2005 Mustang Impressions

[Rd96SVX]

Was that what that thing was called...? All I know is that I still have bad dreams filled with evil looking talking wolves.. FREAK ME OUT WHYDONTYA.
anywho I agree ^^^^^ there would not be enough bandwidth to support that thread..lol

[SubaSteevo]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

I feel I have to correct you on that one...Ford holds that title. Car for Car, they have more than double the number of recalls of GM. Now as I said, recalls are not always bad...often they simply show that a given company cares enough to take care of the problem that shouldn't be there in the first place, however only 2 of Ford's recalls last year were purely voluntary. The rest were either mandated or NTSA influenced.

May I remind you that Subaru never issued a single SVX recall - despite their poorly built trannies, bearings, and rotors.

OOH that was low wasn't it?



There could never be enough room on this site for a thread like that. It would consume all...like "the nothing" in Neverending Story, it would slowly absorb the world that is the SVX network, like a giant black hole, until there was nothing but blackness.



See I never liked those, even on the classics. Looks half-assed.

The Focus and Escape alone practically double the recalls for every other car company combined Throw in the Exploder and I'm surprised Ford even bothers producing cars anymore, they should just work on fixing the ones they've already made.

About the fogs...it depends on the color of the car. I think they look perfect on the new Shelby
but out of place on this red one

[SubaSteevo]

Originally Posted by Rd96SVX

Was that what that thing was called...? All I know is that I still have bad dreams filled with evil looking talking wolves.. FREAK ME OUT WHYDONTYA.
anywho I agree ^^^^^ there would not be enough bandwidth to support that thread..lol

I haven't seen that movie in years, I used to watch it, rewind it, and watch it again as a youngin. Trying to download it now

[Earthworm]

All the new Mustangs are not head turners. They might have been if they were as rare as the SVX but when half the Mustangs you see on the streets are the new ones there's just no interest in them whatsoever. It's about as exciting as a Civic.

[n00b on demand]

I just saw a beautiful new black mustang with deep dish chrome rims. Looked damn good too!

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

May I remind you that Subaru never issued a single SVX recall - despite their poorly built trannies, bearings, and rotors.

You may be right about that, but I've always assumed the "campaign" ATF filter on my '92 is the product of a Suby recall. Anyone clarify?

dcb

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

May I remind you that Subaru never issued a single SVX recall - despite their poorly built trannies, bearings, and rotors.

OOH that was low wasn't it?

tranny - campaign filter (i'm on original at 70.000 miles, no trouble)
bearings - when originally replaced, not done properly leading to multiple failures
(i'm at 70,000 miles on originals without a peep from them)
rotors - problem with shops using air gun to over-torque the lugnuts, causing "warping" feel (i swapped them for cryo slotted. )

[Shadow248]

Originally Posted by Landshark

tranny - campaign filter (i'm on original at 70.000 miles, no trouble)
bearings - when originally replaced, not done properly leading to multiple failures
(i'm at 70,000 miles on originals without a peep from them)
rotors - problem with shops using air gun to over-torque the lugnuts, causing "warping" feel (i swapped them for cryo slotted. )

Mandi's X had a perfect tranny and no bearing problems whatsoever. I would say it's unfair to include the condition of her brakes on that car though due to her driving habits. So we'll exclude them. But by the same token, I know of many people who have owned so-called "problem prone" GM vehicles and had none of the common problems that they were expecting. So you always find some good apples. Plus like me, i'm sure you take very good care of your car both mechanically and cosmetically. Funny how guys like us don't seem to have problems like everyone else does? But yet it's the car's fault.

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

Mandi's X had a perfect tranny and no bearing problems whatsoever. I would say it's unfair to include the condition of her brakes on that car though due to her driving habits. So we'll exclude them. But by the same token, I know of many people who have owned so-called "problem prone" GM vehicles and had none of the common problems that they were expecting. So you always find some good apples. Plus like me, i'm sure you take very good care of your car both mechanically and cosmetically. Funny how guys like us don't seem to have problems like everyone else does? But yet it's the car's fault.

i'd wager that half or more of the owners on this site bought their SVX for less than $5000, with high mileage, and no history on it. what do you expect? ANY car bought like this will most likely have issues. also, on car forums the posts are gonna be "how do i fix my broken __________". you're just not going to hear from the ones who aren't having any trouble. "gee, my headlights and climate control are working great! anyone else?"

[Shadow248]

Originally Posted by Landshark

i'd wager that half or more of the owners on this site bought their SVX for less than $5000, with high mileage, and no history on it. what do you expect? ANY car bought like this will most likely have issues. also, on car forums the posts are gonna be "how do i fix my broken __________". you're just not going to hear from the ones who aren't having any trouble. "gee, my headlights and climate control are working great! anyone else?"

OK, but I think the following statements are pretty much a given...

1 - A tranny (especially a $4500 tranny) should last more than 50,000 miles, even when not properly maintained.

2 - Wheel bearings should last 100,000 miles or more.

