So as gas prices maintain their relatively comfy position of above $4 a gallon here, I've sadly realized my truck ('01 Dodge Dakota 4x4) was no longer cutting the mustard. Terrible gas mileage, transmission starting to give out, and the engine, while running strong, was about due for a full tune-up. Coupled with the fact that I don't haul anything in it anymore and I can't cart around my niece or nephew easily let alone one passenger comfortably, it was time to get a new vehicle. This started in August of last year that I started doing my research and biding my time. The truck would get me through one more winter and come spring, I'd get a new auto.
After test driving a multitude of cars, from the Dodge Dart to Fiat 500 Abarth, Mazda Speed 3, even a Nissan Juke, my buddy got my attention on the Ford Focus ST. I became smitten and after checking numbers, reviews (oh so many reviews), test drives, costs, I decided to aim for one. A few weeks ago I finally went through the tradition of trying not to get kicked out of a car dealership to not get screwed on a deal. After nearly 10 hours straight of haggling between two competing dealers, I became the owner of this beauty:
(Pardon the filters, I was going Instagram-happy after being introduced to this app a few days ago)
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A turbo-charged 2.0L inline 4cyc puts out 252 horsepower with 270ft lbs of torque. It's an absolute blast to drive, even for a FWD. It feels glued to the road and has more buttons than a space shuttle it seems.
So anyone else want to show off their rides?
Nice car. I actually looked at one the other day. I liked the bucket seats in it.
I actually grabbed the non-bucket seat version. As much as I love being snug as a bug in them, I've found out for longer trips they get uncomfortable. Maybe if I was a thinner, longer-legged gent I'd manage. Even the stock seats are pretty great though.
OMG!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just kidding man.
that shifter would confuse the hell out of me. reverse is bottom right!
I know I hadn't noticed that but it's true. I assume you push down to engage?
It confused me too since I'm used to far right and down for reverse. Right underneath the knob is a ring that you lift up and move to the left and up; prevents accidental reverse engagement. After a bit of driving you get used to it. After coming from five speed gearboxes, a six speed is definitely different.
I havent had a automatic car in 20+ years.
That gear configuration is the same that my old VW Cabrio had.
The new body style on the Focus is much nicer than the old one. I might've considered a new Focus over my used Outback if that body style had been out when I was needing a car. But out Outback has seen us through multiple looooong road trips and camping weekends, so I'm pretty happy with it.
How's that Outback in snow? Is it AWD or 4WD? I'm going to need a new vehicle by year's end and I'm trying to decide between an Outback, Baja (If I can find one around here), Element, or Jeep (Liberty, maybe?). I'd love to get a Ridgeline but they're still a little pricey, even used.
Quote from: Staggerwing on June 04, 2013, 06:17:12 AMHow's that Outback in snow? Is it AWD or 4WD?
They're all AWD. Not too much snow here, but the few times we've iced over I was still able to get anywhere I needed to. At least twice I drove to the office only to be told to turn around and go home b/c most of the other folks couldn't get there.
Good highway mileage - consistently near 30mpg if I'm careful about speed - and lots of room for hauling crap around (I've got 2 kids). At some point, I'd like an upgraded sound system w/ an aux jack rather than using an FM transmitter, but that's not a high priority right now.
just FYI, mine's an '05. The newer ones are a little bigger, which translates into slightly lower mileage. They're also *very* comfortable inside.
Thanks for the info. Once the house thing is done I'm going to start test driving. Closing is end of next week and I'm still waiting on the ******* bank. >:(
Nice car Scott. The exterior looks almost exactly like my Subaru Outback '09. For 'Wing, the Outback is fantastic in the snow. I've had mine for 4 plus years and the only thing that ever stopped it was thick ice that I couldn't even walk on. Snow is easy peasy. The mileage is not so great (about 26 mpg) and the cabin is a little noisy, but other than that it is a tough, well built, very reliable car. Probably my favorite of the dozen or so that I have owned.
Stagger go with the Outback if the ones you listed are what you are looking at. Subaru makes an awesome car.
Quote from: Gusington on June 04, 2013, 08:17:40 AM
Nice car Scott. The exterior looks almost exactly like my Subaru Outback '09.
No way.
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That's a nice looking car, Scott.
Our latest ride is a Prius. Not quite as sexy. My wife drives it otherwise I'd take some pix.
Quote from: LongBlade on June 04, 2013, 09:14:32 AM
Our latest ride is a Prius. Not quite as sexy.
Not sexy at all. Unless gas mileage gets you all hot and bothered.
Quote from: Bison on June 04, 2013, 09:48:20 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on June 04, 2013, 09:14:32 AM
Our latest ride is a Prius. Not quite as sexy.
Not sexy at all. Unless gas mileage gets you all hot and bothered.
