Monday, November 26, 2018

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.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

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?

Sunday, November 18, 2018

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

Monday, November 12, 2018

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.....

Saturday, November 10, 2018

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.


Friday, November 9, 2018

My Subaru XV Crosstrek

Below are my first two Subaru vehicles I wrote about in my last posts. On the left is Premium Impreza and on the right, 2015 Premium XV Crosstrek. So similar at first glace, and yet truly from the same platform, but could not be much more different vehicles. [see previous blog https://elfstones69.blogspot.com/2018/11/subaru-owner-topic-snow.html]

After having the Crosstrek through several winters, I can tell you this car is a beast in snow. Even in serious snow storms.



I actually like the looks of the back-ends of '13 thru '17 better than the '18+


The center console was never top end, but not low end. Newer Subaru's, like my '19 Accent, have much better systems.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Subaru owner - topic snow...

When driving in snow, what matters?

Experience has taught me there are 5 primary factors for a vehicle that matter. I had assumed 4WD or AWD is what mostly mattered. I was very wrong. Hopeful, I can explain clearly in this post. So, I'll start at the beginning, where I learned this valuable knowledge with my first disappointment with my first Subaru car.

In February 2013, I sold my last Jeep, a trail Jeep Commander. I loved the vehicle. Great storage, power, and mud and snow handling. Better than my Jeep Grand Cherokee. What I didn't like was that I lived 12 miles out of town and gas was at a all time high. Additionally, the windshield was constantly being repaired or replaced because it was so vertical (I drove behind a lot of big trucks). Like always, I did a ton of research and in the end purchased my first new Subaru. I wanted something more sporty, better gas mileage, and would handle snow like my Jeeps had always done. I was told all Subaru's were awesome in the snow. So a salesman talked me into what he said would be the perfect car for me; a 2013 Subaru Impreza Premium hatchback. It was a nice looking car and over all was not a horrible car, but as I soon would learn, far from the perfect car in snow. Most certainly not as well as my previous Jeeps had done in snow. The first big 6 inch snow that we had in central Illinois with the car and I was stuck. I was so disappointing and mad. How could this be? I was told this be a great AWD car in snow and it was not. Additionally, just driving around, snow slush would just throw the car around (side to side).

I start looking around and asking people about their cars. What I learned was there is more to a good snow car than 4WD, FWD or AWD. First thing I learned was that the wider the tires, the better. Larger, wider tires moves the snow out of the way and has more surface for traction. The Subaru Impreza had fairly narrow tires. P205/55R16 on the Premium I purchased. Another issue was the car sat so low, that I had actually become high centered in the snow. So, yeah, height/clearance was an issue too. Other Subaru owners were raving about how well their cars did. Then I realized, their Subaru's sat higher and hand much better tires/wheels.

Just like when my Nissan Xterra could not live up to my Jeep's capabilities, and I could not climb the same off road hills, I didn't forgive this vehicle either. I wanted something better. I gave the car to my son who was wanting an AWD car that was better than the car he was driving. That said, my son has loved the car and still drives it.

In February 2015 I purchased the XV Crosstrek Premium after much research. The car looked a lot like my Impreza (as it is based on the same platform). Yes, I had seriously considered going back to Jeep, but the numbers and research pointed back as Subaru. The Crosstrek had bigger, wider wheels (P225/55R17), was lifted (8.7 inches clearance), trail ready, cost less, and a was really cool looking car. And unlike my Impreza, it pleased during the first big snow I drove with it. In fact, time and time again in the ice and snow, it performed well. I call the car my little beast. The vehicle actually handled as well as any Jeep I had owned. I also love the small factor of the car for parking and driving.

Was that all the factors in play? Nope. The Impreza is light compared to the Crosstrek. The Impreza weighed in at about 2,911 lbs. My Crosstrek weighs somewhere between 3,109 to 3,208 lbs. That little extra weight also helps with snow.

To summarize and back to the point.
1) Tire width size matters. Why? Surface traction and the ability to push away the snow. Don't believe this makes that much a difference? Compare driving with different sized tires.
2) Car weight matters. Heavier the vehicle, better the snow is displaced. But weight is a double edge sword. The heavier the vehicle, the harder to stop on snow and ice.
3) Multiple wheels that have traction matter. In other words FWD (four wheel drive) or AWD (All wheel drive). Many cars say AWD, but it is very misleading. Unless the car has at least a 40/60 distribution at default, your car will probably not be giving you the traction that is useful when you needed. Most manufacturers are getting better at making AWD but Toyota, for example, has made some horrible AWD in the past.
4) Lastly, clearance matters. This factor mostly matters when driving in very deep, wet snow. As I learned and other people I know, if you become high centered, good traction becomes impossible.
5) Tire tred matters. This is probably obvious to most people. Winter tires will perform better than All-season tires in snow. All-season tires will perform better than summer tires. If you can afford to have an extra set of winter tires just for winter (and can store them), do so. If you can't, you should have all weather tires if drive in snow.

New office/computer lab done!

My new office/computer lab is done! This is my 7 to 1 KVM setup that I spent only $83 on. It manages all but two of my computers and soon m...