Subaru and the NEW VW beetle

[Guest CROSSTBOLT]

My wife has had the hots for the new beetle since it hit the street. Last Saturday I took her to the dealer in Memphis for a test drive which gave her the bigger hots for one. While this test drive was going on, I looked over one of the "plain janes" in the show room. Here are some things I found: Three power outlets, all "hot" when key is off! Sun roof that works when key is off! Radio that works when key is in the ignition switch whether on or not! And, of course, a flower vase complete with plastic flowers.

 

Apparently, VW owners are a lot smarter than Subaru owners to be allowed "always hot" power outlets and so on. Please understand, SHE is the one that is all a-twitter about the bug while I still cling to the Baja. I still think I enjoyed the Forester more. Is there anyway to get through to the Subaru drones that make the decisions on how to build OUR cars? Or am I gonna have to continue to rewire every darn car I buy from them?

 

Karl

[Guest kevinsUBARU]

Just a couple of questions/notes:

 

When do you ever need to use the power outlets when the car is off!? Sure its nice, but remember, the one for the cigarette lighter is just for that. It is too small to fit a power adaptor in it.

 

Yeah, the radio feature is cool also, but even that shuts off after 10 or so minutes

 

Another neat thing VW has going for it is the fact that you can put all of the windows down just by using the key in the drivers door. Even then, how much effort extra is it to open the door and hit the button?

 

As for the flower vase, errrrrrrrrr, swipe one out of the Beetle and duct tape it to the Baja dashboard:rollin:

 

Remember, those are also made in Mexico now.....just like the Jetta, reliability stinks<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\">

 

Good luck!

Kevin

[Guest Legacy777]

Just rewire the cig lighter. I would say most cars come wired to have it shut off with the accessories. Reasoning most likely is that if joe public has a device on, and they forget to unplug it, it could drain the battery down or start a fire if you have an overload of some sorts and you're not there.

 

There's much much more idiots out in this world then smart people, so unfortunately car manufacturers will design a car to satisfy most of the people out there, and cover their butts.

[Guest dwallbaum]

It goes all ways... have an '88 Bronco with a hot cigarette socket. Now, the radio is shot, so I have a CD player with a cassette tape adapter that I use in the Bronc. Works fine, but power comes from.. yup, the cigarette socket. So when I leave the Bronc, I have to unplug the CD player. Not a big deal, but the power adapter doesnt fit real well anyway, and at some point after tugging on 15 yr old metal and plastic, sumpthin' is gonna give way, and Im gonna be peeved.

 

Id be a lot happer if the Bronc's power adapter was killed with the ignition.

[Guest mehwolfy]

The VW also does not shut the headlights off for you when you turn off the key leading to the possibility of loss of battery. But I learned that lesson before I got a VW (my jeep was easy to roll start).

 

It should be fairly obvious why you'd want power to the outlet in the back of the car when the key is in your pocket.

 

Some GM cars have this nice feature that keeps the radio on until you open the door. But then they don't trust you to turn on the lights or the wipers on your own. But that lack of trust is more than deserved.

 

It's Hot August Nights in Reno this week so the Onboard bazooka that comes on Aston Martins sounds like a good option...

 

-M

[Guest CROSSTBOLT]

You all are right on the money! I had a VW Rabbit once that was made all over the world and it was a performer....when it worked. Too many variations. Hard to get reliable information. Worse to repair. Yeah, I have rin the battery flat with the headlights and even with a laptop in a service van I used to drive around. My point is the outlets should be there for us outdoor, "outback" types that wanna keep our food & drink cool. Gimme an option so I don't have to invent it. Gimme a plug & play option to have 'em hot or not. Chrysler does that in the minivans. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT FLATTENING YOUR BATTERY!! No manufacturer can idiot-proof its cars. You are really right, Josh!

 

Karl

[Guest gbhrps]

Crossbolt, you seemed to have missed the MOST important aspect of this entire decision process......the wishes of your bride. As much as I love my OB and the rest of my toys, I fell all over myself helping my bride of 28 years to pick out the right used Lexus for HER car. The compromise sure helped ensure that I get some leverage on what I want in the future. By the way, she has a longer drive to work than me, and she's the first to ask for the OB when the winter weather is really nasty. Come to think of it........I'd rather She was in the OB as well. Good Luck whatever you decide! (This is just this love puppy's 2 cents worth.)

[Guest CROSSTBOLT]

gbhrps, you are very right, also!

 

Karl

[Guest davevail]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Remember, those are also made in Mexico now.....just like the Jetta, reliability stinks

Hmm hadn't heard that all Mexican VW's were bad - the Mexican air-cooled beetles were pretty durn good I thought - any sources of this? :cool:

[Guest Caboobaroo]

heh, my mom's Chrysler Town and Country minivan has a thing with the headlights. When you're driving around with the headlights on, and you stop, shut the car off, THEN turn the headlights off, they stay on for 20 seconds so you can see where you're heading without falling flat on your face cause you missed a step or a flowerpot. This has saved me many times from falling on something. Its just another one of those nice options:D

[Guest CROSSTBOLT]

Yeah, and our Dodge Caravan had a HVAC system that would freeze the driver and roast the passenger and have the back greenhouse either way. And then be able to switch. It was a GREAT set-up!

 

Karl