While I missed out on a lot of the activity...meetings....we had a special "Thank You" day to the Subaru U. S. Rally team. Folks got to ride with the Rally guys in a specially set up track to learn the "tricks". I really wanted to learn about using the e-brake for sharp curves, but it didn't work out time wise. Lot's of videos and we got to check out under the hood of the cars and sit in the drivers seat for a bit. I did have a nice chat with Karl and told him about the supporters here at Edmunds and invited him to check out these boards. Very nice guy.
No Subie info in it, but still some interesting articles, such as:
• 10 Best Family Sedans. The Accord LX (not EX!) won, edging out both the new Camry (#2) and the Altima (#3). Even more surprising is the Hyundai XG350 came in 4th!
• Preview of the new Civic Si.
• A couple of stories on Caddy hearses, if you're into that...
• Road test on the FWD Audi A4 3.0 with CVT. They loved the new tranny, which interestingly, is MUCH quicker when left in "Drive" as opposed to the "Tip-Tronic" mode.
• And my favorite—John Phillips editorial: advice he gives to Bob Lutz on how to improve GM, titled "How to get a haircut and rebuild GM at the same time." Folks, this is one classic (and hilarious!) piece of writing. Lutz should hire Phillips to be his speech writer. Mike "Wordsmith" Smith, this Bud's for you...
Bob: with any luck, my issue awaits in my mailbox... my periodicals always seem a day or two slower, perhaps owing to the fact I have a PO Box at a small township post office... either that or the USPS folk are car nuts too!
the freshened up 2002 Hyundai XG350. There was a black one w/black leather at the Seattle Autoshow last weekend. They've made 16"wheels std (really needed this, especially from a visual). The wheels are quite nice looking. The interior was very well done. All and all, I'm not surprised that it did so well in the Dec C&D comparo. Oh yeah, the total list price w/everything on it (leather, moonroof, 5spd sport auto, alloys, trip computer, CD, auto temp a/c, etc was $26k. Another Hyundai that looks really nice compared to its predecessor is the redesigned Tiberun. It looks almost like the new Maserati. So far the only Hyundai I haven't really warmed up to is the excessively styled Santa Fe.
Finally broke down and waxed both sides of the OB rims today. Then I rotated the tires front to back, same side.
I torqued the lugs (after waxing them of course) to 67 foot pounds. Also adjusted the air pressure to 31 all around.
What's the *correct* procedure for re-torquing? I know you have to recheck aluminum wheels after some driving, but am unsure on the proper method. In the past, I've just taken the torque wrench, dialed it to whatever setting I needed, and listened for the click (all while the car is on all fours).
Thanks. But I will say I only have a Bachelors degree in OCD. Haven't done the plastic thing yet! (can you say PhD?). I did ban all drinking in the OB now that I noticed some liquid spillage. Need to get out the Bissell tonight.
Is that as in rubber room? my sometimes my wife thinks I should be in one, Especially since I washed the Titan three times this week already.
I wash him it rains then I have to go out which meant him getting washed again, yesterday when I was washing it was just below freezing so it was cold.
This morning I got up to a light dusting of snow and i have to go out again so with OCD. you just can,t win.
quote: What's the *correct* procedure for re-torquing?
well as you know, if you leave the wrench at say 65lb/ft and then re-torque about a 10 mile drive, then you could (and probably are) actually putting more than 65lb/ft on them because the wrench can only click so soon. if you have a beam-type wrench, this isn't a problem. otherwise they're a bit of a pain though, so I use ratcheting torque wrenches myself.
so if you have a ratching (clicking) torque wrench set the initial torque a bit lower than the final value. say 60lb-ft and then after your drive set to 68 or 70 and retorque.
Bob: got C&D and previewed it but haven't read it yet. Some red flags on that sedan comparo:
* no Passat? Hello? * no Galant, which won their last comparo * no Legacy, which is a best kept secret, so no surprise * the only car tested that even offers a manual trans is the Altima
My criteria would pit the 5 speeds in the Passat, Altima, and Legacy GT against each other for the sportiest family sedan.
The CVT Audi that is slower in TipTronic mode renders that mode useless. The differences were significant, too. Why bother?
They weren't looking for the "sportiest" family sedan—just the best "family" sedan, hence all automatics. Roomieness and comfort is more important than cutting lap times here. "Good Housekeeping" standards employed to decide the winner. Good point, however about those MIAs. Also in agreement regarding the Audi CVT.
