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Subaru Crew - Meet The Members
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Comments
Kate & Petterson 10 -- Thank you ! I couldn't have said it better!
Daytime running lights - and why I like them: Out where I live (somewhat in the sticks), there are several very heavily shaded back roads with somewhat hidden intersections. When cars (especially cars with very neutral colors - grays) travel down these roads -- they almost disappear into the background, and are VERY hard to see. Cars equipped with DRLs don't have this problem.
I agree, most of the time DRLs are not necessary, but there ARE times when they are very helpful -- and that's when you need them.
Bob
1. Brevity of speech; conciseness.
2. A shortened or condensed phrase or expression.
hehe Randy, glad to see someone was paying attention. nvy's "Hit!" comment tickedly my funny bone so I being a guy I couldn't let him bask alone in the glory of his artful mot. Voted off the island.. you are too much!
..Mike, a.k.a. Dr. Thesaurus
..Mike
I take that back, when an inconsiderate slob is hogging the left lane and won't move I sometimes flash 'em. During the day of course, at night there's never enough traffic around here to be a problem. I hate left-lane blockers but I'll pass on the right if I must! (Note: I quickly get out of the way of people going even faster than me.)
Bob, I'd turn on my headlamps on that sort of road too. Not much of a problem with heavily shaded roads here in Kansas though.
-Colin
Bob
I was worried that nvy was perhaps suffering from some sort of fungal infection, and perhaps even Subaru-related.
Now that THAT is cleared up, back to the land of the SIR-concised.
Randy
Bob
Crew, be thankful you bought a Soob!
Craig
I have yet to see anyone turn on their lights on those dark shaded roads. Unlike rain, people just don't turn on their lights when they encounter these poor visibility conditions. I'm sure that those kinds of roads have led to many an accident.
That the problem with not having DRLs. Drivers may not be aware that the vehicle they are driving is hard to see. They may see just fine - but other drivers may not see you - and you won't know that, until it's too late.
Speaking of DRLs: Why do the new Legacys and Outbacks have them, and the even-more-recently-freshened-up Forester doesn't??
Patti - what's the scoop here? Seems like Subaru is giving out mixed messages here. Will the redesigned "New-Age" Impreza have DRLs?
Bob
Ross
Definite thumbs down to:
Cruise engaged lights
Cruise engage switch
Door Locks that are pushed "up" to lock
Fake hood scoops (my own personal crusade)
Definite thumbs up to:
Blue "Hi Beam" light
Real hood scoops
Definite thumbs sideways to:
DRLs
Expanding on some comments:
I like "up" for unlock. Unlike some of you, I learned to drive on an old farm truck with manual door locks. Traditionally, you pull the lock "up" to open it and push it "down" to lock it.
DRLs would be great if you could turn them off. I have to go past a sentry to get to work. If I have DRLs on at night, it blinds the sentry. I have to partially engage the emergency brake to get past the poor guy without wiping his eyes out.
-Bryan
another good case for drl's is when driving into a rising or setting sun on straight undulating roads. On top of the rise you can see the oncoming vehicles down the rise they disappear!!
this was particularly scary in africa where you were also contending with donkeys and goats wandering onto the roads. (elephant was never a problem. you were in reverse!!)
when i was 25 adam was still playing quarterback for the jews.
I'm guessing that's one of the reasons Subaru is starting to make them standard - since they are required by law in some places.
-- ash
I believe Canadian Subarus activate all of the exterior lamps (low beam headlamps, side markers, taillamps, etc.) for DRLs. The only other few manufacturers who do this include MB, Volvo, and Saab, I believe. Audis from MY1999 onwards use the front side markers, foglamps, and taillamps.
Also, in many situations, I've seen drivers coming down the road at night with nothing but their DRLs on (Chrysler minivans with the bright orange side marker DRLs, in particular). Without the DRLs, the vehicles wouldn't have any exterior running lamps on at all!
The only problem I have had is turning the light switch one click rather than two at dusk so I am driving with dim DRL's and the running lights until I think "Dang, it sure is dark out".
These are a few things I mentioned way back when you fighting fires.. Glad to hear you and your family are OK. I don't envy you the task of getting your house rebuilt however. For those of you who have already seen and debated these thoughts, my apologies.
