Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

paisan

Did you see my formula I posted recently? Curious if that is a fair formula to use when car shoping from your perspecetive.

-mike

ateixeira

Maybe Bob and I can drop by Fitz on the way home today to check out that yellow and (fingers crossed) a Baja.

-juice

kens

Sorry I missed the chat last night. Any interesting topics come up?

Ken

bluesubie

Join IMBA and pay invoice cost. ;-)

-Dennis

lark6

paisan

They still make the dealer holdback...

-mike

mrk610

Hope you feel better . I can join the bad back band wagon .I have 2 herniated disc's in my lower back .I could have had surgery but at my age I didn't want to have them fused together. I have a real problem when I sneeze . I can only sneeze sitting down or standing straight up . I have had some weird looks from other people trying to sit or stand quickly when I have to sneeze .

Mike k

hgutstein

Hang in there, the epidurals should help but you may need several.... I used to do them for a living (give, not receive..) Once things settle down you may "pop" again but shouldn't explode!

Howard

subaru_team

pretty funny with the explode. My husband says that if I sneezed "right" it wouldn't have happened. I'm a stifler (sp). Next time, I'll try making sure I'm sitting when one creeps up on me!

Patti

ateixeira

Boards are slow - you can tell I took Friday off. ;-)

Ken: the chat was all over the place, as usual. Not that that's bad.

My back feels about 90% better. Etodolan works. It's the only thing I'm still taking.

Bob and I saw the new monotone Outback, it was kind of hard to get used to. Looked like a butch GT with mud flaps, sort of. The color combo only is offered on H6 models, though, and I kind of wish the wheels were monotone to match.

We also saw the new silver of the base models. I actually thought it was white until we got up close, it is so light and reflective.

No Baja or yellow rex at the two dealers we checked out. While I'm at it, no turbo Foresters yet either. ;-)

-juice

bluesubie

I picked it up late Saturday afternoon and put 250 miles on it.
Options: cross bar, cargo tray, bumper cover, cargo net air filtration, armrest extender upgraded sound and alarm.
Purchased at Flemington Subaru in NJ and it was the easiest buying experience I've ever had. Everything was done via phone and fax so it was very quick when I picked up the car.

My first little complaint is that the flat cross bar is too low to the roof. I have a pad and straps that I use to carry my surfboard, and the front pad nearly touches the roof. It's fastened with a velcro strap the rubs the roof when I attach it. I may end up getting the round bars.

I LOVE this car!

-Dennis

hypov

I mean bluesubie ;-)

So, when are you going to bring it out to show it off at the NASA-X Dennis?

-Dave

edit: 750 miles to go

rsholland

This silver is actually the same silver (same name) as is used on the new Baja, for both the cladding and monotone Bajas.

Bob

bluesubie

Hopefully one day in September. Think I'll just spectate though. ;-)

-Dennis

nygreg

Went on a bike ride yesterday with my daughter and some friends. It was the "Tour de Putnam" held every year at this time. You can ride 15, 30, 60 or 100 miles. Anyway, there were a ton of Subaru's. Lots of Outbacks and Foresters. Almost all of the support vehicles were Subarus. Really neat. I was pointing them out all day to my daughter (read - Brainwash). Of course my clean OB looked great with the bike rack and bikes hanging off the end and she felt right at home.

BTW, I tweaked my back Saturday. But since I promised my daughter I would ride with her I went anyway. It worked out since there was a Chiropractor giving free adjustments after the ride. Need to stay away from these boards if I want my back to stay healthy!

Greg

lilbluewgn02

Congrats on the new addition..good choice of the wagon...get lots of washing/waxing stuff ready!
Pics please!
Serge

p0926

Congrats Dennis, I'm green (or would that be black?) with envy!!

-Frank P.

subearu

I (finally) saw a black WRX sedan this weekend. Up until then, I had only seen blue and silver ones in the area.

What are we doing chatting about him? He's probably out thrashing through the twisties at +3k rpm!

-Brian

ateixeira

Holy cow, Dennis, that caught me by surprise! Did you trade in your OBS? Congrats, man!

Dennis? DENNIS? Oh man, we lost another one to WRX Fever. Drop in to say hi once a year or so, OK?

Bob: can't wait to see a silver Baja, then. We still on for meeting at Fitz when they get one in?

-juice

rsholland

Either Fitz/Gathersburg or Herb Gordon in Silver Spring.

Bob

lucien2

recently had his 2000 Passat T-boned. Looks like the frame is bent, and he is worried it won't ever be the same after they "straighten" it. Plus he is a drummer and I think he underestimated hoew much of a pain it is to get his stuff into and out of that car. NEWays, he is thinking of trading it off once he gets the thing back from the shop, in favor of a wagon-type car.

