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Comments
Amazon lists a Haynes through 1998; haven't seen 3G manuals. This book looks like a good read: Backtracking : By Foot, Canoe, and Subaru Along the Lewis and Clark Trail by Benjamin Long. Sorry, couldn't get the link to Amazon working.
Anyone remember the workaround for URLs longer than 100 characters? I'd use the search function but, oh, there isn't one.
..Mike
..Mike
..Mike
..Mike
well it's been about a week since I've put it up for sale -- about half a dozen people have come by to take a look. I've had 3 offers (slightly low), but I'm convinced that I can get what I'm asking .. so another 2 weeks or so.
Anyway .. what seems to sell it, is not the car, as much as what I tell them. Many of them have already driven a new OB at a subaru dealer, so they know how it drives. But it appears they aren't being given the enthusiast speel --- like boxer engine characteristics, fuel mileage, the 7.5" of ground clearance, the plastic covering the underneath of the car, or even how much fun it is in a snow-covered parking lot
I'm actually surprised at how many of them get really enthusiastic about the car once they start hearing about the cool unique subaru engineering put into it
selling it used is turning out to be easier than i thought it would be
bit
Hmm, wonder if the message center isn't working? I wonder. So I come here and it is a bit quiet but there are ~15 new messages here and in Future Models.
Anyone else notice this?
-Colin
autocrossin' fool
bit
Colin, me too. Did well in the auto-cross this weekend, eh?
..Mike
..Mike
Someone totally new to the sport-- nice guy who recently bought his first toy, a 1990 Miata-- was riding with me and I had him whiteknucklin' it with some wilder-than-intended oversteer.
-Colin
I just bought a '95 Legacy L AWD sedan w/75K miles about three weeks ago. Now that I've gotten over how much better it is than the '90 Escort wagon it replaced, I have a couple of questions I hope more experienced owners might be able to help with. first, I am getting only about 20MPG after first 3 fillups in about 1/3 highway, 2/3 city/stop and go. The original EPA estimates were about 24city/28highway. Is this usual or are there things to do. Second, during highway driving I see that for the 1st 5 minutes or so, I see about 3200RPM @ 70MPH, which then drops to 2800 thereafter. Is this what the final drive should be? I couldn't find anything in the owners manual and haven't had a chance to get ahold of fancier manual. Which is better, Chiltons or Haynes? Thanks for any response and I'm glad to be back to Subaru after about 10 years.
Cheers Pat.
Brake noise - occasional break noise particularly when it has been damp (almost all winter west of Boston). Dealer blames the noise on the high moisture content with high metallic content of Subaru break pads. After reading about several other people with the same thing, I stopped worrying.
Gas Milage - At first (first 3K mi), I didn't get any better than 16-22, then all of a sudden jumped to 23-26, and has been consistent there. Looking forward to summer mixture to see if I can get closer to 28 on hiway trips to the Cape.
Only other issue was a missing screw for the center console (under the storage bin lid). Replaced by the dealer at 3K checkup.
The car has definitely improved after break in, and I really love the handling after driving a Pathfinder for 3 years before this. The longer I have it, the better I feel about this purchase. I can't say this about any other car purchase I can remember (and there have been a few).
Now if I can only convince my wife to trade her Camry for a WRX!
Loved the "real car" comment, LOL! My neighbor has one and I like them. His is yellow and is the sooooo cute! I mean that in a nice way!
Wonder if they'll pull that commercial now that he bailed.
SCOA covered bridge tour sounds fun. I am going to probably go the night before, and find out what else the family can do in the area. I'll post my findings and hopefully some of you can join.
Spencer: I imagine a dealer will sell you rub strips. Not sure if the mud flaps will fit, but you can get basic ones at any auto shop (for rallying, for example).
Pat: ouch! I feel for you. Battle scars give it character, at least. Tell people you hit a branch while rallying or something.
Colin: as usual, the modest one. I'd be saying, "I beat an NSX - ha ha ha ha!"
-juice
YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR WIFE YOUR FORESTER !!!!!!!!!
- hutch
at least there is no more talk of the mini....
-Colin
My mission, which I've chosen to accept: find a SVX before she finds a Maxima SE. Wish me luck!
-Brett
Sounds like Q is now focused! That's a good thing. I don't think you could get a Cello in a Mini anyway. If you're good, maybe she'll let you play with it. Yeah, maybe
- hutch
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
-mike
..Mike
..Mike
Have a lot of catching up to do as I was in Canada (Ottawa) 3/14-16, and didn't post much even before then. I tried to post here 3/14 AM as I know a couple of you are from Ottawa but for some reason the post didn't appear. Fact of the matter is there's not much more I can add in terms of intelligent conversation that hasn't already been said.
I see a lot of future Forester improvements requested here (rather than in Future Models?) and I tend to agree with most of them. What's most important for Subaru is to keep the pricing from increasing too much in the next iteration. I don't think the target market will choose Foresters if the MSRP is over $1000 more than current for comparable trim levels. As for the "Grand Forester," if it ever appears it should be built on the Legacy platform.
WRX seems to be the flavor of the month and a real performance bargain. I can't wait to drive one; even if the wagon's cargo space is less than that of the Forester it's still so tempting! I just hope whatever dealer I visit will see that I'm a current Subaru owner and not treat me as some sort of joyrider. Still hoping that a performance version of the Legacy wagon makes it here - not just out of my own self-interest but because I think it'd be a great addition to the Subaru lineup. But what am I saying? I've only had my Forester 14 months! Too early to trade - it's just getting broken in!
Patti: glad to hear you had a good trip. I will catch up with you offline re the resolution of my cooling system issues.
