Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Jim
It's a limited production exotic car IIRC.
2.2l GC8 body, with all kinds of good stuff (variable center diffy, TT, 2.2l)
-mike
And thanks for the info on turning off the keyless entry beep. I'm not sure I want to do that yet, it's sort of reassuring to hear, although occasionally, it doesn't beep.
A light flasher might have been better, but I can live with this.
Besides, I just discovered how if you set the dome light right, it lights when I unlock and then slowly fades, nice!
Cynthia
Steve
Steve
-mike
PS: More pics and videos up today.
Had an intriguing day, travelling with a colleague in his MB ML320. Same age as my Subaru (34 months) with similar mileage (about 55,000 miles). But the difference!
My Outback remains tight with minimal rattles adn nothing fallen off. The ML320 had a howling wind noise from the passenger side mirror and jiggled badly over undulating roads, making press-on speeds hazardous. Probably about 20 mph off the Outback speed over same road. Passenger grab handle had lost a hinge pin and the drinks holder had lost its spring. Apparently these are so common in ML's that you cannot source spares. They have run out in Australia.
Overall, I came away deeply unimpressed. To add insult, the beast was showing a low oil warning that became more urgent. When we stopped to investigate, it took us twenty minutes t figure out what the warning meant, as the handbook is incomprehensibly laid out. Even then, it took ages to find the dip stick only to find the error message was wrong.
I think I will stick with the Subaru, even if the clutch is a pig.
Cheers
Graham
-mike
Remember all that talk at the time Mercedes and Chrysler got in bed with each other, all that talk about how they would ever find a way to "blend" those two corporate cultures? Looks like they've found a way!
Steve
Blitzen is a Legacy twin turbo 2.0l special.
Both are sweet!
The Benz ML has had reliability issues from the beginning, probably because they opened a brand new plant in 'bama. That must have been a '98 or '99, and they've likely improved since then.
Still, nice to hear how much better a Subie holds up over time.
-juice
-Colin
One major factor that would keep me away from an ML despite it's capabilities is that it's become synonymous with "soccer mom" around here.
Ken
-mike
-juice
Steve
Did you start with one facing b/w or both facing same?
Are you using LATCH with those?
I'm going to need two seats in july and am not sure I want a bucket for the infant or If I should go straight to the roundabout.
thanks.
Steve-v
That $300 from subaru you get to spend on diapers at 'toys 4 us' can by cool cloth ones with change and no land fill. I think we have spent $200 on diapers total for two years - washing them yourself is easy and makes great points from the wife!!! :~P
stevev
However, since bringing the Outback home, I got big cool factor points from all my roommates. Now, even my boss (who owns a BMW 7 series) is jealous. He thinks my wagon is gorgeous. (Well, so do I, but I've always been weird that way.)
Anyone else suddenly become "in crowd" when they bought their Subaru?
There is a link to a discussion of this new feature on the home page.
Steve
I think that wagons are slowly overcoming the 30-odd year old perception by baby boomers that equates them with the huge wood-decalled family buses of the '50s '60s & '70s - or the cramped Pintos, K-cars & Escorts of the '80s & late '70s. Not many of them on the road today. Minivans have been taking the place of perceived Stodgy Familymobiles. I'll bet that the young kids of today will ultimately feel the same way about many of the current "Soccer Mom" SUVs of the last 10 years. Especially if we have gas line crises again. The next wave are the current crop of "crossover" vehicles, where Subaru is an established player.
Wagons like the Subaru Outback, Audi A6 & Allroad, VW Passat & Jetta, various turbocharged Volvos and the future Chrysler Pacifica are perceived as interesting, practical, upmarket and even fun.
To me, it's all about marketing - in the mainstream automotive sales world. We on these Subaru boards tend to be sort of cultural Early Adopters, or don't really care that much about stylishness to begin with. That would include me; my previous car was an '85 4WD Toyota Tercel wagon, downright funky for its time - and unusual for a (then) single man of 30 to buy. But guess whose car my friends and I would take for comfort on trips or to go cross-country skiing?
