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Comments
Bob
On the other hand it's possible that Patti's activity has created an expectation in me of a level of attention from SoA that it is neither willing nor able to maintain for an extended period of time. Free tickets to an auto show or a flower show are a nice goodwill gesture, but all told amount to pocket change compared to other costs such as those associated with an out-of-pocket repair (time spent waiting for parts, rental cars, etc.)
Would it be too cynical to suggest that SoA has gotten what it's looking for out of its relationship with Edmunds and now no longer sees the need for involvement?
Ed
-juice
There are always multiple sides to a story, lest we forget.
Unrelated: Serge, great news! Happy that good things are coming your way.
Ed
Congrats on the History position. Good thing it's not a typing class. :-D
Sorry, couldn't resist.
DaveM
http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2005/02/28/cx_mf_0228test.html
The review points out a few things that we've discussed here regarding the competitiveness of Subaru as it goes after the "premium" market.
One is the lack of stability control -- it's called out right on the summary.
The other is that AWD is no longer a competitive advantage. They do take notice of "Symmetrical" AWD, but the writer mentions that Quattro is arguably the best system out there.
Another is the mention of the Legacy's "V-4".
Last is the comment that unlike near-luxury brands, Subarus don't hold their value as well.
The first issue can easily be addressed by making stability control an option. The last three require marketing efforts to change the perception in the market.
Ken
Why?
Because Quattro is limited to sending a maximum of 67% of the power to each axle. VDC does not have that limitation, it can send 100%.
Quick as the torsen center diffy is, it's still reactive. VDC can be proactive and for instance send more power to the front axle to prevent trailing throttle oversteer. The Audi would have to skid first, then correct for that.
Go up a wet boat ramp and VDC would send more power to the rear axle before you pulled those two jet skis up the ramp. Quattro would slip and then send more power to the rear axle, even then it would be limited to 67%.
Quattro reacts very quickly, but VDC is proactive, so IMHO it's even better.
Sources: Subaru VDC PDF files, VWVortex.com, and VW.com.
-juice
DaveM
FCATs(Florida's standardized tests) today and tomorrow, then I can start prelude to the Civil War; comparison of North/South economy and infrastructure, slavery/abolition. The school has a "lite" version of the film "Glory"...I can talk about the Shaw Monument, St. Gaudens, and public monuments leading them up to making their own little statues and writing about them. :>)
But as the marque continues its push upmarket, I must say I may have to let go at some point. I just can't afford a $25k-$35k car next time. When it comes time to replace the Outback, I will have to give some serious thought to giving Q the FXT and looking at something like the Mazda3 wagon- great styling, better use of space than Impreza, economical, and under $20k. Yea it's FWD, but these days I'm not exactly Mr. Track Day.
I'll miss Patti though. Patti the private person is more than welcome to join us, and I actually encourage her to do so when she's able. We miss you!!
Cheers Pat.
Serge - congrats on winning the Disney vacation. I always wondered how they would work out winners in the home town area.
Steve- Sloan is a great place. I'm sure Beth will get the right info and treatment.
Regarding Patti - I hope that she does participate as an individual, and that SOA figures how to maintain a presence here.
BTW, it was somewhat of a shock coming back just in time for a snow storm. Last week I had 85 degrees and sunny weather, last night I got about 7" of snow. The only good thing is I get to drive my Subaru again.
It was funny - while in Cancun I got a little friendly with some of the staff at the hotel we stayed at. When they saw my Subaru t-shirt, they asked what that was. It seems Subaru does not have a presence in Mexico.
Mark
-juice
while I enjoy driving my Subie in the snow ... I'd rather have it sometime BEFORE MARCH!!!!
Cheers Pat.
Lexus , Infiniti and Hyundai tie for fourth!
Their predictions for 05- Scion, Lexus, toyota, Subaru, Honda, Acura
Rita's little car beckons, so much to do, so little time:-)
Cheers Pat.
I wish we had some snow- it feels like we skipped winter here. All our rain has gone to California too. And I'm complaining. . .
Sorry, I remember how much I hated the snow by the end of the winter in Boston. I'll help you guys shovel some from here, ok? ;-)
tom
Will be in San Antonio tomorrow. Then back to rainy Calif.
