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Comments
Bob
-mike
I have no doubt you can drive through it. My concern is that you'll get stuck in traffic. I know the drive from my place to Washington is normally about an hour drive. When it snows, it can be a 2-3 hour drive, and that's because you get stuck in horrible traffic.
Bob
-juice
We'll have a GPS
-Dave
Then again, if it's like any of the past "winter events," maybe nothing will occur. It seems every time they predict snow, the weathercasters are way off. That could be good (or very bad).
Bob
-mike
295 is busy around rush hour though so keep your ears open.
Have fun!
-Dennis
Heading over to mike's in a bit.
See y'all @ ~noon.
-Dave
-mike
-mike
-Dennis
Subaru not only had the STi there, but a '04 WRX sedan, WRX wagon & a '04 Outback Sport! To the best of my knowledge, this was the first unveiling of the OBS in North America! We told the Subaru reps there that a couple of us came down from NY to see the new STi—and they let us (and nobody else) up on to the STi display to sit in and crawl all over the the new STi! We were honored, as others asked to sit in it, and the SOA reps would not allow them to do so!!
Of interest:
• It sounds like only the WRX sedan will have the moonroof and AWP as an option. The reps said that the wagon would not get those. Major bummer!!!
• The STi has the on/off cruise control switch now integrated on to the CC control stalk, like Toyota and others, which is great! None of the other Imprezas had this feature though. Why?
• Radio antenneas now in rear window of both Impreza sedans and wagons.
• A rear disk brake returns to the Outback Sport.
• A Baja Sport was there with an aftermarket hard tonneau cover that locks. It's not a factory option, and upon close inspection looked a bit crude. It's a great idea, but it appears to be in a "beta" stage of development.
• I'm pretty certain that the STi, both WRXs, and the Baja Sport that were on display, were the exact same vehicles that were at the Detroit Show, two weeks ago.
Other all-new models on display: '04 Ford F-150, '04 Nissan Titan, Murano & Maxima, VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Cadillac sports car, & two new SUVs (I can't remember their names), GMC Yukon XUV w/sliding rear roof, '04 Grand Cherokee, Infiniti QX45, '04 4Runner, Lexus GX470, Volvo XC90, Mitsubishi Endeavor and Outlander, and I'm sure there were some others too, that I don't remember. I didn't see the EVO there! That surprised me.
Mike took loads of pixs, so he'll probably post them when he gets a chance. Because the the weather wasn't great, the crowds were way down, making seeing the cars very easy. I'm sure the others will have comments too. Finally, we stuffed our faces at a pub just across the street, that Loosh recommended. Good choice Loosh!
Bob
Glad you guys had a good time and traveled safely.
Ed
As to traveling, Mike & Dave are still probably somewhere on the NJ turnpike as I am posting this...
Bob
BTW the Phila. Inquirer ran a review of the Mitsu Endeavor today. Looks like someone plopped an X5 greenhouse on a Montero then drove it into a Venetian blind.
Still incredulous that WRX wagons won't get AWP. Surely SoA realizes wagons are more likely to be driven in inclement conditions than sedans! ;-)
Ed
Trip down wasn't bad. We left about 8:50am shot down the 175miles and got to Baltimore ~12:15 parked, then realized that we parked in an illegal lot, so we had to move it, and walk over to the convention center. We only got yelled at by 3 truckers on the CB for going down the far left un-plowed lane @ 75-85
Show was great cause no one was there! We were able to climb all over the STi.
STi notes:
o Guages are like Lexus/Infiniti in that you can't see anything but the needles when the car is turned off.
o Show car is not the bonnefide thing, no HIDs, no IC Sprayers, hand-painted intake manifold paint, hand-sprayed STi logo on the IC, I'm sure that the real deal will have the real items, but we are almost certain that the one we saw wasn't it!
o Loved the center diffy controller and 6MT
o Blue-insert seats are not as tacky as the pictures make em out to be. They are nice and dark and blend with the fabric nicely.
Dinner was great with Bob, Hypov and Juice! As was crawling all over the nice cars! I loved the G-wagon, and TLC.
Also want to get the phone # of the chick from the KIA Sorento Area! She was so knowledgeable it was great. Oh and she was good looking too
Dave and I made it back to the SI area rather quickly, I drove for about 45 min @ 80, then Dave took over and um, the SVX kinda lulled him into a nice 90-92 range... (I was worried he'd get a ticket)
-mike
Had a great day!
Juice, Bob & Loosh, pleasure to have finally met.
Bob and Mike just 'bout covered it all.
The VW rep wasn't too happy with Mike and me refering the Toureg (sp) as a wagon.
rep: "NO! It's an Ssss Uuuuu Veeee!"
Dave: "wagon"
-Dave
I was like um, I've done drifts in the trooper and it doesn't roll, and I was talking about off-road pal, since he was touting the "Truck" part of the VW.
It was a nice wagon/crossover, but a Truck/offroader, it is not!
