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fatbob

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Re the podcast - It was This American Life - by coincidence just popped up on my feed, must be a repeat.

Episdode #513 : 129 Cars behind the scenes at a Jeep dealership in NJ. Highly recommend as an insight into what goes on at a dealership to a lay person.
 

François Pugh

Skiing the powder
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Or an "automatic choke".. :roflmao:
I'm ok with that, but why stop there? How about manual timing advance?

I like modern tech. There's no way my car would cost so little to maintain and run without it. I don't mind not having the change the points with the frequent tune-ups. The cost benefit ratio is positive.

I'm against modern mechanics who can't tell the difference between worn valves and a defective electronic distributor, or a hole in an air intake hose from clogged fuel injectors.

I'm against electronics that think they can drive better than I can. ABS brakes cannot stop faster than I can in deep wet snow or loose gravel. I may prefer to hit that Honda Civic in front of me to get out of the way of that fuel tanker hauling adz behind me. And I'm glad I can turn off the traction control on my car.
 

Tom K.

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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.

Same experience with our Sienna's USB port. But my Volvo is a bit faster.

I wonder if car companies limit current in those, out of fear of paying for phones with burnt out batteries?
 
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Monique

Monique

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So, it snowed last night, and throughout the day today. I had the chance to test my brakes with the new vehicle's stock tires in the Loveland parking lot - and I was NOT impressed. I drove the old car today. At least I know the tires are good for snow and ice. AWD is great for going, but as I said in some other thread about snow tires and AWD - only tires help you stop.

The new car's X-Ices are arriving at the end of the week. Can't come soon enough.
 

PTskier

Been goin' downhill for years....
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How do you like the CVT? A friend has an older Subie that is getting close to replacement time, but he thinks he'll hate the new CVT.

I like tire pressure monitors. I've had to buy a replacement tire after one tire was punctured by a sharp rock (original Blizzak with really soft rubber), and I didn't notice anything wrong until the tires had been running flat and damaged (rear on a FWD Volvo; it drove steady until it was on the rim). A TPMS would have saved me that trouble and cost. Also, nationwide, way too many oblivious drivers on soft tires that may be safety risks, waste fuel, and wear the tires fast. TPMS works.
 

Snowfan

aka Eric Nelson
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I'm a car nut and was very concerned about getting an Outback with a CVT. 21,000 miles in 6 months and it's a non-issue. Totally satisfied with the way it works, sounds and functions with simulated shifts. It holds gears and shifts just like an AT, electronically.
 
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Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
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How do you like the CVT? A friend has an older Subie that is getting close to replacement time, but he thinks he'll hate the new CVT.

I like tire pressure monitors. I've had to buy a replacement tire after one tire was punctured by a sharp rock (original Blizzak with really soft rubber), and I didn't notice anything wrong until the tires had been running flat and damaged (rear on a FWD Volvo; it drove steady until it was on the rim). A TPMS would have saved me that trouble and cost. Also, nationwide, way too many oblivious drivers on soft tires that may be safety risks, waste fuel, and wear the tires fast. TPMS works.

I have a little over 400 miles on it. Only one drive up I-70. I don't know that I can really speak to the CVT per se, because this is my first non-manual in more than 15 years. What I can say is that whatever this is - CVT, automatic - it leaves me much less engaged with the vehicle. Surprise, surprise.

So it does exactly what I wanted it to do - it allows me to relax and get from point A to point B with a minimum of fuss or energy expended. But am I going to love it like I loved my last two Subarus? It's hard to picture that. Maybe it's too soon to tell. I remember having reservations about the Outback XT because it wasn't a WRX (like my previous vehicle) - but I grew to love it.

TPS is currently the bane of my existence. As usual, the sensors don't work after the wheel swap. My husband reminded me that this usually happens because they sync to the wheels in the back of the car, not to the newly mounted ones. So I need to head back to Discount Tire tomorrow morning. I need to remember this so that in the future I ask them to keep the old wheels for half an hour while I drive and sync, or something.

However, yes, when functional, TPS is good. I don't check my tires every time I drive, and even if I did, I could hit something that would take down my tire in a hurry.
 

PTskier

Been goin' downhill for years....
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sounds and functions with simulated shifts. It holds gears and shifts just like an AT, electronically.
That's interesting. Fake gear shifts from the CVT.

