[s-cars] Gas Prices - I'm right there with you Larry C

[Taka Mizutani]

Let's see-
 Audi you have now- unreliable, but nice interior
 Volvo V70R- interior on par with the Subaru Legacy, it's not nicer than the 
Subaru, it's not really worthy of $42k, questionable reliablity over the 
Audi
 Subaru- reliable, fun to drive (feels pretty "light")- less comfortable?!? 
No way, not the Legacy.
 Mercedes- don't even go there- unreliable, interior not as nice as the 
Audi, not as fun to drive as the Audi, cost a lot more if you want 
comparable model years.
 The Subaru Legacy is the most reliable, best all-around AWD wagon out there 
right now if you have any interest in a car that's fun-to-drive with good 
performance.

I've put practically nothing into my Subaru in terms of repairs- just had a 
$200 bill for 15k service, state inspection, emissions inspection, oil 
change, but that's it. I don't expect any issues, the car is pretty easy to 
work on, I have the service manual on CD and the parts aren't horrendously 
expensive (although the trick STi stuff is expensive). It's also very cool 
that the manufacturer offers performance stuff through the dealership 
(shocks, springs, exhaust, suspension stuff, etc.) unlike Audi.
 You could build a Subaru Legacy 2.5GT with an STi DCCD center diff and 
6-speed, FP Green, injectors, fuel rails, turbo-back exhaust and chip tuning 
and have 360+ at the wheels and even higher torque. That would cost maybe 
$7500, with the transmission being the most expensive portion by far 
(approx. $4k used).
 Taka
 On 9/1/05, Lee Levitt <lee at wheelman.com> wrote: 
> 
> Joe,
>  Nothing to do with racism. I just don't like the car. A couple of steps 
> down from the Audi or the Volvo. Less comfortable, built to a price.
>  And of course there's Mercedes...but from what I've heard from both 
> owners and mechanics, they're less reliable/require more attention than 
> Audi!
>  Lee
> 
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Joe Pizzimenti [mailto:joe.pizzimenti at gmail.com] 
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 01, 2005 8:07 AM
> *To:* lee at wheelman.com
> *Cc:* Taka Mizutani; Richard Hoffman; S-CAR-List at audifans.com
> *Subject:* Re: [s-cars] Gas Prices - I'm right there with you Larry C
> 
>  On 9/1/05, Lee Levitt <lee at wheelman.com> playahated: 
> > 
> > 
> > Not too many options - awd wagon, fun to drive, good sized, safe.
> > Subaru is the only other choice that comes to mind, and I'm not
> > going there.
> > 
> > Lee
> 
> 
> Why not, Lee?
> I've driven one and it ranks pretty high on the fun factor and even higher 
> on the reliability factor. I say drive one before you make up your mind 
> completely one way or the other, or you're just limiting yourself out of 
> pure racism.
> 
> Joe
> 
>