regfootball

lots of cars have those these days. thanks to the IIHS.

an Epsilon car beats a Lexus? LOL.......

i've had a few bosses that have made me irate. not worth elaborating, especially since i have been boss free for a while.....just enjoying that until i have a boss again......

in my basement i have car magazines dating back to 88-89. i have subscribed to C/D and MT since then. still have all those. Also, R/T since maybe 98. Automobile off and on since then. At some point I am prob gonna get rid of them.. ........ but my soon to be one year old boy, i bet it would be fun to share them all with him someday.

The CVT as i tested in the Outback was not horrible, but at the same time its not as good as the latest gen Nissans. As far as manuals go, all the Subarus I have tested are vague and rubbery (the foresters is reprehensible) but the Legacy seemed at least the best of the Subarus and would probably loosen up over time. Its definitely not snick snick like a Honda, or snap click like good european cars. What concerns me is these automakers still attempt to satisfy the manual market (Subaru makes more attempts than a lot of them) don't add 2 + 2 to get something besides a plain AT car with a simple MT substituted. Really if they are going to offer the stick then give it quicker steering and sharper reflexes and tighter suspension. Subarus new CVT does get great real world mpg if the people in edmunds are to be believed. Actually blu what concerns me with regards to the new Subarus and yourself is that they might have grown to be larger cars than I think you normally like. The Legacy feels like a BIG car. Not a heavy big car, but it does feel big. I'd be sure also to test one with the premium pack with alum wheels and better tires.

lastly, the commonality of all the cars in this segment, and their relative lack of sportiness really has me anticipating the Buick Regal EVEN MORE now.

So simply to the judge the two cars I drove today I will first say that anyone who buys either car can say they bought a good car and defend the decision to anyone. Both cars for the price are good cars. If I were trying to represent the buying public instead of myself I should have tested the CVT Legacy and the 6 speed auto Fusion. But based upon what I drove, I would give an Edge to the Legacy. I feel the slight edge it has in refinement, and the rather noticeable edge it has in interiors and space and visibility, with the X factor of all wheel drive.......I think for me (especially being a big Ford fan and having 5 Fords in the last 15 years) its tough to admit but I do think the Legacy is the better car. What's interesting then is to now go and factor all the other competitors in this class into the mix and see where the Legacy and Fusion end up. I do know this. I did like my Altima rental and can say that even though the car felt dated in terms of packaging in styling and just the familiarity factor, it was a tight car that is probably in the upper tier of the cars in the class. I also know the GM epsilon cars with the ecotec are good cars..the ecotec is peppier than most of the other four cylinders and the car has a personality that some of the other cars lack. The Accord is quality vanilla. Made well, and its just a matter if you can deal with the crappy dash and ugly sheetmetal. The Passat is the car someone concerned with 'driver's refinement' will gravitate to, but why not just get the CC then and get some style with your car? Its been awhile since i had my Galant loaners....they did lack refinement but did have good handling and ride quality and had big time cabin room. If you are forced into one and can deal with the plasticky interior and you get it cheap its a decent car. I now almost feel like I need to have a Mazda6 test but at the same time I never see glowing reviews on its driving dynamics so I have sense of urgency to try it since I think its styling is generic outside and feminine inside. The Kizashi is my latest intrigue since it promises more fun and sharper reflexes and I have sat inside one and it is up to par for the class. That may be my next test, that or the 011 Sonata which boasts lots of things to make a case for being the hot new kid on the block. I would have to say that it is next to impossible to say any one of the cars in this class is a standout, much less a leader. WHich is why this country is great. Let the buyer pick the favorite. In this case, I am not sure I can even pick but today at least between the two cars I pick the Legacy. I need to try a CVT Legacy back to back with the really good Nissan CVT. The Outback CVT I drove I felt was pretty good but not up 100% to the power level and overally order in which the Nissan CVT ran. Most buyers will be comparing the Nissan CVT to the Subaru one and I think while the Subaru is newer fresher entry with a nicer interior it might only be ahead of the Altima because of that because the Altima might have a slight performance edge. I am sure the Honda is in this company. I think the Fusion's interior, slight lack of refinement and slightly mushy steering and handling demerits it in the 4 cylinder class, even if the automatic version helps its performance. The Malibu's personality helps it a lot in this class and to be truthful I need to go flog one again to refresh my mental notes more on its handling although I don't recall the ride being too bad on it. From what I recall the Malibu is not deficient really dynamically in a big way. I had thought for me the Fusion was a bit of a slam dunk but now I have to admit I am going to go back and evaluate the Malibu again. While the Altima felt dated to me it was a good drive. Liking the Subaru makes it tough also. And the Kizashi promising to have driving fun makes it even harder. Note: I did not and will not be testing any Camry's. I have two young children and if I am going to wrap a vehicle around a telephone pole its going to be a ZR1, not a camry.

