New tires for the Crosstrek

I can Cross one item off the to do list for my Crosstrek. I purchased four new Milestar All-Season Radial P225/55R17 101V XL all weather tires for only $410.80 (with tax). Yep, traded my Japanese tires for Korean. That price included Installation and balance from Jesse's Tire Clinic replacing my original Yokohama Geolandar P225/55R17 95H. I specked these tires every place I could think of and Jesse's beat everyone for the price. They ordered the tires for me and let me come over with no appointment and done in a little over a half-hour. So I saved money and time and have better weight, speed, and mile rated tires. That makes me happy. The Geolandar tires are notorious for their short life.

Cubs Topps 65 [updated]

I'm excited about two new adds for my 1965 Topps cars

I acquired another Larry Jackson card

And a place holder Ernie Banks

Decline of Cars

GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru are all companies that publicly say car sales continue to plummet while trucks, SUVs, and crossovers rise.

In Oct of 2018, Subaru release this chart.  Overall sales are up, but sports cars BRZ and WRX are down.  Sedans/hatchback Impreza and Legacy are down.

Carline	Oct-18	Oct-17	% Chg	Oct-18	Oct-17	% Chg
	MTD	MTD	MTD	YTD	YTD	YTD
Forester	15,981	13,430	19.0%	137,905	145,460	-5.2%
Impreza	5,499	6,733	-18.3%	65,039	71,322	-8.8%
WRX/STI	2,277	2,416	-5.8%	24,234	26,572	-8.8%
Ascent	6,008	0	0.0%	22,588	0	0.0%
Legacy	2,752	4,538	-39.4%	33,832	41,999	-19.5%
Outback	11,574	15,786	-26.7%	149,566	156,277	-4.3%
BRZ	254	271	-6.3%	3,184	3,578	-11.0%
Crosstrek	11,049	10,871	1.6%	122,464	87,685	39.7%
TOTAL	55,394	54,045	2.5%	558,812	532,893	4.9%

Ford's passenger car segment sales are down 14.5% through July 2018 compared to the prior year 2017 -- and getting worse with July's 27.1% year-over-year decline.

Ford says

What can we expect from Ford concerning the future of the Mustang?

March 2018 Ford published [edited/shortened]:
All-in push on hybrid-electrics to bring new capability and features to customers on high-volume, profitable vehicles the Mustang; battery electric vehicle rollout starts in 2020 with performance utility and six BEVs by 2022. The Mustang Hybrid will be all about delivering V8-like performance with more low-end torque.

Does V8-like performance translate to 350 plus horse power?

Hybrid cars don't come across and impressive or cool. How will Ford market this aspect?


Ford announces Ford Co-Pilot360™, a package that includes standard automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning and other driver assist features.

I was expecting to see this on future Mustangs, but I wonder, why is Ford so behind on this package compared to several other car companies?

Crosstrek todo?

I have made myself a part necessity and part dream list for my `15 Subaru Crosstrek.

Crosstrek todo:

In order of importance for me:

• Rust repair
This is a must and short term goal. I just posted about this a few day ago. At 22K on the odometer, there should be no rust, but there is.


• New tires
Another must. Still have factory tires on from my Feb 2015 purchase. Only rotated once (I know, I'm a horrible car owner) so the rear tires are more heavily worn than my current front tires.
The car came with P225/55R17 95H. So many choices and still comparing.


• Seat detailing
Something I need to do for having the car as an every day beater
.
• New Infotainment system
I have one of the blah-est Infotainment systems ever put out by Subaru, or anybody else for that matter. I would love to upgrade this. A couple of photos from my current system.



• Inside door handle replacement
I have significant wear on this door handle. This is the only interior piece of trim that has worn this badly. The silver coating looks to be worn off. I''m looking to see what it would take to purchase/replace this part. Maybe a solid black that would not show wear as bad.


• Carbon filter delete
Honestly, I believe my Crosstrek has better acceleration that most and I don't know why. I would like to try this simple mod and see if I can make it even better.

• Engine detailing
This is how I would like to make my engine look. This is almost completely cosmetic, but none the less love it.


• Spoiler
Enough said.

• New dual or quad exhaust

Rust issue to fix

I have what appears to be a rare factory defect on my paint job. I say rare, because my previous daily Subaru car has zero rust on it still and no other Subie owners out there I know has this issue. The rust is in the driver's door jam and still easily fixable, right under the trim.

Pulling up the trim and it looks to be surface rust.

I have purchased the following items. for the removal, 80 grit sanding paper. All based on other's work and experience on similar tasks.


to be continued.....

Rumors of new Ford Mustangs.

I would love Ford Motor Company to address any of these Mustang rumors:

o There is an AWD version of the Mustang in the works

o There is a four door version of the Mustang in the works

o 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will be 700HP and better performance than the Camaro ZL1 and Challenger Hellcat.

o There is a performance version of the Mustang in development that outperforms the Dodge Demon in multiple aspects.