Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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Comments

  • fherndonfherndon Member Posts: 1
    Subaru homepage does not show any such option as leather seating; however, Edmunds.com doe show this option when configuring such a vehicle. How does one find out if this option actually exists?
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    Reminds me of when I was talking to a friend from Med School just after their 4th (his wife is a Doc too). I asked,"Haven't you guys figured out how these things happen?" and Pete - deadpan as always - responded, "Oh yeah, we have now. Apparently it's too many margaritas in Cancun!"
    For the record, Dra and I have never been to Cancun. A surprise, but a very happy one. Still early, and keeping our fingers crossed.

    Nicholas
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Congrats. You obviously are not spending enough time driving the WRX.....or maybe too much. :)

    Greg
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Patti-
    I forwarded an e-mail I received from Jesse's Mom :)

    -Dave
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    It is a premium package for Baja Turbo. It is leather, power seat, cold weather package and auto transmission bundled. You can find info on it at the subaru newsroom site.
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    Another Subie baby? Congratulations!
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Hey, I'm probably the last person to catch this, but Lucien's letter to the editor regarding the 9-2X made it into the current issue of C&D.

    I was just flipping through it while eating breakfast today and came across a witty letter pointing out that the 9-2X center console is the same as the FXT's.

    Nice work, Loosh!

    Ken
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Yep, it was first spotted back here: lark6 Sep 9, 2004 1:35pm

    -Brian
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Cool 'bout the XT6, mike, manual this time, too.

    WTLW, Ken. Where you been? ;-)

    Saw Hutch and Bob on Friday, at the Mercedes event here in DC. Bob was late but I hung out with him to catch up a bit.

    The 4Matic area was fun, and clearly demonstrated the following:

    FWD + (all the technology in the world) < AWD

    The new SLK320 is a hoot, but for $45k it should be.

    Complaints? Unusual amounts of wear to the cars, including very obvious paint fading. They blamed a detergent, but sounds like an excuse to me. Reminds me of when the Mazda6 has "staining", i.e. RUST, due to some spiked soap they used during assembly.

    Wassup with these cheap finishes?

    Their little G-wagon adventure convinced me that I would never, ever need that kind of capability in my lifetime. ;-)

    Any how, it was good to see Hutch, since it had been a while, plus I caught up with Bob.

    -juice

    PS No leaks this time riding with THE CAT! I wore Depends! :o)
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yeah my red XT6 was an MT also.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That's right, forget you've owned two of them.

    Now you've owned all 3! ;-)

    -juice
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Congrats Nicholas on the future driver in the family.

    Mike- I guess you missed the XT6, huh?

    Mark
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    A close friend that I've known since college is about to close on a Legacy GT sedan, auto, LTD, light blue.

    He's had an MR2, MX-6 turbo, Integra GS-R, Millenia, Volvo 850, and now the Legacy.

    He's not much on owner loyalty! LOL

    Interesting, though, that his last two cars were near-luxury cars, and he's replacing it with the Leg. Subaru really nailed it with this customer.

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    what are you talking about? he had two mazdas. :)

    a millenia is definitely not near-luxo even though the supercharged miller-cycle V6 was neat in the S. ;)

    volvo depended on the year. just before the S80 rename, yeah maybe.

    ~c
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, the Millenia was supposed to be, anyway. It was going to start the Amati division, remember?

    It did have a neat feature, the steering wheel would tilt out of the way for ingress/egress. In the 626 threads, Millenia owners would get a bit defensive when you compared the two and they'd rattle off a whole list of features that you could not get on the 626 that the Millenia had.

    Any how, that'll be a conquest sale if he does end up in a Legacy. He said he liked the Volvo but got really tired of the expensive service and repairs. It was the little stuff that kept malfunctioning.

    -juice
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    My neighbor bought a Volvo 540 just about the same time I bought my 99 GT LTD. Both are fairly comparable - moonroof, leather, alloy wheels. The Legacy is definitely smaller.