Darlene: if you're out there sorry to see you go. You've done nothing but good for us and given some great PR to SoA generally.
ash: Good luck on the other side of the pond. Give us the dirt on the juicy Subaru UK stuff we can't get. Try to see the Network Q Rally if you can.
juice: I finally scanned a photo of my Forester into my computer yesterday - it's in .PDD format. If I can figure out how to post it I'll send it to the Photo Gallery and/or to your webpage.
Oh well, back to catching up on messages. Good to be back.
Ed
..Mike
..Mike
A few months ago, Ed (lark6) posted questions about a Subaru dealer near Myrtle Beach, SC. He mentioned that he travels there several times a year to visit his family. I'm originally from Myrtle Beach and started asking questions about where he's from and where his family lives.
Since there aren't too many Subaru owners from the Myrtle Beach area that now live in the Northeast, we started emailing each other. I emailed some info to my parents since they live not too far from where his family lives. Not only did my parents know his parents, but we are distant relatives!
Turns out Ed is my 4th cousin. We have the same great grandmother. Unbelievable!
We met at the Philly Auto Show. I guess that was the first time, although my mom has met him before.
Welcome back, Ed. :-)
Dennis
..Mike
..Mike
Maybe we share rally car DNA too, like the street Imprezas and the WRC cars (if you've seen the Subaru UK ad campaign, you'll get the joke)!
Ed
What did you say? 227hp? Well, OK...
Colin: I plan on attending a local autocross first, to get a feel for it. Not sure which path to take - rallycross the Forester, or autocross the Miata?
Either way, this amateur has plenty to learn.
Brett: SVXs are sweet. Tell her 90% of the general population will think it's an exotic, not even recognizing it. How much for a new rear wheel bearing? Anyone?
Karen: sweet! We are bigger than we thought!
Dennis/Ed: but you didn't answer the burning question! Was your great grandmother's husband's name Dave? That would explain everything! :-)
-juice
-Colin
Titanium GT wagon, eh? I've never seen one either! It must look good though.
Spring covered bridge tour: It's in my "backyard". Denver is about 25 miles from my house. I'm going to try to be there, and anyone who wants to tour some more backroads after the event is welcome to come out and visit. If there is interest in doing so I'll even whip up a couple of fun routes! Oh - and you might even add to your covered bridge count - we have them in Berks County too ;-)
Cheers,
-wdb
WDB: can you e-mail me some info on that town? Specifically, where the RR Museum is, where the Outlets are, etc?
I'm trying to get a package together and I'll share the info with other folks.
-juice
Bob
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010319/phm057.html
Ed (edited for spelling)
Nice thing is it'll bring new customers into showrooms, and though they may end up buying something else, I'm sure Subaru doesn't mind.
See? Performance sells. Look at the huge buzz around the WRX. You've got something for the 25 year olds, now how 'bout something for us heads-of-family, like a Blitzen wagon?
-juice
PS Ed: you may want to forward any info you may have to Garry. He's a great guy and the effort to organize these events is incredible (as I'm sure you are aware).
That would've been a blast, though. Will Q be your co-pilot?
You DINKs are lucky. Enjoy those days while you can.
-juice
-Colin
Pro: Its a Subaru
Con: performance-wise, it felt EXACTLY like an Outback. Don't get me wrong, I love my Outback, but why would I want the same performance/feel in a smaller, less luxurious package, for only marginally less money. If I was to consider an Impreza (other than the WRX) it would be the TS, not the more expensive OBS. While the exterior looks awfully good (love the new door handles) the interior was disappointing: lots of thin, cheap vinyl. For example, the sun visors are just like the cheap vinyl-wrapped wafers in my 92 Legacy. Surprisingly, such cosmetic shortcomings extend to all trim levels, including the WRX. How much would it have cost to wrap the sun visors in a nice piece of woven fabric (and whats the rationale behind putting a mirror on the driver's side but not the passenger's)? In addition, the All Weather Package is not an option, and the lack of "rub strips" on the roof make the roof rack a bit vestigial. Small points I'll grant you, but with the cost squarely above 20 grand, I was expecting more.
Summary: the one Pro outweighs all the cons, and if I were looking for a small, reliable, go-anywhere vehicle, it would get a serious look. In the end, however, I suspect I would (will) go with the Forester (similar cost and performance, much more practical and more nicely appointed). My guess is we'll see alot of WRXs ripping around in the coming months, but not alot of Outback Sports.
Dave
You didn't think it felt peppier than the OB?
It's cheaper than that, though. They're selling near invoice already - around $18k.
-juice
Ed
Membership is cheap and you get discounts at numerous dealers. If you attend an event, there are usually freebies from a local dealer that sponsors the event to boot.
Good news - I'm rebuilding my web site, but on Photopoint this time around. That means I'll have all those photos/tips back up eventually.
Now if it were only a bit quicker...
-juice
I didn't notice the roof on the OBS, but that might be a concern for some.
They're definately closing the price difference gap between the base OB and the OBS. It's a much improved car though. I don't look at MSRP since it's fairly easy to get one at US$250-300 over invoice.
Wasn't able to drive a WRX since all of the ones on the lot were sold.
Dennis
-mike
On another completely unrelated note, tonight's Dateline NBC Tuesday (at 10pm EST/9pm CST) will be covering the lastest IIHS 40mph offset crash test results. There are no Subies, but it should be interesting anyway...lots of good performers tonight, I'm happy to say, specifically the two MB vehicles that were tested. The C-class had astoundingly low intrusion measures, all of which were below 3 centimetres! ;-)
Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Cool, see you Thursdays live.
-juice
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1400062&f=0
Good news is the photos are now full size, so far more detail is shown.
-juice
Bob
So. . . what did you think of the commercial you saw?
Cheers,
-wdb