Watching my "miles to empty" and "average MPG" reading on my dash go up with RPM and speed management make act like a nearly fainting Southern Belle.
I kid I kid!
Joining in to recommend the Outback too, I don't think I've heard one complaint ever about them.
My midlife crisis car if I were to buy one...
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Wow, that's quite a change from the body style I'm used to seeing. Looks very mean! I hope they keep the overall spec on as true to the roadster feel of the original: 50/50 balance, RWD, etc.
I like the 21st century Ford. I hope the car is good to you Scott.
Quote from: Bison on June 04, 2013, 11:40:41 AM
My midlife crisis car if I were to buy one...
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Funny you should say that... this is my baby. I bought her in 1990.
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Nice!
That ain't my car Bison. I have the 2010 Impreza Outback. Perhaps a little confusing with the names.
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Hmmm...what's the 0-60? 11 secs?
wait wait wait
youre a man and you bought a miata? wtf
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on June 04, 2013, 07:23:04 PM
wait wait wait
youre a man and you bought a miata? wtf
Yes, yes... gay ride I know.... :P
I bought it WAY before the fruits made it their own. And I'm gonna keep it 'cause in 2 years it will be a classic. If fact, I've told my wife to have me buried in it, upright, behind the wheel. ;)
It's a great little sports car that ushered in the new era of 2 seater roadsters. Goes like snot, handles corners like it's on rails.... what more could a car drive want. 8)
I like the look of the new Miata.
I also like the Mazda 6. It's pretty sharp looking for a sedan. In fact, I'm going to a dealer this week to pretend I want to trade in my Tundra just so I can test drive both.
Quotewhat more could a car drive want.
something not gay. 8)
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Yeah well the miata is actually affordable for a middle class schlubs without breaking the bank.
My uncle put together a Cobra kit for a reasonable amount of money. The engine of course was not reasonable :)
This is the car I'd like to buy now... but my wife says it better have fully reclining seats 'cause I'd be sleeping in it.... :-\
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I was just watching Top Gear UK where they drove one of those across Europe at 15 mpg. :-[
I'm betting that they mix synthesized Aurochs testosterone in to the paint before applying it.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on June 04, 2013, 08:23:04 PM
I was just watching Top Gear UK where they drove one of those across Europe at 15 mpg. :-[
Yeah, that was an interesting race. At the end they hate on it because it's not all posh inside..... silly Brits it's about the horsepower not the seat material.... :P
Quote from: Staggerwing on June 04, 2013, 08:26:14 PM
I'm betting that they mix synthesized Aurochs testosterone in to the paint before applying it.
You bet... you have to put a mat down in your garage to catch the drips..... it'll burn the concrete. Oh and it's not the synthesized stuff either.... :o
those guys have some of the best jobs in the world.
lets go sideways in a $500,000 car and not give a flip.
Is Aston Martin still a British company? It's about the only thing automotive they've got going for them.
at this point all euro car makers are intermixed with each other.
Aston Martin must be owned by Germans or Malays or something, like the rest of what used to be the British car industry.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on June 03, 2013, 11:51:20 PM
that shifter would confuse the hell out of me. reverse is bottom right!
tell me about it... freaking Genesis owned by my SLCG is upper left too... throws me damn near everytime
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on June 04, 2013, 07:42:31 PM
Quotewhat more could a car drive want.
something not gay. 8)
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Oh yes - a Shelby Cobra?
Quote from: Bison on June 04, 2013, 09:02:08 PM
Is Aston Martin still a British company? It's about the only thing automotive they've got going for them.
LandRover may still be ours, plus Rolls Royce I think.
ford bought land rover... sorry
Land Rover is not owned by Ford. But I have worse news...they are owned by Indian car company Tata Motors. Sorry Bawb.
Tatas you say. Hmmmm
I thought it. I just didn't type it...
In 2000, Rover Group was broken-up by BMW and Land Rover was sold to Ford Motor Company, becoming part of its Premier Automotive Group. In 2006 Ford purchased the Rover brand from BMW for around £6 million. This reunited the Rover and Land Rover brands for the first time since 2000 when the Rover group was broken up by BMW. In June 2008, Ford sold both Land Rover and Jaguar Cars to Tata Motors. This sale also included the dormant Rover brand[7][8][9]
from wiki, WTH was ford thinking?
That they were about to go under and needed to liquidate some assets?
Yeah and that sale probably prevented them from having to go to the gubment to survive, like GM and Chrysler.
If I had the means, I would stick 2 fingers up at all the fancy high-price arty-farty cars, and have a good ol, LWB 4WD, 2.2 litre, landrover Defender.
In blue and white.
So there!
http://www.landrover.com/gb/en/lr/defender/
Yeah, that would do.
I'm picking up one of these this fall... It's got a lovely personality. Hey...its 30mpg to haul 7 people...I need that.