He already has said he isn't sure he is a "subaru-type guy." That means he likes performance, but also wants a lot of style too. So I don't know if I can talk him into a WRX. We're going to look at a Protege5 tonight though. It really looks great, and has gotten good press for its sport suspension. 130hp, though.....

We'll see if I can drag him to a Soob dealer or not.

ateixeira

Can he afford a WRX?

My wife was far from a Subie person until she drove a Legacy ... and bought it immediately.

At least he's got LOTS of options now - Jetta wagon, Matrix, Vibe, Protoge5, Aerio SX, PT Cruiser, Focus SVT 5 door or ZTW, and of course the various Imprezas.

-juice

bluesubie

Hee-hee. The lease ended on my OBS. I'm still waiting for my Bank to pick it up and in the meantime, I have two Imprezas (plus the OB Ltd) in the driveway.

I had been planning it for a while, but kept it on the "down low" until I got it.

-Dennis

ateixeira

Take a pic, what a beautiful driveway that must be!

-juice

PS Since we're all injuring ourselves lately, can we call you Black-and-Blue Subie? ;-)

bluesubie

LOL! That's a good one.

That's ironic though. On my i-club post (Tri-State), I said maybe I'll use blueblacksubie since the color is called Blue Black Mica in the UK.

-Dennis

subaru_team

Congratulations! I'm very happy for you and Frances. Post a photo, please!

Patti

nygreg

I'm black with envy.

Greg

lucien2

He is even thinking 2003 Passat Wagon. He won't go for the Suzuki- too cheap, especially on the inside. I also think the Vibe ad campaign has been a little to Generation Y so he'll prolly skip that too. He's more image conscious than I am generally. I'll take hp over moonroofs, he'll likely do the opposite. His rental is a Focus so I'm afraid he isn't too into that right now either. I tell him it is a slushbox with the smaller engine, but I suppose he negatively associates it with the wreck.

Personally, a ZX5 SVT would rock.....

fibber2

Greeting from Tokyo! I stayed the first night in Shinjuku to be closer to the action and one of my "Japanese daughters", but a day later had to move to the outskirts of the city (Tachigawa) to be closer to work. While Ken had suggested a visit to Subaru Headquarters, I would never have expected them to be open on a Sunday evening. But as Yukiko explained to me, Japanese 'salary men' (office workers) cannot get away during the week to buy cars, so Saturday & Sunday are very important selling days.

So there I was, in front of busy Shinjuku station, looking across the square at "Mecca".

Japanese Haiku (short poem):

I looked and there was Subaru
It shown like a beacon calling to me
How could I not go?

OK, close enough. Maybe someone can ammend it to the required 17 syllables.... I asked Yuki to watch my bags, and I did a mad dash via underground passage across the traffic circle. The doors were open and I entered into what was little more than a kiosk. Desk with helpful young lady who spoke English, one car (a B4 Legacy wagon), safety display, engine display, two computer 'build your own' terminals, and a wall of literature. I told her that I owned a '02 OBW (Lancaster), and she literally jumped and clapped with joy. She helped me load up with 10 lbs of paper, plus some video tapes she got from the back, and I was off happy as a clam! I took some pictures, and ran back to catch my train.

Steve

subearu

To see a B4 in the flesh, envious am I.

:-)

-Brian

miksmi

Steve, Too cool!

..Mike

fibber2

Yuki, my tour guide, is a civil engineer, but due to the economic downturn, now works as a researcher for an investment banking firm. She asked me what we drove now, as when she visited the USA in '99 we still had a Dodge G Caravan and a Toyota Corolla wagon. I told her that mom now drove a Honda LeGreat (Odyssey), and I had a Subaru Legacy Lancaster (OBW). She was particularly impressed by the Subi, telling me that my car was maybe the most famous wagon of Japan. I asked her to elaborate and she did:

Seems wagons fell out of favor in Japan much as they did in the USA. Lots of SUV's in Tokyo, along with mini-mini vans. But when most mfgrs scaled back their wagon offerings, Subaru held fast. Eventually, it became the 'cool' wagon to own. You see a ton of Legacy wagons on the city streets. Honda also has a good showing with a new offering (Accord based??) that looks like the long sloping rear of the old Audi 5000 wagon. And an amazing number of surviving Corolla (Sprinter) wagon like my old one ('93-'96 vintage). But anyhow, in her opinion, Subaru helped to save the body style many of us know and love.

Steve

bluesubie

Steve - sounds fun! There are even Japanese performance wagon magazines. :-)

-Dennis

ateixeira

Loosh: if that's his type, he won't pick a Soob. The WRX doesn't have a moonroof or leather, and its looks are still controversial.

Maybe he'll be into the space pod look of the Matrix XRS, but hurry 'cause I heard a rumor that Toyota will stop building the 180hp models.

