Subaru, Subaru, Subaru…where is my hybrid???
I am currently the owner of a Subaru Impreza WRX, and I love my car (28-30 mpg still beats out all hybrid SUVs). If I had my choice, I would only buy Subarus. But Subaru is seriously lagging in getting into the hybrid market, and it seems that all they can offer is excuses. Batteries are not ideal, but they seem to work fine for the Prius, and all the other hybrids. Toyota, Lexus, Ford and Honda aren’t claiming that they can’t get them, or that the technology isn’t there yet. The article is full of facts and figures, all sorts of smoke-and-mirrors “education” attempting to mask the fact that Subaru doesn’t have an answer for the hybrid market and didn’t really do its homework. What's the real story?
Subaru drivers pride themselves in being sporty, outdoorsy, environmentally-correct types. We are the perfect market for the sporty hybrid wagon (that sort of looks like a shoe) you’ve so elaborately described in your article on HEVs.
So WHERE IS IT??
Even though our cars are fuel-efficient, very soon we’re all going to feel just a little bit more guilty (as though we don't already) that we’re not driving something less harmful to the environment and more economical. One by one, Subaru drivers are going to switch to hybrids. Will you be there for us, or keep making excuses?
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Lights on for Safety, Please
Just a quick note: as I drove to the winery today in the rain, I noticed quite a few cars without their lights on. A silver or gray car is almost invisible from a distance, especially against wet pavement or a gray sky. To add to that, it's now against the law in California to drive with your wipers, but not your lights, on when it's raining. Those little yellow parking lights don't count.
Please remember to turn your lights on when you drive in any kind of limited visibility weather (no matter what color your car is). The car that you don't see, or that doesn't see you, is the one that hits you. Visibility is safety.
Please remember to turn your lights on when you drive in any kind of limited visibility weather (no matter what color your car is). The car that you don't see, or that doesn't see you, is the one that hits you. Visibility is safety.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Whew!
(I finally discovered the source of the problem and replaced the old header. Of course now I want to change it again because I've been looking at it for so long.)
In other news, I got a speeding ticket today, but the officer was VERY nice (and handsome, too, if I may say so) and gave me a ticket that was on the generous side for the speed I was going. I am never angry or upset when I get a ticket, which doesn't happen very often. The officer was doing what he gets paid to do, and I totally deserved to get a ticket, because I was speeding. I didn't even notice the highway patrol car until it was right behind me. (By the way, he clocked me on the radar as we were going in opposite directions, in case you thought that wasn't possible.)
With any luck, my last ticket is far enough in the past that I can do traffic school online. (Traffic School to Go is pretty silly, but I found that it reinforces important safety points that I still reference, such as safe following distances at different speeds, and other rules of the road, besides speeding, obviously. And I can complete it online and not have to go anywhere.) The fine still hurts, especially during the holidays, but we can manage.
In addition, the other night we went out to dinner, and when we came out, there was a parking ticket on our car. We were parked next to a construction zone, so the red paint on the curb had been worn off or covered with dust and was impossible to see at night. The hydrant it marked was silver and behind silver chain link within the construction site. When we turned the ticket over, the officer had written: "You are parked in a red zone. Please be careful in the future when parking." No ticket, no fine. So I consider myself very lucky in the traffic ticket karma area this month. I promise to be extra careful in return for this niceness.
Which reminds me of my "escort" theory: when you're driving too fast, in a hurry to get somewhere, you know how there's always someone, some person wearing a hat (my grandpa says to watch out for people in hats- notoriously bad drivers) in a big boat of a car, or someone with stickers all over the back of their mini-van, who is going exactly or just under the speed limit, and blocking whichever lane you are in? That is your escort.
Instead of thinking of that person as the total pain in the ass that is in your way, think of them as sort of a volunteer guardian angel who has appeared to keep you safe. Sometimes shortly after this happens to me, I'll still be fuming that I can't get where I'm going faster, and then I'll see the police car that was waiting by the side of the road to give me a ticket, who now can't because I'm well under the speed limit. Then I remember about my escort, and I smile and calm down and think, yep, there's one ticket I won't get, or an accident I won't be part of. It's more important to get where you're going safely than it is to get there quickly. Be kind to your escorts if you are out there holiday shopping today.
As I write this, I think of Jen and Randy, Nate and Katie, out there in the Islands, and that Jamaican rum commercial where all the guys are talking about "road rage" when the town's only bus is stopped in front of a bicycle. Count "no holiday shopping traffic" among your blessings. Although "no holiday shopping available" might be the flip side of that. Got eggs yet?
