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My largest roof load (but not very heavy) was 6 sheets of vinyl soffit, 16 ft long! Bendy stuff and I had to keep my speed under 50 kph to prevent it from folding up on itself. It scratched the top of the rear spoiler too, even though it was not resting on it.
If enough people were interested in getting parts and accesories from the UK, we could do a group buy to save on shipping. They do not have online ordering, but it should not be difficult to get in touch with a dealer over there.
Craig
I think if you order a girl, you must get a free T-shirt too.
Craig
;-)
-juice
Yes and for only $30. Mind you, I think there might be a pricing error here. Normally dramatically more expensive!
If you looked down the page you would also notice a rugged looking Australian guy priced at $49 - cheap at the price!
Cheers
Graham
If you want, please call our 800 number (1-800-SUBARU3) and give your vehicle information to a Rep. Ask them to review your file. I have a great booklet printed by the National Insurance Institute about air-bag deployment. There are so many factors.
Your Subaru's air bag system has a check built in. If the system detects any kind of problem (even interuption to the computer), the air bag warning light stays on once the car is turned on. If it was not on at the time of the accident, it was working right. The amount of $$$'s associated with the damage is not a good indicator.
I'm glad you are okay.
Patti
Steve
-Mike
Also does anyone have any experience purchasing a Subaru "program" car. These are '01s with 8-15k mi. and are sold at substantial discount. Thanks for any input.
Once I got into the door, I spent about 20 minutes figuring everything out. As an engineer, I love getting into unfamiliar designs as seeing what they did. In this case, it is a remarkable packaging job, as all of the components for the window mechanism had to fit through two 6" diameter holes in the frame and be assembled inside the door.
There were many adjustment points for the window, including the glass angle, vertical stops, and anti-rattle pads. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to adjust the horizontal position of the glass. Looking at the design, I think Subaru must absorb the horizontal tolerance into the rather wide molding/gasket around glass. There's at least 1/4" on each side, so the glass can be off by 1/4" either way (towards the front or back of the car) and still fit. In my case, the glass too far back by about 1/8-1/4", and looks off-center compared to the other side of the car. Given the design, it looks like something that is within Subaru's design tolerance, even if it seems "off" to me. I can live with it, since there aren't any issues with wind noise or leakage, which is the important part.
I also re-mounted the rain gutter molding on the driver's side, as it was a bit askew. Again, I think Subaru's design is cool. The molding is a stamped plated steel and plastic assembly that butts up under the rain gutter channel stamped into the car body. It is held in place with about 12 screws, and slips onto a "tongue" molded into the rear window molding for alignment. The gutter molding also serves as the mounting track for the rubber gasket around the windows. To fix the gutter molding, I just had to pull back the rubber window gaskets, loosen up the 12 screws, and re-align the molding. Piece of cake. What I like about this design is that it would be easy to replace the gutter molding or the window gaskets if they ever get damaged or worn out. I did notice what looks like a rock chip in the molding, but it's a minor issue. My wife laughed at me when I showed her. She obviously doesn't understand OCD.
I gave the Bean a good wash today with dish detergent, and will wax it with Klasse tomorrow. We put a coat of it on my wife's 626 today, and it did a nice job. Very easy to work with. As a gesture to all you other OCD nerds, I will be sure to wax the wheels, but only the outsides!!
Craig
Yep, I also don't do the inside of my wheels, or the door jambs either.
Mike
As to extra comfort, think of it much as you would an electric blanket. If you like an electric blanket, you'll probably like heated seats too.
Bob
So far over 31 days and 2253 miles I can report that I love this car. There is 1 feature though that I miss from my 96 Taurus wagon -- being able to use the power windows for a short time after I've turned off the engine or at any time with the ignition in the accessory position. And I wish the key fob included a button to release the fuel door. I still forget to flip the release before I leave the car to gas up, so I get an extra walk around the car each time.
-Lyn
I did the wheels, but it was a pain with all those spokes. Even cleaning them is a chore -- much more difficult than the wheels on my older base Outback. Hopefully, having the wax on there will make future cleaning easier.
