My wife works at a German company. Funny thing is that the first thing the German's do when they get here is buy an American car. I only know a few of her co-workers, but one has a new generation Mustang and another has a Challenger. Both are in absolute love with their US rides and want to try to take them back.

I think it's just normal to think of whatever is your domestic product as inferior and imports at superior. Kind of like how foreigners like Budweiser (yuck!). The reality is that most cars (and beers I guess) are pretty good in all countries.

Edited to add...this is only based on current generation of cars. I own a '90's era Mustang and the build quality of 80's and 90's Fords and GM's are almost laughably bad while some of the European cars of those decades were quite good.

 

Yeah thats only their mid-range torque 18v impact.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...21CT/304238558

They have a 'high torque' which is marginally larger/expensive and does more than 1000 ft/lbs!

I'm saving some money and owe him lunch. haha.

Loved my dads late 80's 535is sedan. Car I snuck out and learned to drive stick on haha. Well first learned on my buddies 96 civic EX coupe...then used the bmw when I had the chance.

 

Man, that's working out great! That seems to be the best overall cordless impact out there right now. I still can't believe that a battery powered impact can be that strong.

I watched a YT video of someone removing a crank pulley bolt with one. That's impressive! Air tools may become obsolete soon for the home DIY'er.

Those old 5 series and old 300 class (later E class) Merc's were really good cars! Overall, I'd say they were better built than the current versions. The Merc diesels were especially overbuilt. It may cost you $1,000 to repair the power seat, but the car will run forever.

 

alright, finally home. the uber ride didnt smell today so that was great. haha

wife's picking up burritos for supper! hey, she's home woot!

 

shinjari- wow if i was modding cars as much as i was before, id get that in an instant. thanks for the link. i use milwaukee tools so my 18v batteries will fit. in fact the other day while at homedepot i bought their LED lamp that uses the 18v power. haha

 

wheeew burritos was gooood. . now need to rest ..

 

alright, heading off to the office this am in a bit. need to dump a bunch of clothes and winter coat at the dry cleaners on the way home. looking forward to driving my GTI.

so the temps are finally rising and going to plan on fixing the GK’s door next week. at this point i think the smartest thing to do is replace the GK before any of my cars. was thinking a lightly used X1 or a new Forester. i’m leaning more towards the forester as those are still made in jland.

 

dogdamn..shouldve looked at my local subie site earlier. they are offering 0%APR financing through subaru, but ends 4/30. and my dealer has the exact model (2 of them) of wat i want. XT with eyesight and all the bells. i usually buy cars cash unless i can get 0% APR which i usually qualify cause i have no loans or mortgage. will check into this today i guess.

 

The Subaru dealer by me has a 50th Anniversary WRX on the lot. I really like that package since you get all of the amenities plus the performance package with Recaro's. I think it's the only way to have a Limited with Recaro's. Only making 600 of them.

They also have a STI RA for ballers like kenchan.

 

That sounds like a great deal on a subie!

Man 50th anniversary of the WRX? Or of the brand?

Yeah I'm picking that Impact up...bummed it only has a compact 2.0 battery. If I didnt get this deal I was gonna get the package with (2) 5.0 batteries. At least I'm getting a great deal on it either way =)

Expanding my Milwaukee tools. Got the m18 Drill and impact driver, circular saw, LED Lantern/USB Charger for camping (works great to charge phones) and now this Fuel Impact.

Was considering the leaf blower/weed wacker to get rid of my corded electric blower/mulcher and gas wacker. Also may need the reciprocating saw for demo projects I'll need to tackle.

I need to get an air compressor one of these days. Would be good for dusting off work shop, cleaning out PC, nail/brad gun...thats all that comes to mind since I'll have a cool cordless impact.

 

From subaru.com...

"Subaru of America was founded 50 years ago with a single car, the Subaru 360. Now, to commemorate this anniversary, we’ve created a special edition package for each model in the Subaru lineup: Outback, Legacy, Forester, Impreza, Crosstrek, WRX, and BRZ.

These vehicles — available in limited quantities — honor this milestone by upgrading a top-of-the-line model even further with exclusive Heritage Blue Pearl paint, 50th Anniversary badging, and stylish design elements throughout."

 

Thats pretty cool.

 

mang the STI is so much fun (wrx included) it is so much bang for the buck it’s crazy. if i was to buy a STI today i’d get the RA fosho

shinjari congrats on the new impact. even with the smaller battery should last you the entire session, no? those thing charge up in 15-20min so probably will do okay.

 

my sales guy who sold me my STI appears to have moved on.. dang he was good too.

so i realized the XT runs premium cause basically the wrx engine.. completely forgot cause the GTI can take regular gas while turbo and all. not sure my wife's going to like that. she's okay with the forester but she's also okay with the slow NA engine one. i mean she's one of those people who thinks the GK is plenty fast. meh.. i dont want the regular forester...

 

alright, stopped by the dry cleaners, even dropped off my winter coat just telling cold weather to GTFO already.

no rain in sight.. crap. really wanted to wash the GTI's engine bay and under carriage this weekend. oh well. will do that maybe next weekend.

 

bold move by ford. but smart. they are a truck company fosho..per fusion hybrid earlier i the week. lol

 

I think it's a MASSIVE mistake. The back side of the car manufacturing business is meeting government requirements for CAFE and emissions standards. Small cars are what allow automakers to sell and profit from larger gas guzzlers.

Ford's move is a reaction to the Trump's administration of removing restrictions set by Obama. Problem is...what happens if we get a Democrat in office next? Ford will have alienated the customer they need to come shop their products and purchase efficient vehicles.

I agree that other auto makers are better at smaller vehicles, but their move is short sighted.

Keep this post in your thoughts as we move forward and see what happens in several years. This is a bad mistake.

 

I sincerely hope the big three finally fail when gas prices go back up. No more bailout. Just the end of the 'American' auto industry as we know it. Make dumb short term decisions, win dumb long term prizes.

 

yah my wife isn’t too excited about the premium fuel on the forester XT as mpg is not that great and she expenses all travels based on the federal rate per mile. in that sense the GK does real well and honestly if it wasn’t for all the problems on the car, we would keep it longer.

so i may end up getting my DSG-R next and let her decide wat she wants to do in the mean time. i can talk to our hoa to ask to park the GK in the visitor lot for a few weeks while my wife totals .. i mean trials the GTI. lol be funny if we had three Golfs sitting at our house.

 

well it’s not like they can’t build fuel economical cars. if the epa comes back with push on cafe then ford can restart any time...?