Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

nygreg

In many of these studies they discuss # of defects/hundred cars which is initial quality. And although that is important, I believe they should show long term reliability as well. I would prefer to purchase a car with lower initial quality scores but high long term reliability over a car with great initial quality and poor long term scores. Of course, high initial quality is usually an indication of long term reliabilityand by looking at the car history at CR you get an idea of the problem areas. Another, less mentioned criteria is cost of ownership. This is something that many of us use in our careers. Not only what is a common failure on a particular car, but what it costs to fix it, gas mileage, insurance, tire replacement, etc. What do you think?

Greg

ateixeira

I work with a few German engineers. If you tell them you'll meet them at 9am, and you're there at 9:03am, they've already called 911 thinking there must have been an emergency!

Let's try "You know your car was built in ___ if it ___."

Germany if it was inspected by Hans at exactly 9:03:15.33 AM GMT.

Japan if all tolerances fall within 0.00000003 micro meters.

Sweden if there are more air bags than the number of cylinders in the engine.

Brazil if it's light enough for two of you to lift it up.

Anyone want to add their own, or come up with their own versions?

Pat: indeed, count the posts, it tells us the day of the week. BTW 10cm isn't even 4 inches.

Greg: I think some publications try to do that, but my costs vary so much from any of those that I find the information of little use.

-juice

kens

Colin,

I think we're saying the same thing. In very general terms, the management philosophy of Japanese car manufacturers and US auto workers are not an exact fit. In order to get the best possible outcome you need to either change the management philosophy or the workers. I agree that the US workers can never become 100% "Japanese" (or vice versa) -- that's why I think the practical solution is to alter the management process.

I admit I also have the predisposition that the Gunma made Subarus are of better quality. However, I think that given time, the differences can be made negligible.

Ken

subearu

everyone will be renting "Gung-Ho" this week.

;-)

-Brian

babaoriley

In reference to the build quality issue does anyone remember the movie Gung Ho starring Michael Keaton? It deals with a US auto plant bought by a Japanese car maker. Worker philosophy, such as exercise time by the Japanese workers; management philosophy are dealt with. Not too funny, but decent subject matter and Keaton holds his own. In the end, each side learns from the other.

OT: my CD changer just stopped working. I opened it up to get my CD's out before bringing it in and it started working again, albeit noisily. Brought it in and will have it changed under warranty. They also adjusted my shift linkage (AT), starting out in 3rd caused a buzzing. All gone. Prestige Imports of Santa Rosa is a quality outfit.

-Brett

hondafriek

Then we have had way more than 10 centimeters, because there is way more than six inchs on the ground by my unscientific method of measurement.

That is, how far up my leg it is when I am shoveling the [non-permissible content removed] stuff.

Cheers Pat.

bsvoller

When I lived in Germany, there was a popular joke going around based on European stereotypes. I think it went like this:

Heavan is -

where the cooks are French,
the police are British,
the politicians Swiss,
the engineers German,
and the lovers Italian.

Hell is -

where the cooks are British,
the police are German,
the politicians Italian,
the engineers French,
and the lovers Swiss.

Or something like that.... Please take this in the spirit it's offered in...:)

kate5000

Italy: if your mechanic's name is Tony
(FIAT = Fix It Again Tony; but probably applies to Ferrari too, right?)

Yugoslavia: if all modern artists want a piece of it, to include in their weird compositions (remember, old Yugos in art deco exhibits?)

East Germany: if it does not rust and runs on a motorcycle engine (Trabant)

Russia: if it's scary to look at and even scarier to ride in (LADA=Life And Death Association)

kate5000

Funny that the same joke (heaven part) in Italy was told to me with "Cooks are French... lovers are Italians", and in France it was just the opposite "Cooks are Italians ... lovers are French". But the "hell" part of the joke stayed the same, regardless of the country...

fibber2

Ross, where should I send the checks? Do you take credit cards? Insurance? Will you take me on as a patient, as I swear it was snowing here in NY also. Do you do phone counseling?

Pat, repeat after me: 2.54cm = 1 inch, 10cm = 3.937 inches, 2.54cm = 1 inch, 10cm = 3.937 inches. Good boy, now write it down.... ;-)

Steve

rbleland

You think you have trouble dealing with disgruntled Vancouverites(who can't drive in the snow anyway); hell, I have to drive to YVR from Kelowna this coming Thurs. There is only 2 possible conditions for the Coquihalla - either it will be buried under a foot of snow with six zillion SUVs in the ditch, or it will be filthy dirty with six zillion tons of "Texas pea gravel" that the Hiways Dept. thinks is sand. Texas pea gravel is very bad for windshields and front end paint. Jeez, I think I'll need some conselling too!