What I would like to see in future Subarus:
1. Dashboard 'cruise on' indicator light.
2. Ability to darken the whole dashboard except
the speedometer (like Saab).
3. One touch up for the power windows.
4. Leave power to the windows on for 10 minutes after shutting off the car.
5. Illuminate the key bezel (sp?).
6. Ability to shut off the floor air to the back
seat. Often there are just two of us in the car,
so I would rather warm up my feet than empty air.
Worse, if the dog is with us, she hates the heat
and would be much happier with icicles hanging off
her nose. A cheap little lever at the center
console would work great.
7. Allow the driver to turn off the ac that turns on automatically when defrost is selected. I know that the ac helps remove humidity, but when it is 30 below I want the air to be as warm as possible as fast as possible to melt the ice. If the ac must come on, then at least let us manually turn it off.
Not all people agree with these ideas, particularly the auto ac one. In my case, apart from all my other arguments, my wife sometimes gets migraine headaches from the ac, which means there are times she cannot even select defrost.
DRLs. In Canada, the DRLs on the new Subarus use the main low beams at reduced power and all other marker lights are off. It is a much better system than the high beams at reduced power. I am quite confident that they saved me from picking the airbag out of my teeth one day this winter when a pickup almost pulled out in front of me. He hadn't cleaned his side window properly and I very much doubt that he would have seen me without the DRLs on. FWIW, tests by Canada and Norway in the 80's showed a significant reduction in accidents when DRLs were used. I can't remember the details unfortunately.
Thanks for monitoring all this Patti!
MikeF
The rear hatch lock on my 2000 OB (13,500 miles, less that 1 yr old) recently broke...It is functional, but the little metal piece that covers the hole until you put the key in (I think it's to keep dirt and stuff out of the lock) came off. Does anyone know how long something like this is covered under the standard Subaru Warranty?
Would this be considered a wear item (covered only until 12,000 miles) or part of the New Car Basic Warranty (3 yrs/36,000 miles)?
Thanks for your help,
MCC
Craig
Drew
Chris
Randy
2. Oil slick dispenser for tailgaters
3. ejection seats, with integrated child safety seats.
4. Captains chair like the one on the Enterprise for the driver. Torpedoes optional; captain's log tied to trip computer.
5. jumping feet like on the Mach 5. Especially for Colin.
6. South African flame thrower theft deterrent.
7. hygrometer and geiger counter added to guage cluster
8. Blues Brothers Limited Outback with stereo pre-wired for large roof mounted bull horn. Half a pack of cigarettes optional, standard with cigarette lighter upgrade.
9. DRL's that flash in time to the music on the stereo, with optional DDB (Daytime Disco Ball)
Did I miss anything?
I don't like DRLs for 2 reasons....
1) They don't turn on your rear parking lights, which are extremely useful in bright sunlight so people can see you.
2) If I feel the need for lights during the day, I turn them on.
If DRLs are a must, I'd much prefer (and not mind so much) the ones like chrysler Mini-vans in Canada and other GM cars have in the US which turn on the orange parking/turn signals.
I especially don't like em because if you upgrade your bulbs, you are going to burn em out faster...
-mike
PS: The CC engage switch is so that the memory is enabled for your "resume" And CC has saved me from at least 25 tickets. I set it @ 9-11mph over the limit and just go.
They probably changed this, but a Chevy Lumina I rented had DRLs that caused a dangerous situation. The DRLs always kept the headlights AND dash lights on, and nothing else. Two days in a row, as it got dark while I was driving, I did not turn on the headlight switch (and thus the running/marker/license lights) because everything that I could see in front of me (headlights, dash lights) were on already...no cue or reminder to turn the rest of the lights on. REALLY dangerous, in my opinion, as I became "invisible" from the sides and back as it got dark!
Hope they fixed that stupid 'feature'.
Dave C.
I believe the reason why your dashlamps were on is because the Lumina might have had an auto lights on sensor (also known as Twilight Sentinel) which automatically activated all of the exterior and interior lamps when it got dark enough. So actually, that's a good feature!! AFAIK, the DRLs in GM cars don't activate the interior lamps at all.
FWIW, my ML's DRLs activate all of the interior and exterior lamps at all times once the vehicle is put into gear, so there's actually no need to even touch the light switch unless one wants to use the high beams or foglamps (at which point you need to manually turn on the headlamps first). The DRLs deactivate automatically once the transmission lever is placed into the Park position.
