mtsmiths

Well, that's about what I get in local driving in my Trackick, and it's an auto. I may as well just get a mid 90's 2WD auto tracker in Hawaii and gut it to make it go on a diet ... and be more 'beach friendly'. Strip the doors, cut them down like an old Jeep and weld em in place, Rip out the entire interior drill large holes in the floor and bedliner the whole interior. Strip out the seats and make up light frames with ventilated webs (a la lawn chair ... we'll never be in it more the 1/2 hour at a time). Rip out the dash and 'climate control system, and just reinstall the instrument cluster. Leave the 'rollover bar' and cut out the connectors to the windshield. Prolly dump 3-4 hundred lbs overall.

MorganM, I have a '95 Tracker/Sidekick, so I'm well familiar with the underpowered ALtoid box syndrome. I can find a 2WD version of the later models pretty easily in Hawaii. I thought that maybe the earlier Samuri might get better mileage since they're somewhat lighter and smaller engine. I get 26-27 mpg in 2WD (not good enough), 22-23 in 4WD (which I won't need on Oahu).

In preperation for retirement in Hawaii, I'll want a jeep-like vehicle that gets the best possible gas mileage. I really won't ever need 4WD on Oahu (there's no place to wheel, unless you know someone anyhow). Where our house is is well out of Honolulu, and almost all our driving will be around the local area, to the beach ands the GA aristrip, shopping in the neighborhood, etcetera. Even if we go tooling around Oahu, the traffic and parking make a Samuri a good car for the island. Even the freeway speedlimit is 55mph (not that anyone obeys THAT!). Unfortunately Subaru just refuses to make a 'Jeep'. I've got 'Barbie' the Tracker-Sidekick in Montana, and like it as a runabout, but don't want to ship it to Hawaii. It strikes me that Sammies are small displacement, light-weight, and could be lightened even more, including deleting the front drive (if possible). They're pretty polular in Hawaii, but therefore expensive over there. They also rust out quickly if not really, really prepped right and cared for. Any thoughts?

A coworker has an '04 Outback sedan (with sunroof), which she loves, except that her snowboard doesn't fit inside and she can't find a roof rack to fit the car. She is willing to drill the roof and do a permanent install if the rack is suitable and looks cool as well. Any leads?

When you will fall in love with the car is on your first road trip. Quiet, comfortable and 31.8 mpg on the interstate at 7o+ on our last trip.

The Pretty One ab-so-lutely LOVES the Atlantic Blue on our '06 Outback. I thought the century series outback cladding was a little to GMish, but the milder cladding on the '05s and up doesn't seem out of line. Although I've seen a couple of slightly lowered late version Legacies in the Seattle area, and they do look pretty menacing, specially the Japanese Mafioso all blacked out wagon I saw on I-5 trip before last. But, alas, we need the ground clearance in Montana.

Am I correct in recalling (from some dim recess) that certain Pontiac Azpukes and Buick Raniers used an electric wheel motor rear axle to achieve 4WD? I may be wa-a-a-ay off-base, since I can't make anything come up on the internet, or maybe I just don't know what to Google.

Weather? It's June 10 and snowing outside in Kalispell! And we're only at 3,000' elev.

http://jalopnik.com/395057/subaru-coupe-emerges-from-toyota-ether-looks-like-legacy Heavily disquised mule.

Call back when you can't figure out why the parking lights won't go off. Welcome to Rooworld!

Scott, have you considered triangle gussets at the 90 deg junctions? Might add rigidity at a very low weight penalty, you could even put a large lightening hole in each gussett without comprimising shear/buckling strength.

Down On The Street ... Brat http://jalopnik.com/394717/in-a-city-of-subarus-the-brat-stands-out

... from our friends over at Jalopnik. http://jalopnik.com/393915/subaru-coupe-gets-some-full+frontal-speculation

We shopped all the chains in the Flathead Valley. Les Schwab was the most expensive by over $200.00 (although the Whitefish store does have a good rep). And no, we weren't considering replacing the Potenzas, although we are just at 45,000 miles and still running on the OEMs. I've rechecked them and they're not as bad as I thought, so we'll prolly just wait 'til we get back home and the stores have a distress sale this summer when everyone quits driving rather than pay $5.00/gal for regular. Thanks for the suggestions, and feel free to keep the thread going, we may make a discovery yet, or someone in the PNW will need the info anyhow.

http://jalopnik.com/392627/subaru-exiga-sti Getting more interesting, what will they send over here?

Any good hints on where to buy a set of replacements for our worn out Potenzas on the '06 Outback. We have to drive over tomorrow night, and I don't want to make a ROUND trip on the tires. I thought we might do better near a big city than in NW Montana. Posted in Off Topic forum, but can't wait for the screening.

http://jalopnik.com/392186/new-2008-subaru-impreza-wrc-racer-revealed ... Jalopnik likes Subarus.

http://jalopnik.com/391999/2009-subaru-exiga-spied-testing It does look like a tall Outback.

VirGIN, VirGIN, VirGIN ... I feel so bad for all the dead TERRORISTS. Subaru is ruining all the virgins, so they'll never get their full allotment of 27, or 42, or whaTEVER.

And right here is the PERFECT accessory for your new car: http://jalopnik.com/391689/flux-capacitor-replicas-now-available-plutonium-not-included

We had a 2000 Legacy (that I 'Outbacked'), and we never had a HG problem. THe car was killed by a Grand Cherokee at about 180,000 miles. We replaced it with a new Subaru (well, a 24,000 mile 2006 Outback, bought from my next-door-neighbor who bought it new ... so since I've known the car since it came from the sealer ...) Personally I wouldn't buy the Volvo, if it ever needs dealer work you'll have to take out a home loan. For as long as we need winter cars we'll drive only Subarus.

http://jalopnik.com/391632/subaru-exiga-teaser-makes-us-want-a-7+seater-crossover-kinda ... is this the coming cure for Tribeca malaise? Who thinks these names up anyhow?

I'm not going Subaru-specific here, but any good pepper tree mechanic knows that doing head work on a high mileage engine has a great possibility of causing previously adequate rings to fail. Head and valve work invariblky increases compression and ... instant blow-by. The dealer did not: 1. do due diligence on determining the internal condition of the engine, 2. pay enough attention to the condition when they opened it, or 3. give enough of a *************** about the customer to give him a call when they realized it needed rings too (which would have been no big deal when the engine was already open. I'd be right back in their face, and if I got no satisfaction be climbing the Subaru corporate ladder raising hell until i did.

http://jalopnik.com/391145/subaru-legacy-sti-s402-adds-power-fender-vents

Sharply bend hoses and belts to see if they are cracking. Check in hidden areas for water-staining, dried mud, weeds, mummified catfish or crawdads ... avoid Katrina Kars. On Subarus check tire pressure for evenness. Do a torque-bind turn set, both forward and backwards in both directions on dry pavement. Watch when you turn on the ignition and confirm that the check engine light comes on, then goes off. If no light, it may be disconnected to hide problems. If you can't do a compression check hold a thin strip of newspaper so it hangs over the tailpipe, if it gets sucked in during idle - bad exhaust valve. Stick your finger in the coolant and see if it feels oily, sniff for compression gas smells.