Subaru Crew Cafe

14582 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 2:40 PM

You are in the Subaru Crew Forum. Your Host is kcram

What is this discussion about? Subaru

Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

This is the place for Crew members to kick back, relax, and talk about...whatever!

Outline

Messages Page 1413 of 1459: 1; ...; 1410; 1411; 1412; 1413; 1414; 1415; 1416; ...; 1459; Prev; Next; Last

#14117 of 14582 Re: My next car [colin_l] by ateixeira Jul 29, 2009 (6:52 am)
Replying to: colin_l (Jul 27, 2009 7:17 pm) Just 4? Let's see, I got 7 out of an Escort GT, 9 out of a Forester, maybe 10 is a bit optimistic. Though I am splitting the mileage between two new cars, and my wife is now working from home, so her miles dropped a lot.
#14118 of 14582 Re: Edmunds states diesels pay back quicker than hybrids [rsholland] by ateixeira Jul 29, 2009 (7:02 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 29, 2009 4:53 am) 2 things I'll mention..... First, this probably assumes current pricing, yet diesel usually cost more, at times a lot more. Plus if diesels become popular, demand increases, as do prices. Around me when gas hit $3.50 diesel was well over $4 per gallon. I saw differences of close to $1/gallon. Second, I wonder if they are considering the cost of clean diesels with urea injection technology, which costs a bit more than some of today's not-quite-as-clean diesels. Looking at real-world examples, a Jetta costs more than a Prius, and the Prius' regular fuel is cheaper to boot. Spend less now and less to fuel it while getting higher mileage the entire time. I'm sure the Jetta is more fun, but remember, we're looking strictly at costs. Then look at the BMW 335d and it's price. It performs like a 330i but costs the same as a 335i. I believe the price is some $8 grand higher than the identical 0-60 performing 330i, so there may not ever be a pay-back. I calculated a break-even for a diesel Forester (with lots of assumptions) and I think it was 8 years or so, but it would be even longer now because fuel prices dropped. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Jul 29, 2009 7:14 am) ateixeira (Jul 29, 2009 7:23 am)
#14119 of 14582 Re: Edmunds states diesels pay back quicker than hybrids [ateixeira] by ateixeira Jul 29, 2009 (7:14 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 29, 2009 7:02 am) Some more details for the article... The average diesel-engine premium, meanwhile, currently is just $2,360 Maybe but most of those are not the latest urea-injection clean diesels, the amount will increase when we get those. Also, they compare a Benz with a V6 diesel to a V8? C'mon, performance costs money. That does explain why the "premium" is so low, though. 2.53 per gallon for gasoline and $2.54 for diesel Not around me. Maybe in other parts of the county but I still see anywhere from 10-80 cents premium per gallon of diesel. There must be places where diesel is actually cheaper, bringing down the average, but here in the Mid-atlantic I haven't seen that. BMW's 335d, at 5.6 years to pay back a $2,558 premium I bet they are comparing to a 335i, and not a 330i, which is what they should be comparing it too. They sure do make a whole bunch of diesel-biased assumptions. Funny thing is, they really don't need to. The numbers may still be favorable even if they were completely fair. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Jul 29, 2009 7:23 am)
#14120 of 14582 Re: Edmunds states diesels pay back quicker than hybrids [ateixeira] by ateixeira Jul 29, 2009 (7:23 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 29, 2009 7:14 am) Yep, looked it up. The 335d is actually $10,300 more costly than the 328i (I said 330i earlier, so I got the model name wrong). Note that C&D tested both and 0-60 was identical, exactly the same down to the 10th of a second. Yet Edmunds is comparing the 335d to the 335i, which is a whole lot quicker. I'm sure if you adjust for content and factor the rebates the differene is more like $8 grand, which is what I predicted in the first place, but most certainly not the $2,588 that was mentioned in the article, not by a long shot.
#14121 of 14582 New Suzuki Kizashi by rsholland Jul 30, 2009 (9:47 am)