Mine also clicks, and ratchets, too. I got it at Sears, can't remember how much but I think they cost about $40 and up. I have a photo here if anyone is shopping for one.
Mine is 3/8" drive because that's what my ratchet set is, but if you do heavy duty jobs consider a 1/2" drive and an adaptor. Torque wrenches are priceless in their usefullness. I use mine on almost every job.
I will swap ya no problem, now i am jealous of you with you balmy 11 degrees, I have a friend who lives in Chemainous( probably spelt wrong) he keeps phoning to rub my nose in it.
predicts A LOT of snow for the northeast this year. He's been very accurate in the past. He states that the last time we had a similar weather set-up (no el-nino, or el- nina), we had those massive storms (anyone remember that 3 footer??).
I remember that storm. I got stuck in New Mexico because I could not fly back! Two full days!
I had a lame rental Mercury Tracer that was the worst car I've ever driven in the snow. It was all over the road on the way up to Taos. You would not believe how bad it was, even with FWD.
They don't salt the roads there, they just plow and put down sand. I'm sure that's much friendlier to the environment than the chemicals used here in DC.
Yea, friendlier on sheetmetal too. Well if THAT'S the forecast, I won't bother getting all-seasons mounted on the spare rims. I'll just bolt up my set of 15" Michelin L-81s at the 1st sign of a flake!
Actually, I am thinking of selling them already. RallyCross is just too hard on my daily driver, and the closest venue is 3 hours away. Most competitors trailer cars in or have picked up boits-du-merdre for a pittance for the sole purpose of running rallycross. I guess in other parts of the country they run in grassy fields or mild gravel, but the venue for this area is an actual PRoRally special stage circuit. MUCH easier on me AND the car to drive to Frederick, run the 1st heat of an auto-x, and be home by 2.
Why? My new OB, my new snowblower, my new tires on the Sienna and a new coating of sealer on my driveway with some sand added for traction. Hope I am wrong - that's a lot of $$$ I spent. Of course the OB has already paid for itself in smiles.
Funny, but two hours ago I was driving between buildings for a meeting when one of my coworkers commented what a beautiful car my new OB was. The basic jist of the conversation was whether I was going to keep it out of harms way for the winter. And yes, the thought of being pelted by rocksalt from the town sander passing me on a narrow two lane road made me cringe! But I had to remind myself and reply that this was why I chose the OB in the first place. For its winter prowess! What good would it do me to keep it in the garage all winter??
Most of the sheet metal is galvanized. Just make sure any chips or scratches are touched up, and try not to go too long in between washes when there is that white gunk on it.
Ron Zarrella is out! Thank goodness... This is the guy behind GM's "Brand Management," a misguided concept if ever there was one! Bob Lutz will also take over his responsibilities, in addition to being GM's product czar.
I have a jpg file I want to post here. Am I allowed? It is relevant, but it might be a bit large. How do you suggest I do it? Any help would be appreciated!
you need to have it hosted somewhere first, like Photopoint for instance. You can't just upload a JPEG to Edmunds. Once you have posted the pic on another website (like Photopoint or your own ISPs "free" web space) you embed a link to it in your edmunds post:
Use this coding, but replace the ( and ) with < and >:
You can also e-mail it to someone who has a Photopoint account, and/or e-mail it to me if it needs to be in some other format other than jpeg (I have Photoshop, and can save it in a variety of formats), and I can then forward it to someone, or back to you...
I can host the image on my iDisk at mac.com and have it up here on Edmunds in a few seconds. If you want, email the jpeg file to me at craig_hunter@mac.com.
Wasn't Zarella the guy that thought that selling cars was no different than selling toothpaste? Buh-Bye! We won't miss you!
Patti: just e-mail it to ateixeira@ifc.org and I'll have it up within a few minutes.
That goes for the whole crew. I can host 1000 photos, so I don't mind using up a few dozen to host pictures of your Subies, as long as it's just 1 or 2 pix each.
Among the list of Best Bets for used cars is every single Subaru model! :-)
And in the Reliability Risks list? No subies. Not any model, for any year. Even Honda can't make that claim.
Speaking of Honda, they've kind of fallen off the ball lately. The '99 Odyssey is listed as a reliability risk, and even the new ones are only average. The new Civic is also just average, and that's the platform underlying several new models.
