Subaru Crew - Future Models II

rsholland

Jon, I'm not sure anymore. I think Edmunds may have altered that policy somewhat. BTW, I should have given you credit for finding this link in the first place. Thanks for the find!

Bob

c_hunter

I think we're wondering how it works if a husband and wife, with two *separate* credit card accounts, each accrue $500 per year. Can they combine their bucks when they jointly purchase and title a car?

Craig

jon_in_ct

It's my understanding that when two people optain seperate Chase Subaru credit card accounts, they can combine their benefits if they purchase the Subaru jointly.

rsholland

Jon, I think it has to do with posting to a forum link directly. That wasn't the case with the Dealer link. Yes, there is a forum that's part of that site, but that's not the link that's posted, I don't think.

Bob

sweet_subie

Dude,

I my opinion they still are fairly new models though not future anymore, lot of folks in this forum are planning to buy these & hence i thought the links are of interest.

if you guys don;t want reviews etc about new models, i won't post them.

rsholland

Keep posting. We welcome the posts!

Bob

jon_in_ct

As far as I can tell, your link was directly into a forum. If you're registered there, you can post a reply on that link.

jon_in_ct

Dude, the 2005 Legacy and Outback are CURRENT models. The are NOT FUTURE MODELS. There is an explcit forum for info about the 2005 Legacy and Outback elsewhere. This is not it.

sweet_subie

Yeah, i am sure you have got a lot of info about Future models !!!!!!!!!!

ateixeira

Let's keep the tone friendly, folks. The Crew has always been pretty good about that.

-juice

Karen_S

Let's play nice. :-)

Also, if you have any questions about Town Hall policy, it is best to email the board host or post your questions in the Ask the Hosts discussion in News & Views.

sweet_subie

I was just kidding ! Will do.

ateixeira

Kewl.

Any more 7 seater rumors? Besides the $40k price tag speculation? ;-)

-juice

sweet_subie

cross-check to that interview where fred was expecting Subs to be cross-shopped against BMW, Audi.

see this
http://autos.msn.com/research/userreviews/review.aspx?ModelID=112- 12&idreview=431979&search=MostRecent&num=50&trim=- All&lang=All&nav=431979,431681

sweet_subie

http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/index.cfm/action/showar- ticle/AID/139240

ateixeira

They are now current models but the transition to the other thread can take time, that's to be expected.

Also, the 2005 Legacy thread does not fall within the Subaru Crew topics in Owners Clubs, so some people are still more comfortable here, among their peers (i.e. Subaru owners).

Any how, when we're talking about Nav options, which might come for MY2006, it belongs here. Same for HIDs and other upgrades.

I guess until you've driven one you'll consider it a Future Model. ;-)

-juice

salbaby1972

Is their any word on where Sub is getting the NAV sys or who is the maker. I pray that is is a touch screen...

ateixeira

I'd imagine we'll get the same one offered in Japan. Check the Subaru global site.

It's right in the dash, nicely integrated. In fact the Legacy looks a little hollow without it, the bin in its place isn't very useful.

One source told me this time next year we'll see it on several models, not just the high-end ones.

-juice

sweet_subie

Yes, i was told by a salesman that the only reason they could not include Nav in 2005 leg/ob is becos of their contract with onstar which still has not expired or sth.

another thoery is that inluding it in 05 will take away the glory from the 7-seater launch.

next year, for sure on most.

ateixeira

Not sure about that 2nd argument, the Nav option will arrive at about the same time as the 7 seater. If anything they should hurry the Nav so that the 7 seater doesn't have to share the stage with that feature introduction.

-juice

volkov

We were censored!! Boy if that's all it takes, Nabisco would be 95% deleted. ;-)

Nicholas

ateixeira

Let's take advantage of the clean slate and try to keep the mood positive.

Reserve all the adjectives for the cars! )

-juice

locke2c

Navigation options are currently very expensive. Try to be as honest as possible:

1) if the system is $1500-2000 or more, would you REALLY buy it?

2) if you did buy it, would it be 'gee whiz' feature or do you live in a place, or travel enough to places, where you would truly utilize it?