    At 110k, I have probably spent a couple hundred dollars out of pocket, along with replacing the tires at 40k, and brakes all around at 80k.

    My neighbor has sunk thousands of dollars into the Volvo - to the point where he won't part with it. It now has an oil leak that will cost $2500 to repair. Ouch!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    540? You mean 850? 960? 740 maybe?

    -juice
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    Could be a 960 - I know it was a year old at the time. Very nice car - just expensive to operate.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Tilt wheel, the XT6, SVX, and the 1st gen Legacy all have the tilt to get-in/out with memory to where it was before....

    -mike
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    had a 'real' tilt wheel? I am disappointed by the mechanism employed on my '02.

    Steve
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yup tilt with memory. The XT6 and SVX not only had that but also have telescopic wheels as well.

    -mike
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    I don't consider the current mechanism to be a 'tilt wheel', but rather an 'adjustable height steering column'. The pivot point is now a universal down by the floor, rather than up by the dash. Very limited adjustability - hardly worth using.

    Steve
  • damish003damish003 Member Posts: 303
    I'd give almost anything to have a telescoping wheel. Long legs with average arms makes for lots of moving around. When oh when will we have it?

    -Dan-
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Wow mike, nifty stuff. The late 90s really had some serious cost cutting, eh? Even the 2005s don't have any of those 4 features (power, door open, memory, or telescoping).

    -juice
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    with apologies to Bill Shakespeare.
    I first saw the term "decontented" used by Phil EDmunston, the premier used car guide guru and consumer advocate up here. Through those years, all manufacturers came under intense pressure to add ABS, air-bags and more HP but keep costs level. No magic, something's gotta give, so door and floor insulation, upholstery quality and other tidbits less likely to become evident during test drives got axed. I'm presuming the true tilt and "jump" (flip away steering wheel as it was called on our 92 Pathfinder) features on steering wheels were another casualty.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Interestingly though the technology is there, why on earth would they not just produce it? Could the parts cost that much more than what they use now?

    -mike

    PS: I hated the tilting wheel found on the GM and Ford cars where only the wheel would move, I prefer the tilting column.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You'd be amazed at bean counter thinking.

    You take a part that costs 25 cents, and they decide few people will notice.

    Then you calculate the savings, it's 25 cents per unit, but they sell 180k units per year, so that's still a whopping $45,000 extra net profit.

    Problem is, at some point you begin to lose buyers, or at least there is an opportunity cost in not getting new buyers that wants those things.

    A telescoping wheel probably isn't that cheap, but you get the idea. They can save millions by cutting something like that.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    True true.

    -mike
  • subaru_teamsubaru_team Member Posts: 1,676
    There are so many restrictions - especially related to how far the driver has to be from the steering wheel and all the litigation surrounding air-bag deployment may be a deterent for a little company like ours. I don't know this for a fact, but......

    I don't recall any lawsuits against us for this issue, but sometimes if another auto company has been hit with similar litigation, Subaru will take the conservative path.
    The adjustments the seat is one thing, but if that steering wheel is pulled up tight, it may cause a concern. Just a guess. I'll snoop and see what I hear back for the "decontenting".
    My guess work is done on this puppy for now (aren't you relieved?)
    Patti
  • subaru_teamsubaru_team Member Posts: 1,676
    woods. One of the team members that was in the lead for the Subaru Primal Quest was killed in a freak accident with a boulder that came loose on a climb. I'm not sure how Edmunds feels about sharing other links, so I won't post it unless advised it is okay, but it is very sad. He seemed like a dynamic person.

    Patti
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    linking to news articles is OK. linking to other forums is not OK. pasting text from other sources is not OK and neither is image linking to them.

    so, if it's a news article go for it. very sad. :(

    ~c
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Very sad news Patti. Thanks for sharing.