Jim
in the five years I've been here, I think we've had two snow days .... and we have a lot of days (like yesterday) where everyone AROUND us is cancelled and we work ... soooo .. we have SNOW!
Jim .. I hope you have a little while to enjoy San Antonio ... it's a great city ... the Riverwalk, the missions (of which the Alamo - San Antonio de Valero de los Alamos - is not the most beautiful, but the most historic), the museums, the Botanical Gardens, the nature conservatory, etc. etc. ... If you have time to drive along the mission trail and you look closely, you can even see some of the ancient aquaduct that carried the water from the river to the mission ... I took the DH there a couple years ago on his first visit (remember I'm FROM Texas) and he loved it!
have a safe trip home!
Bren
Brenda, school cancellation is a weekly event around here. Because of so many lost days, we expect school to run until June 28th. Rob M.
"As good as AWD is, it doesn't aid a
car in changing direction if your foot isn't on the gas. In slippery conditions, our tester Legacy GT was more than willing to understeer.
True, you can cure this ailment with a swift application of the throttle and careful steering, but this is expecting more skill from the average driver than we--or BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Mercedes, et al--think is reasonable . "
Application of the throttle and careful steering is too much skill for the average driver? I guess some people just want to ride instead of drive. My wife evens adds throttle when it's slippery.
-Dennis
Looks like the head gaskets were sorted out some time during MY2002. The wheel bearings were only an issue through MY2001.
I don't think there has been one single big issue affecting a lot of since those, so the award for the 04s makes sense.
-juice
In theory, I agree with you, but it practice it seldom works for the average driver. I play in snowy parking lots to get a feeling for how my Subi will react, but very few drivers will do this. So when Joe Average is understeering towards the guardrail on a tight exit ramp, don't expect him to naturally go for the throttle when his brain says to hit the brake. It is time that stability control become available across the board. 90% of the hardware (the ABS system) is already on the car...
Steve
Bob
Just kidding. ;-)
Chat was great, VERY busy last night. We came close to having the names scroll down. Definitely could not keep up.
What'd you miss?
Well, the B9 Scrambler that Brenda and I will share will now be referred to as my B4.5.
-juice
Beer
Food
Snowfall amounts
Temperature
Number of payments left on our Mortgages
Maybe something about a Subaru
Rob M.
-Brian
Steve
I'm glad you had a chance to mount the tires and try them out in the snow. As Colin mentioned before, they are a bit loose on the dry stuff; however, in the snow and slush, I thought they were worth the $.
Michael
Bob
"The most reliable brand overall is now Subaru, which averages eight problems per 100," Consumer Reports said. It noted that Honda Motor Co. Ltd., long a reliability leader, now averaged nine problems per 100."
CNN Money
Steve, Host
Can't tell you how many times I've searched for a network and found one with the default name of "Linksys".
-juice
-Dave
Did I mention that the local wifi place put a public access antenna in my back yard so I get free net access? 1.5 up/down now and a speed increase should be rolled out by the end of summer. Sweet :-)
Steve, Host
-juice
Steve, Host
Turning off the SSID broadcast isn't the only thing you should do to secure your wi-fi network.
-Brian
Dunno why I pay for broadband when hacking is so easy and free! LOL
-juice
I've just started messing around with setting up a network connection (internet for now) and I've changed the SSID and have WEP Encryption on. Also I setup Shared Access as opposed to Open Access and have a network key in 1. Have not used 2-5. But I do notice in the log, someone trying to access my connection. It just say PC Wireless, and it seems to get kicked out but they try to get back in.
Am I missing something or I need more tweaking... any advice?
Thanks.
Cheers Pat.
Access is Shared, and only assigned MACs and IPs gets connection.
Anything else?
-Dave
I'll pass on the freezing rain though. ;-)
tom
Nicholas
You should be OK now, I'd scan the local drive for viruses to be safe.
-juice
-Frank
I do have the encription (WPA-PSK) on, but I guess it would be better to simply hide than for someone to know that we are there and try and hack in. Then again, I doubt that too many deer or woodchucks are wireless equipped...
Steve
restricting access to specific MACs is excellent. many people don't spend the time to set this up.
anyone here use netstumbler?
-Brian