I had a plan. I was going to buy a new Ford Bronco Two Door, with the 7-speed manual, for off highway exploration. Then I was going to travel all over the West pulling my little trailer, maybe exploring the Washington-Oregon Coast for starters. In my imagination it was hard to picture going on adventures without another big friendly Newfoundland-Lab cross dog accompanying me as one had in my younger days. Alas, sometimes life and competing priorities get in the way of aspirations, resulting in me ending up with a dream-dashing Subaru Crosstrek for the next while at least.
Like most of us reading this, I have a personal list of things I don’t like in a car. Firstly, it shouldn’t be a Subaru. Next my car shouldn’t be a CUV, should not have a CVT, nor touch screen controls, no driving assist and it shouldn’t be gutless either. I think I already mentioned the not a Subaru thing. So just how did such an unfortunate occurrence happen? One daughter had a fantastic opportunity for a co-op so I lent her the Fiesta for the winter. Then the other daughter ended up needing to be out of town a lot for another opportunity so she took the 2016 F-150 for 3 days a week. I was right in the middle of doing work on the old white F-150 when it got too cold to work outside and finish the job. I could bicycle to work easy enough, but this situation certainly pointed out the need for another vehicle. And in late 2022 they were very hard to come by around these parts. I figured that this situation may persist, so it was time for a new car.
Bronco production was still very slow. As it got colder, 4 Door soft tops were available, but that seemed like a stupid choice in our climate. The cost of them was getting up there as well. There were very few 2 Door 7-speeds around and none available to buy.
I thought about what other cars were available on the market with some kind of AWD or 4WD with a manual transmission, and all I could really find was the Crosstrek or the Jeep Wrangler. I have a very strong dislike of on-demand AWD systems for real snow and ice driving, so much so that I overcame my innate Subaru antipathy, just to avoid an AWD system that needed slip to activate and then kick out at 20 miles per hour like most of them do. I want AWD all the time. So I talked with a Subaru Dealer who took my deposit on a plain 6 Speed manual 2023 Crosstrek. Two months later he phoned to say the order was cancelled as the manual had been discontinued and 2023 production was done. More out of weariness than anything else I changed the order to a new for 2024 Limited, in some blue colour as I figured may as well get the bigger 2.5 engine if I couldn’t have a manual anyways, and when the salesman got back to me I said orange would be an alright substitute.
Incidentally during one car shortage weekend, I reserved a Chevy Spark rental and was given a Wrangler instead. Other than its inability to go in a straight line and the gymnastic efforts needed to get into the seat I could picture driving one for exploring. It managed to use more gas than my big F-150 though which was a bit of a turn-off. Maybe this was a slight clue that a small off roader wasn’t for me.
And then a few months earlier than expected the dealer phoned with the news that an orange Crosstrek was in. American 2.5s are built in Lafayette Indiana and came later, but Canadian 2.5s are made in Gunma Japan so I got this before any US Limiteds were sold. These are a fair bit cheaper than Broncos in the real world, which is an important detail in this story. I wasn’t the only one in the household who had dreams of adventures, so by us getting a relatively inexpensive Crosstrek, my wife could get something she wanted as well, resulting in two more boxer cylinders arriving in the late summer attached to a BMW R18 Transcontinental.
I flew to Vancouver to pick up the Crosstrek and within 2 hours of leaving the dealer, I was in a spring snow storm on the Hope-Princeton. The car was on the all seasons it came with, but it seemed to be pretty solid anyway in the snow and slush.
Being that it is a Subaru. I was pretty mindful of following the break-in procedures so the inevitable oil-burning doesn’t start too early in its life. If I can save on oil it will mean I have enough money for head gaskets later, which is another certainty according to the internet.