In other news, I got a speeding ticket today, but the officer was VERY nice (and handsome, too, if I may say so) and gave me a ticket that was on the generous side for the speed I was going. I am never angry or upset when I get a ticket, which doesn't happen very often. The officer was doing what he gets paid to do, and I totally deserved to get a ticket, because I was speeding. I didn't even notice the highway patrol car until it was right behind me. (By the way, he clocked me on the radar as we were going in opposite directions, in case you thought that wasn't possible.)
With any luck, my last ticket is far enough in the past that I can do traffic school online. (Traffic School to Go is pretty silly, but I found that it reinforces important safety points that I still reference, such as safe following distances at different speeds, and other rules of the road, besides speeding, obviously. And I can complete it online and not have to go anywhere.) The fine still hurts, especially during the holidays, but we can manage.
In addition, the other night we went out to dinner, and when we came out, there was a parking ticket on our car. We were parked next to a construction zone, so the red paint on the curb had been worn off or covered with dust and was impossible to see at night. The hydrant it marked was silver and behind silver chain link within the construction site. When we turned the ticket over, the officer had written: "You are parked in a red zone. Please be careful in the future when parking." No ticket, no fine. So I consider myself very lucky in the traffic ticket karma area this month. I promise to be extra careful in return for this niceness.
Which reminds me of my "escort" theory: when you're driving too fast, in a hurry to get somewhere, you know how there's always someone, some person wearing a hat (my grandpa says to watch out for people in hats- notoriously bad drivers) in a big boat of a car, or someone with stickers all over the back of their mini-van, who is going exactly or just under the speed limit, and blocking whichever lane you are in? That is your escort.
Instead of thinking of that person as the total pain in the ass that is in your way, think of them as sort of a volunteer guardian angel who has appeared to keep you safe. Sometimes shortly after this happens to me, I'll still be fuming that I can't get where I'm going faster, and then I'll see the police car that was waiting by the side of the road to give me a ticket, who now can't because I'm well under the speed limit. Then I remember about my escort, and I smile and calm down and think, yep, there's one ticket I won't get, or an accident I won't be part of. It's more important to get where you're going safely than it is to get there quickly. Be kind to your escorts if you are out there holiday shopping today.
As I write this, I think of Jen and Randy, Nate and Katie, out there in the Islands, and that Jamaican rum commercial where all the guys are talking about "road rage" when the town's only bus is stopped in front of a bicycle. Count "no holiday shopping traffic" among your blessings. Although "no holiday shopping available" might be the flip side of that. Got eggs yet?
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Car Talk
If you live in the Napa area, and your car has mechanical trouble, take it to Storck's Garage. Write this down, because one day, that little "check engine" light is going to come on, or your brakes will start squealing, and you're going to say, "Dang, what was the name of that place Tamara had in her blog?" Storck's Garage. They tell you what's going on, they do what they say they are going to do, and they don't waste your time. They are professionals.
Speaking of professionals, if you get into an accident and you end up needing some bodywork or paint done, my next recommendation is ProTones. (Sorry, they don't have their own website.) We've had two cars painted by them, and they treat every car like their own. The car was perfect and shiny, detailed down to the thank you note, lifetime guarantee, and travel cup gift they left for me in the cupholder.
On the negative side, never, ever have your auto glass replaced by Auto Craft Glass in Napa. Avoid at all costs. A few months ago, we had a small crack in our front windshield and had it repaired by them. When we went in, the shop, which is a converted house, was a little dissheveled, including cigarette butts and a beer cap on the front porch. When we returned to pick up the car, there was a four-inch-wide strip of blue tape all the way around the windshield with signs not to remove for 48 hours for curing. Mike was immediately suspicious, having installed windshields himself.
Sure enough, removing the tape revealed that they were trying to hide some very big mistakes. The molding was the wrong molding, and was wrinkled in some areas and gapping in others, not making a seal. They had used a crowbar, or similar tool, to remove the old windshield, without protecting the surfaces of the car. So we had deep gouges in our paint all the way around the windshield, and even scratches in the dash board. It looked like the windshield had basically been put in by someone who had never put in a windshield before. I would include pictures here, but I don't want to dwell on it.As more information came out, we found that this was the second car the person had severely damaged, and the employee had been fired. But the owner of the shop (who, when he used to do all of the work himself, did a fine job, by the way) never talked to us, communicating through a teenage manager.
