Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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  • originalbitmanoriginalbitman Member Posts: 920
    The Burlington Campground is very nice... right in a giant redwood grove and I believe next to a ranger station/interpretive center. Not very private and pretty well used but the best part is it is right on The Avenue of the Giants. If you have never been there it is a terrific piece of 2 lane highway (271) that passes through grove after grove of giant redwoods. A most spectacular drive... open the moonroof and stop often for great hikes. As a matter of fact wether you are coming from the north or the south on 101 get off as soon as you can onto 271. It passes through some great old resort areas and stuff like the "drive through tree" all of which is bypassed by 101. And if you are up for a great secluded ride take the road that heads west out of Humboldt SP towards the coast. Sorry I don't remember the hwy# but it heads to Petrolioa then up the coast to Capetown and back over to victorian Ferndale. Excellent 2 lane through the redwoods and out to the undelveloped coast. There is even a simple little campground in Petrolia on the river. You won't need a reservation there.

    Any more questions email me so we can spare the others from my rambling.

    bit
  • miksmimiksmi Member Posts: 1,246
    (at least for me) I enjoy hearing about places to drive in the Scooby, Bit. Gives me ideas for future travel. Please ramble on.

    Graham, glad everyone's ok. Can you direct me to a site where I see a picture or learn more about the H-harness child's belt? Is this a government or other standard? In a few days when I have faster access I'll find a link to what my son uses.

    ..Mike

    ..Mike

  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Hey all BatakaMark and I are En-route to the covered bridgetour! We are on the NJTP. Just figured I'd drop a note. See you all there.

    -mike
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    You're providing valuable information about "nice places to drive a Subaru"!

    Been through the area a couple times - the last about 4 years ago driving a car home from SFO - stopped & played awhile but didn't camp. Thanks for the refresher, and I'll e-mail you 'tween now & then.

    Cheers!
    Paul
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    I have not ignored your k car spoof just having trouble with quicktime on my computer for some reason.
    Cheers Pat.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Well for anyone who missed the Covered Bridge Tour/Lancaster farm country ralley, you should have been there. I think we all had a great time. I know I did. Juice was an excellent navigator, even though we got lost, on more than one occassion, we were able to complete the whole course w/o a map or GPS. Damn Bacon Acres road!

    We snapped some pictures for Kate of various FORDs in Dis-repair!

    Hutch: Sorry for kicking up the stones on the WRX, but don't you want it to have that "ralley" look?

    Bob and wife(forgot her name :( ): You guys kept the back door closed nicely on the caravan and kept up in the "Toaster"

    Bat: We had a great 300+ miles of drivetime, excellent team driver!

    Juice: You can navigate for me any day. I have to apologize to your wife and daughter, cause I think you will have at least 1-2years less life left in you after my driving yesterday!

    All in all I had a ball, hope the others there had a great time too. Quite an intense day!

    -mike
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    BTW, my navigator's (aka wife) name is Deb.

    Bob
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Graham sorry to hear about your "bump", and glad to hear everyone was okay.

    Mike & Juice: getting lost added flavor to the day! And to stay with the mood, Paisan and I started going the wrong way to get home as well.

    Mike, thanks for sharing the ride both ways.

    Mark
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yes, definitely shaved a few years off my life span!

    Navigating was a lot of work, I realized. Try hanging on for dear life at Mach 3 while reading a map and using an FRS, all on unfamiliar roads with no signs, while dodging the Amish! Oh, all the while taking photos by hanging out the window!

    I'll get photos up, so the stories will make more sense, but seeing an Escort being towed away, and then the "FREE CAR" Tempo everyone kept driving by were absolutely hysterical. Kate would have just died laughing.

    I posted a few more details in the Events topic, too.

    Mark: good to meet you in person.

    paisan: thanks for letting me drive one leg of the rally, er, I mean tour. The XT6 impressed me with the smooth, torquey drivetrain and upscale interior touches. We were even able to test its off-road limitations!

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    OK, photos are up:

    http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1400062&a=12765018&f=0

    I forgot to mention Punxy Phil! One of the bridges was at the site where they hold Ground Hog Day ceremonies. There is a memorial for him there, and I caught a photo next to it.

