Not as exciting as a Vette!
Not as exciting as a Vette!
I'm partial to the '99 Outback 2.5DOHC but I've been taking a liking to the latest Forester. I want to try one.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
It's snowing here so I guess I'll get to try out the all wheel drive today- maybe go the long way to the grocery store. To be honest, I didn't buy the car for the AWD, I just wanted a small hatchback or wagon with a manual transmission.
I had a deposit on another car and drove the Subaru to rule them out. I stumbled upon this one- it had just arrived at the dealership. They had to peel the plastic off for me to drive it. I was impressed with the look of the car in black, then I drove it, liked the handling and ride and was seduced by the sound and feel of the flat 4. It's less refined than a Honda or a Toyota- in a good way.
agree on the less refined but good way. I've had both Hondas and Toyotas and frankly the car that makes me wish I still had it is the Subaru. It had a certain "let's take care of business" no-nonsense feel to it. Just watch out for the idiots out there and tell us what you think. Have you had an AWD before?
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
Every Subaru owner I've ever known except one loved their car. I'm the one exception. Our Forester is a POS. Headlights need to be replaced regularly (the sockets actually burn out) and it gets worse gas mileage than my 5.0 liter Mustang. I will agree that it instills confidence in sloppy weather.
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
I haven't. I've had a Jeep Cherokee with an old fashioned 4wd system and a CR-V with "Real Time 4WD" (which worked really well on snowy roads). I took the Subaru out on some snowy/slushy neighborhood roads this morning and liked it a lot. It wasn't real snow though- just an inch or so.
Lot's of black ice on the roads today! It was the kind of morning where it's right at 32 degrees F and as I wiped the dew off a window that wasn't frozen, it would freeze. As I scraped the soft ice of the windshield, harder ice took its place. The car performed really well.
I had Blizzaks on my Scion xB for a while. Even with front wheel drive it was an improvement. That car's rear end likes to lead when the roads are slick!
Well, my turn now.
Though I loved my old Ford, it was time for a change, so today I bought a new partner for the road.
Got a new Mitsubishi Lancer HL-T. They're still in production in Australia, Brazil and a couple of countries more. Not sure if they still make them in Japan.
Unexpensive and fast. Just like I like cars.
Given what I bought, this car fits in with this thread- the Impreza WRX STI and Lancer Evo were higher performance versions of our cars and were adversaries (I said "were" because I don't think the Evo is available anymore).
My Impreza was inexpensive, though not particularly fast (by modern standards, though the posted 0-60 time is the same as my Miata and it feels fast enough to me).
I think the only Mitsubishi car that we can get in the US is the Mirage.
Sure, when I said fast I meant fast enough to be fun to drive.
Indeed, Mitsubishi only makes Lancers in the countries I pointed and a couple more. They’re still in production here and for Brazilian standards it was a good buy. Besides I’ve always been a Lancer fan. It’s a kind of a classic model, being around since ‘73.
most of the Mistubishis here are prized as ricers and drifters, in spite of their total lack of practicality with our pothole and frost heave rippled roads.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
small japanese cars that are tricked out with lower rides, often with big wings, extreme fender flares, air dams, those goofy tilted in wheels and the ubiquitous coffee can fart mufflers. Frequently paired with a stereo cranking out bowel-churning seismic waves of no particularly sonically meaningful emanations thinly disguised as music.
The 'enhancements' nearly always drastically cost more than the car and serve little purpose except to redirect the owner's money away from unnecessary things like rent, food, child support, you know, complete waste of money that could be otherwise spent on their rides.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
They have spectator drags at the the 1/4 mile oval track in my town. Highly modified Camaros with seasoned drivers were king until a several seasons ago when people started showing up with heavily modified AWD Mitsubishis and Eagles. 3000GT VR4, 1st and 2nd generation Eclipse GSX, even a little minivan style thing- all with over 700 horsepower. Not only do they launch hard, but they can be driven harder through the turns by a less experienced drive.
That's what I found with the Subaru- it's fast enough to be fun to drive. Though I've found that with most cars that have a manual transmission- I believe my MG Midget only had about 60 horsepower! My Miata has 133hp. The Subaru has 152hp.
BTW, I thought of what you said about cars that excite you (or don't) when I drove the Subaru. It's got a lot of character (way more than a Honda or Toyota) and that's a big part of what drew me to it!
I’m enjoying the Lancer’s 160hp. Quite a bit of fun.
I don’t really like Asian cars. They just don’t ring my bell. The Lancer has always been an exception, because of Mitsubishi’s history and because the car reminds me of the Zero-sen. I like the “sport” lines of this car and it does remind me of a fighter airplane.
Thing is, my Ford was already calling for me to throw him the towel, Ford is closing factories here and Chevys are overpriced and outdated, so it was easy for me to go to the last option. Not that I’m complaining.
just slang here, nothing racial or prejudicial. the car owners and drivers here call them that
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
I went the other way. My Crossfire had 215 HP and with the 6-speed it was a fun to drive car. My new Mustang is my first car with an auto since my 1970 Cougar. It is actually pretty fun to drive - but then again, 460 HP helps make it fun to drive, too.
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
here rice rocket meant the bikes. I once got to drive, er, attempt to drive, er, stay on a Z900r Ninja. I had my motorcycle license but I rode a 100cc dirt bike. This was to a dirt bike like a galaxy is to an asteroid. I got it going, shifted it into 2nd gear and lifted the front end. To my credit I did not dump it. I got back to the owner and said "do not ever let me drive this again."
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
I needed a crossover/SUV to haul band gear and model airplanes so I just picked up a new one this week - has BOTH a supercharger AND a turbocharger. Heads up display, Pretty much self driving too. I'm going to have to build a new barn to hold cars, lol!
Anyone guess what it is?
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
glorious suicide machine
tramps like us, baby
we were born to runnnnnnnn ...
to the medicine cabinet, I have a headache
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
Some car porn with the Lancer