The happy ending to the story is that we took the car around the corner to ProTones for a repair estimate, and they were so helpful and so professional that it was a much less stressful situation than it might have been. They even picked up the second new windshield and installed it for us-- perfectly-- after repainting the car. 80% of the car had to be repainted because the damaged sections were continuous. The car is silver, so you can't just slap a patch on it. Every section that touched a damaged section had to be repainted to match. Anyway, the glass shop's insurance covered the painting.
My current dilemma is this: I just received an invoice from Auto Craft for the glass, labor and adhesive. I thought that was pretty ballsy. Why would I pay for the labor that it took someone to completely ruin my almost new car so that I had to have it repainted? If you were this guy, wouldn't you slink off with your tail between your legs to your insurance company and just write it off? I'd be embarrassed to send someone an invoice for such a total screw up. I have a check written out for the glass itself, but every time I go to put it in the mailbox, I just don't want to do it. I was without my car for a month because this jackass didn't know how to hire, train, or supervise his employees. I resent sending him anything at all. If he's already claimed it on his insurance or written it off his taxes, he gets paid twice. Bonus for him. I thought I'd just wait and see what happens, but he's probably sent it to his billing service, so they don't care. I thought about sending just a note back that says, "ARE YOU HIGH? Your employee wrecked my car. Pay for the damn thing yourself." But I thought that might be a little harsh. Tell me, would it be wrong not to pay for the windshield?
Speaking of professionals, if you get into an accident and you end up needing some bodywork or paint done, my next recommendation is ProTones. (Sorry, they don't have their own website.) We've had two cars painted by them, and they treat every car like their own. The car was perfect and shiny, detailed down to the thank you note, lifetime guarantee, and travel cup gift they left for me in the cupholder.
On the negative side, never, ever have your auto glass replaced by Auto Craft Glass in Napa. Avoid at all costs. A few months ago, we had a small crack in our front windshield and had it repaired by them. When we went in, the shop, which is a converted house, was a little dissheveled, including cigarette butts and a beer cap on the front porch. When we returned to pick up the car, there was a four-inch-wide strip of blue tape all the way around the windshield with signs not to remove for 48 hours for curing. Mike was immediately suspicious, having installed windshields himself.
Sure enough, removing the tape revealed that they were trying to hide some very big mistakes. The molding was the wrong molding, and was wrinkled in some areas and gapping in others, not making a seal. They had used a crowbar, or similar tool, to remove the old windshield, without protecting the surfaces of the car. So we had deep gouges in our paint all the way around the windshield, and even scratches in the dash board. It looked like the windshield had basically been put in by someone who had never put in a windshield before. I would include pictures here, but I don't want to dwell on it.As more information came out, we found that this was the second car the person had severely damaged, and the employee had been fired. But the owner of the shop (who, when he used to do all of the work himself, did a fine job, by the way) never talked to us, communicating through a teenage manager.
The happy ending to the story is that we took the car around the corner to ProTones for a repair estimate, and they were so helpful and so professional that it was a much less stressful situation than it might have been. They even picked up the second new windshield and installed it for us-- perfectly-- after repainting the car. 80% of the car had to be repainted because the damaged sections were continuous. The car is silver, so you can't just slap a patch on it. Every section that touched a damaged section had to be repainted to match. Anyway, the glass shop's insurance covered the painting.
My current dilemma is this: I just received an invoice from Auto Craft for the glass, labor and adhesive. I thought that was pretty ballsy. Why would I pay for the labor that it took someone to completely ruin my almost new car so that I had to have it repainted? If you were this guy, wouldn't you slink off with your tail between your legs to your insurance company and just write it off? I'd be embarrassed to send someone an invoice for such a total screw up. I have a check written out for the glass itself, but every time I go to put it in the mailbox, I just don't want to do it. I was without my car for a month because this jackass didn't know how to hire, train, or supervise his employees. I resent sending him anything at all. If he's already claimed it on his insurance or written it off his taxes, he gets paid twice. Bonus for him. I thought I'd just wait and see what happens, but he's probably sent it to his billing service, so they don't care. I thought about sending just a note back that says, "ARE YOU HIGH? Your employee wrecked my car. Pay for the damn thing yourself." But I thought that might be a little harsh. Tell me, would it be wrong not to pay for the windshield?
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