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Subaru Legacy/Outback 2005+

10833 messages,  Last post on Feb 26, 2013 at 5:40 AM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Sedan, Wagon




Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

Messages Page 1052 of 1084

#10507 of 10833 Re: off topic [jonkron] by jeffmc

Mar 17, 2008 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: jonkron (Mar 17, 2008 7:28 am)
"Sure, her's is a hybrid and quieter inside (and will continue to be as long as Subaru doesn't use door frames surrounding their windows... and based on the new Imprezas, it appears they are changing this)."
 
Actually, the trend toward framed windows started in 2005 with the '06 B9 Tribeca, then the Impreza last year, and this year the Forester. Legacy & Outback are the only ones left w/out.
 
Also, Subaru scrapped their hybrid program shortly after Toyota gained a small stake in them. Subaru developed a superior system, but with their smaller economy of scale couldn't get the costs down enough to make it viable at the time. They then decided to focus on diesel. If they go the hybrid route in the future, they may try to utilize Toyota's technology there, simply because it costs much less. Personally, I could see them skipping hybrid altogether. With the rave reviews their diesel's gotten, and their recent statement that they wanted to be the leading electric vehicle manufacturer, I think those two technologies could anchor their "green" effort. Their new diesel gets better highway MPG than a Prius, and an electric vehicle would be better around town than Prius. If I recall correctly, Subaru says their upcoming round of electrics will go 120 miles or so on a charge, and can be charged nearly 100% in 15 minutes. That'd be perfect for the vast majority of the driving people do... perfect city car, and would be a good primary car in a 2-car household. I could easily see a Subaru electric in my household for everyday use, with a diesel Forester, Outback or Tribeca for trips.

#10508 of 10833 Re: off topic [jeffmc] by ateixeira

Mar 18, 2008 (7:52 am)

Replying to: jeffmc (Mar 17, 2008 9:29 pm)
Imagine a diesel-electric hybrid...
 
Though I gotta say, I saw diesel for $4.25 in my area. Ouch.

#10509 of 10833 Re: off topic [ateixeira] by paisan

Mar 18, 2008 (6:39 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Mar 18, 2008 7:52 am)
Yeah keep those electric meters running, I like when they run cause my company stock increases! In the long run I'm not certain that "plug-in" cars will actually save you anything and environmentally they are just as bad as gassers cause well most of the power comes from coal which is even dirtier than gasoline. Of course if people weren't so scared of nukes then it wouldn't be much of an issue but we haven't seen a new nuke built in the US since the early 80s IIRC.
 
-mike

#10510 of 10833 Re: off topic [paisan] by jeffmc

Mar 18, 2008 (7:25 pm)

Replying to: paisan (Mar 18, 2008 6:39 pm)
Hey now, some of us get our power primarily from hydro.
 
We could save a lot on fuel distribution alone. If people could plug in at home, it'd be like having a home gas station. Imagine how many fewer stops you'd make for gas (or to recharge in this case) if your tank was already filled up every time you left home. We'd have fewer gas stations and fewer trucks on the road hauling fuel (which would in itself save additional gas, reduce emissions and slightly reduce wear and tear on roadways). On the flip side, in the near term there'd likely be more train use bringing coal to powerplants. I've gotta think it's more efficient (and easier to control pollution) having a greater percentage of energy generated in fewer locations than it is having millions of combustion engines (in various states of upkeep) generating their own power.

#10511 of 10833 Re: off topic [paisan] by jeffmc

Mar 18, 2008 (7:26 pm)

Replying to: paisan (Mar 18, 2008 6:39 pm)
You're not with New York Power Authority, are you Mike?

#10512 of 10833 Re: off topic [jeffmc] by paisan

Mar 19, 2008 (7:14 am)

Replying to: jeffmc (Mar 18, 2008 7:26 pm)
Nah I work at PSEG in NJ. Funny thing is that the NYPA will actually start buying power from us soon because almost all the plants in NYC are at or above capacity. Funny thing is that even if you theoretically are buying "green" power, chances are that your actual power may or may not be "green" since it just all goes into a pool on the grid and no grid is 100% green. It's amazingly complicated how the transmission and distribution systems of the power grid work. Currently our company is upgrading all our 26kV lines to 69kV because the tax law is different for "transmission" (power plant to switching stations and switching stations to sub stations) than it is for "distribution" (sub stations to your house).
 
I think we need to get the power storage problem settled before we can really move forward and unfortunately there just isn't a real good way to store electricity. Even in the power grid there is no "storage" capacity for power and power companies have been working on this for the better part of 100 years. The more demand for electric power will increase the cost of generation, transmission and distribution as well. They trade electric now, the same (in the same market actually) as Oil, Gas, etc.
 
Interestingly we have moved most of our cars/trucks to hybrids here at the company. I think our group's next car will be an Escape Hybrid.
 
-mike

#10513 of 10833 Re: off topic [paisan] by ateixeira

Mar 19, 2008 (7:28 am)

Replying to: paisan (Mar 18, 2008 6:39 pm)
I'm pretty sure we will need more nuke power. It has bad PR but it'll be needed.

#10514 of 10833 Re: off topic [ateixeira] by zman3

Mar 19, 2008 (10:13 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Mar 19, 2008 7:28 am)
Excellent. They can build mine in North Dakota.

#10515 of 10833 Re: off topic [zman3] by paisan

Mar 19, 2008 (4:38 pm)

Replying to: zman3 (Mar 19, 2008 10:13 am)
So long as you are within about 400 miles or so of ND, then you can get power from that Nuke. THat's about the limit on how far (maybe even a little less) you can "transport" electric power.
 
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host

#10516 of 10833 Re: off topic [paisan] by zman3

Mar 19, 2008 (7:31 pm)

Replying to: paisan (Mar 19, 2008 4:38 pm)
Minneapolis. So maybe it will need to be close to Fargo.
 
I never realized the limit was that low.

Messages Page 1052 of 1084

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