I guess someone might be in the market for one of these, so I can give a few driving impressions. It feels like an absolute dog leaving a stoplight with the CVT, until maybe 20 miles an hour or so, and then it seems to accelerate normally. I’ve driven the 2.0 version which feels poky all the time, so the 2.5 is a bit of an improvement. The ride is nice and supple and it’s quiet inside. I’ve driven it all day multiple times and found it comfy on a long trip. I like the steering and handling, it’s not as squishy as I expected with the tall ride height.
The Eyesight driver assist system is quite intrusive and always nagging me about something. I leave it on though, as technically I should drive between the lines, not back into things, not tailgate or look away from the road all the time. The car alerts me with beeps or cutting the stereo or nudging the steering when it doesn’t like my driving which happens fairly often. I get a pretty decent break on the insurance because of the safety hardware. As hostile as my wife was to getting a Grandma car like this, she seems to have accepted it now as it has a heated steering wheel and seats, making cold mornings more pleasant. The family have named it Uba, Japanese for nanny, which seems appropriate.
There’s a giant iPod looking display in the dash. I don’t hate it. It’s nice for navigation and I think as my eyes get older I will find it easier than little displays and menus. I miss physical buttons, but at the same time, I can live with hitting a screen to change the fan. It’s dual zone climate anyways so I rarely have to alter it.
The main reason I wanted a Bronco was to further my hiking, snowshoeing and photography adventures. Plus spending less time trying to turn the F-150 around on those trips. Subaru advertises Crosstreks as being mildly capable, so I started putting that to the test pretty much immediately. And within reason, the car works as advertised. I have to take it a lot slower than with the big F-150, where my technique for smoothing the bumps out is to just go a lot faster.
One of the things that is pretty cool about Crosstreks is they have quite decent, 8.7 inch, ground clearance which is as much as some trucks and more than all the other little CUVs. I am considering a skid plate under the engine but I haven’t hit anything yet underneath. The front overhang is too long for some cross ditches.
The small size means I can avoid most obstacles. And it turns on a dime so chickening out is easy if I think the road is too rough.
It’s really nice not using much gas on the highway going out to the trailhead. Off road it is a bit thirstier. There are a few places I go where I think the EcoBoost F-150 actually uses less gas, as it can go up hills at low revs in high gear. One problem that I anticipated with the Subaru that it doesn’t actually have, is that its lowest ratio seems to have the power for obstacles. Odd, considering its poor initial acceleration.
It has decent traction for the most part. X-Mode distributes the power to where it needs to be. Since X-Mode goes along with the CVT I’ll make allowances for the strange feeling transmission.
Articulation is about nil. Where the F-150s keep their tires well planted to the terrain the Crosstrek will lift a wheel. X-Mode figures it out but it’s still disconcerting the first few times.
But most roads I go on are not really that rough, so for the most part it has been a good way to go on adventures. Between this, my truck, my bike and my feet I can get to anywhere I’m going.
I have to admit some things are pretty useful on these fancy new cars. I’m old school enough that I still carry a compass in case my Garmin GPS dies, but this would have been a dream come true in my forestry days to have a satellite image display on a big screen.
I know Subaru wants people to feel the love and maybe I will one day. Uba scans my eyes with infrared sensors and says hello when I get in and goodbye when I leave. I’ve gotten over myself a bit, and have adapted my thinking so that I can put up with this for a while. I have been eating more lentils and less processed foods as well which I believe is what Subaru owners do. I think I will be a bigger fan after winter especially since I sprung for some Michelin X-Ice winter tires which seem to grip very well indeed.
As I usually do about this time in my stories, I run out of things to say about the car so I’ll finish up with where my life is today. I’m still going to be working for a while at the health-killing desk job as I have a few years left until I retire. Despite the substitution of a Crosstrek for a Bronco, life is short so I still went exploring down the Washington and Oregon Coast. Obviously, I could have just taken my pick-up but that wasn’t in my vision.
Gas was more expensive in Washington than it was in BC, so I was very glad of the big fuel tank and good mileage. The many twisty roads were a happy place for the little Crosstrek.
I love the ocean and it was nice to be in the clear air away from all the forest fire smoke at home.
