Car Shopping

My parents picked up a new car, a 2010 Subaru Forester, this weekend after hemming and hawing for nearly a year about getting a new car. They wanted something with all wheel drive so they could deal with any weather Vancouver throws at them and my mom wanted something a little higher up.

It’s remarkable how much cars have advanced over the years – I’ve driven several newer cars recently and the Forester, a compact entry level wagon, is light years ahead of cars from 20 years ago and comparable or better than mid-range cars from 10 years ago. If you’re looking for a nice compact wagon that’s likeable, reliable and sure-footed it’d be hard to go wrong with the Forester despite it’s archaic 4 speed automatic.

On the other hand I can’t understand how Toyota cars are so popular. They are terrible cars to drive and their bulletproof reputation has weakened over the years. The RAV4 we tested had brakes that were from 20 years ago – non-linear, inconsistent, spongy and vapid.

I’m very fickle about my cars – I can provide detailed feedback on how a car performs within minutes of driving it – but I still don’t get Toyotas, every Toyota I’ve ever driven has been a terrible car to drive.

Tire Pressure

I’m a stickler for tire pressure and each time I bring my car in for a service I request to have the car setup with a 38PSI front and 33PSI rear setup which results in the service advisor looking at me like I’m crazy. The stock setup is 32PSI all around so I’m going much higher than stock but the tires have such soft sidewalls that at 32PSI I feel like I’m driving a boat.

At 38/33 the effective spring rate on the car goes up dramatically and it feels like I’m driving a race car – it’s pointer, a touch fidgety and far more data about the road surface makes it up my backside and into my hands.  It’s like the car drank a can of Red Bull prior to me getting on board.

It’s lots of fun.

Auto Ego – 1968 Jaguar E-Type – Turning Heads for 38 Years – NYTimes.com

Auto Ego – 1968 Jaguar E-Type – Turning Heads for 38 Years – NYTimes.com.

The most beautiful car in the world. It’s the Maggie Cheung of cars. The Grace Kelly of vehicles.