3) we're by nature pretty hardcore enthusiasts. do you think your mother would buy and use navigation? your cousin or neighbor?

~c

njswamplands

volkov

Can't put my finger on it, but there had been a bit of a cranky vibe floating around this past week. Moon's waning now, maybe that'll help.

ateixeira

1) No way, no how. For $500 maybe. Nah, probably not! I'd have the Palm one made by Garmin by now if I wanted it.

2) Gee Whiz. Though there have been two occasions in the past 2-3 years where I was in traffic and would have looked for a detour.

3) For most people, no. I bet if it's an option less than 10% opt for it. It would push a GT Limited wagon automatic into the mid $30s!

-juice

salbaby1972

1. I would buy it for 1500-2000. IF it was as or nearly as nice/good as the Acura touch screen Nav system.

2. Gee-whiz, nope... we live in Los Angeles. Traffic all the time from Los Angeles to San Diego, from the coast to the high desert. Detours would be nice when guided.

3.I feel may non-tech people would be afraid to use it. But when trained to use the nav, I feel they would use it all the time, especailly in LA. My mom was amazed at my friends little Nav in his Mini Cooper and what it could do. She is really bad with maps and directioins.

BTW: Nav IS A wife requirement for our next car.

Plase let Subaru offer NAV...

kens

1) Nope. I'd spend that money on some tire upgrades. Especially since DVD navigation SW is constantly evolving and the unit is not portable.

2) Totally "Gee Whiz". 90% of my miles, unfortunately, are from my daily commute. I'd probably have it turned off most of the time.

3) My dad got one on his TSX for $2K extra and uses it -- but in his case he only uses his vehicle for enjoyment. I'm going to bet differently here: 30% of people would buy it as an option if offered (because it's the "thing" to have) but only 10% would be really using it a year later.

On rental cars I've driven with nav systems, I've found that I become overly dependent on them and actually miss obvious signs and landmarks.

Ken

ateixeira

I'll insert a caveat - on both occasions where I wanted one, a paper map would have worked.

Also, my co-pilot is, ahem, not a co-pilot. So I'm flying solo basically. If she were driving, and I had a map, Nav would be completely unnecessary.

-juice

volkov

My co-pilot thinks she's a good navigator too. But to quote one of our interactions, "How far from the turnoff before I turn left?"
'Um..., aaah...., about a centimeter.'

Nicholas

kens

Another reason for not having a Nav system -- it would be yet another excuse for my co-pilot to fall asleep on road trips. ;-)

You know you're in trouble when the person reading a map needs to rotate it so that you're always headed "up".

Ken

robr2

You know you're in trouble when the person reading a map needs to rotate it so that you're always headed "up".

I recall reading once that it's very common for men to orient maps north no matter the direction of travel and for women to turn them in the direction they are headed.

rob_m

No kidding! Seems like if you miss a minute, you miss a lot.

I received an invite for the premier of the Legacy GT on June 15th in the mail today. Too bad I will be on a business trip.

kens

Rob,

What does the "premier" entail? Is it a dealer event?

Ken

rob_m

It is a dealer event. The invitation is for the "New England Premier" of the 2005 Legacy GT, Tuesday, 5:30PM. I was there a week ago, and only saw a new Legacy, and two Outbacks.

ateixeira

LOL, Ken, she really does that? Hysterical!

Hey, at least she can read a map. My wife likes directions that say "Left @ McDonalds, Right @ Blockbuster".

Generally I print Mapquest directions and read them before we leave. I'm pretty good at finding my way around.

-juice

bat1161

1) If I had not recently purchased a portable GPS system, then yes I would be willing to spend the extra $$. If you think about it, a good portable unit goes for $700 - $1200, depending on what features you want. For an extra few hundred, the unit gets incorporated into your car looking like a natural fit.

2) It is partial "gee whiz" and partial usage. My wife and I like go to different wineries for tours in NY. Since they are located in places I ususally do not travel to, the GPS comes in handy. Hey, it's even convenient when traveling and you want to find a certain brand of gas nearby.

3) Since I'm the "adventurous" one in my family of just going for a ride, I have to say that most people will not buy a GPS unit until it gets more affordable. With that said, some local NYC dealers are advertising that they will throw in a GPS if you buy your new Toyota from them.

