp AT, and a functional hood vent ;-)

    Got it used just after I graduated high school.

    -Brian
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Starion and Conquest were the predecessors to the Stealth and 3000GT. They were the bigger, GT-style cars from Mitsu. Not DSM related.

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It's finally up:

    http://www.edmunds.com/news/autoshows/articles/100537/article.htm- l

    Let's wake up this topic.

    Check out the Audi Lemans, it would actually look nice if they shelved the Starsky & Hutch stripe and the cheese grater under the tail lights. Audis sure aren't boring, though.

    Chrysler 300C Touring: they just put an ugly nose on the Magnum.

    The Kusabi is plain silly. The Mazda3 does everything better. I bet Chrysler's lawyers would sue if they produced it, given its main styling cue copies the Crossfire.

    The Vision CLS looks like an S-class after a rollover crushed the roof slightly. What is it with these higher beltlines? Doesn't anyone care about visibility any more?

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I like the Dunehawk, which we've mentioned before. Keep the unique C-pillar and the boxy rear. Tone down the bigger-than-Baja flares just a bit, that's it.

    Where are pics of the 9-3 Sport-Hatch?

    VW really nailed it with the Concept R. Looks beautiful right away without having to grow on you. Beats the Z4 easily in styling, that BMW concept from last year too. Ignore the obviously concept-only interior, they should just give it the TT's interior but keep the Concept R's exterior, which looks far better.

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    S4 Cabrio: I'll have mine in silver, thanks. A little less distinctive now, though. Does it get Quattro?

    BMW 5: ugh. She's got Dame Edna's face, she's porked out, and the tail looks like an old Kia. Cheap, ugly, and fat. Even the interior is dull. Bangle should go to jail for this.

    BMW 6: Bangle has an eye brow fetish, I swear. That ruins the front. The profile is actually attractive, until you see the hunch-backed rear that looks copied from the hideous 7 series.

    X3: looks a little stubby, but not too bad. It's the least ugly BMW until Bangle ruins the forthcoming 3 series (LOL). The interior actually looks nice. In performance terms, does the Forester XT finally have a competitor?

    X5: dunno, looks the same to me!

    Freelander: subtle but nice improvements. They finally fixed that cheap interior, I though it was just awful before.

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Man that Maserati has a big grille. The front is only so-so but the rest of it is pretty sharp.

    We saw the concept that prepared us for the Mazda 3 back in April in NY. Looks great as a sedan, sort of a baby Mazda 6. Gorgeous interior. BMW should hire Mazda stylists, they are nailing every design.

    The hatch looks a bit like the Murano, someone in the 3 thread posted photos side by side to prove it. I think they offer AWD in Japan. I did like the Protoge5 styling better, though this has more room and more power.

    SLR seems overdone to me. Like they designed it and then let 3 high school kids tack on vents and slats.

    911 40th: too bling-bling. Gimme the C4S Cabrio. The Turbo cabrio also has AWD I believe, what more could you want? :o)

    Well, I could want Porsche to recall all Cayennes produced due to faulty styling. 3 seconds slower to 100kph compared to the XT, hilarious! Top speed isn't much better either, just 4mph more. How is a Touareg not a better choice in every way?

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    RAV4 looks the same to me, but I do like the idea of turn signal mirrors. That's a first at this price level. But hold on! They're offering a lot of firsts: DVD Navigation, stability control, brake assist, side curtain air bags!?

    Still, what it needs more than those things are a real rear bumper and more power. Kudos to Toyota for offering options a la carte in this segment, but I wonder about price.

    Golf really missed the boat on exterior styling. The interior looks nice and they are letting upscale features trickle down. Prices might get scary though.

    Phaeton needs only a new name and a reasonable price tag. It looks like a $40 grand car, not $70. A gussied up Avalon comes to mind. That steering wheel looks like a tissue box, straight out of really old Audis (before they became good cars).

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Comments? Responses? Counter points?

    What do you folks think about the features the RAV4 is getting? Should Subaru offer them on the Forester?

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Actually I believe DSM produced several cars:

    Conquest/Starion
    Stealth/3000GT
    Laser/Talon/Eclipse
    Avenger/Eclipse
    maybe some others as well.

    Diamond Star Motors is basically the name for the mitsu/chrysler link.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You're prolly right, I just meant the Starion platform was not related to the Eclipse.

    -juice
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    Audi Lemans: too much Lambo, not enough Audi

    Kusabi: Offspring of Mazda RX-8 and Toyota Matrix

    M-B CLS: At first glance I thought it was a Volvo S80

    Dunehawk: Offspring of Nissan Titan and Honda Element

    VW Concept R: lo-buck Carrera GT; look at those Legacy headlamps!