Show him a Bean Outback, though. Wood, leather, two moonroofs, he might be into those luxuries.

Steve: cool story, and you all know I'm a fan of wagons.

-juice

lucien2

the Pro5 last night. Down on power vs. Passat and obviously Legacy/Impreza TS, but has more of the "Stuff" he wants in a car over the Impreza, as predicted. Plus it really did handle well. AWD not a priority for him. Ah well, you can't be all things to all people.

"When you get it, you get it," right? :-))

ateixeira

I sampled a P5 myself, when I went to buy a new gas cap for my Miata ($28, gasp!).

They're nice. Not enough power to feel any torque steer, so in a way it's about the ideal amount of torque for FWD. Any more and it you would hear loud complaints, like you do for the MazdaSpeed edition, which needs AWD badly.

Did he buy it yet? He really ought to drive an Outback Sport. It's about the same price but you get more power and AWD basically for free. I felt handling was actually similar, but the ride was a lot more compliant.

SoA has to bring a moonroof option over, and I'd like to see it a la carte.

If he wants to see my moonroof, come by with him. ASC makes great ones - they are even an OE supplier. A TS with an ASC roof would be a solid value. Then find a 6CD take-off from a WRX and pay about $250 for that. Tell him that the Subaru community can help out with things like that, so he ends up with more "stuff" for less money, plus AWD to boot.

-juice

bat1161

Congrats Dennis on the new ride!

Mark

nygreg

Good to hear you are having a nice time. I'm in Brian's camp - Give me a B4 (in blue or red please). I would have loved to see that car. Did you get a chance to check the engine bay out?

B4, AWP, moonroof, 6 speed, good sounding stereo and I am in heaven.

Greg

subearu

I'd even punish myself with a black colored B4!

I too will cross-shop in '04/'05 if the Legacy doesn't get needed attention from SOA by then. ;-)

-Brian

ateixeira

Save your own sanity and ask for a grey one. Subaru has several nice colors that would hide dirt well (golds, silvers, silver/greens).

We're having a drought in MD so I have not washed the cars in a while. Sandy looks filthy, but Lucky looks about average. The dark colors show the dirt so much more.

-juice

subearu

like to see a metallic grey/charcoal color. But, first things first - bring over those B4's!

IMO, it'd be WAY worth the OCD pain for one of those B4's in any form (H6, TT H4, or TT H6).

-Brian

ateixeira

Well, the new silver on the Outback and Baja is very, very light, so they definitely left room for it in the lineup.

I like the slate color on the bottom half of Foresters. It's still not too dark, to appease the OCD side of me.

-juice

lucien2

He's nowhere near making a decision. First the Passat has to come back from the shop. If it runs like new, I don't think it is fiscally a good idea really to ditch it. Either way, that's still a month away.

ateixeira

Well, at least Passats have great resale. I think that study that came out recently had it on top. Subaru did extremely well also.

-juice

fibber2

I was expecting some commentary (good or bad), or even some alternate offerings!!!

And oops, I goofed: Sorry if I got you folks all worked up, but I began thinking about the car I saw at Subi Headquarters, and whether the memory of it really fit the description of a B4. Well, I checked the photos I took there, and sure enough, I screwed up. The real answer was Legacy B Sport, not B4. A nice variant, but nothing special.

Greg: You (and Lyn) are welcome to review my brochures over lunch one day when I get back, so long as you promise not to drool on them!

Steve

ateixeira

You broke the rules about the number of syllables (5-7-5), though. So I didn't think it qualified. ;-)

Lemme try one:

Gimme a Blitzen
Twin turbos and a six speed
Subaru Heaven

Please mail those brochurs to...

-juice

fibber2

I said in my original post that it needed work to fit the syllable count. :-) Lots of cool cars on the road. Tomorrow night I leave for Osaka by Shinkansen (bullet train) to visit another former exchange student and her family.

It is almost 11pm here, and time for bed....

Steve

ateixeira

Fair enough, then I'll tell you that I was waiting to see the results of that work. :-)

But never mind, enjoy the sites, sounds like a totally cool place to visit.

-juice

kens

Steve,

Did you have a chance to swing by the Subaru building yet?

I hope you get one of those cool and new Shinkansen! Sit on the right side of the train heading toward Osaka to get a view of Mt. Fuji.

Ken

brekke

I was looking through some old advertising books and Subaru commercials won awards in the late 70s & early 80s. The tagline was "Inexpensive. And built to stay that way." One commercial used 3 Subaru executives as human pylons, one had a cameraman attached to the roof of a Subaru as it followed a mountain goat over all types of terrain, and one asked "Ever wonder how the US Ski team gets to the top of the mountain?"

Makes the current ads look even more lame.