Does the "end of month" thing apply for Subaru dealerships?

[Monique]

Yay! We're at Rack Attack getting a hitch receiver installed, plus getting low profile roof box that will FIT Eric's powder skis and a Thule hitch rack. Imagine, one key to rule them all (we had Yakima AND Thule on my old car ...).

Tires, wheels, sensors on order ... she should be fully equipped by next weekend.

 

[Muleski]

BTW, anybody else just not so impressed with need TPMS sensors on your dedicated snow rims? I liked good old simple black steelies...no sensors. Back in the day. Actually not really a fan of TPMS. Prefer my own eyes and a tire gauge.

 

[Started at 53]

@Monique

Did you get the Limited or Touring?

Just looked at the Outback for the first time... damn nice

We will be moving to Utah and AWD will be important

Being Floridian’s we have two large SUV’s and both are 2 wheel drives.... which Betsy mentioned yesterday

 

[Tom K.]

BTW, anybody else just not so impressed with need TPMS sensors on your dedicated snow rims? I liked good old simple black steelies...no sensors. Back in the day. Actually not really a fan of TPMS. Prefer my own eyes and a tire gauge.

I'm in that club, but slowly being converted. Most of the stable has simple low pressure warning light that does not tell which tire. Not impressed.

The 2007 Sprinter has a warning light AND tells you the psi in each tire. I confess that I've grown to like that and I absolutely LOVE it for my wife when she is pulling her horse trailer, and rear tire pressure suddenly gets more than a little important.

In this day and age of iPhone level technology, I fail to understand why TPMS sensors on snow tire/wheel packages cost more the $5 per corner..............and get off my lawn!

 

[Muleski]

I'm in that club, but slowly being converted. Most of the stable has simple low pressure warning light that does not tell which tire. Not impressed.

The 2007 Sprinter has a warning light AND tells you the psi in each tire. I confess that I've grown to like that and I absolutely LOVE it for my wife when she is pulling her horse trailer, and rear tire pressure suddenly gets more than a little important.

In this day and age of iPhone level technology, I fail to understand why TPMS sensors on snow tire/wheel packages cost more the $5 per corner..............and get off my lawn!

The price is what drives me nuts. I also am not a fan of the sheer amount of electronic "stuff" in so many cars. High end cars.

There is a 2001 BMW 740i Sport being
auctioned on BaT, 25K miles. The raw simplicity of that car, compared to a new seven series, makes me envious. That was before the Feds thought TPMS was such a great idea. Ha!

Guess I'm old school.

 

[François Pugh]

BTW, anybody else just not so impressed with need TPMS sensors on your dedicated snow rims? I liked good old simple black steelies...no sensors. Back in the day. Actually not really a fan of TPMS. Prefer my own eyes and a tire gauge.

I was very happy to discover that my 2015 (bought in 2016) Mazda 3 Sport did not have TPMS.

 

[Monique]

BTW, anybody else just not so impressed with need TPMS sensors on your dedicated snow rims? I liked good old simple black steelies...no sensors. Back in the day. Actually not really a fan of TPMS. Prefer my own eyes and a tire gauge.

I mean, you don't need them. At least, on my old car, I didn't "need" them - I would just have a warning on my dash all the time.

My eyes don't help me when I start losing pressure while driving. The TPMS does.

@Monique

Did you get the Limited or Touring?

Just looked at the Outback for the first time... damn nice

We will be moving to Utah and AWD will be important

Being Floridian’s we have two large SUV’s and both are 2 wheel drives.... which Betsy mentioned yesterday

Touring - it's the only way to get the heated steering wheel, and I am VERY excited about that. Some mornings, it can be -15* F when we start the car in Breck ... but I get cold easily, so I'll be using it when it's 50*, no doubt.

It does mean the crossbars are higher than on the Limited. And they're a totally different style. As I'll always have a roof box on the car, the retractable crossbars on the Limited wouldn't help us, anyway.

The 2007 Sprinter has a warning light AND tells you the psi in each tire. I confess that I've grown to like that and I absolutely LOVE it for my wife when she is pulling her horse trailer, and rear tire pressure suddenly gets more than a little important.

This new Outback will tell you the PSI in each tire. Crazy! We live in the future!



So, I'm starting to come to terms with Android Auto - it has some great features - but in order for it to integrate with the dash, it has to be plugged into the built-in USB. This seems like it would be great, but actually the USB charger has such low power that it may actually be a net negative on the battery. It would be neat if I could plug my phone into my plug-in charger, which does high speed charging ... but then I can't put Android Auto up on my screen.

I realize this is an extremely rarified problem to have, but it's also ridiculous.