I went with a portable GPS unit because it is just that, portable. I can use it when I go on vacation where I am driving in a strange place, without worrying about where I am and if I am lost. Although I did learn that you have to be patient when using them. My first time upstate by my sister-in-law, we were coming home from dinner and I decided to use the gps to get us to her home. After hitting a "bridge out" crossing on the road it did get us there, but she could have gotten us home faster.

Mark

ladywclass

*I* can read a map and used to navigate when I was a teenager on family vacations!

ateixeira

That's my issue - I have 3 cars. We're talking $6 grand to equip them all with integrated GPS. At least two of them are used for trips and long drives.

Brenda: I'm not surprised! If you can type 1.3 million words per minute, you can read well also! ;-)

-juice

bat1161

Juice- you are probably better off going for the portable unit then. This way you can use it in the car you need.

Mark

ateixeira

Well, I have the path to our beach condo memorized. I've driven it before maybe 100 times. I could learn a detour or two, but again I could just spend 15 minute with a map and learn that.

We drive to CT once a year, that's probably the only time I'd use it. Not worth the investment.

Any how, bring it on as an option, I'll be one of the ones that passes, but I don't object to having Subaru offer it on Future Models.

-juice

sweet_subie

This is the best one around, see reviews people compare this to in-car GPS & find this performing better,

1. It has all maps,
2. touch screen, auto bright display etc

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001MHL0Y/104-0089- - 256-8265570?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=IL22R8ZBF364X&colid=3- - 6DZY1JLNRLUM

locke2c

Mark,

I don't believe the in car navigation options that run $1500-2000 and up cannot be duplicated for less as an accessory. a Garmin street pilot, though cool, is not in the same league as a navigation system with voice activation, audio output, and 7" or larger color LCD.

my father has a small garmin GPS that he uses on motorcycle rides, especially dual-sport jaunts over gravel roads in the hills. it's the size of a cell phone and works great for dead reckoning navigation. it won't tell you where a restaurant or gas station is, but you can find roads, leave breadcrumbs, and load maps from a pc.

anyway, car navigation is totally different. I also agree with KenS that if you use navi it can be easy to miss normal landmarks, having done that myself.

~Colin

rsholland

sales people for instance, who are constantly making new calls on prospects, a NAV could be very helpful.

I also agree that a built-in and integrated NAV is very nice. To be honest, I have not used one, although I did benefit from one when my HS buddy and I got lost, and he plugged in the address (in his Lexus), which then got us to our destination in minutes. The sense I have is that Acura and Lexus are the leaders in this field, in that they offer the best and most user-friendly units.

Bob

ateixeira

I'd prefer a DVD player for the kids. I'm not sure if they'd sell more of those, maybe on the 7 seater they would. I imagine I'd use that every weekend at least, more on trips.

-juice

njswamplands

and people complain about cell phone use in cars and you got a map folded out whilst driving?

ateixeira

Yeah, between my shave and my sip of coffee. ;-)

Actually, no, before driving. I study the path in advance and try to get my wife to help if needed.

I don't see how GPS is really any better - it's a distraction as well, as a couple of people just admitted. Do people really pull over?

-juice

cptplt

IIRC its not legal to have DVD entertainment etc screens the driver can see as its a safety issue. Is having a navi screen you can look at while driving safe? Its one thing to say you should not be using it when you are moving or it has voice prompts but its bound to happen that someone will be gaping at it?
I found on the Hertz units,I was looking at it a disproportionate amount of time.
Are there stats on how dangerous they are as distractions compared to cell phones etc?

ateixeira

It would be funny if they could sense the cars around you and put dots there, like some video games.

-juice

bat1161

One advantage a nav unit has over written directions is it calls out the turn for you before you get to the intersection. That helps to avoid missing your turn off, or having to look at a piece of paper, then street names. Although, even the nav system takes some getting used to. Just ask Elm- when we left the Philly show in April, the unit said go right, when we should have beared left before going right. When it re-routed it had us take a local highway, instead of the interstate. At least it gave us some time to recap the show.

Mark