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Comments
When a special topic "Escape vs Forester" is established, I'll be posting comments there...
I bought a 2000 GT Ltd with an auto so that my wife can drive it. Some people complain about the gated shifter as looking lame. I think what they have to realize is that the gated shifter is a safety feature so that you don't accidentally shift into the wrong gear for those of us who do shift autos (I being one of them). It isn't to look cool. Even the column shifter of my 2000 Odyssey minivan is gated to prevent popping it into the wrong gear. The gating is for function and not looks. Believe me, it doesn't sound good when you accidentally shift into R from one of the Ds. It will set you back at least $2000 when you show up at AAMCO. Fortunately, most automatic transmissions are electronically controlled to prevent some disasters. I've switched from 3rd into 1st in my 96 Blazer, but the electronics dropped me into 2nd for a brief second before it was safe enough to drop into 1st. Whew! I was going for 2nd for a downhill stretch. This won't happen with the gated shifter!
post. There were some good points made. It's
just frustrating when you do all this research
and pay a lot of money and not get what you
expected. Besides the lower mileage, I've had
problems with steering wheel alignment and
excessive wind noise from the driver's window
(the dealer attempted to fix both but no luck
yet), some "glue" on the panels and door handles
wasn't applied very well, and my insurance costs
have gone up a lot (I knew this beforehand and
I have shopped around - I just don't understand
why it's so high for a Forester in this area).
The Forester is a good vehicle and it's great to
have a forum such as this for support - I just
wish the above issues hadn't surfaced so early
after purchase to detract from my "new vehicle"
enjoyment.
I will try a couple weeks of driving a little
slower and see how that changes the mileage.
Eventually, I'll get over these things and
enjoy all the advantages of AWD during the
skiing season. Maybe I should change my name
to Dave and get a couple dogs?
Kate, I hope your MPG improves over time.
Ken, did you see those Aztecs at the Mountain
View Art&Wine Festival? I was there too and
my girlfriend kept trying to get me to enter
the contest they had going on (a trip somewhere)
but I didn't want to get too close to those
beastly vehicles! ;-)
EdmundsLive, how do they handle the registration
times? That is, do they group all the people
together with the same time range and swap the
groups in and out during the day. Or do people
just show up whenever and stay as long as they
like?
Thanks.
The M-class (which has 2.5 mph bumpers) still beats the X5 overall, which only did well in the rear bumper test.
I sure did see those Aztecs in Mountain View. Never knew you could contort plastic so much...
Ken
But if you regularly do long-distance driving out in West or South Texas or the Panhandle, then, if you have a 5-speed, you can get it up into 5th and quite possibly not have to shift again for hours.
I know you've posted several times regarding your MPG and you may have already answered this, but.. have you checked your tire pressure. My 99-S auto has consistently gotten 26-28 mpg.
Ed. Live lets you enter according to your reserved time .. but you can stay as long as you like. As the day goes on, the lines to drive cars get longer as you might expect. Go early. Juice & I got there at 9:00 and you could walk right up to any vehicle and drive away! Within 30 min's that was no longer the case. By noon, the lines were getting pretty long for the more interesting cars.
-hutch
Personally on these boats, there wouldn't be much point in having a stick. It's not something I would stick on big Cadillacs, or those cars from the late 70s and 80s. What's the point?
Stick is undoubtly still around for two reasons:
1) for those people who actually drive a car that is performance oriented and can handle
2) and for cars which are cheap, because it lowers the cost of manufacture and improves gas mileage (this being the prime reason why they are so popular in europe and elsewhere in the world)
Sure glad my OB is a 5-speed. I'd fall asleep if it was an auto...
The trip back to Tucson was a smooth and pleasant ride. Unfortunately I lost my temporary license plate somewhere along I-10
I am really happy with this car and I think as I get to know her I will be even more enamored!
I am going away for the weekend and I'll post some updates about the trip and the ride....
To steal a line from Graham: Cheers!
Chris (Go Coyotes - Hockey season is back!!!!!)
I'm back from Rangoon. Had a great time .. got 401.27814 mpg average on the trip (thanks to the new Neutron Exploder 2000 which arrived from DSubaru just in time for the trip). Drove the Soob right through the local quicksand pits .. no problem. The bouyancy belt works exactly as designed. While I was in the "pits", I ran accross a few fellas from the local U.S. Army base that had gotten their Hummers stuck. Subaru to the rescue. (I should have the photos on the website by tomorrow). It seemed wimpy to pull them out one at a time .. so I chained them all together, like railroad cars, and pulled them all out together. The Soob barely broke a sweat. The recently installed .2874 inch teflon muffler bearings and knibler pins really do make a difference.
The new larger tires may have played some part in the improved traction however they are now part of a new mystery. Upon return, I checked the rotation counter on each wheel and noticed that the right front tire had turned 128,421 revolution during the trip but the other three tires indicated a count of 128,420. I have no explanation for the variance.
Well, it's good to be back. I've listened to enough Barney audio tapes to last a lifetime.
- Jukes
Craig
The muffler bearings probably helped, the teflon coating allows the sound to roll right off, therefore reducing back pressure. Your probably getting an extra two or three hp because of that. Are you ordering any STD performance parts from Marlene at DSubaru soon? What's the URL again I seem to have misplaced it?
axterio: LOL! I enjoyed the reference to D/QSubaru, and pulling out all the Hummers, chained together.