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Quote from: republic on June 19, 2013, 06:40:15 AM
I'm picking up one of these this fall... It's got a lovely personality. Hey...its 30mpg to haul 7 people...I need that.
Not bad. Not sure I'd go with yellow, though.
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Replacing our older Volvo with a new 2013 Subaru Outback V6. Picking it up tomorrow!
^Enjoy!
Quote from: Gusington on June 19, 2013, 12:56:30 PM
Replacing our older Volvo with a new 2013 Subaru Outback V6. Picking it up tomorrow!
w00t! Gratz.
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Quote from: Gusington on June 19, 2013, 12:56:30 PM
Replacing our older Volvo with a new 2013 Subaru Outback V6. Picking it up tomorrow!
Awesome! Be sure to take some awesome pictures with it. I'm sure it'll be great for trips too.
Outbacks are a solid vehicle all right, assembled in Indiana to boot [not sure where the parts are manufactured]
Quote from: Gusington on June 19, 2013, 12:56:30 PM
Replacing our older Volvo with a new 2013 Subaru Outback V6. Picking it up tomorrow!
Wow! Cool man.
Quote from: Bison on June 19, 2013, 04:49:35 PM
Quote from: Gusington on June 19, 2013, 12:56:30 PM
Replacing our older Volvo with a new 2013 Subaru Outback V6. Picking it up tomorrow!
Wow! Cool man.
Indeed, let us know how you like it. I've been looking at Subarus for when my car inevitably kicks the bucket.
It'll be our 2nd Subaru. I have a small Subaru Impreza which is a great car. I am sad to see the Volvo go, it is built like a landship.
The new Subaru will be black. I have already named her Betty. The little one is named Val.
And yes the little one was built in Indiana. IIRC there is also a Subaru assembly plant in Alabama. The AFAIK are made in Japan.
Found this Skylark GS for sale locally. The siren song of the V8 350 is calling... trying to resist.
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I recently inherited this car:
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V8 350...gabba
Quote from: eyebiter on July 14, 2013, 11:29:20 AM
Found this Skylark GS for sale locally. The siren song of the V8 350 is calling... trying to resist.
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Cooool! How much do they want fer it?
Quote from: Windigo on June 19, 2013, 12:32:25 PM
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About time. How much?
:)
AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH! 23 years with out a scratch and my Miata (shown above in the thread) gets rear-ended by some stupid woman this morning on the way to work!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( :'(
Just about clocked her when she came over to apologize. >:(
Line of traffic stops quick. I stop fine with firm breaking. Hear squealing tires behind me, look up to see this Acura coming at me. Just started to move and turn out of the line and get clipped on the read driver's corner. She goes careening off into the south bound lane and comes to rest on the opposite shoulder. If I hadn't moved and turned she'd have ploughed into me square and totaled us both.
My damage is small - bumper missing paint, corner panel has a new wrinkle where it meets the bumper, cracked taillight. Her car was un-drivable as the front bumper was mashed into the passage side wheel well.
Lucky no-one was coming south at the time and lucky we're both un-hurt..... but man I yelled some pretty unflattering things at her for first few minutes.
Crappy way to start my day...... but I could be dead too... so there's that..... :P
Sorry to hear that, Barth.
My dad used to be in the Air Force. His advice was "any landing you walk away from is a good one." I suppose the same thing applies to car crashes.
Sorry to hear about your Miata. As long as she has insurance to cover the repair it's going to be OK. Inconvenient to lose your baby? Sure. But it'll be back.
glad to hear your ok but lets be honest here... your punishment for driving a miata should be far worse. ;)
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on July 23, 2013, 10:16:40 AM
glad to hear your ok but lets be honest here... your punishment for driving a miata should be far worse. ;)
HA! Yeah but I did get away with it fer 23 years..... :P
23 years of questioned manhood.
Quote from: Barthheart on July 23, 2013, 10:38:45 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on July 23, 2013, 10:16:40 AM
glad to hear your ok but lets be honest here... your punishment for driving a miata should be far worse. ;)
HA! Yeah but I did get away with it fer 23 years..... :P
just means we've got 23 years of punishment to mete out. Perhaps a few weeks of editing Wodin's posts at the Wastelands forums should do it ;)
Quote from: bayonetbrant on July 23, 2013, 10:44:13 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on July 23, 2013, 10:38:45 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on July 23, 2013, 10:16:40 AM
glad to hear your ok but lets be honest here... your punishment for driving a miata should be far worse. ;)
HA! Yeah but I did get away with it fer 23 years..... :P
just means we've got 23 years of punishment to mete out. Perhaps a few weeks of editing Wodin's posts at the Wastelands forums should do it ;)
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :-X
Good deal with maneuvering out of the way Bart. Women and machinery do not mix.
neither do men and miatas.
next thing ya know he'll be on double dates with azz getting his sphincter bleached... :o
Pfft!
