Leaderboard

Very cool cleaning of a rare 4wd XT Turbo from Subaru.

I had forgotten to mention this before. There are some stupid travelers out there. The last time I was in South Florida, I took Delta and changed planes in Atlanta. Both of the segments were operated with Boeing 757s, which are usually reliable. Once in Atlanta, folks boarded the 757 for FLL. There was an announcement that one of the two flight monitors in the cockpit was quirky and that they'd try to reboot it. No luck. Everyone got off and waited for another 757, which worked out. In this group was a couple going on a Caribbean cruise out of Lauderdale. The original arrival time was 1 p.m. The actual arrival time was 4 p.m. They missed their cruise. Lesson to be learned: If you're sailing out of a port that has a lot of nonstops a day into it, like ATL to FLL, or Chicago to New York, get in the day before. If your luggage doesn't make it, it can catch up with you on a later flight or even the morning of an afternoon sailing. If you're connecting because you're coming in from a small airport, or are coming in from across country, and even Vancouver or Calgary, get in 2 days prior to the sailing. Having only done this a few times, I made damn sure I was in New York 2 days before.

You do embrace change better than I do. I probably do it better than most Americans, though. It might take a while. It takes me considerably longer to do things left handed. I periodically try just to try.

Having gone to college in Japan, I drove my host families' sons R33 Skyline all the time. I was surprised how easy it is to shift with the left hand, the pedals are still in the same place even though you're on the right side of the auto to drive it. Was not a big deal to me, but then change I have always embraced and so if you have a hard time with change, then you might have a really hard time driving a right side auto.

See, this is where you're getting tripped up and why horsepower is really irrelevant to EVs. Horsepower is measured as a function of RPM. An EV can have 1,000 ft-lb of torque but 0 horsepower because the motor isn't moving (lets pretend the parts between the motor and the ground won't snap or spin for now). Most naturally aspirated V6es don't make their peak horsepower until high in the RPM band. The engine has to be screaming at 6000 or 7000 rpm to get that horsepower. EVs start their max torque at ZERO rpm and eventually the torque rating backs off. Take a look at the EV9 link @G. David Felt posted. The torque rating for the EV9 base model is 258 lb-ft from 0 - 4000 rpm, after 4000 rpm it likely tapers off. The 3.8 liter makes 262 lb-ft, only a 4 lb-ft difference, but it doesn't make it until 5,200 rpm. That means that from every point from 0 - just about 5,000 rpm, the EV9 is producing more torque. Also remember that there is no spin-up delay for more torque in an EV, if you want more torque, it is instant. They actually have to soften the pedal reaction times significantly because people are used to driving gassers and the on-off power abilities of EVs are too sudden. If you ever get behind the wheel of a Lucid Air GT or Model-S Plaids and put it into whatever the highest sport mode setting is, you'll see the difference in pedal responsiveness and how much they have to really dial it back for the peasant models. An EV motor doesn't need to spin faster to make more torque, a gas engine does. Who's racing 3-row crossovers? The EV will be a more pleasant and satisfying acceleration experience. People make way too much noise about EV weights as if vehicle weight hasn't been ballooning for 20 years. I'm going to sneer at a Model Y's weight, but does an X5 or Ford Explorer Limited 4-cylinder weigh the same? A Model-3 LR weighs 200 lbs less than my Chrysler 300C AWD, and I manage to get a normal amount of life out of my tires. It's the heavy right feet in the EVs. I know you have a lot of other things on your plate, but if you ever get free time to go test drive something, take it.

Neat HO scale model railroad photography. I would actually like to own a modern Subaru SUV, think it would be a good vehicle to get me to camp sites and hiking areas. They are everywhere west of the Mississippi. By that I mean both hiking trails and Subarus. A match made in heaven.

It's a challenging thing to quantify. 0-60 doesn't really measure real-world feel, does it? How frequently are you flooring it all the time? The EVs feel more powerful because the acceleration is so effortless. It's why people burn through tires on EVs so much faster. Even the base EV9 will accelerate up to highway speeds, smoothly, and with gusto while the Telluride has to slap through 8 gears. Maybe it's not something measurable with numbers, but the difference in feel is there. Just curious, have you driven a non-high-end EV yet? I know you had the loaner Benz, but something like a Bolt EV, Kia EV6, or base Mach-E? The Bolt EV is such a dorky looking car, but it will scoot through the mountains just as skillfully as a VW GTI.

Canadians! Saskatchewan! Except for some rust and body issues, he did a nice job. I'm laughing because it's a Subaru I wouldn't rag on. I was neutral toward them when they were just another Japanese option. Truthfully, I am okay with recent Legacy sedans.

Interesting list 25 EVs That Paved the Way for Sustainable Driving - My Car Makes Noise

If I could find a gently used one with the 2.0T, I think that might be a winner. Actual paint, not a decal or vinyl. In a British state of mind today...

My Lincoln MKC is the smallest SUV Ford/Lincoln put the 2.3T in. The Bronco Sport with the 2.0T is probably perfectly fine and doesn't really need the 2.3 the Ranger has. The Ranger is bigger and heavier and needs the extra hp/tq to achieve the same results.