On Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 1:08:56 PM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> On 9/7/2016 4:52 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > On Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 12:19:36 PM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> >> On 9/7/2016 3:49 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> >>> On Monday, September 5, 2016 at 6:33:28 AM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> >>>> On 9/5/2016 10:23 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >>>>> On 9/5/2016 11:24 AM, William wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> I don't doubt that, but you can still be biased in how you report
> >>>>> things. Did you hear about the race between the Russian Lada and the US
> >>>>> Corvette? The race results were reported truthfully, the Lada came in
> >>>>> second but the Corvette was next to last.
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> They are strongly biased towards Subaru. They always give it their top
> >>>> recommendation but when you look at the frequency of repair records,
> >>>> other makes are significantly superior.
> >>>> Graham
> >>>
> >>> I got a Subaru once which I hated. It had a boring, lackluster, engine. The 5 speed ratios were ill-suited to the engine. The AC would cause the engine to bog down. One of the timing belts broke at 61,000 miles. I suppose it was my fault because they recommended that it be changed at 60,000 miles. Anyway, it was a very bad experience. Those CU guys must be boring, lackluster, pie-in-the-sky, hippies.
> >>>
> >> 40 years ago, the choice of car for accountants, teachers and uni profs
> >> was the Volvo. Then, it was built like a tank (and handled like one by
> >> all accounts).
> >> For the last few years, that demographic has favoured the Subaru.
> >> Graham
> >
> > It's an affiliation product - people buy these cars to be associated with a desirable group and lifestyle - Volvo, Starbucks, Apple, Toyota Prius etc. I think of the Volvo as the Swedish Cheby. Just don't let my Swedish stepmom know about how I feel. She's from Goteborg - home of Volvo. Of course, they're working on a self-driving vehicle. What car company isn't? OTOH, as far as cars go, I'd rather have a Cheby or better yet, an Audi.
> >
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwhyoUyJNoY
> >
> The Audi dealer here is renowned for its lousy service. I went there to
> look at their suv and was ignored, so I walked out!

I have a VW Passat which is a rebodied Audi A4. The front suspension arms have to be replaced, all the plastic connectors to the air and coolant hoses under the hood will break in 10 years. The check engine lights are famous for being on all the time in these cars, the headliner disintegrated in our climate. Of course, there's the usual timing belt, water pump, and belt tensioner that will need replacing. Other than that, it's a great car.

I highly recommend these beauties to anyone that enjoys working on cars or is seeking to have a close, personal, relationship with a professional mechanic named Fritz or Warner.