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Comments
Serge (where there is no northern or southern, just flat)
or maybe ... just what i might have done ...
many many years ago i had been working in the yard and several hours later was in the kitchen when i felt something 'tickle' the outside of my thigh under my pants .. this was in the days of 'large legged' pants ... i was making a pie crust and had dough and flour on my hands, so reached down and rubbed across the leg with my forearm ... immediately i had this awful stinging, burning sensation and the pants came off in a hurry .. turns out an ASP had crawled up the inside of my pants leg ... those things are torture!
My condo is about 100 yards away from the Mason-Dixon line. The North feels so different.
Just kidding. :P
DC is unique. IMO Northern VA and the MD suburbs are part of greater DC, and those areas do not feel southern at all. They are more metropolitan. So I consider myself a city slicker at work, a suburbanite at home.
As you go farther from the city, you do see more of a country feel, even in MD. The Eastern Shore for instance is full of farmers - Perdue chicken headquarters I think. Lots of corn, too.
They used to farm a lot of tobacco but I think most of that moved to VA due to favorable legislation in that state. That's where Phillip-Morris is headquartered, in fact you see it driving on I-95. VA is also home to NRA headquarters. Guns and tobacco. Much more southern feel IMHO.
MD/VA do have a rivalry, the universities are both in the ACC and play football, basketball, and lacrosse against each other every year. I'm a Terrrapin (BS and MS from U of MD) by the way.
I like northern VA, but I would not live there unless they were independent from the rest of the state. So yeah, you could say that I fall in to that category of living in MD and not being willing to move to VA.
Traffic there stinks, too, just try the mixing bowl or the Wilson Bridge.
But I'm totally biased, I'm a Terp!
-juice
I think there's some truth to that. Although my not moving to VA has nothing to do with the cultural mentality, it has purely to do with the fact that radar detectors are illegal in VA (and DC). Ah, the car nut in me surfaces again...
Seriously, I think Virginia still associates itself with the south, the civil war, etc.; whereas Maryland was more of a border state, but still "northern" in its image. Having said that, if you get into rural Maryland (Maryland's Eastern Shore for example), you will find it to be very southern in attitude and culture.
Disclaimer: Those are just my observations from living here since 1966, and having grown up in New Jersey. I'm not trying to be judgmental here.
Bob
I'm having trouble with the zoomzoomlive event. I tried both IE and Firefox and neither comes up with live links for registration; I also tried that having trouble link, installed Flash 7 for both browsers, but still no luck...strange. Do either one of you have a direct link for registration (you know Michael and I love that stuff...Susan might also want to go...she always threatened to get a Miata for her and the dog only!)
Thanks
Serge
Bob
Of course we are both living in MD. This is how a stereotype starts, you know? LOL
Ditto on the radar detector ban.
-juice
PS Dislcaimer: I don't even use a radar detector any more
Bob
-juice
-juice
My sister lives in Northern Virginia but close to the W. VA line. She probably couldn't stand to go any farther north since we grew up in the Deep South. (I have Elvis flashbacks and she's seen Robert E. Lee's ghost).
Every car dealer in that area sounds pretty awful (but she's not had a Subaru yet and her VW dealer must have been yelled at; they've gotten a bit better).
Steve, Host
-juice
This was my first lease, but it actually made more sense than buying/financing in this case once I educated myself on leasing and made a spreadsheet. Honda offered a real low money factor on the S2K (equivalent to 1.75% interest) and it was hard to pass up. If I buy or sell the car at lease end, I will come out even or perhaps slightly ahead of buying/financing up front.
I'll try to post some pics in the next day or two....
The funny part -- the paperwork/delivery experience was epic. Massive severe thunderstorms were ravaging the area around the Honda dealership, and they lost power a couple times (had to re-start the computer paperwork twice after losing everything). The parking lot flooded, and for a while it was looking like I'd be driving my Outback home and getting the S2K on Monday. Nothing like just purchasing a convertible with ultra low ground clearance in the midst of epic monsoon-like rains to make you question your already shaky sanity! Fortunately, I waited around about 45 minutes for the weather to clear up and the roads to drain. Driving home, ditches were swollen and roaring like whitewater, so I made a beeline for my garage with the S2K and will venture back out for a real first drive today.
Craig
Bob
-Frank
Nice! Congratulations! Just today I was looking at an S2000 and thinking -- that would be nice to have as a second car. That motorcycle-like redline, precise tranny and open top -- Mmmmm.
BTW, did you consider the new MX-5?
Ken
The $273 a month was appealing, since that falls under my threshold for financial mistakes! Even if this is the dumbest move I ever made, I can cut back on my monthly Lowes/Home Depot house project boondoogle spending and not feel too bad.
The other thing I liked was the flexibility -- in three years, I can simply walk away from the car, or buy it without any long term penalty (compared to financing the whole car up front), or even sell it for a possible one-time profit. It will all depend on the actual residual at lease end, and how my actual mileage compares to the 36K limit they figured the residual on. I am expecting lower mileage than 12K per year since this is a part-time vehicle. In that case, it means I am paying too much per month, but the car will have a higher residual in the end and hopefully offset that. Anyway, I'm just out to have fun from this point, the math is done!
