By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
And Dave, please try not to dangle your participles. It might be ok for the president, but we have a higher standard here on the Subaru Crew Boards (flame suit on, anticipating raft of illegal apostrophe "s" references from miksmi)
I was working on my OB in the winter garage to replace the stock amp with my own. I put down the shifting brake for a second, and the car was out of gear (5 sp).
Whilst I was working away, the car started to roll! You can imagine my panic! Rolled into the garage door, ever so slightly putting a scratch into the bumper.
Most frightening...
I had a 89' Corsica I drove from Ottawa to Waterloo, ONT, Jan 1st, 1995. We got caught in a blizzard on the 401 highway and I was doing about 30 km an hour. All of a sudden we found ourselves in a slo-mo 360 on the highway. I can remember facing the wrong way and seeing this huge transport coming up at us; and then we were off the side of the road in the ditch and whacked a pole. Luckily no one hurt...
-Frank P.
In my own defense [poor excuse at best], I had limited [very limited] "English" schooling. Actually, wasn't too attentive then, hence Grammar Teachers' nightmare. I'll keep that (dangling participles) in mind...he he... that is if I would remember where in my mind I've kept it. :-)
On another note - Hey, where were you when I'd asked 'bout Maryland? I do plan to revisit Baltimore, especially Annapolis which I thought I didn't really had the chance to savour the sites. Would love to do it in a "GTB" [Patti - "I WANT ONE"].
-Dave
Glad to see a Dave represented our Crew at Ripken's goodbye party. Sort of. ;-)
Ditto, oops, Bob: how did the new Altima drive? I've been hearing complaints of torque steer.
Let us know when you get the XT6, paisan. Sounds like a hoot. Did you sell the MX6 yet?
Strangest accident? My step mom backed out of her garage, and into my Escort, in the driveway. Oops, she forgot I was parked there, even though she had just kissed me good bye!
-juice
Bob
Any how, I guess the Gods decided to punish me for making such a rash decision. The transmission idiot light went on. Oops!
OTOH, this may be a blessing in disguise. No way I'm sinking $2 grand into a new tranny, so if it turns out to be serious we'll be talking trade in. The catch is her Blitzen is still in the oven, a little rare, not quite ready.
Otherwise, I'll put her in an H6 Outback Sedan, but I doubt she'd bite. She insists on a manual. We could share Sandy until a better alternative comes around, but when will that be?
We'll have to take another look at the WRX sedan. Maybe the performance will let her overlook the relatively small size. I like GT sedans, but she's used to a V6 and we'd like something bolder.
She saw the new Altima at the Sade concert (Nissan Pavlion), and surprisingly it did nothing for her. She prefers the Maxima (not me), but prices have crept up quite a bit, and the rear is still not indy, plus it's wrong wheel drive.
A4 too small. A6 too pricey. C class and 3 series are nice but pricey with the stuff she'd want on it (leather, moonroof, CD). IS300 too small. Acura TL is nice but boring, and everyone has one.
There is a big hole in the market for a $30k mid-size performance sedan, at least one that isn't FWD. C'mon Patti, tell the chefs to crank up the heat in that oven!
And how 'bout some Rally Bread on the side while they're at it?
-juice
juice, I'm sure you're considering this, but she might drive the GT sedan. Its suspension might make her forget it's a 4 cylinder. With a stick, I think it's got a lot of get up and go (even the heavier wagon). It's not a Miata (acceleration), but it's not a Miata (cabin volume).
..Mike
..Mike
The wife hates wagons. She was forced to drive her parent's wagon in high school. I tried, but no talking her out of that one. She'd happily take Sandy, which doesn't look like a wagon (to her).
I don't think she'll fully appreciate what the GT can do. To be honest, she corners slowly and really only goes fast in a straight line, while the GT shines in doing the opposite.
She likes a smooth, quiet ride. An H6 Outback is probably better suited for her driving style, but she wants a 5 speed.
So, 5 speed, smooth ride, quiet, safe, mid-size, fast in a straight line, cornering not so important. Big trunk. Heated seats, leather not necessary, but heated. Moonroof. ISOFIX/LATCH anchors. Cruise, CD.
A WRX is fun enough that she may compromise and give up the gizmos and size for the fun. A Blitzen would be perfect; an easy sell.
-juice
GT Ltd. Sedan and then turbo it! :-)
Ken
Hmm, they do come in a 5 speed manual...