    You'll also find the two dead Fords (coincidence, Kate?) we saw during our trip.

    The photos also show paisan and his XT6, Hutch and his new Rex, Bob and the now-famous Toaster, plus Mark (bat1161), who's Outback must be in one of the photos.

    -juice
  • soon2bsubeesoon2bsubee Member Posts: 137
    Juice, nice photos....wish we were there...
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    Nice photos! Looks like you all had fun.

    How'd did you like driving the XT6? Did you get a chance to try a WRX? Was Sandy there?

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The XT6 really impressed me. Keeping in mind it is 13 years old and has 150k miles, the powertrain was remarkably smooth. Very good low-end torque, and a auto tranny that really kept up well.

    It felt quicker than Sandy, though that may have been paisan's driving style. It even had a "Power Mode" light that told you when it was going to hold a gear longer - as in redline.

    All the gauges and gadgets were also quirky-cool. I think the XT basically defined Subaru's quirky character, at least during that era. I would not mind seeing the voltmeter and oil pressure gauge making a come back, and the carpets and sun visors were a couple of steps up from what Sandy's got.

    I did not get a chance to drive the WRX, since I was asked to navigate for Subaru One (the first half of the Subaru group), as a co-pilot in the XT6.

    I rode up with Bob, since it was about 3 hours driving to get there (each way), and the family was not going to come with me. Sandy was lonely, but at least she got a nice wash beforehand.

    There were a couple of odd balls, too. One Outback had GT limited rims and LL Bean logos, though it was a 2.5l. One guy came with a SHO-engined Taurus wagon, of all things. A Prelude snuck in, some how.

    One guy came all the way down from Ontario! Wow! He had a really cool Forester L Dynastar edition. Get this - $300 extra for heated seats and mirrors, side step bars, and a snow board on the roof with a rack! Plus a couple of Dynastar logos. That's less than what heated seats alone cost!

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The XT6 only has 75K miles on it :)

    Thanks for the compliments on it :) She ran flawlessly yesterday it was a 400 mile day for her!

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    ;-)

    -juice
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    ...my mechanic just called. The Explorer needs $600 in brake work. The entire rear end brake system is fried. We didn't get into fixing the A/C or the exhaust. Or the tranny, although that can probably wait for a while.

    So. What say ye? Fix it and buy a little time, or ditch it and go after a '00/'01 Impreza wagon?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You could live without A/C for maybe another month. At least if you have to work in a shirt and tie like me.

    The exhaust can be patched, but how long it'll hold up will depend upon how bad it is now.

    Brakes gotta be fixed. Else buy a new car ASAP.

    What about calling that dealer and raising your low-ball bid to $12.5? If he laughs, fix the brakes. Else try to haggle. $2k under invoice is still a great deal, despite the age and paint, and you still get the full warranty.

    -juice
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Sounds like you're encountering the same issues we did last fall with my wife's old Explorer. There were a number of items that needed to be addressed.

    Our solution: Donate it, take a tax write off, and get a new Forester (aka the Toaster).

    Bob
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    I am with juice and Bob dump your piece of crap ford and make a better offer on that Impreza, you will no sooner fix one thing on your (found on road dead)exploder when something else will go wrong dump the sucker.
    Cheers Pat.
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Loosh: yeah, try $12k-ish or so. You'd put that extra money in on the Exploder just to get the tranny worked on! (ok, maybe not THAT much).

    Bridge Rally Team: nice pictures Juice. Glad everyone had fun. No pictures of the off road part of the rally?

    Ross: nice roof. ASC? Does it have a built in deflector?
    -Brian
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Was me not wanting to back up went through a ditch filled with brush with the right side of the car, nothing major though :) it was when we missed a turn and had to back-track.

    -mike
  • armac13armac13 Member Posts: 1,129
    no it's Solaire/Webasto. I liked it a lot more than the ASC, especially the controls. Yes it does have a built in deflector which works quite well at speed - the faster the better.