    BMW: I can't wait for the new 3-series to fill out the all-ugly lineup

    X3: Comparos vs. Forester XT await

    6-series: Offspring of 7-series and Holden Monaro/Pontiac GTO

    Maserati: Look, it's the new Buick Park Avenue!

    Mazda 3: Nice, Alfa 147-esque rear, mind the blind spot

    Porsches: Every year the 911 gets longer and longer front/rear overhangs - sad

    base Cayenne: why?

    new Golf: what a schnozz; wheels from a Forester XS

    Phaeton: A to a Q no one asked

    Ed
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Too much Lambo, is that good or bad? :o)

    All-ugly lineup, LOL!

    The Maseratis looks so much better as coupes, don't they? Should they even bother with sedans?

    -juice
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Makes a great Buick Super! It's even got the fender 3 portholes. If it had 4 portholes, it would make a great Roadmaster.

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    LOL Bob. You won't ever let that one go, will you?

    How many ports meant a V8? :-)

    I can't believe you haven't commented on the RAV4. You're the gadget lover, what do you think about Toyota beating Subaru to market with all that stuff?

    -juice
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    What did they change? I saw a picture of it, but it looked almost the same. Are there new goodies under the skin?

    Bob
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    I'm going to have to check it out :)

    Bob
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    'bout time... Finally a 2.4L engine, standard ABS, and sharper handling. Now a much more worthy competitor for the Forester.

    http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_release.html?id- =2004rav4_r

    Bob
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Wow, quite a laundry list of improvements. Wish the Forester had standard steering wheel audio controls ;-) It'll be interesting to see how the 04 RAV4 compares pricewise.

    -Frank P.
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    juice: In the old Buick hierarchy there were four models:

    Special - small 8-cyl., short wheelbase*, 3 portholes
    Super - small 8-cyl., long wheelbase, 3 portholes
    Century - large 8-cyl., short wheelbase, 4 portholes (the "hot rod")
    Roadmaster - large 8-cyl., long wheelbase, 4 portholes

    There was also a bigger model than the Roadmaster, the Limited, that had a longer wheelbase. That was used as a limo, hearse or ambulance and went away after WWII.

    IIRC the portholes were a styling feature starting just before WWII. The Century was built for a few years prior to WWII then came back in 1954. Up until the mid-'50s there were no V8s, but a big honking straight 8. I think they may have been the last cars built with that engine configuration.

    Hopefully somebody older than I and/or with a better knowledge of Buicks can confirm or refute.

    Ed

    (*As if any Buick of the era could be considered short wheelbased!)
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Actually 4 portholes didn't show up until later. Earlier Centurys had 3 portholes. It was also positioned between the Super and Special, and not above the Super.

    Also, the name "Century" came about (late 1930s?) because it was the first Buick to hit 100 mph, because of small body & large, more powerful Roadmaster engine.

    Bob (who is older, but not necessarily wiser)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Whoa, Edmunds missed the engine upgrade entirely! I was talking about the stability control, turn signals in the mirrors, and Navigation options.

    Rear discs and standard ABS finally. Tire pressure monitor too, I guess they went ahead and did that early. VSC probably uses the same hardware.

    Should be interesting. They basically matched the CR-V and the base Forester's power.

    -juice
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Yikes! I just realized that the new RAV4 has more HP (161) than the base highlander (153). What's wrong with that picture?

    -Frank P.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I don't think they make many base Highlanders. I've check dealer stock before, and you'll see 10 times as many V6s.

    Sure enough, right now Fitz has just 2/13 2WD of the 4 cylinder variety, and 0/19 AWD.

    -juice
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/090903/D7TF3- - - - 6D00.shtml

    I've been saying this for years. That's what we bought our son when he got his license. Funny that CR didn't mention AWD as a safety reason... That's my main selling point.

    Bob
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    So is Toyota now stooping to big three tactics of offering (on paper at least) a pathetically underpowered base model just to use its better mpg ratings as a come-on in advertising (or to fudge on the coporate avg mpg)? Either way, shame on them if that's the case.

    -Frank P.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Cool Bob.

    The link in this thread worked, in other other thread it didn't?

    -juice
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,398
    Frank, I've noticed that too. Toyota has a striped down price leader just so they can advertise it. By the time you add enough content to make it decent, it's much higher than properly configured cars from other makes. I saw this when comparing a Corolla (stripped down base model) with a Jetta (well equiped base model).

    Jim
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