I packed light and brought a tent. And the same old Coleman stove that had accompanied me 30 years ago in the bush.
I don’t know that my trip would have been any better in a Bronco. I may not have looked as cool but once you get to the second half of your 50s I think that “looking cool” is well in the rearview mirror anyways.
And part two of my dream which was the Newfie-Lab cross to accompany me on my adventures? Well I got a big surprise early birthday present a few months ago.
We hike or walk every day. There is room in the Crosstrek for a dog cage which keeps her out of trouble while I’m driving. The whole Subaru and dog thing.
She found the remains of this Datsun this morning on our walk. I’d never seen it out there before so I guess she has a nose for the classics.
So that’s it for now. I’m surprised I have had so few cars as I always seem to be shopping for them. I’m probably not done, as I still think I could make a good home for an old Toyota Pick Up or Dodge W150 or a 2026 Bronco or a SkiDoo Tundra or a Yamaha TW200 or a Fiat 128 or……. Maybe not a Jaguar, but now a BMW is sitting in the carport who knows.
I really want to thank Paul for creating such a great site and Rich for patiently solving my early technical difficulties. And of course, thanks to all those who wrote such insightful, informative and positive comments. That made a rewarding experience even more so. I’m a bit sick of me, so I really look forward to the next writer’s COAL series. I do hope to provide an update or two in the future, maybe even involving that very stupid snowmobile I own.
Jon.
East Kootenays, British Columbia. November 2023.
Damn, now your COAL series ends (I hope just for now)!
It was a very enjoyable read, along with the perspective of the mining work, forest work, beautiful natural sceneries and of course the complementary vehicles.
I have a similar view on modern Subarus as you had before you got Uba – I don’t like CUVs, don’t like CVTs and big touchscreens, too. But I think I could be convinced with a Crosstrek (XV in Europe) like yours – the bigger engine, the orange-red color, the Subaru qualities. I liked the ergonomics and layout of 2015-2020 Subarus, having tried my friend’s Impreza of this vintage. And experts say that the modern Subaru CVTs are holding out well in terms of reliability, so I would be willing to compromise.
Many happy miles to you (regardless of the vehicle of choice)!
After your “six horizontally arranged cylinders” hint last week, I thought you were going to have a “Kyree Rollerson” type of adventure with a Porsche breaking down in deep mud, 30 miles from the nearest road, not within cell phone tower range, and you having to trek out on snow shoes to civilization.
I almost forgot about your health killing desk job. The byline JOGRAD automatically makes me anticipate hearing more details about deep deep snow, even deeper woods, and broken snow mobile woes in the frozen forests of the north.
A Crosstrek? My ex-wife has a Crosstrek, bright, very bright blue. She loves it and drives from NJ to Colorado quite often to see our son. It just runs and runs.
Subaru vehicles are everywhere here in NJ (*), black/white/silver Foresters and Outbacks, and a whole bunch of brightly colored Crosstreks. So my position now is, if a Crosstrek is well received by JOGRAD, that’s the best possible recommendation in my book.
(*) In addition to the blue Crosstrek, Debbie’s son and daughter each have a black Forester (pic below), and my son Will also has a black Forester.
Your Newfie-Lab cross is the perfect pup for a cold weather, Subaru driving, West Coast camper. She is getting bigger in each photo.
This East Coast flat lander thanks you for a very informative and enjoyable COAL series.
I, too, want one of those new Broncos. It would be the perfect replacement for my Honda Element, which is pushing 200k miles. But I have never bought a new vehicle, and don’t intend to, so I’ll probably have to wait a decade before used ones become affordable. I loathe most new car and truck designs, but on that one, Ford really nailed it.
One vehicle I won’t buy again is a Subaru. I loved them loyally, purchasing three separate Outbacks. All of them were plagued by costly head gasket or catalytic converter woes. Subaru also seems to have lost a lot of that “it” factor they had for adventurous, active types, like our author, whom you could tell, definitely saw this car as a compromise rather than the ideal.