The Legacy I tested was a 2.5i base with steel wheels and hubcaps and manual trans, tan interior. I have not been much of a Subie fan in the past except for admiring their all wheel drive and decent value pricing and quality of build. But all the things I hated about the last gen Legacy have been adressed on this model. For one, the car is human sized now and usable for a family who need size in their interior, and on this count it really delivers, the cabin is commodious in leg room, head room, girth and back seat room (which is palatial). Secondly they designed a car pleasing to the mainstream buyer's eye. The new Legacy is an attractive car and yet fully distinctive as a Subaru at the same time. Even men! will like the looks of this car. They got rid of the ear slicer frameless doors and put normal window frame doors on it. I will express a concern for the lack of heft of the sheetmetal and window frames and other aspects on this cars' shell. Subaru kept the weight down on this large car, and I fear that perhaps the car may seem like it may not have some of its pieces feel substantial like say, a Buick Lucerne. You should probably say they 'optimized' the heft of many of the parts of the skin of this car and leave it at that. Third, the interior is a nice place to be. In addition to being huge and having great panoramic visibility, the textures of the plastic and feel of the cloth and touch points are very nice. The armrests are padded (hello malibu) and the seats are comfortable. Very comfy. The steering wheel feels nice and the gauges were not cheap looking like the Fusion. The radio is up where GOD intended it (up high in your sight lines) and the center stack is nicely done and the silver accents look nice and everything seemed logical and easy to use. Big demerits from me on the power mirror switches on the lower dash, these should be on the door. For the bread and butter mid size class this interior is a winner. (The new Sonata interior is very nice also but not as simple and elegant as this). My daughter was in the back and she seemed far away as she did when I had my 500 which had so much rear seat room....the Legacy is one of the cars to get in this class if rear seat accomodations mean anything to you. A neat feature which i have not seen before, there was an indicator on the dash even with the manual trans, to tell you what gear you were in! I had not seen that before! By the way, this car is very easy to get in and out of, but it does ride a bit low, too. OK, the drive. Short and sweet, while not widely apart, I think the Subaru has the overall edge in driver feel compared to the Fusion. Steering is a bit more natural with more feel and less slop. Its not sporting by any means, and feels a bit lacking in heft, but it just felt a little more refined. Same thing with NVH, aside from what i noted above, the Legacy had a little easier disposition in point to point driving and mindless cruising than the Fusion. It really only I think had a disadvantage in torque in some situations getting caught in too high of a gear, the torque was not as much to lessen your sin. Once you learned which gears to be in I think it would be fine. Passing power then would be dependent on which gear you were in, and putting up with momentary growling (but not vibration) from the boxer. I think the Legacy maybe turned a few less rpms at cruising speed in 6th but maybe it only sounded that way. The Fusion had the better shifter, as the Legacy's was rubbery (a common subaru problem I have found) and notchy and finding gears was a problem. I blew a lot of shifts in the Legacy, and none in the Fusion. I did admit that after adjusting to the Legacy's shifter I was starting to find it smoother and was on the path to learning the gates better and dealing with its notchiness and vagueness and slop. It just isn't snick snick out of the box and probably needed to break in some more. The clutch was a little nicer in terms of release but perhaps not as fluid as the Fusion's when on the fly. The ride comfort was good and there was not the thumping on bumps you'd get a bit on the Fusion. I think it seemed to corner somewhat ok, remember i had steelies and cheap tires. Again, there was just a bit more refinement in all the driving behavior of the Legacy, just a bit. Overall, driving these two cars and comparing them against my 2010 Altima rental a few weeks ago....it just is amazing how similar and close all these cars are. And I also will note I have test driven many other recent competitors in this segment...the current Accord, the Malibu (Aura/G6 as well), Passat, Galant...... I should comment on the all wheel drive. I did not feel at any time during the drive like there was additional lag or lack of response on the system or driveline slop or added heft from having the all wheel drive. Everything was tight in that regard. Since this is a GM site this is the part where I confirm that yes indeed the Malibu can stand in good company with all these cars and not look down. so who won this drive off?