John
'99 Forester
Jim - Check out 22B.com
There was one (or two?) in the U.S. making rounds with the press a few years ago. There are also pics on the i-club's gallery page from a meet in MD when they filmed it for Motorweek. IMO, the current WRX sedan would look a little better if it's flares emulated the 22B instead of the Forester. :-)
-Dennis
Heather
Cynthia: when the crossover boom begins, and believe me it will, people will look to the Outback as the original. At least the modern original.
Look at it this way - it'll be easy to sell yours when you're ready for another, because it'll likely be more trendy than it is now!
Heather: you gotta get those kids in line! :-)
At least all 3 rear seat belts having locking retractors. Get it snug and it's hard for them to squirm out. Our 626 didn't and once in a while I'd find my daughter tapping me on the shoulder - she'd gotten completely out! Yikes!
-juice
Ken
Steve
The Mazda 6 will arrive soon, and then the whole slew of Pacifica/GST crossovers.
-juice
So the ultimate anti "family" wagon the WRX is my ideal car now!
TWRX
-juice
True enough, when shopping for the Outback what I was really looking for was a small fun wagon to replace my aging Tercel. The Outback more than met the standard of fun utility, and adds the obvious qualities of power, smoothness, AWD, more room, and luxury appointments. The Tercel was my wife's first car, so she was extra critical of the replacement wanna-be. But within a month of ownership gave the Outback her greatest compliment by saying it was "just as easy to drive as the Tercel".
ffsteve
Found out on Monday, right after buying the new car. Wife 7 months pregnant. Nice.
No sense pouting so I've been scrambling around. They're creating 2 new depts and so I applied for the same position in those, interviewed for one, and it appears I'm one of the top choices. I interview for the other on Tuesday, so fingers crossed folks.
I should be OK, but you still hate to go through so much uncertainty. I applied for 6 other jobs in various areas in the World Bank Group, so I'm sure I'll get something (MS+BS+12 years experience helps there).
At least we paid cash for the car and have some savings, plus I'd get 16 months severance/package if they let me go entirely (doubtful).
Still, bummer. I may lose my window office with southern exposure. :-(
-juice
Steve
Hang in there. You obviously have many good qualities.
Good luck,
Steve
Hang in there, buddy, I'm sure you'll do fine. Keep thinking positive -- change is good. I have confidence that you'll be OK.
Ken
Look for the silver lining in the dark cloud
and -----mmq---pmm---- in there!!!
-Dave
Good Luck!
Ron
I second Steve's comment about your thoughtfulness and the way you are all over this Subaru community helping us. You will be snapped up in no time I know.
Also, don't feel guilty about the new car -- just think of all the money you SAVED on it ;-)
Kim
Rule Britannia...
Kim
Cynthia
I didn't buy my wagon for cool factor... I'd probably have bought a Legacy L, but for the fact that the Outback ride seemed so much smoother. However, I continue to notice the occasional head turn when I drive by and I LIKE it!
Of course, although there are Subarus in my area, there just aren't that many, so that might explain it some too. In fact, today, while driving, I saw a sleek silver wagon and was wondering what it was... turned out to be an older model Legacy. (I have a weakness for silver, it's the one thing I could wish for on my Outback... with maybe dark cladding or silver cladding.)
Didn't buy the Camry liftback for cool either, got it for utility. I still kind of miss the smaller size vehicle, but I looked at the Outback Sport and it didn't have the kind of rear cargo space I was used to with the Camry. However, I like the solid feel of my Subaru and it feels like it has a LOT more power under the hood. (Which we have not tested yet due to break in.)
Cynthia
Nobody knows better than I that writing books is a poor way to get rich, but you are in a special position to write terrific car books: you're bright, funny, extremely well informed and you express yourself well with no apparent effort. That's more than I could say about all the stiffs who have actually written about cars.
Just a thought. Better to get something in your own field, as that surely pays better, but I don't know anyone who could do a better book (or books) about cars. Might be a fun project someday. Again, good luck. We're all pulling for you.
Steve
-mike
One too many Steves
Hang in there Juice. Many of us have been thru this, and are usually much better off when the dust settles. We bought a house 6 weeks before Harris Semiconductor pulled the plug on the plant I worked in. Talk about financially devastating. But that is how I ended up finding my way to IBM. And I celebrate my 20th anniversary tomorrow (May 10th).
Steve
One of the Steve's
-mike
-mike