Our Toyota Prius Prime has a CVT that is seamless. It works very well either on battery power or the gasoline engine, or both. I like this CVT and the CVT concept a lot. Now, how to get my very hard headed friend to consider it?????
 
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Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
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That's interesting. Fake gear shifts from the CVT.

Yeah, you can feel it "shift" if you keep pushing the accelerator.
 

James

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Re the podcast - It was This American Life - by coincidence just popped up on my feed, must be a repeat.

Episdode #513 : 129 Cars behind the scenes at a Jeep dealership in NJ. Highly recommend as an insight into what goes on at a dealership to a lay person.
That was a good one.
Since it's nearing Turkey day, listen to "Murder most Fowl" on This American Life. It's about a marauding wild turkey on Martha's Vinyard.
 
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Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
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That was a good one.
Since it's nearing Turkey day, listen to "Murder most Fowl" on This American Life. It's about a marauding wild turkey on Martha's Vinyard.

I've heard both, listened to that dealership one again a few weeks ago (after buying the car). It sounds like a miserable job to me. Perhaps not for the right personality.
 

Snowfan

aka Eric Nelson
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That's interesting. Fake gear shifts from the CVT.

Not fake gear shifts. The CVT chain is positioned electronically on the pulleys to specific locations...i.e."gears".

Non shifting CVT is on base and premium Forester and base Impreza. Most of the others have paddleshifters which are mentioned, along with "gears" toward end of video.
 

jzmtl

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Not fake gear shifts. The CVT chain is positioned electronically on the pulleys to specific locations...i.e."gears".

Non shifting CVT is on base and premium Forester and base Impreza. Most of the others have paddleshifters which are mentioned, along with "gears" toward end of video.

They all have it now, too many people wants CVT to feel like their old auto so Subaru added fake shifting to all since 17. 17+ Forester is actually a bit slower due to the fake shifts.
 

Unpiste

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They all have it now, too many people wants CVT to feel like their old auto so Subaru added fake shifting to all since 17. 17+ Forester is actually a bit slower due to the fake shifts.
That's unfortunate. Kind of misses half the point of having a CVT.
 

mdf

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CarPlay (Also supported on any Subaru model with Android Auto, AFAIK.)
I have an Android and my wife has an iPhone and a new Subaru, so I've used both a little bit. (As it is not my car, not very much).
CarPlay looks good and works well with the Subie, other than accidentally having two mapping programs talking at us at once.
Based on 5 minutes of experimentation, Android Auto does not seem to play as nicely with the Subaru console.
 

mdf

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We had an old Subaru automatic when a manual was not available, and it was horrible, horrible, horrible. The current CVT is fine. Much as I hate to admit it, it does a better job of getting on the expressway than my manual. Nonetheless, I still like to shift (rarely drive in stop and go traffic). I wonder if I'll have to give it up on my next auto refresh. :nono:
 

Philpug

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We had an old Subaru automatic when a manual was not available, and it was horrible, horrible, horrible. The current CVT is fine. Much as I hate to admit it, it does a better job of getting on the expressway than my manual. Nonetheless, I still like to shift (rarely drive in stop and go traffic). I wonder if I'll have to give it up on my next auto refresh. :nono:
Subaru's were never known for Miata-like manual transmissions. We ideally wanted a stick when we got our Alltrack and looked at a Forester in a manual transmission, I didn't even have to drive it to know I didn't want it. We were in the lit and just rowed through the gearbox and it sounded awful. To say it was tractor-like would be an insult to tractors. The old 4 speed was simple but it was strong. As far as the CVT....eh..we went with the DSG which feels more positive when driving spirited..well as spirited as I will drive in this car.
 

mdf

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Hmmm. This got me to thinking. My manual transmission experience is actually quite narrow. A long string of Subarus -- the biggest variation over the years was the clutch feel. A few big-ish trucks. Yes, a tractor. A right-hand drive British Escort (nothing like the US Escort) -- that was fun.

Now I want to demo a "good" transmission.
 

scott43

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1988 Honda CR-X Si had the best transmission I've ever driven... Z06 Corvette was like an M22 Rock Rusher.. Bunch of other cars..nothing stands out particularly.
 

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