A question for all: do you wax any of the glass window surfaces? Klasse says their product can be applied to glass. I put it on the sideview mirrors, and they look nice. But I wasn't sure about putting it on the windows. Any thoughts? By the way, I did put Klasse on the headlight and tail light lenses with great results.
For doorjambs, you can mix a few squirts of almost any liquid cleaner wax into a gallon of water, and just wipe them down whenever you wash the car.
James: I've only had my Bean for about 1 month (about 1500 miles on the car now), but have been getting 22-24 MPG in mixed driving, about half of which is city driving. This is about the same mileage I got with my H4 Outback, so the H6 is doing pretty good by me.
Craig
A.Chee
Should I be getting better mileage?
Paul
Craig, I highly recommend putting on a couple of coats of the sealant (between washes) on top of the AIO. I only used an ounce of the sealant each time; it took about 30 to 40 minutes for each application. That gives both durability and a deeper shine.
Mike
mike k
Thank you in advance
Mike K
Craig: waxed only the outsides? You slacker! ;-)
Actually, remember that ice can get stuck in the wheels and throw them off balance, so the wax serves to keep ice from sticking to the insides. But it's easier to do that when you rotate the tires.
Side note: I saw a BMW video in the snow and the wheels were encrusted with snow and ice. Shame on them.
Hope you got pix of the door's insides, for future reference.
Brawnydog: first I've heard of it. Demand a repaint of the entire bumper.
A. Chee: you could probably find an aftermarket HID assembly for the Outback today, if it's not offered from the factory. Also, Pam from iSR Performance will import any part from the UK, if it's offered there. 2003s ought to arrive around September.
-juice
1) An actulal engine knock which was correct after they reset everything. The knock was much improved, yet, the car was still making a mild rattling sound (when cold) but different than the knock. This time it was a rattle and not a knocking sound. I failed to hear it because of the cold knocking. See #2.
2) There was a loose heat sheild. One of the techs at Lou Fusz Subaru/Mazda found and corrected the problem and said he has seen it before.
I'm not sure which problem you are having but it seemed pretty easy to correct when diagnosed properly.
Our H4 OB Ltd. get 17 city and 24 highway. Its been as low as 16 city and as high as 29 highway (but not in about 1 year).
The front facia may change - anything else?
New head lamps?
Just speculation here but if they came out with a Legacy GT limited Wagon with the H6 and leather I think that would be a strong seller. Basically the LL Bean car in Legacy rather than Outback guise.
They may never do it but I think it would be strong. I actually prefer the clean, un-cladded look of the Legacy wagon. But no leather or H6 there sends me up the line to the LL Bean Outback -- the least expensive place to get those options.
The H6 Outback sedan is cheaper than the LL Bean wagon, FWIW.
-juice
I agree, a GT wagon with an H6 and a 5-spd would be sweet.
Craig
Seriously though -- would the rest of you prefer to see the Legacy go up market or are the extra styling cues brought by the Outback worth it to you?
I know in Central Ohio the dealers seem to have a hard time selling Legacies and not so with Outbacks.
This could be due to current tastes in SUVs or the fact that Subaru does very little to market Legacies.
Like I said, I prefer the cleaner look -- makes it look more European like a Volvo V70 or Passat wagon -- in my book -- good things!
Subaru has to be careful with the Legacy, because it already sells in 1/3rd of Outback volumes. The H6 would be good, but pricing is critical. It must cost less than the LL Bean, not more.
The real question is will we see a Legacy turbo or the H6? I heard the manual trans didn't fit with the H6, but who knows. A 2.5l light-pressure turbo would be very appealing to me.
So we'll see. An auto-only H6 added to the Legacy lineup may not do a whole lot for sales. The GT must have a stick, period. It fits the car's character better.
-juice
Craig
Greg
Ed
But Subaru has to be practical. The Outback sells much better, so an H6 option on the base Outback (no leather or moonroof) would put it at a price level where many more buyers would be interested.
Also, the H6 hasn't been a sales hit. Legacy/Outback sales are flat one year after the H6 was introduced. Impreza sales, in comparison, have doubled with the arrival of the turbo.
So the H6 increased costs but not sales, the turbo doubled sales. Which would you expand across the product line?