-juice
Juice - When I drove a 5 spd. GT, I really enjoyed it. It did feel peppy. Maybe give it a try?
Patti
Juice- GT Limiteds are auto-only. REgular GTs can be optioned out nicely, though. I think you're just going to have to test drive it and see what she thinks. If she likes Sandy so much, what's keeping you from swapping it over and getting yourself a Hutch-mobile?
Speaking of Hutch, where is he? Hutch, if you're out there, sound off buddy!!
Patti- hunt 'em down, girl! I'm going to be looking for another one in a few years, and a hi-test 6 speed Legacy @ $30k would fit the bill (assuming this economy turns around).
She thought it was way too small. Hated the boomerang on the decklid, which I told her was optional. Still too small, she said. :-(
She said if anything, she wants a bigger car than her 626, not a smaller one. The Legacy is about the same size, so I think I'll try to get her behind the wheel of a GT.
Though I really did want something different. Maybe we'll wait 'til the 2004 Forester turbo, or the B4 whenever that comes. Though I'm afraid I'll be sentenced to 8 years in a minivan with no parole.
Loosh: GT Ltd is sedan only, but they do offer shifting the way God intended.
-juice
-mike
-mike
Better yet, the Isuzu 520 lb-ft diesel. :oO
-juice
I think I like torque monsters cause I've always driven AT, and the more torque the better on them.
-mike
-juice
I can't believe my eyes "She'd happily take Sandy, which doesn't look like a wagon (to her)." Give her the damn thing! Get yourself a WRX
Are Loosh and I the only ones picking up on this?
Oh yeah .. Loosh .. I'm always around. It's just that sometimes business precludes my participation.
- hutch
- hutch
-mike
paisan: indeed, Ford gave a cool million and 10 Excursions. I guess the million was to pay for gas for those trucks. LOL! But Ford is much bigger than Subaru.
GM also gave a million and offered loaner vehicles for the cleanup, not keepers.
So in terms of donations for the size of the company, FHI's was about the biggest.
-juice
I know in the US its in the 100K+. I thought about this after reading that Saab hopes to sell 40,000 cars this coming year in the US and they only make I think it was 130K total.
Another thing, Saab tries to make a big deal about is its so called "aircraft" heritage. FHI has probably made more planes/choppers for the Japanese Self Defemnce Forces since WW2 than Saab has in its entire history and if you include FHI ancestors like Nakajima who were one of the biggest Japanese WW2 fighter manufacturers, well lets just say that fighter production in Scandinavia has never been exactly in the major leagues!
-mike
My Dad flew C47s over the Hump in WW2 and got shot at several times by the Japanese, wouldn't bother him one bit what advertising they use, besides most of the WW2 vets are 6 feet under already or beyond caring! He's 78!
Look Lucien, no apostrophes!
-juice
You said she would be perfectly happy with Sandy and he gets to stay in the family so whats keeping you man?go.go .go!
Cheers Pat.
Bob
..Mike
..Mike
Got this bad aftertaste in my mouth... {:P
-Dave
Luckily, I didn't crash. Hutch, Mike, and I all went to the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience. That was a hoot. A little theory instruction, then some demos, then a few laps with an instructor in a 330xi, AWD of course. Finally, we did a team relay with timed laps at the end.
Well, not to disappoint the Crew, our team won the relay by 3 seconds. :-) Lap times varied from 1:29 (instructors) to 1:39. Hutch pulled in an amazing 1:30, and Mike was right behind him, but each got a 2 second penalty for a cone. I did a 1:31 with no cones downed. We were all in the quicker half of the group, easily. Maybe familiarity with AWD helped?
Real fun. I was expecting to do threshold braking, but smoother turned out to be better. I almost lost it in one turn, the Bimmer understeering (? yup) nearly off course. That cost me some time, for sure.
Also tested a Z3 2.5, X5 4.4, 525 wagon, and 325 convertible, but on public roads at slower speeds. I was more impressed by the 3- and 5-series than by the X5 or Z3.
On the way to the event, I swapped my Miata for Hutch's WRX for a quick drive. Boy, oh boy. I shouldn't have done that. Now I really want one.
The WRX has a split personality. Under 3k rpms, it's a docile, refined, small car. You can scoot around getting 25mpg on those commutes, or cart around your mother-in-law as innocently as ever.