One of my co-workers went home to England last week and I asked him to pick up anything Subaru. He picked up a SWRT cap (already have one, I'll give this to the wifey), Impreza brochure, UK300 brochure, STi press release and a SWRT catalog. I feel like a kid at Christmas!
I can't believe all of the options they get in the UK. They can even get "wood effect" trim. They also can't get away with calling it "carbon fiber" only "carbon effect". Another thing I noticed (besides the obvious side indicator, larger wheels, etc.), is they get the air recirc button instead of the lever that's on our cars.
Anyway, my friend was very impressed with the STi. He used to own a chipped S3 and sold it at a profit after 6 months because he'll be in the U.S. for 3 years. He said a Subaru will definitely be on his shopping list when he goes back to the UK.
Received this in my home e-mail. Since I don't check it often, I missed this.
Dear Greg,
Wappingers Falls Subaru cordially invites you to our anual Subaru Extravaganza this Saturday, November 10th from 10 am to 5 pm.
In addition to a vast selection of Subaru vehicles on display, we will have local radio station WHUD here for your musical entertainment, plus 2 of the Subaru Rally Team USA Race cars with which Subaru won the 2001 SCCA ProRally Championship for manufacturers.
Please come and join us for a test drive to discover the beauty of all-wheel drive.
You are receiving this email because you have previously expressed interest in the Subaru Outback. If you are still considering the purchase or lease of an Outback please let us assist you with the process. If you do not wish to receive future email announcements from us concerning Subaru news and events, please send a blank email with "unsubscribe" in the subject header to
Cool, Dennis. I don't get why Subaru doesn't give us all the same goodies. The WRX is proof that we do indeed want that stuff.
Think about it - you get economies of scale if you have less variation in the product. So give us the heated seats from the Canadian WRX and that recirc button, the STi models, the Blitzen, we want it all!
Comments
Patti
• 10 Best Family Sedans. The Accord LX (not EX!) won, edging out both the new Camry (#2) and the Altima (#3). Even more surprising is the Hyundai XG350 came in 4th!
• Preview of the new Civic Si.
• A couple of stories on Caddy hearses, if you're into that...
• Road test on the FWD Audi A4 3.0 with CVT. They loved the new tranny, which interestingly, is MUCH quicker when left in "Drive" as opposed to the "Tip-Tronic" mode.
• And my favorite—John Phillips editorial: advice he gives to Bob Lutz on how to improve GM, titled "How to get a haircut and rebuild GM at the same time." Folks, this is one classic (and hilarious!) piece of writing. Lutz should hire Phillips to be his speech writer. Mike "Wordsmith" Smith, this Bud's for you...
Bob
Looking forward to it - thanks for the heads up!
Cheers!
Paul
Dennis
Cheers Pat.
Cheers Pat.
Stephen
I torqued the lugs (after waxing them of course) to 67 foot pounds. Also adjusted the air pressure to 31 all around.
What's the *correct* procedure for re-torquing? I know you have to recheck aluminum wheels after some driving, but am unsure on the proper method. In the past, I've just taken the torque wrench, dialed it to whatever setting I needed, and listened for the click (all while the car is on all fours).
-Brian
-Dave (Brooklyn, NY., USA)
Greg
I hope everyone had a good rememberence weekend.
Cheers Pat.
I wash him it rains then I have to go out which meant him getting washed again, yesterday when I was washing it was just below freezing so it was cold.
This morning I got up to a light dusting of snow and i have to go out again so with OCD. you just can,t win.
Cheers Pat.
well as you know, if you leave the wrench at say 65lb/ft and then re-torque about a 10 mile drive, then you could (and probably are) actually putting more than 65lb/ft on them because the wrench can only click so soon. if you have a beam-type wrench, this isn't a problem. otherwise they're a bit of a pain though, so I use ratcheting torque wrenches myself.
so if you have a ratching (clicking) torque wrench set the initial torque a bit lower than the final value. say 60lb-ft and then after your drive set to 68 or 70 and retorque.
-Colin
Bob: got C&D and previewed it but haven't read it yet. Some red flags on that sedan comparo:
* no Passat? Hello?
* no Galant, which won their last comparo
* no Legacy, which is a best kept secret, so no surprise
* the only car tested that even offers a manual trans is the Altima
My criteria would pit the 5 speeds in the Passat, Altima, and Legacy GT against each other for the sportiest family sedan.