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/30/live-reveal-2010-suzuki-kizashi/ ...And yes, AWD will be available as an option ...And yes, this could put a hurting on the new Legacy sedan. The question is will this be the "Hail Mary" that saves Suzuki here in the USA? It's got the looks, and the specs (so far) look good as well. Man... this soooooo much better looking than the Legacy it's scary. Bob Replies to this message: colin_l (Jul 30, 2009 10:42 am) rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am) saedave (Jul 31, 2009 6:48 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 7:43 am) rsholland (Jul 31, 2009 7:56 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 8:50 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 9:50 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 9:54 am)
#14122 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by colin_l Jul 30, 2009 (10:42 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) I have this perception that Suzuki is doing better than ever in the USA. Maybe I'm biased because, oddly enough, the #2 sales revenue Suzuki dealer in the entire country is right here in Wichita. But it sure feels like their small cars and cute-utes are doing quite well, and compare favorably against most competitors in terms of features vs. price. In March I helped my girlfriend shop for a new small SUV and she bought an unsold '08 Grand Vitara base 4x4 for $16k out the door after all incentives. Not shabby for a vehicle with a $23k sticker. Everyone is getting creamed right now, however, that's totally true. And Suzuki has no hybrid or diesel. Replies to this message: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am)
#14123 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [colin_l] by rsholland Jul 30, 2009 (11:19 am)
Replying to: colin_l (Jul 30, 2009 10:42 am) Not really Colin. In fact this recent report posted on AutoBlog urges both Suzuki and Mitsubishi to pull out of the US market, as their sales are so poor and that their outlook looks poor. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/10/report-analysts-urge-mitsubishi-suzuki-to-exi- - t-u-s-market/ It's a bummer, as I've always liked the new Grand Vitara SUV and their new SX4. Bob Replies to this message: colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am)
#14124 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by colin_l Jul 31, 2009 (6:28 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) Huh, never knew. I see Suzuki commercials frequently now versus never in the past (more than 3 years ago) and like I said a lot of them have been sold in Wichita. I guess we're a significant outlier and the rest of the country isn't buying them.
#14125 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by saedave Jul 31, 2009 (6:48 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) Yes, it is much better looking than the Legacy. But Suzuki has a long way to go on measures of NVH, ride and perception of quality. I doubt that it will affect Legacy sales in any way.
#14126 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by ateixeira Jul 31, 2009 (7:43 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) made it sound like Suzuki wants to transform itself into Subaru. So far it seems to be working with residual values after 36 months rising from 34 to 48 percent between 2005 and 2009. They have a ways to go. Most Subies are in the 50s, a Forester holds a 59% residual on a 3 year lease even with 45k miles! Over 60% with fewer miles. Of course when you pay $16k on a $23k sticker it doesn't matter. 48% of 23k is only about 11 grand, and I'm sure Colin's girlfriend would be thrilled to recoup 69% of what she actually paid after 3 years. A bargain is a bargain. Plus the 7/100 warranty. They went to Nurburgring with a 2.4l 4 banger? Okee-dokee. The Kizashi is cute but I don't like it as much as Bob does. It's very derivate outside. Take a Fusion greenhouse, add a Hyundai Genesis headlight and a VW grille. The rear end is all unique, though, but not my favorite angle. It looks hump-backed. The Infiniti G37 has a similar shape but was executed better. The exhaust outlets (diffusers?) are oddly shaped. Those wheels have far too many spokes, too. I like the interior more, but again no double-DIN opening. Good luck with an aftermarket stereo. And they say sport seats are standard but they look very flat to me, with small bolsters. The dash and center console design are nice, and flow well. Much nicer than the Legacy's, IMO. Seems a bit smaller than the new Legacy, maybe about the size of the 05-09 model. The real problem for Suzuki, though, is visibility. They come out with a competent, attractive mid-sizer, but I'm not sure it'll stand out enough that people will even be able to identify it. Replies to this message: rsholland (Jul 31, 2009 7:56 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 8:50 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 9:50 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 9:54 am)