Posted on 09/29/2012 1:50:29 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen
Yeah, it is.
Beats “Christine” all to heck and back...LOL
Wow..that was depressing.
After griping about the attack on Hobby Lobby, I decided to go support them by blowing hubby’s money there and in their nearly empty parking lot sat a Boxster S.
I thought that was a tad weird considering the last post I made before I left.
What are the odds?
[crazy full moon stuff]
Bye, bye.
;]
The 2013 model is stunning.
I think it was an ‘11 or ‘12.
[and still creepy, sitting there looking suspicious in that dark lot]
LOL
BTW, I once had a 924 turbo.
I’m one of those people who should not have a fast car.
[because I *will* use it]
Right now, I’m pushing the limit with the HD.
My dream car would have a Hemi....and my life span wouldn’t be worth squat.
:)
It’s horizontally opposed, which means it is more balanced than a typical inline four, and it also creates a lower center of gravity in the vehicle which helps with handling, particularly in potential rollover situations. It’s a well engineered, stout little engine that can make a lot more horsepower than factory tune, so it’s very popular in road rally cars, and very popular with the tuner crowd here in the US.
One note of caution, if you’re looking at a turbo model, there are a few things that you should and shouldn’t do. If you’re looking at a used turbo, the maintenance habits of the previous owner are important, to the point that I’d not consider one without verifiable records or factory warranty remaining. Get full synthetic oil in it as soon as you can and absolutely do not ride the oil changes. The design of the turbo is such that if it throws a bearing you’re potentially looking at a new engine, the debris will not be isolated. That said, a well maintained one is a joy to drive, I have one, an ‘07 2.5 turbo. I love the car.
If you don’t need or want that sort of acceleration, go with the normally aspirated models, they’re about as bulletproof as you’re going to encounter among new models.
Or, if you want somewhat improved power without the turbo, they make a boxer flat six as well, 3.6 liter.
I hung out with a monied crowd while in school, up in summer people territory in the southern NC Appalachians, and also was valet at a pretty snooty old lodge/country club, so I’ve driven quite a few vehicles well above my station, lol.
Old rear engine aircooled Porsches are tail happy, and I would imagine it would not be too difficult to get yourself liberated from this plane of existence while behind the wheel of one, on wet pavement especially. American drivers in general don’t know what oversteer is, and man do they ever.
I’ve only been thoroughly bad vibed and creeped out by a car once in my life, though, and it was not a Porsche or even especially exotic, at least not at the time. It was a yellow and black 1970 Pontiac GTO. Radiated death, a college roommate owned it. Didn’t kill him, but it was the last car he was ever able to drive.
... and so are most of their drivers.
Around here, 911 owners tend to be slightly nerdy, balding, late middle age engineer types, who admire the cars from an engineering standpoint and rarely push them anywhere near the limit, unless they take it up to the road course at VIR by Danville. Other varieties of Porsche as well as other marques attract a showier crowd. You just don’t see blinged out or heavily modded 911’s here. That’s a Florida and west coast thing.
That was one good thing about the 924.
It had a front/rear ratio of 51/49 which is pretty good.
That thing sucked down on the killer mountain curves like an Electrolux.
My *favorite* car was a VW Scirocco.
It had a 52/48 ratio and handled better than the Porsche ever did.
I miss that car *so* much.
The only downside to both of them was the ground clearance...4-5 inches.
I had to step *up* out of them.
;D
I miss the old, huge abandoned parking lot in the south end.
Snow, ice and no light posts or cops in sight.
Fun fun fun.
;]
*sigh*
I guess I could jack up the Taurus wagon, now.
:-|
[and I’d take the Goat, evil or not]
While in the Army in Germany it was my dubious pleasure to drive a VW van — an OD hippiemobile — on a regular basis.
I developed what I called a “kick turn” when driving on beaten snow; on approaching a 90-degree turn I would goose the gas while turning the wheel hard over. The back end (with the engine!) would slew around and I ended up pointed in my desired direction.
Got a new troop from CA once who was scared of driving over the stuff he never saw but on the tops of mountains, and took him for a ride to show him how Michiganders handle it. After the basics, I said “and by the way, the rear-mounted engine makes this possible” and executed a “kick turn” onto the company street. Boy just about peed hisself.
I've gotten a little more time in behind the wheel on snow than your typical southerner due to being on National Ski Patrol for several years before blowing out a knee. There's a surprising amount of natural snowfall down here on west facing slopes above 4,000 feet or so. Subies are the best snow cars, imho. Not overpowered to the point of being able to get yourself into major trouble unless you're talking turbo, very controllable, excellent awd system that just goes about its business to keep the car moving.
Rear engine rwd cars are a lot of fun in snow but demand much more attention and much more skill.
Thanks. No, not interested in the turbo and buying new.
I see you are well versed on the Subaru. I’m leaning towards the Forester. Any thoughts on this? But I will be back right before I’m ready to sign - is that OK? I have a 125,000 mile Jeep now and use synthetic oil in it.
If your Jeep is one of the “box” style older Cherokees, there is a lot of demand, you may be better off selling it yourself online, AutoTrader or similar. Well kept, well maintained twelve year old ones are fetching close to $7k in some places, they made a mistake killing it off, people want the honesty and simplicity with a straight six engine.
Forester is a fine, reliable, economical, roomy vehicle with all wheel drive, rated close to 30 mpg highway, which is impressive given the mechanical drag of the drivetrain. It has the tried and true 2.5 boxer four, pretty smooth for a four, nice burble from the dual exhaust if you get a model that has it, Limited or the trim level just below it.
You should be very happy with it. In comparison to a Jeep, I’d say that the only tradeoff would be in heavy, offroad usage. The Subaru AWD is great, it just works, and is superior in most normal usage situations. Serious offroading requires a locking differential though, and it does not have that, whereas the Jeep does.
Counterculture types love them, though, so be prepared for some ribbing in conservative circles, lol.
Really? What is counterculture about them - what’s the appeal to them? I travel in nothing but conservative circles and never heard this. But then, again, not one of them has one either - so maybe you are right. What’s my defense? Help me out here.
I personally don't care what other people buy and drive, I choose what I buy and drive for my own reasons. But as far as a defense, they've all got a five star safety rating, practically all Subaru models are rated as a Consumer Reports “best buy,” they hold their resale value well and they're just neat, interesting vehicles withthoughtful and unusual touches throughout, you can tell engineers hold sway there.
7K? WOW! It’s a ‘95 Grand Cherokee Limited. A mechanic told me they don’t make them/engine (almost nondestructive) like this anymore but it’s 17 years old and....(I’m familiar w/the unreliable teenager years). Wasn’t sure what my $limit should be in keeping it.
Thanks for the plus on the Forester. But maybe I have to sit on my thought to replace the Jeep for a bit. This is all good info, so thank you - I appreciate it since it’s been uppermost in my mind lately. Then you post about the Subaru engine on a James Dean thread. Perfect!
I’ll be searching you out again about my JEEP/Subaru dilemma - I just know it! Thanks again.
Counterculture types do get a kick out of the somewhat spacey connotation. Very few outside the counterculture realize this, though, even among Subaru owners.
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