3 - Brake rotors on a heavy and adequately powered vehicle should be able to take many hard stops without damage.

Basically i'm saying that if the SVX were a GM vehicle, AT LEAST the first two items above would have been recalled.

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

OK, but I think the following statements are pretty much a given...

1 - A tranny (especially a $4500 tranny) should last more than 50,000 miles, even when not properly maintained.

i'll agree the '92 - '93? trannys should have been recalled. i'm sure many were replaced under warranty, though. the troubles were fixed with updates in later years, but they still run a little hot.

2 - Wheel bearings should last 100,000 miles or more.

how many 'under 100,000 mile' SVX's are there on here? probably not a whole lot. i'll bet the ones getting bearings replaced are probably up there in miles....i could be wrong though.

3 - Brake rotors on a heavy and adequately powered vehicle should be able to take many hard stops without damage.

i don't think there is a problem with the rotors other than the over-torqueing of the lug nuts.

Basically i'm saying that if the SVX were a GM vehicle, AT LEAST the first two items above would have been recalled.

like GM did back in the early '90's with the Luminas brakes?


the SVX ain't perfect. it was the first grand touring car Subaru ever built with that much hp and weight. if it was still in production today, it would be sweet, but the decision to kill it off was probably made well before '97, so it never got resources dedicated to much improvement for it. not too shabby for a first time effort with no support, advertising, or popularity at the time.

[Royal Tiger]

I'm pretty sure ford has lead the recall list for the last 3 or more years. As for hot new hip cars, has anyone seen the new Nissan Sport Concept? Can anyone post a picture here? It was in all the car mags this month, Car & Driver, Automobile, Motor Trend, etc... It Nissan puts this thing into production with around 200hp it will be in WRX/SRT-4 territory. They are going after Scion. Looking at $16-18k.

[Shadow248]

Originally Posted by Landshark

the SVX ain't perfect. it was the first grand touring car Subaru ever built with that much hp and weight. if it was still in production today, it would be sweet, but the decision to kill it off was probably made well before '97, so it never got resources dedicated to much improvement for it. not too shabby for a first time effort with no support, advertising, or popularity at the time.

I think the real problem with the SVX was it's identity crisis. It's like they couldn't decide on sports car or grand tourer. It's not fast enough or nimble enough to be a sports car, but it rides too rough to be a tourer. Yet it's got a pretty powerful drivetrain (like a sports car), and a very luxurious interior with lots of touring-like amenities. I think if they had gone completely one way or the other, the car might still be kickin.

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Shadow248

I think the real problem with the SVX was it's identity crisis. It's like they couldn't decide on sports car or grand tourer. It's not fast enough or nimble enough to be a sports car, but it rides too rough to be a tourer. Yet it's got a pretty powerful drivetrain (like a sports car), and a very luxurious interior with lots of touring-like amenities. I think if they had gone completely one way or the other, the car might still be kickin.

see PA_SVX's avatar above you. that's the perfect mix of luxury and performance that Subaru was gunning for (and Nissan, with the 300ZX, too.).

the SVX was made for the highway. heavy and low, very stable at high speed, which it does without much effort. it was never intended to be a sports car. people autocross them and drag race them (not that there's anything wrong with that ), but to me its like entering a Buick Roadmaster in a dirt rally - just not what it was made for.

[Weebitob]

Actually an SVX today, with certain improvements such as a 5 speed triptonic shifter, perhaps a manual transmission option, maybe AVVT and such, it would fit right at home with today's luxury segment. With seeing that formerly more exclusive touring companies such as Mercedes Benz, Jaguar and even companies that tried to go the route of pure touring are turning to more sports car like finesse. In my opinion the reason why the SVX wasn't so successful is not because it was not advertised enough, it is because it was advertised to the wrong people. When Subaru first released this car to public they made sure reporters from almost every auto magazine poured all over it, even putting down the money needed for Car and Driver to do a special pamphlet on it. The problem is at the time and even today most auto enthusiasts (at least ones in the US where aside from Japan most of the marketing took place) do not want an easy driving initially smooth shifting high speed highway cruiser, no matter how great its handling, acceleration and vanguard its looks are. Subaru should of instead tried to appeal it to the common consumer who desired something more upscale, without having to fish out as much cash for the sake of a brand name image. Not to mention its AWD capabilities would of bolded well with people who wanted what they thought was the all-weather versatility image SUVs had except in something that is sportier. Those are the type of people who wouldn't care as much about 0-60 as long as you get a slight jolt, enough speed to pass by other cars briskly on the highway, do it with hardly any over or understeer and looks the part of sporty, they might just go for it. In other words Subaru should of introduced the SVX to most consumers as something slightly more than just a sporty grand tourer, such as touting its AWD, decent rear seating plus trunk space and ect. Also, Subaru shouldn't of hesitated to drop a manual option, once the JDM STi first hit the scene in 1994, since now people know that those trannys were able to handle the EG33. They also should have figured out other ways to keep the weight low once they introduced passenger side airbags. It is just