Craig
I love the current Miata, but don't fit in it well. I can't tell you how many times I have sat in one or driven one and felt like I was deluding myself (it's the 10 pounds of stuff in an 8 pound bag analogy). I just don't fit in that car. The new MX-5 is a bit roomier in some measurements, but smaller in others, and I was not thrilled about the RX-8-like styling (which borders on cartoonish in my opinion). That, and the poor initial quality/engineering of the RX-8 and Mazda 6 made me think the MX-5 would not be a sure bet in the first model year.
If I was able to fit in the current Miata, the Mazdaspeed version would be a great buy right now. I saw a nice one for $27K the other night. Some people would not view that in the same category as the S2K, but it is for my purposes.....
Craig
One thing after driving the 6sp MT in the Mazda: the throws in my F-XT felt like miles! That Mazda 6sp is quite nice, I'd wager the Honda MT is nice as well.
-Brian
A Mazdaspeed for under $19K is a heck of a steal.
Craig
The Subaru Crew asked Mother Nature to communicate with you.
Just kidding. I should talk, being a Miata owner.
Besides, the S2000 has a longitudinal engine layout, I believe, and just like your Outback it sends the majority of power to the rear axle.
I think the lease strategy was a good idea, a friend took a very long time to sell one recently and took a pretty big loss. Ended up costing him $8 grand to own it for just over a year. Ouch. :sick:
Any how, a roadster is a perfect complement to a Subie because they have opposing strengths.
-juice
it's a longitudinal 2.4L inline 4. the new motors are much more liveable around town than the original 2.0L, but lack some of the 'wow' factor at high rpm.
...and it's rear-wheel drive. the outback is barely rear biased and handles much differently. the original 2.0L S2000s were extremely sharp handling, fickle beasts... the new are tamed down quite a bit. (you can get the 'bite' back with new swaybars, if you want it.)
congrats, Craig! you'll have a lot of fun.
~Colin
The 2.4l goes in the Accord, Element, and CR-V.
But yeah, totally different in character.
-juice
Craig
Looked like fun though :P
No sheet metal damage, but the rear bumper cover is scraped and cracked and so will have to be replaced. He really made me mad when he got out of his car and looked at mine, his first comment was oh it is not too bad. Then he says are you sure those marks were not already there, I was about ready to punch his lights out only Rita restrained me I would have.
Anyway got it sorted out he is paying for the damage, I insisted he pay up front before any repairs and he agreed to that.
Cheers Pat.
Bob
Carry a camera in the car, people have no idea how much it costs to fix even minor damage.
-juice
Craig
Cheers Pat.
I remember once when someone was about to back into us in a parking lot, with my wife driving. She sort of froze up, and I had a brief moment of panic too. Then I reached over and pressed her knee to give the car gas with one hand and laid on the horn with the other. Luckily nobody was in front of us! I think it was the combo of the horn and moving out of the way that kept us from getting hit. My wife actually got mad at me (understandable) but we were both glad the car was OK.
Craig
I'm going to look at a used RS today. Does anyone have opinions on what value a 100k warranty would add to a car? It currently has 61k miles on it.
-Dennis
the value of any extended warranty is in what it covers, how much the deductibles/co-pays are (if any) and how much it costs.
usually if you look at those three things you quickly determine that they are garbage. honestly. I still read them, but they are often LOADED with exclusions and partial payments that they're not worth the paper they are printed on. the manufacturer extended warranties *tend* to be better, but none of them are as good as the original powertrain or bumper-to-bumper... not by a longshot.
~Colin
Luckily, three of the passengers on that were on the left and center of the vehicle were able to be released from the hospital with just bruises. Unfortunatley, my brother's fiancee suffered internal lacerations, a fractured rib and pelvis. She's needing surgery, but looks like everything should turn out okay. The worst hit was her uncle. He has pretty bad head injuries and a bunch of broken ribs and still remains under observation at the ICU.
And the wedding was planned for this weekend...
Sorry for the depressing news, but I couldn't help but turn to you all for some moral support.
Ken
Sounds like a terrible accident.
~Colin
Bob
Serge
what type of van did she have? any idea how fast the other driver was going?
colin - I believe it's a Subaru warranty, although I'm not sure.
-Dennis
My brother's doing fine, thanks. He typically keeps his cool and is doing so this time as well.
I think they were driving in a Mazda MPV. I don't know the details, but the other car was going fast enough to cause the minivan to roll over once.
I'm on my way to the ICU to see them.
Ken
you know we'll be pulling for the 'best' for everyone ...
Pat - Bummer for Titan
Craig - Congrats on the new car
Hello to everyone else! Rob M.
Her uncle is going to take a while. He's been sedated and put on a respirator to help ward of pneumonia as well as keep the pain at bay. He clearly was hit the hardest.
The accident actually made the local paper today. It was a Jeep Cherokee that slammed into the side of their minivan. The paper reported that the impact caused a 2-ft intrusion into the minivan. The force was great enough to roll over their vehicle. We're happy that everyone made it out alive.
Ken