    Ross
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Yeah, I saw what brand your roof was once I clicked over to the mods discussion. I had a Webasto in my '96 Stratus. The only thing I didn't like about that roof was that it didn't have a big opening in the open position. But, that could have been from it being a slid outside roof (I think they're called spoiler types). Other than that, it was a great roof - never creaked or leaked.

    Anyway, you've really got me itching to get a roof put in our Outback. That alone should put a smile on Rufus' grille!

    -Brian
  • armac13armac13 Member Posts: 1,129
    and a smile on mine. I gave a ride to a friend on Saturday. She started to ask how much it cost but then said "Wow, it's such an improvement it's worth whatever it cost." I agree with her assessment. I don't like the spoiler type. Mine does provide a good sized opening.

    Ross
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    You did get several pictures of my OB, starting with the picture of you and Gary between the Saab and Subaru. Thanks again, now I can show friends what my car looks like. ( I have taken pictures of it, just haven't developed any of them yet! Now I have those, plus the ones from the tour to finally get done.) Once I have them and can borrow a scanner I will attempt to post some.
    Mark
  • FrankMcFrankMc Member Posts: 228
    I was over in the Subaru Rally Website. I really liked their logo. I would think you might want to sell some shirts/mugs/stuff over there. I'm sure they would sell enough to make it worth it.

    Frank


    http://www.rally.subaru.com.

  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    The tour proved beneficial in another way for me: I got the best mpg so far: 24.71. I guess being in the company of so many other Subes encouraged my car:)

    Mark
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Especially since you were following me down and back from there! :)

    -mike
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Maybe thats the key... I have to drive like Paisan! Can you imagine 2 people on SI driving that way! :)

    Mark
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    It's probably only a matter of time before they get merchandise. They'll probably wait to see if rallying gets a little more popular in the U.S.
    In the meantime, check out some great SWRT goodies in the "Store" here: http://www.swrt.com/


    Dennis

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sweet, Mark, I didn't even realize that was yours at the time. I think Garry will put that photo in the next quarterly letter, too. Your OB will get its 15 minutes of fame!

    Frank - dealers now can sell "WRX" logo gear. A lot of it is LL Bean stuff re-sold by Subaru, so prices are not cheap, but quality is excellent.

    -juice
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    '00 Impreza L waqgon- dealer will not budge off $14K. I have a hard time being convinced a car 2MY old is worth 1K under invoice.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Not worth a savings of just $1k. Move on, forget that one. Did you try a TS yet?

    -juice
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    The TS is nice. tighter, better interior than the old Impreza. Fitz has them for $17K. Dunno if that is really in the budget yet. Working on it...
  • drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    image
  • texsubarutexsubaru Member Posts: 242
    Coming in a bit too late on the topic, but, hey, been real busy for the past couple of weeks:
    * Worst car -- 1979 Chevy Malibu: There's a long story here, but essentially I had to buy a car in a couple of days in a small Texas town (DeLeon, TX) and could only find two choices in my very low price range, the Malibu or a '78 Ford Granada. The Malibu did prove to be a crummy car, but later learned that the person who bought the Granada had a wheel fall off while driving over a railroad crossing, so, amazingly enough, I did get the marginally better vehicle.

    Dream garage: I haven't quite been able to make a scenario work yet -- I'm sorta thinking Toyota Land Cruiser for serious hauling & New Mexico adventures, a Toyota Prius for daily in-town commuting & to compensate for bad karma generated by Land Cruiser's low mpg, and a WRX wagon just for the hell of it. But even with serious haggling, I think I'd come in at least $5K overbudget. Geez, $100k just doesn't go far enough in auto fantasyland ...
  • pattim3pattim3 Member Posts: 533
    I'll share your thoughts. They might have some rally stuff available soon, but it would have to be through a dealer because we are not "authorized" as a retail business.

    Thanks -

    Patti
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    A few of you will remember a while ago a friend on mine at work traded his problematic Audi A4 in for a used '96 Subaru Outback. The Audi had soured him with 3 mechanical failures, but the Soob has served him well.