I’ve enjoyed this series very much. The best COALs are woven with as much “life stuff” as “car stuff”.
This piece started off like damning with faint praise but ended as praise with faint damnation.
I have considered Subaru but still would not buy one. The ongoing head gasket reputation is one reason. I keep my cars much longer than the typical leaser who would not run across long-term woes. Another more recent one is an Outback loaner from a body shop. It was cheap-feeling, “tinny” being my chosen description,and some of Subaru’s design and function decisions were annoying.
Subaru may be going farther away from its former rugged outdoorsy image to the current “Love” one, but although I like lentils, there probably won’t be one in my future. But then the author didn’t think there would be one, either.
Thanks for your great series! As for the Subaru, I can’t think of a more practical vehicle for where you live, and how you use it.
A real shame a new Bronco as desired couldn’t be had. They seem like they are way more civilized than a Wrangler, yet just as off-road capable. And I’m not a fan of Fords, either.
Thanks for a great COAL series. Quite a bit of difference between your early cars and the later ones, like most of us encounter during our lives. You had to be more engaged with cars from the 70s (more repairs, two foot driving to overcome the carb) versus current cars where you just get in and go.
Most Subaru dealers around here refer to themselves as Subaru Outfitters, with wilderness themed showrooms.
Enjoyed rearing your COAL series and love your self deprecating sense of humor! Wishing you many more miles and smiles and congratulations on your beautiful doggess.
Don’t overdo the lentils, though!
My sister has just this car (albeit, like my fridge, in Excite-Me White). It is aptly named: her being a bit of an aggro driver, every drive is indeed a bit of a cross trek. She too doesn’t do much with menus (or road rules) and such – “I don’t know what that sound is, I ignore it” – and also uses the big GPS constantly. The safety-attention devices get a good and regular workout, and her foot of lead seems to overcome any of the lethargy you describe: maybe she only takes on grannies in old Corollas. (I’m not sure as I’m usually keeping eyes firmly glued to the ahead so that at least one of is). It seems a very competent car, although I must admit it’s of no real interest. But for mild off-road use, the ground clearance alone is a good thing. (What’s not so good is that all her mild-off-roading is either unintentional or from impatience, but I digress).
One quirk which I wonder if they all possess: upon startup, the idle sounds for all the world as if the big ends are knackered, as well as sounding like an old dunger on full choke. Quite loud, and a strange acoustic effect as if either the exhaust ports face upwards, or the engine is mounted oddly high. (I did suggest she get it checked, but I was mildly bitten, so didn’t persist).
This has been a great series, sir. Thankyou for your effort in providing it to us.
As always, a great morning read that balances cars and life very well. I hope this isn’t your last! I owned a Subaru for about ten years, a first-year Forester Turbo with 5 speed manual. After enjoying the turbo power for about a year (by far the fastest accelerating car I’ve owned) the requirement for premium and poor fuel economy got old. And the manual transmission, which I usually prefer, had a heavy-ish clutch and notchy shifting, never as much fun as my wife’s VW’s. Off road, the low ground clearance, probably worse than a Crosstrek, and vulnerable undersides and off course lack of a low range, encouraged careful crawling which didn’t feel good for clutch life. I would have been better served with an automatic and no turbo. But I did get front and rear diff skid plates which gave me a lot more confidence to just send it and save the clutch. As for the R18, I wrote it up for CC a few years ago https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/two-wheeled-newsstand-bmw-goes-after-harley-harley-goes-after-bmw/
Add me to the list of your series followers. My housemate has a late model Crosstrek, inherited from her 93 year old mom. I borrow her Crosstrek when I have to run an errand when roads are wet as I prefer to not drive my cars in the rain (only to keep my autos clean). I find the Crosstrek comfortable to drive with surprisingly very good acceleration. It feels light with peep and good handling.
