I believe the term is Massholes, though that can apply both on and off the road.And, I am too polite to talk about Mass drivers.
Upvote
0
I believe the term is Massholes, though that can apply both on and off the road.And, I am too polite to talk about Mass drivers.
Subaru's are very common around here, in the winter, most of the cars on the road seem to be Subaru's. Our mailmen love them. We are on our third new one, its almost time for the 4th, but with the supply situation, we may hang on longer. I chatted with a salesman a month ago while getting my oil changed and the routine service. He is a grandson of our next door neighbor. They don't have the model I want in stock, I have to be put on the wait list for one that is not quite a match and is coming in a month or two. Obviously, the price is high.More than a rite of passage. Our driveway has an 11% grade, and we've had friends who drive a variety of other makes (Honda, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc.) try to make it up with snow on the pavement and fail, they roll back down and end up walking up instead. Meanwhile, our Subarus cruise right up grade and into the garage. When you're coming home in the snow with a load of groceries and/or kids, being able to pull into your garage is a good thing.
Since we're on this tangent, finding a plow service was a challenge. The first 4-5 guys who came out to give an estimate just said, "Nope." The guy who plows our driveway has a big truck (and sometimes still has trouble and has to clear part of it by hand first).
We recently bought our 5th new Subaru. We had two wheel drive cars when we moved to New England, replaced them with a pair of Outbacks, replaced one of those with another Outback and the other with a Honda Pilot (at the time we bought that our third child was on the way, and the Pilot was one of the few vehicles able to take three full size car seats in the middle row; the Ascent wasn't around yet, just the smaller Tribeca). We replaced the third Outback with a Crosstrek Limited in mid-2020, not long after dealerships reopened but before the supply chain issues drove supply down and prices way, way up. I planned on using it mainly to commute, but I now go into the office 1-2 days a week so the mileage remains very low. We started looking at the Ascent in late 2021, but every vehicle had a 'market adjustment' of at least $5K, so we held off on replacing our Pilot. Late last year, the adjustments finally went away. Still not many cars sitting on the lot, we ordered a 2023 Ascent Limited with the factory accessories we wanted, and waited about 10 weeks for it to be built in Japan and transported.Subaru's are very common around here, in the winter, most of the cars on the road seem to be Subaru's. Our mailmen love them. We are on our third new one, its almost time for the 4th, but with the supply situation, we may hang on longer. I chatted with a salesman a month ago while getting my oil changed and the routine service. He is a grandson of our next door neighbor. They don't have the model I want in stock, I have to be put on the wait list for one that is not quite a match and is coming in a month or two. Obviously, the price is high.
3 years ago, I bought my first Subaru, an Outback. It won't be my last! I've been working for many years in the car industry (German "premium" brand), and was more or less expected to drive "local".Subaru's are very common around here, in the winter, most of the cars on the road seem to be Subaru's. Our mailmen love them. We are on our third new one, its almost time for the 4th, but with the supply situation, we may hang on longer. I chatted with a salesman a month ago while getting my oil changed and the routine service. He is a grandson of our next door neighbor. They don't have the model I want in stock, I have to be put on the wait list for one that is not quite a match and is coming in a month or two. Obviously, the price is high.
Virtually non-existent in the UK. I searched for a review to find out about them.Subaru's are very common around here, in the winter, most of the cars on the road seem to be Subaru's. Our mailmen love them. We are on our third new one, its almost time for the 4th, but with the supply situation, we may hang on longer. I chatted with a salesman a month ago while getting my oil changed and the routine service. He is a grandson of our next door neighbor. They don't have the model I want in stock, I have to be put on the wait list for one that is not quite a match and is coming in a month or two. Obviously, the price is high.
Same in France, but I didn't care and I'm happy!Virtually non-existent in the UK. I searched for a review to find out about them.
"Like Credence Clearwater Revival lyrics, the unsuccess of the Subaru Outback in the UK can be hard to understand. It addresses modern car buyers’ requirements, yet people buy almost anything else.
Subaru claimed it was the fastest growing SUV brand in Britain in mid-2021 but that’s much easier to achieve when you’re dealing with low volumes of sales. In April 2022, SMMT data showed the number of new Toyotas registered in the UK was 6,098. For Subaru, it was 72. " https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/subaru/outback-estate/
Obviously, over here it's the equivalent of the Nikon vs Canon.