    Bob
  • subaru_teamsubaru_team Member Posts: 1,676
    here's the information/news article:

    http://www.subaruprimalquest.com/race2004/index.cfm?tabSection=ne- wsArticle&news_ID=%23%2B%2EE5%0A

    I hope that works as a link. If not, you can go to Subaruprimalquest.com for more information.

    Patti
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    How tragic. That is sad news indeed.

    Ken
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Kind of puts our worries about 'decontenting' into perspective, doesn't it?

    Steve
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Madison got sprayed at close range by a skunk last night. We began the 'recovery' operation about 11pm, and quit about 1:30 am. Of course, it has to happen on the last time out just before we were about to head to bed.

    This year's "magic" treatment (vet and internet) is a cocktail of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dishwashing detergent, followed by a rinse with Scope mouthwash. It did a respectable job on him, although he still spent the night in the garage. Problem is the hit was close to the back deck, so the stench permeated the house, and he (and we all) got re-contaminated again today. That stuff is nasty!

    Steve
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The SVX has a driver's airbag and telescopic wheel. Just an FYI.

    Hey Patti, just got the Subaru Speed magazine, any chance that you could work some magic to get an article written about http://TeamIAC.com since we are a subaru oriented team and get out there with our subies?

    -mike
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Anniversary day for my OBW. A grand total of 25,300 miles on the clock. Tomorrow we transition to the Gold coverage....

    Steve
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Don't sweat it, Patti. The whole industry was doing that from the mid-to-late 90s. Subaru had to follow suit to remain cost competitive.

    I recall when the 626 was redesigned, it lost about 8 or 10 minor items due to cost cutting.

    Having said that, moving upscale will require some of those things to be added back. I think the new Legacy is taking aim at cars that have things like a telescoping wheel (Passat, Audis, Acuras, Volvos, etc.)

    Sorry to hear about Nigel.

    I recall about two years ago we had a chat with a couple of women that compete in one of those types of events, was is the Primal Quest?

    We kept talking about pasta and carb loading.

    I hope Nigel felt no pain and that his family finds comfort in the fact that he was doing what he loved. :-(

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Steve: you may have the low mileage record for the 3 year mark.

    Anyone have less at that time?

    -juice
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The previous owner of my OBW was probably in that ballpark. Mine's a '97 with 47,000 on it, so that's running about 7,000 a year.

    Maybe Steve's van is the workhorse in the stable like ours is?

    Steve, Host
  • fstevensnefstevensne Member Posts: 8
    I can beat Steve's low mileage - my 2001 Forester is at just over 22,000. My four-year anniversary was in mid-July. We tend to take the F150 for longer trips - gets much worse mileage, but does a better job pulling a fifth-wheel camper . . .

    I tend to _want_ (definitely not need) a new vehicle at around 5 years, but I may keep the Forester longer as it has been so trouble-free. But I'm finally going to test-drive a Legacy today, for the $25 reward certificate, so that's bound to set off some new-car fever.

    Faye
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Now I'm curious if there are any high mileage Steves around. (last names count too!)

    Steve, Host
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    yes Faye, you will probably find the new Legacy GT to be quite tempting. drive a Forester XT while you're there if you haven't done that yet. both are very fun vehicles!

    ~Colin
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If we include previous owners, I bought my Miata with just 26k miles after 8 years. That is just 3250 miles per year!

    Faye: Yay! Welcome to The Fence. I'll move over to make room.

    Actually, there is *plenty* of room as people have been dropping like flies.

    Stick around for a little while if only to keep me company.

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Steve -- Happy Anniversary.

    So, is there a commemorative detailing in the works?

    Ken
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    The Australia athlete killed in the Primal Quest was from the next suburb and a friend of friends. Apparently an all round nice guy and super athlete. The attitude described in the press is essentially that he died d0oing what he loved but biggest regret would have been missing the barabeque the teams held as a wake.

    Cheers

    Graham
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