But man, above that, power picks up like a rocket. I was surprised, the turbo doesn't punch in suddenly, it spools up lineary and predictably. The higher you rev, the happier it is, and it's smooth even at redline. The thing just goes zzzzzZZZZZING! Sweet.
I wasn't on familiar roads, so I didn't get to push the handling, but boy do I have have to try that again.
The Bimmers we drove were automatics, but nothing I tested came close to that kind of push-you-into-your-seat acceleration.
-juice
At least then, you both will be on the same page to began a discussion about the pros/cons of owning a WRX.
BTW, enjoyed the "Chat" last night! Drew was sending me private msgs about the BMW Drive thingie in Vancouver on the 27th and I was also trying to keep up w/you guys. My hands are still sore! :-)
Stephen
But the 626 has new gear oil and we'll see how it holds up.
Excellent chat last night. Maybe our busiest ever. I'm sure we had close to 20 pop in at one time or another. Let's keep it up! :-)
-juice
Sounds like the BMW event was a blast!
I enjoyed reading your reaction to driving the WRX especially from a Forester owners point of view. Any more comments?
Sorry I missed the chat last night -- was stuck at work.
Ken
I turned a 1:29.5 lap, which was mid-pack for our group. They had trouble hooking up my seat belt—of all things. If it weren't for that, I would have been a second faster. The pros were turning well under 1:27 per lap. I was on the middle course with the 330ix. Was that the course you guys used. Remember there were 3 courses set up. I think we had about 17 or so drivers in our group.
The test cars that I took on the 6 mile road course were: Z3 3.0, 525, 325ix, X5 4.4.
Juice- the Audi A4 and RX300 were '01 models. The RX300 had a VSC badge on the front fender.
As with all premium brands, you see some neat stuff that mainstream models just don't have. I enjoyed the heated steering wheel of the X5, for example.
The ramp demo was interesting. I wish they had a VDC there, along with the A4 and RX300. They did say a VDC would "not" make it up the ramp, however.
Bob
..Mike
..Mike
They did say that this type of event was won or lost, not in the driving, but in the transfer from one driver to another.
Bob
I will admit, I came away much more impressed with what a BMW is capable of, after having participated in this event. I probably would never have considered purchasing a BMW before, but it's now a contender—especially the the 325Xi. I was very impressed with the 325Xi, since it's in the Subaru "ballpark" from a price standpoint. It's quicker than I thought it would be. I drove that model twice (the sedan). I now wish I had also driven the wagon version of that model.
That ramp test was an eye opener. I was surprised the A4 did so poorly. BMW clearly has a superior AWD system. I felt very comfortable "throwing" the 330Xi around the autocross curcuit. I never felt as if I was going to lose it. Very impressive indeed.
Bob
Am I correct?
Bob
It consisted of two inclined metal tracks that used of metal rollers, like those found on heavy-duty conveyer systems used to load/unload trucks, etc. On each of these tracks were metal plates where a wheel could get traction, in order to move the vehicle forward. These plates were placed so only one wheel at a time could gain traction.
The BMW folks said, that of all the 4WD/AWD systems out there, only 5 brands could traverse this ramp. They were: BMW AWD (X5 & Xi of course), MB ML, Hummer, Jeep Grand Cherokee (with Quadra Drive!), and the Range Rover. Guys, am I correct?
They demonstrated the BMW X5 3.0, the Lexus RX300, the BMW 330Xi, and the Audi A4 Quattro. Both BMWs were able to traverse it. Neither the A4 or RX300 could. They did say no Subaru could pass the test, including the VDC.
Thinking back, I should have asked them about the MB G-Wagon, MB 4-Matics, and the Land Cruiser. Oh well...
Bob
Sorry I missed the chat. Sounds like you guys were busy this week. I was out in Miami all week for work. Even though it's cooler and damper here in WI, I'm glad to be home.
Drove a '01 Grand AM SE v6 to the airport (chicago). Torque steer (very noticeable) without the traction control on, a little torque steer (not as noticeable) with it on. Ride was soft and pretty quiet, except you could hear the exhaust note (that's a Pontiac trademark isn't it?). One thing I've missed from my truck (and was on this radio) was the SCV (speed compensated volume) setting on the radio. I wouldn't mind seeing this on Sube radios.
-Brian
I am SO jealous!
He has, however, promised me a ride.
Cheers!
Paul
It's time for a new, and up-to-date infomercial!
Bob