I had Mercs from 1999-2019. In retrospect, nothing but trouble. The first, a CLK 3.2 litre cabriolet, eventually rusted away after just about everything had gone wrong. I had bought it in 1999 as I had been invited by a consortium of German, French and Swiss Universities to give the Upper Rhine Lectures and I had envisaged this marvellous scenic trip with the top down, and putting my foot down along the autobahns. It broke down in Besancon on the way out after I had owned it for a week running it in, and Merc provided me with what smelt like a mobile ashtray for the tour. On returning two weeks later to collect it, it broke down 3 km from the garage. Merc put us on the train back home. Our dealer sent out a driver to collect a few weeks later, and it broke down after 50 km. It was then transported back to the UK, where it was fixed with one blob of solder. The model was notorious for rusting and after 20 years of replacing most mechanical parts and a few wings, the body shop told me to give up. Sold it and my wife's A-class diesel that did half the stated mpg, bought a Toyota hybrid that does 3x the mpg of the CLK and 50% more than the diesel. Trouble-free and with a 100,000 miles/10year warranty if I continue to get it serviced by Toyota. But, the CLK was fun and I don't regret it!Same in France, but I didn't care and I'm happy!
Lexus was my second choice. But since I still take pride in repairing and servicing my own cars, just a look into the engine compartment of the Sub was enough to convince me.I had Mercs from 1999-2019. In retrospect, nothing but trouble. The first, a CLK 3.2 litre cabriolet, eventually rusted away after just about everything had gone wrong. I had bought it in 1999 as I had been invited by a consortium of German, French and Swiss Universities to give the Upper Rhine Lectures and I had envisaged this marvellous scenic trip with the top down, and putting my foot down along the autobahns. It broke down in Besancon on the way out after I had owned it for a week running it in, and Merc provided me with what smelt like a mobile ashtray for the tour. On returning two weeks later to collect it, it broke down 3 km from the garage. Merc put us on the train back home. Our dealer sent out a driver to collect a few weeks later, and it broke down after 50 km. It was then transported back to the UK, where it was fixed with one blob of solder. The model was notorious for rusting and after 20 years of replacing most mechanical parts and a few wings, the body shop told me to give up. Sold it and my wife's A-class diesel that did half the stated mpg, bought a Toyota hybrid that does 3x the mpg of the CLK and 50% more than the diesel. Trouble-free and with a 100,000 miles/10year warranty if I continue to get it serviced by Toyota. But, the CLK was fun and I don't regret it!
It was a very bad period for Mercedes, back then.I had Mercs from 1999-2019. In retrospect, nothing but trouble. The first, a CLK 3.2 litre cabriolet, eventually rusted away after just about everything had gone wrong. I had bought it in 1999 as I had been invited by a consortium of German, French and Swiss Universities to give the Upper Rhine Lectures and I had envisaged this marvellous scenic trip with the top down, and putting my foot down along the autobahns. It broke down in Besancon on the way out after I had owned it for a week running it in, and Merc provided me with what smelt like a mobile ashtray for the tour. On returning two weeks later to collect it, it broke down 3 km from the garage. Merc put us on the train back home. Our dealer sent out a driver to collect a few weeks later, and it broke down after 50 km. It was then transported back to the UK, where it was fixed with one blob of solder. The model was notorious for rusting and after 20 years of replacing most mechanical parts and a few wings, the body shop told me to give up. Sold it and my wife's A-class diesel that did half the stated mpg, bought a Toyota hybrid that does 3x the mpg of the CLK and 50% more than the diesel. Trouble-free and with a 100,000 miles/10year warranty if I continue to get it serviced by Toyota. But, the CLK was fun and I don't regret it!
Believe me, driving to the Dolomites via Strasbourg and Switzerland with the hood down as we used to do regularly was travelling in style!Happy to be driving a 13 year old Honda and spending money on travelling instead!
Amo le DolomitiBelieve me, driving to the Dolomites via Strasbourg and Switzerland with the hood down as we used to do regularly was travelling in style!