Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II
31377 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 4:06 AM
You are in the Subaru Crew Forum. Your Host is kcram
Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.
Welcome to Subaru Crew! Meet other Subaru owners and introduce yourself here.
|
Replying to: tsy (Apr 13, 2009 1:01 pm)
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: lark6 (Apr 13, 2009 10:50 am) I recall the Sportomatic which was slightly oddball. I think it used a vacuum actuated clutch servo that was triggered somehow by a microswitch on the top of the gearshift. The weirdness was the action which threw the clutch out at the moment you stroked the gear lever,. There was also a torque converter and the thing could be driven in two gears (second and fourth, I think). You had to change driving style to avoid dramas. Overall was supposed to be as quick as a true manual but very different acceleration pattern. I thought it was mostly targeted at the US market where true manuals are less popular than Europe. I have a hemophiliac mate who is an enthusiastic driver and we reckoned in the early 70's that this would be his dream car - manual but without clutch action - improvements in automatics make it seem a little pointless now. I think there may have been a lengthy article on the system in Road and Track which I used to read assiduously in the local public library. Wonder if you can find old R&T on line - I used to love their last page photo articles which were always pretty quirky. I reckon my fondness for American writers traces to the lengthy and elegantly written articles which I could later see traced a literary path back to Hemingway, Fiitzgerald and more recently Vonnegut. It is so different to English or Australian writing. Cheers Graham
|
|
|
Replying to: grahampeters (Apr 14, 2009 12:28 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: ateixeira (Apr 14, 2009 7:13 am) I remember in CAR the review of a new Kia model. The article headline was, "Her Name is Rio....and She's Crap!"
|
|
|
Replying to: lucien2 (Apr 14, 2009 7:22 am) If it's slow they'll write something like "Acceleration is leisurely" or "power is adequate". Just say it's slow! A brit would write "my mule is faster" or something more clever.
|
|
|
Replying to: tsy (Apr 13, 2009 1:04 pm) I'll do that. I don't really have the time to take care of it either; fortunately I found one that was well taken care of by its previous owner (I have the receipts to show for it!). Really this car is in excellent mechanical shape and can be driven as is. There are some minor cosmetics to be addressed - trim items mostly - that don't detract from the driving experience and, honestly, aren't likely to grab anyone's attention other than the hardcore restoration/concours crowd. Thankfully only routine maintenance in the near future. Ed
|
|
|
Replying to: rob_m (Apr 13, 2009 3:20 pm) The STi is great! Even though Edmunds hated it, I'm really happy with it. I've installed a bike rack on the roof, and with all seasons on it it's actually reasonably comfortable and not too noisy and very livable on a day to day basis. I also bought some summer tires and wheels (OZ Ultraleggeras) that I'm waiting to mount when it finally warms up! Then I'll have to decide whether to beef up the suspension and make it handle a little better, at the expense of comfort though. Hope the Mustangs doing well- try not to leave too much rubber on the ground!  tom |
|
|
Replying to: lark6 (Apr 14, 2009 7:57 am) I spent some time talking with the guys at a local garage that specializes in Porsches- and I mean specialize. They take care of all sorts of race cars, they have a CT scanner to look at carbon fiber parts and make sure they don't have hairline fractures in them, and they race these old cars as well. They told me the 911s will do well for years as long as you run them regularly, so they do well as daily drivers. Hope you enjoy it! tom |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: ateixeira (Apr 14, 2009 7:49 am) I have a fascination with language and the nuances of it. For odd reasons, I write for American, English and Australian readers and the styles of communication differ for each. That is not just spelling of words but things like the subtleties implied by shadings of meaning. Given that what I need to report, in my professional life, often needs to convey great subtlety, this can be challenging. Something written fro one audience may be offensive to another. American readers, on the whole, expect a softer approach to criticism but need to have subtleties excised. Arguments need to be reduced to simple sentences to convey explicit meanings The Brits are likely to respond to more explicit opinions, but expect subtle allusions. Australians are a bit more complex. Oddly, for a country which presents a roughish image (eg Paul Hogan) the populace is generally well educated but anti-intellectual. Flowery allusions are wasted, but complex arguments well understood. The difference in motor reporting is obvious. Car is probably the best of British motoring writing but Autocar, which is more newsy and factual, runs it a close second. This months Car has reinstated GBU or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Its totally unrepentant about callling a car Bad, if it warrants it. In the US, I separate the writing of R&T from the 60's and 70's with the rather poorer style today. Generally, I am not impressed with current US motor reporting which, as someone mentioned above, seems to be more about appeasing suppliers, than sound journalism. Australian motor writers are far more likely to say it like it is. Memorably, Wheels once portrayed a car (was it a Morris Marina?) as a Lemon with the headline "Lemon" plastered across the cover. Wierdly, many of the most influential UK motoring journalists including Steve Cropley and Evan Green, are actually Australian, having cut their teeth on Wheels. On a similar topic (sort of) I am rereading Thornton Wilder's Bridge of San Luis Rey, one of the gems I stumbled upon as a teenager. Cheers Graham
|
|
|
Replying to: grahampeters (Apr 15, 2009 3:50 am) ...And a LEMON it was! We once had it towed to the dealer for repair, and on the work order the mechanic wrote "the carburetor fell apart." Seats were comfortable though. This car used a single-carb version of the MGB engine. Bob
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