-mike
My only objections to the Touareg are:
• Temp spare tire, and that the flat (full-size) tire won't fit into the spare's wheel well. I think this was a huge mistake on VW's part. Yes, you can get a full-size rear-mounted spare, but every SUV, that has any intentions of doing any "real" work should have a full-size spare as standard.
• Pricing is too high. This is purely a result of VW wanting to move upscale, and as a result the Touareg is packed with luxury items. I would love to see a de-contented interior version, with a MSRP in the high $20K range. I don't think it will happen though, unless VW changes directions in terms of marketing and brand positioning.
Bob
http://www.autointell.com/News-2001/June-2001/June-2001-1/June-06- - - - -01-p1.htm
http://www.gm.com/cgi-bin/pr_display.pl?2297
Bob
-mike
But compared to old-school-like SUVs it won't compete offroad. I have no problem with this though cause most people don't offroad, so it's a perfect X-over or High-wagon which is what people want.
-mike
Ed
PS: Have you seen what they've done to the Park Avenue? The return of the ventiports (a/k/a "portholes") are very sloppily done, and those bling-blingin' wheels are a desperate attempt to attract a younger crowd. Pity, because the Ultra actually is a decent car - makes a much more tasteful airport limo than a Lincoln or Cadillac.
I did get a chance to go this afternoon. I had such a good time (even wore out my wife and son).
Michael
Regarding the AWP/moonroof on the WRX wagon: It was the other tall guy from SOA. I hope you're right, and the guy we spoke to was wrong...
Ed
Actually I don't mind the ventiports. It's a "Buick-Thing." The fact that they are phony bothers me, and the top-of-the-line Buick (Roadmaster) always had 4 ventiports, whereas lesser Buicks always had 3 ventiports. So whenever I see the new "premium" Park Avenue (with 3 ventiports) I go, huh?
Michael
Maybe next year, or perhaps this April when the NY show comes up?
Bob
Today I decided to go to the Mid-Atlantic Motorcycle Show at the state fair grounds. It took me 2.5 hours of sitting in my car before I could park it, then another .5 hour outside in the cold waiting to buy my ticket! That's 3 hours of waiting!!
What great show though (if you're a motorcycle fan). Besides all the usual choppers, Harleys, Hondas, BMWs, etc., I got a chance to see rare bikes: Aprillas, Ducatis, Moto Guzzis, Triumphs and my favorite: the MV Agusta F4, which is a 2-wheeled piece of art! Colin, I know you're biker. I think the MV would be much to your liking. I picked a brochure on it, and it is fascinating.
Bob
BTW, did you get a look at the MD State Police motorcycle that was at the auto show? It's a BWM! I couldn't believe it--I thought the MSP were using Harleys?
Michael
He spent some time with me going over the bike. It has heated hand grips and electric outlets for heated clothing for cold weather usage. This particular officer was at the recent governor's inauguration, when it was 15 degrees outside, and he said he was quite comfortable.
Bob
That would be a huge bummer! I would imagine that the folks buying the wagon would benefit more, if not as much, from an AWP as the sedan. I'm sure people with active lifestyles (skiing, biking, whatever) choose the wagon for it's carrying capacity. I hope that's not going to be true...
Sounds like you guys had a great time. I'm jealous!
Ken
Thanks.
MNSteve (shorter than before....)
Bob
-mike
-mike
I REALLY want that silver wrx wagon and those B4 rims....
BBQ... how 'bout at a certain parking lot in Cherry Hill? ;-)
-Dave
BBQ in a Cherry Hill parking lot sounds fun! :-)
-Dennis
The in-window antennae was a big surprise, I don't think anyone had mentioned that yet. It leaves a cleaner exterior when you don't have one sticking out. Looks like almost all Subies have them now, I know some Foresters do and Legacys too.
Bob - the Caddy names you were looking for were the SRX (crossover) and XLR (roadster). The XLR looks nice. It'll share a chassis with the next (C6) Corvette. Thumbs up. I liked the SRX too, though it's out of my price range.
Endeaver is a bad joke - total rubber maid interior. Literally - the arm rests on the doors and center actually have a rubber lining! The trim is a shiny black plastic that is the same quality as a plastic trash can, pitiful. I can't believe Mitsu think it can compete with the Highlander and Pilot.
paisan: Elisabeth is your soul mate, you should have gotten her card.
-juice
I read a post over on NASIOC that made it sound like the SOA folks thought you guys actually worked for Edmunds and that's what got you so close to the STi. I think it's the last post in this thread...
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31- 0930
-Ian
p.s. I guess being group moderators here has already provided some perks! LOL!
-mike
You think he noticed the Subaru logo on my shirt and both our Subaru hats, though? ;-)
They probably did think we were employees of some sort.
-juice
At no point did we purport or claimed to work for Edmunds. The rep merely misunderstood.
For the record, we were well behaved. We didn't drool all over the engine or interior. ;-)
-Dave
-juice
I thought I saw dribbles on that nice blue vest!
Ron
Wait a sec - I gotta renegotiate the contract. :-)
-juice
MNSteve