I admit I am not the typical demographic for this type of vehicle. I might be considered old as dirt and my concept of off-roading and camping is taking an exit to a Holiday Inn. I get all the exercise I want getting in and out of my late model Camaro which keeps me limber. However, anyone wanting this type of transportation, try the Crosstrek.
I’m not quite sure what the typical demographic for this Subaru actually is. I see many of these driven by older folks, women in particular. My mom (age 81) has one, as does my aunt (age 78) – and my kids often point out Crosstrek drivers who “look like Grandmom.” On the other hand, plenty are owned by younger “active lifestyle” folks, like one would see in Subaru ads. It’s an interesting assortment of buyers – each type likely with their own reasons for buying one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this car’s typical demographics changes by region as well.
Just yesterday I saw an Outback whose owner made sure he had two prominent firearms stickers on the back window. I’ve seen multiple similar examples and now have the opinion that a whole subset of buyers don’t view themselves as the “typical” demographic and are a bit sensitive about it and need to broadcast their not-a-typical-Subaru owner status to others.
Haven’t seen such broadcasting on RAV4s and Escapes and CRVs. Subies are polarizing vehicles for how mainstream they really are.
Funny business. In this country, Subies are good sellers, helped greatly by the unkillable farm-loved early 4wd’s and ute, then a whole other demographic with the later WRX. They certainly still carried that aura of reliability last I checked (a while ago, it’s true), seen as a decent-quality Japanese make, and certainly don’t have the lentil-and-smell-sandals image they seem to have acquired in North America.
In similar vein, I’m aware that Hondas have an enduring image of being old fuddlies’ cars in the UK, which they aren’t anywhere else.
Perhaps only Beemers have a universal owner image? As the old routine goes, q: What’s the diff between a BMW and a haemorrhoid? a: None. Every a**hole gets one in the end. (I think it true, I had one – of each).
I agree with you, Eric. Here in SoCal I see a very wide demographic driving the Crosstrek. Last week I went to the LA Auto Show. Same was true of the audience for the car on the floor. Every age group and gender was flocking toward this Sport model. I have not driven one but found the driver’s seat very comfortable and the ride height perfect. Nice cars.
By the way, I notice in the “screen shot” that oil temperature is shown in degrees, while water temp is much vaguer. That’s the same with our 2015 VW Golf. Surely the sensors are more precise than that, though I realize that perhaps coolant temp varies more through the cooling system so perhaps they think an actual number would be misleading. Are other modern cars similar? Our 2016 Toyota and our 2020 Ford have no accessible oil temp display.
I noticed that too. How strange. The fact that they tell you at all is unusual. It seems to imply that the oil temp is more critical than the water temp – could that be so for a Subaru? How many drivers know what their oil temperature should be – surely a reading of “Normal” would suffice?
On our Golf I only found the oil temp after playing around scrolling through menus. It’s not mentioned in the owner’s manual. I find it handy to check before doing an oil change, to make sure I’ve driven enough to get the oil warm and flowy, but not too hot to make things uncomfortable.
I have a lentil-heavy lunch myself today and probably would have spattered it across the screen if I was eating it when I came to that line. I’m going to miss this series.
Kudos for putting the Subaru through its offroad paces, it looks like they’ve baked in a lot of capability everywhere but that front overhang. And with the 2.5-liter a Crosstrek is quick enough to give me trouble in my 4.0L 4Runner when the driver of one decides my effort to merge into 50mph traffic in the lane next to him is now, inexplicably, a contest.
None of my vehicles have had the driver’s aid Ubas and the few times I’ve driven cars with them they irritated me in short order…one read the scar left behind after the DOT removed an old painted line when it realigned lanes, and started nudging the wheel around.
Hey, I really enjoyed this series! As a lifetime BC resident who spent 12 years in the East Kootenays I recognize many of the places you describe. We had a Forrester for some of that time, bought new in Cranbrook. I wasn’t enthusiastic either but after 1 winter I was a believer! It was surprisingly good on rough, muddy logging roads too.
