Bad weather Lately..

[Old Guard]

Sunday night we were Pounded by the new storms..Thunder frozen rain, newest terms for us? We had 5 serious thunderstorms pound us pretty bad in a row..The snow and sleet fell for about an hour, then frozen rain..Ended up with 4 very solid inches on the concrete and 6 inches in the grass. Power dropped out for 5 hours..When you walk on it, only leave minor track..Called in Vacation, as my car was frozen solid under about 3 inches.. Took an hour to get the doors open as the rain had frozen the seals..Temp was only 15 degrees..Windshield deicer i had heated in the house eventually freed the doors..Battery on car was less-ened by the cold too. Next, was how to get it rocked out of the ice bowl that had formed around it..This morning i had it under cover and we passed many of the others whom had spun out..Drove about 15 miles on solid ice roads, but it was crunchy so I never lost traction..FWD has really helped my driving skills, believe we are going to buy AWD subaru next, for Bh....Forester or Outback models look pretty good.

[LEAD POISON]

subaru!!! what's wrong with a Ford or Chevy AWD ?

[buckshot85]

I drive a Chevy pickup. My wife has a Subaru Outback and she will not give it up. Assembled in Indiana. LP, we can't afford a new Ford pickup like you. ;)

[Old Guard]

Buckshot, Thanks for the reply, Yes, Subaru is built here, with proven Flat engine and 4 wd system..I was not too keen on a CVT--Transmission, But they promise very good service and MPG..LP--This subaru Outback or Forester will be for the BH, and she is paying for it..I believe the Snow and Ice has sealed her decision, For AWD... Not to hurt anyones feelings, But we Looked at Ford Escapes..They were cheaper looking and feeling inside..They had 3 different motors and from 2 other countrys? GM has milked me too many times in the past, with 3 so-so purchases in a row... Dodge cannot touch the service and mileage..Nisson, Toyota, mazda, nope... Both my Sons drive 4x4 Ford trucks, and repair them often, of course they have 200k miles too...so..

[timshufflin]

The Subaru is probably non union, that's a deal maker for me. Of course I'm only guessing, they could be union oboombyas supporters.

[Old Guard]

The Subaru is probably non union, that's a deal maker for me. Of course I'm only guessing, they could be union oboombyas supporters.

okay so either way...Non-union sucks tailpipes and union obsupporters also do even worse..I understand,I was a Diehard chevy guy who took the licks and kept replacing...If it was re-branded under one of the big three,as Chevy and Chrysler Both do,, then they could sell more..Personally, when safety comes up, they {SUBARU} sell a very safe and reliable product..yeap it is jap engineered, But Built here in USA,Indiana...Probably one of the best engineered AWD available for less than 50k??Many import brands are Built here to sell us cars..Tennessee has many new car factorys and yeap they are on both sides of the organized fence..No Harm no Fowl..At least the cold weather is letting up..

[canes7]

We've had a touch of that type of weather here recently too. I thought I gave that up, along with many other things, when I left Cleveland. My daily driver is a RWD sports car, doesn't do well on ice. I drove a Formula 350 for many Cleveland winters so I know how to do it, but the roads are not treated here in NC they way they are during inclement weather in Ohio.

This had led me to the decision to buy a third vehicle. I won't even consider Chrysler or GM, bailouts and bend-overs eliminate them from any contention. I was always a GM guy growing up too. I might look at a Ford but in the back of my head I know I'm going to find the thing that OG did.. cheap and flimsy feeling. Honda is on my shit list now too after the Accord rear brake debacle. So what's left? Subaru sounds good, the European stuff is too expensive for my intended use. Has anyone had success with Mazda's or Suzuki's?

[Old Guard]

We've had a touch of that type of weather here recently too. I thought I gave that up, along with many other things, when I left Cleveland. My daily driver is a RWD sports car, doesn't do well on ice. I drove a Formula 350 for many Cleveland winters so I know how to do it, but the roads are not treated here in NC they way they are during inclement weather in Ohio.

This had led me to the decision to buy a third vehicle. I won't even consider Chrysler or GM, bailouts and bend-overs eliminate them from any contention. I was always a GM guy growing up too. I might look at a Ford but in the back of my head I know I'm going to find the thing that OG did.. cheap and flimsy feeling. Honda is on my shit list now too after the Accord rear brake debacle. So what's left? Subaru sounds good, the European stuff is too expensive for my intended use. Has anyone had success with Mazda's or Suzuki's?

Canes7 , Seems all our bad storms have been heading your way after here?My son had a honda prelude for his senior year in school. You mentioned brakes problems--I had never heard of brakes locking up solid on hondas...HisDisk shoes slipped on the front disks and wedged the car to a stop..then the car was blocking the highway, My son fried the clutch then had to be towed..the disc had to be pulled down in order to move the car..Outstanding engineering on that problem..mazda's sell well here too.. My sister just bought a Mazda 5 car..Hoping she has good luck, with it , she likes it for now..The BH still liked the Forester the best, plus the AWD..

[jak]

Has anyone had success with Mazda's or Suzuki's?

I bought my wife a 2008 5-speed Mazda 3 brand new. After 48,000 miles the only problem we had was a stuck thermostat. Everything else was just normal maintenance. The Mazda is the first non-Ford car I owned. With the exception of my POS 76 Mustang, I put over 250,000 miles on my other 5 Fords before they weren't worth fixing anymore. I did do about 95% of the repair and maintenance myself so that saved a lot of money.

[Old Guard]

I bought my wife a 2008 5-speed Mazda 3 brand new. After 48,000 miles the only problem we had was a stuck thermostat. Everything else was just normal maintenance. The Mazda is the first non-Ford car I owned. With the exception of my POS 76 Mustang, I put over 250,000 miles on my other 5 Fords before they weren't worth fixing anymore. I did do about 95% of the repair and maintenance myself so that saved a lot of money.

My only Big beef with Ford ...They knew the sparkplug and adapter were not working back in 1995?? Continued to make the same error, in aluminum heads until??? Idea was that a dealer should make more money(over $200.00} to change the plugs and certify they would stay in the engine block.. Cost my son $150.00 a plug for repairs...I have NEVER had a DEALER to change my sparkplugs....Plus thier engines are made too many places, I never had faith in an UK--English motor either..one of the Escape choices..

[jak]

My only Big beef with Ford ...They knew the sparkplug and adapter were not working back in 1995?? Continued to make the same error, in aluminum heads until??? Idea was that a dealer should make more money(over $200.00} to change the plugs and certify they would stay in the engine block.. Cost my son $150.00 a plug for repairs...I have NEVER had a DEALER to change my sparkplugs....Plus thier engines are made too many places, I never had faith in an UK--English motor either..one of the Escape choices..

The thing I didn't like about Ford engines were the timing belts. Once the water pump started leaking, it would soak the timing belt and eventually the teeth would break on the belt. After the first time I got stuck because the timing belt broke, when the water pump started leaking, it immediately got replace along with the timing belt.