..Mike
-Frank P.
I bid $1.20 and then $1.50 for 50 gals of regular (87) gas (entered a LOT of gas stations to choose from), and both offers were rejected. Then priceline.com kicked me out, saying to come back no earlier than in 24h.
Anyone has a better luck using priceline for gas in the SF Bay Area? Anyone can recommend a "best kept secret" station where price is consistently lower than average? Then of course it won't be a secret anymore ;-)
Chris-Nice choice of color (same as mine), although living in the SF Bay Area, I have an auto. Does your '01 have pockets on the back of the front seats?
Kate-If you're ever in Petaluma, there's a Shell & Chevron right off the freeway @ North Petaluma Blvd that are usually $.10 cheaper per gallon. I think they are in a price war against each other.
Brett
-mike
Ok, I'm in DC, not SF, but I too was intrigued by this. Priceline has an excellent business model -- the consumer pays in advance for an undelivered product and priceline gets the float. Hat's off to capitalism!
Like Drew, I also buy fuel at Costco (though for me Costco is 15 mins away, so an empty tank is an excuse to shop for massive quantities of stuff I probably don't need -- they've got me pegged). A few weeks ago, Costco's gas was $1.479/gallon (still is, actually), on a whim I tried $1.40/g at priceline.com and got it. I also entered a lot of stations, most nearby or along the routes that I or my wife usually drive. The 7 cent savings isn't that much, but the station (Sunoco) is 5 mins away, not the 15 to Costco. If one considers that fuel in Montgomery County, MD (higher fuel tax than VA or other MD counties) is $1.569 at nearby stations, a 17 cent difference is more interesting.
I tried it primarily because I'm an early adopter and wanted to have the Big Brother experience -- oops, posting again in the wrong thread. I bought 10 gallons because I wasn't sure what octane blend Sunoco would proffer (turns out it's 87 so I'm ok). I thought my Civic was more empty than it was: I only squeezed in 8 gallons! (it holds a whopping 11.8)
Regarding the "best kept secret", priceline.com listed two Sunoco stations as "Best Chance" so I included them; one of them was the only station that accepted my bid.
Since priceline accepted my bid, I've been locked in and can't bid lower (maybe this is because I've got 2 gallons remaining in my account). I'll probably request a 2nd account for my wife and try to bid lower that way.
Good luck!
..Mike
..Mike
I expect pictures of the A-Pillar mounted homemade snorkus for amphibious assault on the website right away!!
-Frank P.
-Frank P.
It locked the rear tires but did nothing unusual after he shifted back into drive. Those GM TH400s are really tough.
-Colin
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/suv/
(posted by "Ladyblue" in the "I don't like SUVs" topic)
_Frank P.
-mike
-Frank P.
Edmunds says that you can arrive at any time during the day. The time slot you reserved is supposed to gurantee your driving. The rest of the time you are just waiting for an open slot. When I went it was late in the day, and nobody questioned the times at all. They have some interesting chat groups going during the day.
Enjoy.
Mark
..Mike
(don't bogart that joint, pass it!)
C.R said that the CR-V was a "Clever all-wheel-drive SUV concept, but flawed execution", but that the Forester was "an all-wheel-drive SUV that's an excellent all-around performer".
The only "low" that the Forester had was "spongy brake-pedal feel", but they did comment that the brakes worked well overall. I think that most of us know by now that this is caused by the two stage brake booster.
The CR-V's lows includes "handling, noise, driving position, awkward rear gate".
Drew
If that wasn't enough, and I think it would be, you could add the stainless braided brake lines for another $115. You could also use them as a lower cost solution-- I have them and they do firm up the pedal a bit.
-Colin
If you're interested in more, have a look here: Ward's 10 best engines awards.
I wonder if Subaru's new H6 will be an award winner for 2001. The DCX V6 has been on the list since it made its debut in 1997.
Drew
BTW, anybody want to trade for Yashin :-)
MikeF
I'm not offering any suggestions!
Bob
Personally, I don't.
CR knows how to test appliances, maybe even driving appliances, and their reliability information is useful, but they don't have a clue when it comes to assessing the driving experience, especially for vehicles aimed at enthusiasts.
I think it's a slippery slope if we use CR's endorsements selectively.
Just my $.02 (and Canadian cents at that)
Randy
My 2 cents Canadian too :-)
Drew
Ross
If you look at the review in the March issue that generated that 3rd place position for the Outback Limited in the Wagons department, you'll inderstand why. They found the car to be well conceived, but.... "normally competent handling can become tricky at the limit; acceleration is a bit poky [whatever that means]; fuel economy is unimpressive; and adding a few desirable options pushes the price quite high".
I'm as big a Subaru fan as anyone else reading this board, but sometimes you have to concede to the truth. Everything I've read, heard and experienced points to those things being true, and maybe the Passat is a better wagon for those reasons, but I'd bet on the Subaru's reliability and costs to maintain over the first 100,000 miles or so. And comparing a $28,000 Subaru to an $18,000 Ford Focus is plain silly. I doubt that a potential buyer of either of these cars will have the other on his list of alternatives. Had CR used an "L" Wagon, at least the price and handling issues would have been far less significant.
BTW, the revised Subaru credit card program has a maximum of $500/year compared to the current $700 per year (along with the change from 5% to 3%).
Bob