Rick

armac13

They got to me. I actually started seeing the snow too. I'm lost, can't help anyone else now. I live about 4 km from YVR. I hope it's snow rather than gravel for you - lots more fun. Just stay well back and all will be OK. You're getting the break in period over in a hurry I see.
:-)

Ross (typing with his nose, arms in straight-jacket)

lilbluewgn02

In today's NY Times, they have this intersting article about the newest "luxo-wagons".

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/business/19WAGO.html

hondafriek

Thanks for the Math lesson guys, never really tried to use the metric system to set in my ways I guess.

cheers Pat.

armac13

was officially 5 cm. (2 inches), the latest in the year we have ever received that much.

Ross

jimmyp1

Why do a few of the categories have today's date next to them when the most recent post was a few days ago? Just wondering.

Jim

nygreg

in yesterday's USA Today about how the quality of MB has slipped according to a recent study. They specifically pointed to the SUV and C-Class and how they relate that to being the first MB built outside of Germany (i.e. in the US). Main complaints are dash and wind noises. Fits nicely into our recent discussion. Lexus and Infinity are at the top. Suprisingly, Cadillac had a good showing - topping MB.

Greg

Karen_S

Uhhhh....that would be my fault. If you notice, there is new line under the discussion title, "What's this discussion about?" I've been fiddling with it. We can only make three choices for categories, so trying to include ALL Subaru models in the list is not possible. Every time I change something, the software recognizes that there is something new with the discussion and changes the date.

Soooo....ignore that woman behind the curtain!

My apologies for any confusion.

KarenS
Host
Owners Clubs

lucien2

...what HDTV flat screen should I get?

lilbluewgn02

IMHO, SONY...more expensive, but they last forever...personal experience

locke2c

I like Panasonic. Excellent picture in all respects, reasonable price. Can't remember the model # offhand, but there's a 16:9 aspect HDTV that Best Buy and Circuit City carry for around $1500-1700. Unless your budget is much higher than that?

Toshiba and Pioneer are also on my list. Look at the features closely-- usually if there's a big price difference, there's a big feature difference.

Anyway, get in the stores and see if your eyes agree with mine.

-Colin

sibbald

TAKE THE BUS!!!

I just did the Vic. to Kamloops return trip last week and received 3 new chips on the front end and two on the windshield. IMHO, the idiots who order large rocks to be spread on the highways must own major shares in glass companies. I find that the biggest problem is not following someone but the a--h--- who passes you at many clicks over the speed limit and fires the rocks out sideways.

I now have to warn my wife because, just as the car passes me, I will pull to the right and hit the brakes. The first couple of times I pulled this little stunt, my wife thought she was a goner.

Good luck, and remember
TAKE THE BUS!!!

Tom

rbleland

Thanks for the advise but I can't take the G-Dog because I have to take a bunch of stuff down and am bringing people back!! So, maybe I'll resort to your tactic and do a panic right-heel to the shoulder. Maybe I should go throw a few rocks at it now so it won't feel so bad when it happens on the road. The first is always the worst!!
Rick

blane

lucien2:

After much exhaustive research and shopping, and as a CR junkie, I recently purchased a Panasonic Tau series CT-36HX41 HDTV-ready flat screen. I'm extremely happy with it. Just don't plan on lifting one that size by yourself.

If you are shopping (for any brand) get Internet pricing from a site such as www.pricegrabber.com and have a local store beat the price. I saved about $460 off of Sears' marked price. My local Best Buy, Circuit City, WIZ, etc. would only match locally advertised prices.

fibber2

and isn't this the first day of Spring???

Steve

locke2c

close-- I believe the seasons change on the 21st. march, june, september and december.

-Colin

armac13

Nope, the date varies. This is the vernal equinox. Vancouver got another 2 cm. overnight. Really weird.

Ross

ateixeira

Gung Ho - good movie, and very much on topic. Nice catch.

Loosh: if you have the space and $$$, consider an LCD projector. They are about $4 grand, but if you want a home theatre there is no substitute. My setup is 91" diagonal. Try to find an HDTV half that big.

Then again, does size really matter? ;-)

I have it hooked up to a VCR, which acts as a receiver for TV and cable, plus a DVD player. All that is connected to my stereo for surround sound. It's like being in the theatre. Actually, not "like", it IS a theatre. The catch is you need space and a dark room (basements are ideal).