Test drove a new 2010 Subaru Legacy base and 2010 Ford Fusion SE today. Both with four cylinder and manual trans. Since I rarely finish what i start, I will try to just be more brief than usual. Since I drove them back to back it is interesting to have them to compare to each other. First off, the 2010 Ford Fusion SE. 2.5l 4 6 speed manual trans. The car was not equipped with the 18" wheels and Monochrome sport package and what i presume to be tighter suspension. I was disappointed that I could not try that. I have driven the 2010 Fusion this exact way before but figured it would be ok to drive it again. The Fusion is a known commodity and everyone I think will agree that the 2010 styling and interior updates have helped. Also I think everyone would agree that at least in lower trim levels the FU sion is a good value. My test car had cloth seats and a dark interior. The exterior is familiar and new at the same time. In my eyes the 17" steel wheels with caps on this tester look cheap. Overall the car looks worlds better with real aluminum wheels. The interior is a product of the last gen FUsion so the center stack controls are too low, but the new climate control and radio shared with the Focus and Escape while taking a bit of time to learn, are nicely laid out. I don't like the new gauges although they read fine. The steering wheel is typical Ford. Dash plastics are mid pack and the center high storage cubby remains. The seat cloth looks cheap but certain no more or less cheap than on say, a Malibu. The seats themselves are shaped extremely well for comfort and support although I thought the padding could be more consistent. The door panels are ok and that's about it. I think the Altima (which i rented recently) has slightly better interior quality even if I thought the Altima's look is getting long in the tooth. The Fusion does have a cockpit feel to it. Interior space is probably mid pack in this class. So as far as the test drive, I felt the new 2.5 engine was a revvable, willing performer with a decent torque spread and not unruly. I will comment on the Legacy later, but where the Legacy's boxer growled with noise at higher rpm, you couldn't really feel it through into the car. The FUsion growled a bit a lower rpms and smoothed out at mid range and higher and had less engine NOISE than the Legacy. But you felt more of it through the car. The Legacy was quieter and more refined at lower rpms, and even though you would hear the boxer growl when you revved it, you didn't really feel it was straining in doing so. Both engines had similar power for the most part except I felt the Fusion had a wider torque band and revved easier and maybe had a little more top end. I got caught with my pants down in too high a gear in the Legacy and in this regard it seemed to me the Fusion's gearbox was spaced better and matched up better to the torque band of its engine. The Fusion's gearbox was snick snick nice and while initially letting out the clutch felt a bit sloppy compared to the Legacy, overall the play between the clutch and shifter was nice on the Fusion. I would not call it top drawer, just very decent. While the Altima i rented a few weeks back had the CVT which by the way was very well matched, I would say the Altima probably had an advantage in power and refinement on the Fusion's engine as well. Overall noise level at constant cruise was not too bad but aurally you knew it was a 4 cylinder and again the Altima CVT had an advantage in this regard. I almost have begun to come back around to the idea that a v6 is indeed a must in this class of car for full satisfaction. The steering felt a bit mushy on the FUsion and slightly disconnected but not at all what i would term 'mushy'. The ride was average and initial bump compliance was not plush but not harsh. If i compare to the Altima I drove as a rental I would definitely prefer the Altima in ride and roll stiffness and agility. Steering also too but only because it felt more responsive. This is all why I was bummed out to not drive the monochrome sport pack equipped model. Visibility out of the Fusion is probably a B. There is some limited restriction and therefore not as panoramic as the Legacy and Altima. I think the FUsion is greatly improved over prior years and is class competitive. It does nothing in the guise I drove it to stand out in a good way, or a bad way. In this regard it simply comes down to whether you like the styling, interior, price, reputation, or dealer. I don't think anyone who gets one would feel cheated out of their money, but I just remember back to when i leased my 500 back in late 05 and drove both the Fusion and the 500 and decided on the 500. Its the same way now with the Fusion and the Taurus. After my test drive I went and sat in a new 010 Taurus and marveled at the next level of nice the car provides....it really reminds you that while the midsizers provide a lot of amenities and space and value, there is still a mid pack sort of execution about this class of car that always reminds you of its cost constraints. The Fusion is the car of the year, but really doesn't register as anything out of the ordinary.. Its simply fitting in, and fitting in without incident.