 

[Unpiste]

So, I'm starting to come to terms with Android Auto - it has some great features - but in order for it to integrate with the dash, it has to be plugged into the built-in USB. This seems like it would be great, but actually the USB charger has such low power that it may actually be a net negative on the battery. It would be neat if I could plug my phone into my plug-in charger, which does high speed charging ... but then I can't put Android Auto up on my screen.

I realize this is an extremely rarified problem to have, but it's also ridiculous.

That's pretty disappointing. Leave it to Subaru to mess up what should be a great feature in the media system with a silly little oversight. (Sorry, speaking from some experience.) They're great in pretty much every other way, but It's frustrating seeing them mess up phone communications over and over (all the way from basic Bluetooth audio even on fairly recent models up to, apparently, android auto).

 

[Started at 53]

Is there an Apple auto?

 

[Unpiste]

CarPlay (Also supported on any Subaru model with Android Auto, AFAIK.)

 

[Started at 53]

3.6 Touring looked like the way to go!

 

[Monique]

That's pretty disappointing. Leave it to Subaru to mess up what should be a great feature in the media system with a silly little oversight. (Sorry, speaking from some experience.) They're great in pretty much every other way, but It's frustrating seeing them mess up phone communications over and over (all the way from basic Bluetooth audio even on fairly recent models up to, apparently, android auto).

It's *possible* it's the USB cable. I'll fiddle some more. It would also be nice if the phone could display to the car over Bluetooth and I could charge with the plugin. I don't know if that's possible with current drivers.

It's ... also worth noting that my battery life is always terrible, from phone to phone. It's some sort of curse (probably some app I "can't live without" is poorly behaved). Nevertheless, with my fancy Anker plugin charger, it goes into fast charge mode and really does charge quickly.

Having Google Maps is neat, but there's built-in Nav in the car, so it's unnecessary. What's really cool is you can have it read text and facebook messages to you, and it prompts you to optionally respond using their voice to text.

Is there an Apple auto?

Yes, installed also. Don't have an iPhone to try it with.

 

[Monique]

3.6 Touring looked like the way to go!

It's my third Subaru - I got a stick WRX wagon in 2004. Sadly totaled it in 2008 and got a stick Outback XT (turbo). It took a really long time for me to develop a wandering eye with the XT. In a lot of ways, I didn't want the Outback - it seemed like too much the "obvious" choice, and it also looks so much like a family car - but ultimately, it's got tons of features at a great price. My husband is jealous and keeps asking to drive it - and he has a BMW sedan.

 

[Tom K.]

I also am not a fan of the sheer amount of electronic "stuff" in so many cars. High end cars.

There is a 2001 BMW 740i Sport being
auctioned on BaT, 25K miles. The raw simplicity of that car, compared to a new seven series, makes me envious. That was before the Feds thought TPMS was such a great idea. Ha!

Guess I'm old school.

Yup, I go look at BMWs about once a year, and HATE the tech-laden pods they've become. Ten years ago, I thought I'd buy a new B-car every five or six years the rest of my life. Nope, done.

My wife and I frequently discuss that what I really want is a BMW with the interior of her Honda Element. She's right. Every control is so simple and intuitive, AND STILL FUNCTIONAL!

But time marches on. Most auto reviews these days discuss tech before how the car actually drives. Again, get off my lawn!

 

[Monique]

This purchase has been my acknowledgement that I'm no longer looking for a "driver's" car. I want a car that's easy to drive in traffic or when I'm tired or on long drives. Or all three.

 

[scott43]

Anybody who complains about tech..I'll be happy to put points and a condenser back in your vehicle...

 

[Philpug]

Anybody who complains about tech..I'll be happy to put points and a condenser back in your vehicle...

You can do that?

There is a mod to put carbs on a 1.6L Miata....it the sound is amazing...

 

[scott43]

Or an "automatic choke"..

 

[Tom K.]

Anybody who complains about tech..I'll be happy to put points and a condenser back in your vehicle...

Now THAT is engine tech, and I'm 100% behind that.

See, for example, the combination of performance and efficiency of BMW's vanos system.

 

[Monique]

Just to fact check myself:

I used the built-in USB port to run Android Auto from Loveland to Longmont today. Somewhere around 1.5 hours or a little more.

(I really like Android Auto.)

Anyway, I had claimed that my phone seemed to be losing battery on the built-in USB. This is not true. It does charge - but very slowly. In those 1.5+ hours, it charged from 60% to 90% or so. In the same time, the fast plug-in charger could have charged my phone from zero, and then some.

So if it's close to full battery already (ie, morning commute) or if you're on a long road trip, might as well use Android Audio. But if you need to actually fill up your phone in less than 5 hours, you'd use plug-in.

Note, my charger is an Anker. It's not cheap at $26 - but worth it IMO. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K9MQ8WW/