    His other car is a Tahoe, so when time came to trade in the OB, he came to me once again for advice. Easy - WRX, since he didn't need the space any more.

    He picked up a blue wagon on Saturday and is happy as can be. In fact - he has not been back to work since!

    The only problem? Finding one. 5 speed wagons are hard to find, so he had to visit several dealers.

    Finally, another friend is shopping for a Forester, and she's basically sold, just waiting for the right time. VA has a car tax, but vehicles under $20k will be exempt, so she's after a Forester L.

    The way I figure, if I get no snow days, at least I'll have some company!

    -juice
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    are up 222% last month!

    http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010501/phtu055.html

    Bob
  • tazerelitazereli Member Posts: 241
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    If you're not automatically getting it, call 1 800
    Subaru3. My wife recently called to get added to the list. Ironically, I haven't received one since. Although she has.

    Dennis
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    I think it's an accessory and it's cost is $99, essentially a box to keep your food/drinks cool/warm, feeding from 12V outlet in the cargo area.

    After my Forester saw the pictures of Ross' Rufus with a brand new hole in Rufus' head, he does not speak to me anymore (never mind that his moonroof was factory-installed, I mean S+). So I need to make it up to him somehow... He's asking for a female companion Subaru, like Impreza WRX, but at the moment I'm looking for a cheaper way out

    Before I went on "I-love-my-Forester" shopping spree, I'd like to ask if anyone had a good/bad experience with that cooler/heater thingy, and if there is a better aftermarket alternative...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    222%? Wow! Does anyone think a turbo option would not help Foreter sales? Legacy, even?

    I called the 800 # because I also stopped getting Drive. It took all of 2 minutes for the rep to get my VIN and address. Give them a call.

    Kate: I think that's an Igloo product that Subaru resells. The price is a bit steep, though, IIRC. Even Darlene's price (at the time, have I mentioned I miss her?) was higher than what you could find at discount stores.

    Hmm, what other presents are there? Sunglasses (window tint)? Viagra (turbo kit)? Remind me, what accessories do you already have?

    -juice
  • armac13armac13 Member Posts: 1,129
    I've had a heater/cooler thingy for years. Two issues: the storage volume is quite low. This is not bad for day tripping, but for over-night it's a problem especially since you have to use supplementary cooling. Can't run the beast over-night without killing the battery. The other problem is that once the switch controlling heat/cool was accidentally moved and I wound up with some rather unusable and disgusting "food" - we went hungry that evening.

    Ross
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    He's got his sunglasses already. I only wish CA law would allow for a darker tint on front windows though... He's too young for Viagra, juice. Maybe after warranty is over.

    I did not customize it much yet. It's basically an S+ model with a few options added (custom tail pipe, dimmed mirror, cargo cover, armrest, cargo net, tweeters).
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Give him new vocal cords. Swap out the stock speakers for some nice ones from Crutchfield.

    -juice
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Kate,

    If you want am inexpensive heater/cooler check out Cabelas web site. They have a small one for $ 39.99. The site is:www.cabelas.com Go to the auto section, then electronics. It is all the way down on the right hand side. The product is called the Vector 12 volt travel cooler/warmer.


    Mark
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Hmm, I think in NY we can't have any tint on the front side windows. I put on 35% on my trooper but will go to 20% next time around. The rears already had 20% on the sides and 35% on the back tailgate glass.

    -mike
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    For everyone planning/dreaming of Forester 2002, note that 2 colors will be changed in 2002 (as per color chart at Santa Cruz Subaru):

    Acadia Green (like on Juice's Forester) --> Savannah Green (like on Impreza 2002)
    Silverhorn Metallic (aka "Kate-silver") --> Platinum Silver Metallic (again, like on Impreza)

    The rest of colors will be the same, but cladding changing to slighly more silverish-greyish and I think (I maybe wrong on this), black will be only available in S+ model.

    If you're fond of Acadia Green or Silverthorn, hurry to you friendly neighborhood Subaru dealer, to catch 2001 model.
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    they allow 70% tint on side windows, but it looks essentially clear. Still, some people install it because it cuts on heat and sun anyway although does not look dark.
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