Mike (paisan). DRLs also often protect you from the "other guy" who doesn't turn on his lights when visibility is poor.
DaveC. Maybe your experience explains why I see a number of cars who forget to turn on their lights at night. More than once I noted the car had a digital dash so the driver was obviously not aware that he had no rear lights.
MikeF
I especially like the lights going to the time of music. Let's see, in my family we would be jumping time from Metallica to N'sync - what a strange trip it would be down the Atlantic City Expressway!
Bob - I'm not sure (I'll check) but it may have something to do with where the vehicles are produced. Since the "Legacy" lines are mostly manufactured in the U. S. (including exporting to other country's), it could be that they are just ahead of the game vs. vehicles produced in Japan. That's my guess anyway. I'll try to get the "real" answer.
Chris - you are right. DRL's will be required in the U. S. by law in 2002.
Drew - maybe you saw vehicle's with the regular/low lights on?? I know I am guilty of just leaving my lights on. For years, I have preferred being able to be seen and it's habit now. I just leave 'em on and I don't really think about it. + you can move those left lane hogs. Go flying up with the lights on and they think you are the police and move over. Kinda fun once you pass them and smile!
I posted this message a while back in your absense, so here it is again.
A couple of years ago, the TV programme "Wild
About Wheels" aired a small section of the
IMSA-certified Subaru comparison tests at Willow
Springs. From the short amount of footage that I saw, the Legacy GT/Outback did extremely well vs. the competition. The tests were informative and quite entertaining.
I was wondering if it is at all possible for you
to make this video available to us. I'm sure that at least a number of people would be interested in seeing it.
Drew
What are we going to do after patti get's all of our suggestions implemented?
-mike
paisan: Rain X works wonders on my windows. It's the rare product that does exactly as advertised. I rarely even have to use my rear wipers, and with a wind deflector there I could probably give it up entirely.
Loosh: way to go, keep 'em coming. The best part was the subtle mention of "Dave" by HAL. Think about it Patti, you could save development costs since we pretty much all have the same name!
OK, I'm exxagerating. You'd need two versions, one for "Dave" and one for "Mike".
Mike (Smith): and here I thought that was a typo. I was quiet to be polite!
Colin: that's right, nothing wrong with driving 85mph in the left lane, so long as you move out of my way so I can pass!
Bigger gas tank - good idea. 400 mile range is good, but 500 would be better. Even a tiny bit more is good.
-juice
Bob
DRLs: I know I'm in the minority, but I'm against DRLs for a simple reason: I used to own motorcycles.
Honestly, it was the ONLY thing we had to stand out. If you think people miss huge cars, imagine motorcycles. It's like people are blind! If you're drowning in a sea of DRLs, motorcycles lose their relative advantage in visibility.
OK, it will prevent car accidents, but it could increase the number of motorcycle accidents, and those are more likely to cause deaths.
-juice
DRL's - that would be for MY 2002 vehicles.
Having said that I have to disagree with you that there will be more motorcycle accidents once DRLs become law. Bikes will still be visible to motorists. True, everybody will now have lights -- so now everybody will be more visible.
Except for bicyclists -- who will now be less visible because they won't have lights. All drivers will be expecting to see vehicles with headlights, which will put bicyclists at a greater risk.
Bob
Bob
I first rode at 5 and raced dirtbikes until 14 (I guess I wised up young). I still have a YZ250 that I ride infrequently-- more often now that I found out a co-worker has 40 acres nearby and has a dirtbike track on part of it!
I ride my dad's Ninja 600 infrequently but have been secretly lusting after a friend's TL1000 since he's trying to sell it. Low miles and I can get it cheap (compared to new-- utter robbery compared to what *I* think bikes should cost).
I agree that DRLs will take away some of the advantage that motorcycles have, but the most important safety feature is the rider himself. Make yourself visible, never stay in blindspots, don't let people tailgate you (it's not that hard, twist the wrist) and don't be reckless.
Oh yeah, and I always wear a helmet, long pants and almost always long sleeves. If I rode everyday I'd own leathers.
-Colin
Stephen
Gordie, Congratulations and welcome! Please hang out and by all means, post about your experiences!
..Mike
..Mike