-juice
My only concern with the WRX drivetrain in the Legacy GT would be related to its torque curve. There must be some GT test mules so equipped running around Subaru proving grounds, wouldn't you think?
Ed
VW uses a 1.8T up to a certain price point, Volvo uses a 2.4T but it's a 5 cylinder. A 2.0T is fine up to maybe $28 grand, above that you simply need more displacement.
That's why a 2.5T might work.
-juice
Forester 55041 (slightly down from 56605)
Impreza 35612 (through the roof! Was 19220)
Legacy 95291 (slightly down from 96391)
Subaru total was up to 185944 from 172216, which is great overall, but give the Impreza 100% of the credit for that. Also keep in mind it only arrived in March, imagine if it had a full year's worth of sales.
The Forester is in its 5th model year, so the fact that it held fairly steady was good.
The Legacy (includes Outback) was down in the first full year of H6 availability, so that's bad. It's also only in the 3rd model year, much newer than the about-to-be-replaced Forester. I don't think you can call the drop in sales a good result.
-juice
The drop in Forester sales was 2.7% and the drop in Legacy sales was 1.1%. These are small amounts, and actually pretty good considering how bad the economy was in 2001. Other vehicle makes and models did much worse. And I'm sure a small portion of those Impreza buyers ate into Forester/Legacy sales -- think of the 2-3 folks on the forums here who went that route.
Finally, where can we find long range data?? It would be good to see sales over the last 5-6 years for each of the model lines to see the real trends. It's hard to conclude a whole lot when just comparing two years worth of data.
Craig
The 2003 Forester will be interesting to follow, since the current one is in its 5th model year. I doubt sales will double, but there is a lot of potential.
Also, the Baja will make things interesting for the Legacy line. I'm not sure if it'll be measured separately, but I'm sure some will cross-shop the Outback.
-juice
PS I'm not saying Subaru didn't need the H6. Sales might have tanked without it. But the turbo did much more to attract media and customer attention.
Take care,
Steve
I agree that it does not seem to make sense since the bumpers are all coloured Titanium.
But think about storing or transporting these things if they are painted it increases the likelyhood that they will arrive at their destination damaged.
So Subaru and every other car maker for that matter ship these things in primer and leave the body shop to apply the colour.
Cheers Pat.
:-)
Impreza sales are doing well because the WRX is a great car. Its innovation or uniqueness in the market is that it is an affordable driver's car. It's not the first car to do this -- it is just the best recent example. Kind of like an Early 70s Datsun 240z. Lot of content for not a lot of money.
Equally important to sales figures -- the WRX created a buzz among the automotive press.
In terms of number of units sold, Subaru as a car maker is squarely lumped in the "other" category in any pie chart of American sales.
But when Consumer reports calls the WRX a best buy for a sports car, and Automobile calls the WRX car of the year, and Car and Driver puts it on their 10 best list, even the most jaded car buyer starts to listen.
The automotive press tends to favor what is fresh, new, and innovative.
I am sure the Outback was fresh and innovative in 1996 when it came out -- a sensible car based AWD vehicle.
Its still a great car but there is not as much to write about. And so the "free" marketing dries up. And so do sales to some degree.
And "free marketing" only goes so far. The WRX (and all Subarus to some degree) are niche cars. They have AWD which consumers outside of snowy regions are not yet convinced is necessary. Subarus tend to be smaller than cars of the same price. Americans by and large are big people. Look at how much better Accords and Camry's sold once they sized them like Ford Tauruses instead of 3 series BMWs?
Like the band Spinal Tap, the Subaru car has a "selective appeal".
They make great cars but they are far enough outside the norm to never be a great sales sucess.
And I have to be honest, the selective appeal makes Subarus attractive to me. It is not a car I can imagine someone buying unless they are pretty sure that its unique attributes (AWD, sporty drive, utility) are worth the extra money over a "no-brainer" choice like an Accord or Camry.
I admire a car and people who drive them that shows they put some thought into their purchase.
Rambled on long enough . . . . Maybe it is the beer talking.
:-)
Jon
I took some pictures and posted them online with some details. They are here.
Craig