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Apologies for derailing. I'm not sure what thread is appropriately corporate.

Tim just texted me to let me know that the CEO of United Healthcare was shot dead in Manhattan. He lives in Minnesota but was there for the annual Investor's conference.

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On the first comment?

No, in Manhattan.

I think the custom here is that we wait for at least 40 comments before we shoot Moby dead.

Actually, I rather like Moby and regret moving him 1/40th towards that inevitability with this comment.

It's getting hard to buy a not-evil car. I think the lies about diesel emissions were what put me off Volkswagen first. But this is bad too.

And he waits three threads before he posts again.

3/40ths of a lifetime.

Five years and one quarter.

I'm torn between "welcome to 1990s Moscow" and "maybe a salutary reminder that insurance worth the name and high taxes on millionaires and upwards is the compromise but there are other options available."

Maybe also an observation that the anti-abortion movement engaged in a lot of domestic terrorism and look where it got them.

I somehow doubt that was an act of single-payer terrorism.

This could be more relevant.

I have been waiting for insurance to approve a routine prescription for over two weeks now, but I don't have United.

Thank you, ma'am, we will eliminate you from our inquiries.

If once a month a CEO gets murdered until we get a 99% marginal tax rate on the top .001% I would think that there are worse forms of terrorism.

Also, my selfish petty side is gloating in how much Eric Adams must be freaking out about this.

It probably wasn't him.

The shooter got away on a bike. Not Adams.

Hopefully CITI Bike can get the same marketing bonanza that Hertz got from "We get you to the airport with time to kill."

I really like my Volkswagen, but at least it was made in Mexico, not China.

Until recently, VW had something like the second highest market share in China - it was the company's biggest market. But they are getting blown out of the water on electric vehicles by BYD and others, and the EU is putting tariff's on Chinese vehicles in a way that sets up VW to be the the target of retaliation. This is all on top of the general malaise that has settled over the company which has lead them to not sell much besides boring SUVs in the the US market anymore.

Oh right, except the ID Buzz, which I finally saw one the other day, and its like if the Cybertruck chilled out and smoked a bunch of weed. That is to say, an improvement, but still an overpriced, oversized, electric boomer mobile.

I'm probably going to get a new vehicle (my third ever) soon, and I'm leaning toward a Subaru Outback. Anyone have relevant encouragement or warnings?

My 2013 Ford Fiesta (the only car I've had as an adult) is still fine, but since it's coming up on 100k miles and Ford no longer makes cars, I was wondering what the options are these days. I got kinda excited about the new Honda Civic hybrid hatchbacks, which look pretty great. But probably I won't get one for a few years. I'm a little worried though that somehow tariffs are going to kill cars by then.

This was also kinda prompted by having a VW rental car and enjoying how sporty it was.

20: My uncle had some big problems with the electricity system on a new Subaru. But the dealer bought it back and he loves the new one.

If you want a station wagon, that's basically your option these days unless you want to spend Audi money.

I decided the Outback was too big for me so I got an older VW wagon, from back when they still sold wagons in North America.

I used to own an Outback. It was great.

I've only owned two cars and both were Subarus. Not sure I would have bought a Forester in 2002 when it was a hand-me-down, but it turned out to be great. I ended up getting a Crosstrek in 2018 to replace it. The newer Outback and Forester models were just too big for my needs.

I have a relative who got a Subaru in 2019[?] and hated it. There was some kind of issue on some models around then where the battery might drain while the car wasn't in use. But I think the main reason he got a new car is because he's been an American car guy his whole life, with family who worked for one of the big companies in Detroit. I was surprised he bought a Subaru at all and now he owns a hilariously impractical pickup.*

*Not one of the giant ones, but still somehow misshapen-looking.

Guess which commenter spent a lot of the day dealing with a 2019 Subaru Forrester with a dead battery due to in part to one of those electrical issues?

A bit of a comedy of errors along the way, but ended up getting the new battery I knew I needed for a while.
Power rear liftgates are not always that great.

We have an unpowered liftgate and I bonk my head on it now. The hydrolic-thing doesn't work as well as it used to and it no longer goes up higher than my head.

Maybe you've grown.

Seems unlikely I got taller.

Tim has an Outback and loves it.

If you've got more than 2 kids, an Ascent might be the way to go.

I have a Prius C which they don't make anymore. It's been a good car and should last a few more years, because it's low mileage. It's made out of tinfoil though, so even a tap from someone in the parking lot does real damage.

My next car is going to be either a Crosstek or one of the VW electric hatchbacks. Subaru is slow to get their own electric vehicles out. They have some lame cars that appear to be rebadged Toyotas, e.g. Solterra. But I want a car that feels and looks like a Subaru but is also electric.

If you want a station wagon, that's basically your option these days unless you want to spend Audi money.

GOT TO BE BETTER THAN FIAT MONEY

For completists, the sequence of aggravating events in 27:

1) I change the battery in my Forester key fob that has been growing weak. This is done in my kitchen. Car is in detached garage but probably within range. of the fob

2) Following morning I go out to discover liftgate open and battery very drained. I suspect in mashing the two halves of the fob the prior evening I hit the tailgate button (this part is conjecture but well-founded, I tested that the fob has that range and it does work from the kitchen). Liftgate up is a known drainer of the battery--somewhat like when leave any door open, but it seems to be an especially big drain on these Subarus. Liftgate accidentally left open once before but when battery was fresher. and a quick jump worked.

3) Trickle charge does not work nor jump.

4) Ultimately get AAA to start it and drive to place to get new battery. (some boring annoying stuff with AAA call and a battery recall omitted).

The timing with 26 and the specificity of the issue were uncanny.

I have a 2015 Forester, and it's been good in a mostly-boring way. Great visibility out the windows in all directions, which I liked a lot compared to other similar-size things.
I am not the pickiest driver but in comparison the Outback felt like a boat.

It would be great to have an electric car some day but right now they seem like they're too much of a premium for how little I drive. I will wait until electric cars are boring and are no longer eligible for special license plates.

It may be too big a vehicle for me because I don't have kids, but what I want is a car that has lots of cargo space, great visibility, and decent reliability. For whatever reason, I'm just really drawn to the Outback.

For whatever reason, I'm just really drawn to the Outback.

Setting her Akubra at a jaunty angle, Jenny rides off into the Australian desert in search of a reasonably priced minivan? In my experience they all drove 75 series Land Cruisers.

The Forester has been pretty good. issues with electrical,. And I do not like some aspects of the sound system and the heat/AC controls. Minor quibbles.

I chose the Forester over the Outback because my garage is an old farm outbuilding and the doors are narrow. Outback at that time was several inches wider, giving me even less room for error.
Also the 2019 Forester had "updated" electronics and systems while Outback did not. But apparently not all of the kinks out. And some of the controls are a weird mishmash of the old and the new which can be confusing.

36 have you ever seen Wake in Fright?

I see that electric liftgates are something that people get on their cars these days, but I'm happy my car isn't so high off the ground that it needs one.

34: Greater visibility in the rear-view mirrors is what I like about the subarus.

38: no, but going by the Wikipedia summary it's not too far from the truth.

I'm open to a Forrester; will test-drive both. Probably need to get my driver's license renewed next week so I can do so! I found out it had expired last month but the last few weeks on campus have been insane.

Speaking of cars with electrical problems, those portable jump starters (you charge them at home, store them in your car, and use by plugging into the cigarette lighter), do work. Or at least they worked for me.