Ask the Morans, they've seen it. Did I show you, Bob? Or if you want to come by and check it out, e-mail me. Back on topic - I have the WRX and Forester reviews from Motorweek if you want to watch those. :-)

Ideal car? Japanese quality. German engineering. American prices and rebates. Italian styling. Korean warranty. Swiss...clock? Brazilian morena in the passenger seat (KIDDING!).

Every country offers something.

-juice

nygreg

CNN did a piece on the latest offset crash test results. They showed the Impreza which did exceptionally well and a Dodge pickup which improved over its earlier design. There appeared to be no cabin intrusion and no buckling of the doors or roof with the Impreza. I was impressed. They stated that a couple of the small cars did very well overall. They will continue covering other cars that were tested over the next few days. Patti hinted on this last week. Way to go Subaru!

Greg

lilbluewgn02

http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0126.htm

ateixeira

All I can say is WOW! That is fantastic, all Good scores, even when broken down, and a best pick overall.

Safer than a Volvo S40! This bodes well for the next Forester, which was already good, and will likely only get better.

-juice

rsholland

and hopefully it will offset the negative press from the recent bumper tests.

Bob

kens

Great results! These results mean more to me than the repair cost for a bumper.

Did anyone click on the link to compare photos between the Impreza (best) and Kia Sephia (worst)? You can see a dramatic difference in the passenger cage structural integrity:

http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0126.htm#5

Ken

rsholland

<< These results mean more to me than the repair cost for a bumper. >>

I agree, but it would have been nice to ace both tests.

Bob

kens

True, true. Well, it's probably a heck of a lot easier for Subaru to improve the Impreza bumper than to redo the entire monoframe. Maybe we can expect some improvements in the bumper in the future?

Ken

ateixeira

I think one manufacturer actually negotiated a better price with their bumper supplier to make their scores better, because it's all about replacement costs.

I say let the insurers worry about it. Or, if it's coming out of your pocket, go to a wholesaler and knock 20% of the parts prices right there.

-juice

locke2c

i'm not sure about improving the bumper.

I think the weakness there is that front the wheel arch forward there's very little structure behind the plastic. a plastic inner fender / splashguard, and thin mounting hardware at the top.

that's it... so it gets pretty squished in a frontal collision, even a slow one. see that part in the top right photo you linked to that's sticking straight out (towards the camera) in front of the tire? that's what I'm referring to.

-Colin

brekke

What improvements were made after 9/01?

bluesubie

I wonder if this will be on Dateline this week?

Caroline - it's probably just the manufacture date of the car they tested and doesn't necessarily mean newer cars are improved IMO.

-Dennis

hondafriek

Panasonic or Toshiba, both excellent,

Well guys picked the new pup up last night, he seems to be settling in well, he is very quiet and laid back, so, so far it bodes well for an easy training period.

BTW. so far today about 15 centimeters of wet snow, they are forecasting 25 to 30 before it is all over tomorrow.

Cheers Pat.

ateixeira

Make sure to house train him properly right from the start. Get him outside several times per day.

What am I saying? Teaching a Subaru owner about dogs is like preaching to the choir!

Congrats, I'm sure it's a wonderful day for you.

-juice

hondafriek

It is It is, for sure, actually believe or not he wimpers to go out, breeder says he has been doing that since last week.

Cheers Pat.

ateixeira

Wow, excellent temperament. He should be really easy to train. Spend as much time with him as you can during these first few days.

-juice

hondafriek

Thats our intention Juice, this will be quality time.

Cheers Pat.

lilbluewgn02

Congratulations on the new child! Please post some pics when you have them..

ateixeira

We've seen some but I'm sure he's a lot bigger now. They grow quick as young pups.

-juice

hondafriek

you can be sure there will be plenty of photos for the first while.

Cheers Pat.



Here is a first one not very good Mac is on the left beside the shoe.

Pat.

hondafriek

Thats the same photo juice have no new ones yet.

Cheers Pat.

locke2c

speaking of photos, I know there are some former Photopoint / Pantellic subscribers here (myself included)...

here's an interview by c/net news with Pantellic's "ceo" (read: only employee)

http://news.com.com/2008-1082-864900.html

the part where he's describing why they couldn't let users know that the end was near infuriates me. put a hard cap on the bandwidth and if some don't get their data, that's a whole lot better than NONE. what an [non-permissible content removed]. (pardon my french, Karen.)

-Colin

subaru_team

What a sweet puppy! Ah, for the days when they where young. We have taught our "old" dog a new trick. She won't do it for any other song, but sing "Happy Birthday" and she sings along. I think something about the "Frosty Paws" iced treat has something to do with it!

Congratulations Pat and Mac!!

Patti