I'm holding out fer Harison Ford....
:o
I wish some hottie would make that song with me in it. Even as a joke it would be pretty cool.
Well, I mean some hottie besides Azz.
Glad to hear you are ok Barth.
Barth, hope your Miata can get patched up quick!
Might be taking the Focus to an Autocross event in about two weeks, possibly joined by a MR2, another Miata, perhaps a Corvette. The driver of the MR2 is my insurance agent and he has explicitly told me to not hit anything because "we can't cover stuff that happens at races." Which he then follows by asking me what sort of engine work I'll be doing to go faster.
Quote from: ScottP on July 26, 2013, 03:42:00 PM
Barth, hope your Miata can get patched up quick!
Might be taking the Focus to an Autocross event in about two weeks, possibly joined by a MR2, another Miata, perhaps a Corvette. The driver of the MR2 is my insurance agent and he has explicitly told me to not hit anything because "we can't cover stuff that happens at races." Which he then follows by asking me what sort of engine work I'll be doing to go faster.
I'll bite. What sort of engine work are you doing to go faster?
Quote from: ScottP on July 26, 2013, 03:42:00 PM
Barth, hope your Miata can get patched up quick!
Might be taking the Focus to an Autocross event in about two weeks, possibly joined by a MR2, another Miata, perhaps a Corvette. The driver of the MR2 is my insurance agent and he has explicitly told me to not hit anything because "we can't cover stuff that happens at races." Which he then follows by asking me what sort of engine work I'll be doing to go faster.
Thanks! It's at the shop now and the insurance company is playing nice so far.... maybe because it's wasn't my fault. :P Anyway they've rented me a 2013 Edge. Nice SUV....
I'd love to try an Autocross. The Miata is so low and wide that it corners like it's on rails.
I used to do navigational rallies in my younger days. Great fun. Typically run on back roads, old logging roads etc.
http://www.smccrally.com/about/introRally.htm
Quote from: LongBlade on July 26, 2013, 08:06:31 PM
Quote from: ScottP on July 26, 2013, 03:42:00 PM
Barth, hope your Miata can get patched up quick!
Might be taking the Focus to an Autocross event in about two weeks, possibly joined by a MR2, another Miata, perhaps a Corvette. The driver of the MR2 is my insurance agent and he has explicitly told me to not hit anything because "we can't cover stuff that happens at races." Which he then follows by asking me what sort of engine work I'll be doing to go faster.
I'll bite. What sort of engine work are you doing to go faster?
There's quite a bit of stuff coming out/is out from Steeda and Cobb to assist with giving the Focus ST a bunch of power and performance. There's a variety of cold air intakes, a computer tuner to adjust timing, throttle response, full exhaust systems, etc. My first real step though is to get mudflaps and all-season tires before it gets too cold. The Focus ST came with summer tires, great for handling and acceleration, but needs the weather to be above 30 degrees to maintain grip.
After that I will probably get the tuner since it is plug-n-play and cheaper, the throttle on the car isn't entirely direct (its fly-by-wire) so I'd like to adjust that. After that if the price is right, I'll look into brakes and then onto the cold air intake and exhaust. The exhaust note on the car is pretty quiet, despite the inducer that's piped into the cabin.
Currently I'm waiting for my dealer to bring in some parts for a new motor mount for the ST. Apparently they thought they could use the same ones used in stocked Focuses, but when you had 100+ hp and torque, the motor is going to move around a bit more, so the new motor mounts will be stiffer and hold it in place. Right now if I'm aggressive with the gas from a stop I can get some wheel hop into 2nd gear and some play into 3rd.
Overall though, the car itself is great stock as a 'fun' daily driver that can take care of itself at an autocross. Track days with extended racing though is something I wouldn't do until I do the brakes and tires and tuner.
I plan on owning this car for minimum of ten years so this will be an on-going project. A buddy of mine wants to try his hand at LeMons racing sometime either next year or after once we can find a suitable junk car to enter and get a team together.
Went on bit of rant again, maybe I'll keep coming back to this thread to show my upgrades and work on the car.
Barth, the Miata is a fantastic track car. Perfectly balanced, lots of available parts, widely supported, the list goes on. That's cool about the rallies! I wonder if anything happens like that out here.
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As my second car I had a 1992 Toyota Tercel! That one is much cooler. The engine on mine actually blew up! Please tell me you took that pic Breezy....
Quote from: Gusington on July 29, 2013, 12:38:51 PM
As my second car I had a 1992 Toyota Tercel! That one is much cooler. The engine on mine actually blew up! Please tell me you took that pic Breezy....
"you took that pic Breezy...."
::)
Quote from: Windigo on July 29, 2013, 12:26:08 PM
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Batman's budget has been hit hard.
sequestrations a bitch.