It also had excellent seats and headlights, neither of which I can say about it’s replacement CR-V.
Just before I retired a an Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix joined our family, keeping him active has gotten me out to all kinds of locations here on the Island that I’d never have gone otherwise.
While I don’t miss -30 or 6 month winters, I do miss the mountains and the scenery most particularly in the fall. Happy trails withe Subie and thanks for the Wednesday stories!
I will add to the applause chorus. I am sorry this series is over. Your life (and car choices) has been quite different than mine, but this has been a great opportunity to learn lots of new stuff. Your writing has been highly engaging.
My sister had almost the exact experience when buying an Outback around 2015 or so. She went to look at a manual, and was told that they had been discontinued and that she would have to find a leftover from the prior year. I think the closest one was in Maine (or some such place), which was not very convenient because she lived about 5 miles from the Indiana factory. And how odd that you could get one imported from Japan faster than you could get one from Indiana.
If I am alongside a Subaru at a red light, I know for certain that I will out-accelerate them away from the light in my torquey EV. They really do have horrible acceleration up to 20 MPH until the CVT gets wound up and can actually start putting the power down to the road.
I don’t believe the current 2.5 is having head gasket issues…I thought Subaru resolved the issue in the late ‘aughts. My 2013 Outback with 200k+ miles uses a little oil but keeps chugging along. I love the car but it has been needy with maintenance; not my usually Japanese car experience. I’m glad Subaru announced the new Forrester hybrid for ‘25, but I’m disappointed it’s taken Subaru so long to get on the hybrid bandwagon in light of their close relationship with Toyota and their “love”/nature aura. As I’m in the market and a hybrid is my strong preference, I’ve had to buy elsewhere; otherwise I would have returned to Subaru.
Your series has been wonderful. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share with us.
I had a 2013 Crosstrek and my cousin has a 2014 Forester and they both used oil, but had no other engine problems. My 2018 Forester uses no oil, so they seem to have sorted out the problem.
I live in a very snowy part of Ontario and the all-time AWD really is superior. I do not do any trail or off-road driving, but the ground clearance is still useful on those deep snow days. I also have the Michelin X-ice on the Forester and they are really good. One year I was late putting the winter tires on my 1998 Outback Sport and we got an early blizzard. The Subaru was still OK on all seasons, but it did not have the sure footed feeling you get with proper winter tires.
The head gasket seems to be a moving target. Many people claimed it was fixed in 2004, then a bunch of 2005-2008 started failing . people then claimed it was fixed in 2008, but then those started failing on thru 2011-2013 depending on model. The current ones seem much better, but do develop front cover oil leaks.
So hopefully it’s fine but don’t expect Toyota reliability in a Subaru. Common discussion in forums is that owning a subaru has more in common then with owning a VW then a Toyota or honda.
Thanks for your COAL series, it has been enjoyable and relatable.
I hired one of these earlier in the year. It was fine for what I needed it for but surprisingly bland. I thought a Subaru would have had a bit more character.
The orange was a good choice
At the dealer where I work, I am in the fleet department and I deliver new Volvo’s to many large companies. Over the past few years, I’ve had many Subaru’s turned in and of the close to 100 turned in, only one (yes, only 1 person) liked them. Most hated them so much and had so many issues that they couldn’t drive away in the new Volvo fast enough. So that along with my personal automotive experience where I’ve seen and/or read about the many issues Subaru’s have, there’s just no way I’d buy one. I have a buddy who is very loving towards Japanese brands and he’s a very small independent dealer. Even he won’t touch a Subaru unless he can steel it for less than half the book value AND his scanner/test drive doesn’t show up any issues.
Good luck with it. But I’d plan on turning it long before it hits 100K and maybe before 75K.
Excellent line. 🙂
There are so so many of these on the roads around me, I’m glad to hear that they can actually be put to some use treking ‘cross something other than a parking lot.
