Repair-It

I am just saying, you were pitching an ATS, I doubt the 6 is way less family friendly.

Drove a few more today:

Subaru Crosstrek 5MT: Really liked it. I was expecting it to feel a little underpowered with the 2.0 engine (vs the 2.5 in the forester) but it really wasn't that noticeable. The car is a little lighter than the forester so I'm sure that has something to do with it. 5 speeds vs. 6 (forester) didn't seem to make a difference. They both cruise on the highway about the same RPM. This one was in "hyper blue" so that was a plus, I've never seen one on the road in that color. The cargo volume was obviously a lot smaller than the forester, but i could probably make it work. I may need to install a roof basket at times, but it wouldn't look stupid on this car so i'm not opposed to doing that.

VW Golf S 4 door auto: Was pretty good. Was really quiet inside, the new VW infotainment system is pretty cool but the honda's blows it (and the subaru's) away. The 15 inch wheels give the tires a nice thick sidewall and good ride over the awful roads in wakefield. VW of wakefield wasn't the best experience though. The building was in rough shape, the salespeople are all sitting around looking sad, and they wouldn't let me drive the car until i had done a 4-square worksheet with a salesperson. In the event VW reliability worked out to be what the internet seems to think, i'd be spending a lot of time at VW of wakefield, and thinking about that made me sad.

VW GTS S 2 door 6MT: Really fun car. Loved the plaid seats, shifter was nice, clutch was pretty firm, and obviously it handled well. It was raining and I accidentally spun the tires at a stop sign. I didn't really wind it up but power was more than adequate. Weighing the cons of this car (most expensive of anything on my list, maintenance costs much higher than anything on the list, insurance cost higher, would need a 2nd set of wheels/tires, would need dealer to locate a 4 door so they would be less likely to negotiate price, etc) make it less appealing. This really shouldn't be cross shopped with a bunch of subarus and a civic, it's a totally different kind of car. If I had something else to drive while this was in the shop for one of its $200 oil changes every 10K miles (6 months for me) it would be much more feasible.

At this point i think i have it narrowed down to Civic, Crosstrek, and Forester.

Went with the crosstrek.

Congratulations. Nice color.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/subaru/c ... CC4414C7BB

Crosstrek is updated for 2018.

“If it’s not a nut, bolt, or fastener, it’s all new,” said a Subaru representative about the Crosstrek at the drive event in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

I totally missed this conversation. I was going to suggest 12 late '90's Buicks.

My favorite quote from the above conversation is :

"This one was in "hyper blue" so that was a plus, I've never seen one on the road in that color. "

Now i pass 3-4 of the exact same car every time i'm out.

Also, if someone had mentioned an 8 year long traffic nightmare on the newport bridge looming on the horizon, i may have thought twice about the the MT vs. auto.

Yeah I see those all the time. I have to remind myself about your bike rack.

Also, if someone had mentioned an 8 year long traffic nightmare on the newport bridge looming on the horizon,

It is actually nicknamed the Infinity Project (ok I just made that up). It is never going to be done being worked on. Ever... They used metal that was not for use in or near the ocean, so it needs to be perpetually painted when they aren't doing other work to it.

I did hear that a lot of the work is under the bridge, and isn't supposed to impact traffic... I guess we'll see how that goes. I hope they make the next bridge out of spaghetti. I mean that should be ocean proof right as long as the ocean doesn't boil. Kevin said it isn't getting hotter so we should be all set.

Someone's feeling a little punchy after his delayed flight to a place he doesn't want to be....