Fall 2021 Autocross Events

Thus far I have not posted much from out autocross exploits. Mainly, it usually is not all that exciting. But, when we went to the Boston BMW SCCA Autocross Novice School I had a big spin.

One of our fellow participants captured it and sent it to us and said I could share!

Car was okay as far as we can tell so far. We drove it the rest of the day, did our timed laps, and seemed to have no issues.

Cagalli Yula - 60 Month Service Fluids

I still do not have regular access to a garage and therefor am still having the car serviced. Cagalli Yula, my 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited, is hitting her 60 month birthday. She only has 45,000 miles. According to the owners manual it is therefore time to drain and swap: engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, and rear differential fluid. Engine air filter, cabin air filter, and oil filter will be changed as well. These changes are recommended for 6 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.
A point of caution: It is not uncommon for dealerships to provide different service recommendations than those in your vehicle's owner's manual or to attempt to up-sell service that you do not need. Keep in mind that the owner's manual is the source of truth for what the engineers of your vehicle thought was required maintenance wise for your vehicle.

Pictures for a Friend: 2017 Subaru BRZ Series.Yellow

A good friend of mine is looking to purchase a BRZ or two for his projects. But he lives in a part of Canada that does not have a lot of Subaru dealers and so asked me if I could photograph the Series.Yellow the dealership here had and a white and/or gray BRZ if the dealership had them. Unfortunately they only had the Series.Yellow.

Update: Skywater, 2014 Subaru Outback Premium, 1.75 Year Review

My wife and I traveled to see my parents for a holiday. We've been in town a week, and rather than renting a car they were kind enough to let us use their 2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, named Skywater (after this book, which is a good book) as our errand car and for visiting our friends in the city and surrounding suburbs of Chicago.

Random Gift(?) From Subaru

Doorbell rings.
I have to sign for a box.
It is kind of heavy and says Subaru all over it... I am not expecting any parts, so what is this?

Box is decently heavy.
Could this be parts like the lip kit I have been eyeing for Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ)? The lip kit that became available with the BRZ Series.Blue. Could it be someone got me the shop manuals for the car (something I plan on doing)? I have no idea. I have not ordered anything from Subaru recently.

Making It Yours, So Long As It Isn't A Manual

As a Subaru owner I get "Drive: the magazine from Subaru"

It often includes articles about what Subaru is doing as a corporate citizen, hype about new models, and reviews of certain things.

This most recent issue (Spring 2016) included an article titled "Making It Yours". The article discussed the accessory installation department of Subaru's Lafayette, IN plant. It is a nice article about the people and process behind having your factory options installed on your new Subaru. But, to me, this also reminds me of one of my chief frustrations with Subaru, which if you follow this blog or have had a conversation with me about cars you have heard (possible ad nauseam), in that if you want nice options with your new Subaru you cannot have them if you also want that new Subaru with a manual transmission. Having tried to get through to Subaru through dealerships, auto show representatives, and Subaru of North America via email and phone I figured I would try with the following email to insider@subaru.com. If you share my frustrations, it would be great if you were to write such an email as well.

Hello Drive Magazine Staff,

[Section as possible letter from reader]

Making It Yours, So Long As It Isn't A Manual

By MooncallerCars

In the Spring 2016 issue of Drive Magazine there was an article title “Making It Yours” on page 17. It was a nice article about options and customizations performed for your Subaru as factory installed options.

The “Making It Yours” article niggles me because at Subaru I am a second class car buyer in terms of options and amenities available if I insist I want to have a manual transmission.

Considering the ever decreasing availability of manual transmission cars in the US market, not just by Subaru but by all automakers, it means that the manual transmission buyer is generally a very discerning buyer who is picky and is likely to tick the option boxes they want on their purchase. It does not make sense to limit the availability of options to this would be buyer based on their transmission choice.

My wife and I currently own a 2014 Subaru BRZ (love it!) and a 1994 Honda Prelude. We’ve been looking to replace the Prelude with something a bit more practical in terms of family room but are frustrated by Subaru’s lack of option availability with manual transmissions.

[End section as possible letter from reader?]