The CVT Audi that is slower in TipTronic mode renders that mode useless. The differences were significant, too. Why bother?
-juice
Bob
Ross
-Brian
Mine is 3/8" drive because that's what my ratchet set is, but if you do heavy duty jobs consider a 1/2" drive and an adaptor. Torque wrenches are priceless in their usefullness. I use mine on almost every job.
-juice
He lived in Ottawa until 3 years ago.
Cheers Pat.
Ross
PS Just couldn't resist a message from LaLa Land
-juice
Cheers!
Paul
Okay - bring it on!!!
Patti
I had a lame rental Mercury Tracer that was the worst car I've ever driven in the snow. It was all over the road on the way up to Taos. You would not believe how bad it was, even with FWD.
They don't salt the roads there, they just plow and put down sand. I'm sure that's much friendlier to the environment than the chemicals used here in DC.
-juice
Actually, I am thinking of selling them already. RallyCross is just too hard on my daily driver, and the closest venue is 3 hours away. Most competitors trailer cars in or have picked up boits-du-merdre for a pittance for the sole purpose of running rallycross. I guess in other parts of the country they run in grassy fields or mild gravel, but the venue for this area is an actual PRoRally special stage circuit. MUCH easier on me AND the car to drive to Frederick, run the 1st heat of an auto-x, and be home by 2.
Uh-oh, I have those touring tires on. Oh well, I can practice driving slideways. ;-)
-juice
Greg
-juice
Steve
-juice
Bob
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=4385
Patti
Use this coding, but replace the ( and ) with < and >:
(img src="Photo URL address")
example:
(img src="http://a332.g.akamai.net/7/332/936/0001/www.edmunds.com/pictures/40406.jpg")
Patti
Bob
I can host the image on my iDisk at mac.com and have it up here on Edmunds in a few seconds. If you want, email the jpeg file to me at craig_hunter@mac.com.
Craig
Patti: just e-mail it to ateixeira@ifc.org and I'll have it up within a few minutes.
That goes for the whole crew. I can host 1000 photos, so I don't mind using up a few dozen to host pictures of your Subies, as long as it's just 1 or 2 pix each.
-juice
Cheers Pat.
Among the list of Best Bets for used cars is every single Subaru model! :-)
And in the Reliability Risks list? No subies. Not any model, for any year. Even Honda can't make that claim.
Speaking of Honda, they've kind of fallen off the ball lately. The '99 Odyssey is listed as a reliability risk, and even the new ones are only average. The new Civic is also just average, and that's the platform underlying several new models.
paisan: the Troopa smokes 'em both. ;-)
-juice
He picked up a SWRT cap (already have one, I'll give this to the wifey), Impreza brochure, UK300 brochure, STi press release and a SWRT catalog. I feel like a kid at Christmas!
I can't believe all of the options they get in the UK. They can even get "wood effect" trim. They also can't get away with calling it "carbon fiber" only "carbon effect". Another thing I noticed (besides the obvious side indicator, larger wheels, etc.), is they get the air recirc button instead of the lever that's on our cars.
Anyway, my friend was very impressed with the STi. He used to own a chipped S3 and sold it at a profit after 6 months because he'll be in the U.S. for 3 years. He said a Subaru will definitely be on his shopping list when he goes back to the UK.
-Dennis
Dear Greg,
Wappingers Falls Subaru cordially invites you to our anual Subaru Extravaganza this
Saturday, November 10th from 10 am to 5 pm.
In addition to a vast selection of Subaru vehicles on display, we will have local
radio station WHUD here for your musical entertainment, plus 2 of the Subaru Rally
Team USA Race cars with which Subaru won the 2001 SCCA ProRally Championship for
manufacturers.
Please come and join us for a test drive to discover the beauty of all-wheel drive.
You are receiving this email because you have previously expressed interest in the
Subaru Outback. If you are still considering the purchase or lease of an Outback
please let us assist you with the process. If you do not wish to receive future
email announcements from us concerning Subaru news and events, please send a blank
email with "unsubscribe" in the subject header to
Greg
Think about it - you get economies of scale if you have less variation in the product. So give us the heated seats from the Canadian WRX and that recirc button, the STi models, the Blitzen, we want it all!
Too bad Greg, must've been fun.
-juice
-mike
-juice
-mike
-juice
Thanks Patti! :-)
-juice