Good observation as well on how these driver-assist systems work. I too assume that I know how to keep a car within the marked lane, etc. and yet whenever I drive with one of those systems activated, it’s non-stop telling me about errors that I’m apparently making that I (the human being involved) do not feel are errors. After a few hours of that kind of nagging, I usually turn them off. I do like the idea of the Subaru’s emergency-braking feature, even if it’s something that most drivers would never want to experience. I’m also glad to hear that it apparently doesn’t erroneously activate very often. So that might be technology that we all ought to get eventually.
Beautiful dog. She looks like a terrific road trip companion. I think that she’s just looking for the missing front passenger seat in that Nissan.
Please don’t be a stranger here on CC. Your writing and perspective is genuinely appreciated, and I look forward to reading about your continuing adventures of all sorts.
I take this as an omen that my next car will be a Subaru CUV with lots of tech gadgets. I feel similarly about all these things, but it seems that whenever I’m dismissive about such things I end up eating my words afterwards.
I see this car’s appeal – I just haven’t gotten over my Subaru aversion enough to actively consider one.
Good to hear about the decent ground clearance. I’ve been in a number of situations where I’ve wanted more ground clearance in my minivan. In one episode that our family still jokes about (fortunately) I had to back down about 1/4 mi. of twisty “road” when the going got too rough. 8.7″ of clearance would have been perfect.
I’ve greatly enjoyed this COAL series – like Jeff wrote above, please don’t be a stranger around here; your material is great to read!
I enjoyed your article and I loved the picture of your pup. She looks beautiful, I also have a Newf-Lab cross, she’s a rescue and she’s the most amazing dog I’ve ever had. She turned 12 in September, but she still loves to go on walks and swimming. She has earned titles in tracking, rally, obedience, water rescue, draft work and scent work. Here’s hoping you have lots of great adventures together.
Such a good mix of breeds if you can deal with the size. Always glad to hear of one living to a good age as mine have before. Keeping them active and thinking sure helps.
Its been wonderful to ride along on your automotive journey, Jograd. And its been great to learn about a part of the world I knew next to nothing about, and a job I never even knew existed. Kind of like Canadian Geographic with a major on automobiles!
It’ll be interesting to hear how Life With Uba pans out.
Tangentially related useless factoid of the day:
With the discontinuance of the 5-speed manual transmission in the Impreza/Crosstrek line, there is precisely ONE MY2024 model of car sold in the USA with a 5-speed manual.
Behold the 2024 Nissan Versa.
(Oh yes, there are several other vehicles available with manual transmissions, but none with a mere 5 forward gears.)
All this manual trans stuff got me thinking. I’ve owned 4 speed (5 of those) and 5 speed (quantity 8) manuals, but never a 3 or a 6 speed. Quite a few six speed motorcycles though. And I’ve owned 4, 6 and 10 speed automatics. Plus CVT (Prius).
Thank you for a most excellent series. Learned some new things about a field I’d never even known existed, and got a glimpse into a very different life from what I’ve experienced, while reading about some very cool cars and trucks as well!
Hope you keep buying more vehicles, and keeping us posted.
Chiming in a bit late here as we’re on a van trip to Arizona via back routes in Nevada and Utah. Thank you for a most excellent COAL series; it’s been a total pleasure from start to finish. I know it takes some time and commitment, and you’ve more than delivered.
All the best on your continued life journeys, in nature as much as possible.
Thanks for this COAL series, I really enjoyed the car stories as well as a life so different from my own.
I’m in Cuba at the moment, they have some internets now, who woulda guessed!
Thank you for sharing such awesome stories, I’ve enjoyed following along on your journey for sure.
Sometimes we take a surprise detour. I never expected to be driving a Buick, yet Moby Dick slumbers in the driveway. Subarus are endemic to the PNW so I am happy to buck convention in my Mazda, even though the CX-5 is the most common Mazda. I lose a bit on gas mileage but I have 8″ of ground clearance and a 6 speed automatic rather than a CVT or DSG.