let an OHC engine be an OHC engine. Let a pushrod engine be a pushrod.

move to north dakota......LOL i would run complete fuel system cleaner through the car for a couple tanks prior to the test and then run premium for the test. Not scientific belief on my part but it may get some carbon out of your engine. at this point most 5 and under year old cars are so clean i don't see why make cars like yours jump through hoops to remain on the road.

I suppose we could ask Josh E. Poo if he likes his..........wait......

don't assume that torrent will get too much better mpg than the envoy / ranier. the vue's and other vehicles with that 3.6 like that sometimes don't get much over 17 in the city.

it seems as though she believed in what she did and liked it. But at some point, putting people in high risk situations for entertainment of others seems over the top. I probably wouldn't care much if they got rid of this stuff.

there was a brief time when decent outlooks could be had under 30g.

i think the mpg difference is minimal, and the resale will be much better with AWD. A lambda i would advise to purchase AWD. But like if its your second or third car, .....prob not as big a deal.

nice pics. thanks for sharing those.

as an architect, i desppise faux materials and hate laminated flooring with passion. it looks wrong, feels wrong, sounds wrong. i understand the motivations though. if you search enough places and clearing houses you can find real wood flooring for attractive prices and its real. laminated pergo type floors are what fake wood paneling was 3 decades ago. just wrong. but i do understand why folks buy it. easy to install and inexpensive.

all the research i have done on the old srx suggested that the v6 was good for about 16-17 mpg typical and the northstar about 15 on a good day. i would guess the new srx will at least be closer to 20 than 15mpg in the real world.

my gosh our situations sound similar. regal is definitely near the top of my list although if i look at a regal i probably will have to lease. what is exciting is seeing cars like the regal permeate GM's lineup. I really like the Volkswagen CC for example, except that its a volkswagen. i really like GM and Ford cars and really like how some of the Opel product will be able to be brought here as Buicks. Its an exicting win / win. A turbo with manual in some form would be what i wish for.

I know you have been anticipating this for a long time, congrats that you can look forward to this. Go buick!

if the SRX had kept the last chassis, but added the new ones interior and exterior styling theme........with a 3.6 twin turbo........ personally i don't like how high it rides now but it is par for the course in crossovers these days. ANd there is a CTS wagon now. i just am curious if the tranny lag that has been mentioned in road tests is really true. aside from that, is the interior as nice as it looks, how is the handling, how is the cargo hold.

i might have a couple more, where i do not know. i actually have quite a few pics of my 1977 electra coupe (green interior and all). i havent found any of my 1976 chevette scooter or any of our Vegas. I don't think i can find any of the 1981 Electra diesel either.

right. what has been called small block for quite awhile..the GM pushrod v8.

reading on GMI that the northstar is toast in the STS to me makes me wonder if Caddy's lone V8 in the future won't be a small block now.