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 Clowning Around I bought my first Subaru several years ago – a 2003 Baja. This is the best winter car I’ve ever owned in my 35 years of driving. During my first winter with the Baja, I encountered about eight inches of snow and closed roads. My driveway winds uphill. Most cars can’t make it up the hill when it’s covered with snow and ice. I’ve towed a couple cars up the driveway with my Baja!
I use my Subaru when traveling around the country performing. I’m a costumed
character and entertain people at haunted attractions, special events, and on cruise
ships. I installed a clown window decal on the back window, and it gets lots of
stares when I’m driving – especially when I’m in my clown costume.
I love clownin’ around in my “Rue.” Great Frame!
We just received your newest issue, and the article about the Ring-Shaped Reinforcement Frame sure hit home with us. Our son Denis was involved in a side-impact crash five weeks ago in a 2003 Baja. The frame acted just the way the author described it would. Had it not been for Subaru engineering construction, I do not know if he would have survived. We will be lifelong Subaru owners. We have replaced the Baja involved in the accident with a 2006 Baja. Our family also owns four other Subarus.
Thanks again for making such a fine product! Staying in the Subaru Family Hey! I just wanted to say I like what you’re doing with Drive magazine. Receiving the magazine in the mail and reading it is nice and makes me feel that Subaru cares about its customers.
Many car companies will sell you a car and that’s the last you’ll hear
from them, with maybe the occasional maintenance reminder. But reading car tips
and Subaru updates and Subaru owners’ stories of adventure in their cars makes
me feel like I’m part of something big. It truly sets Subaru apart from other
car makers and makes me want to stay in the Subaru family.
My issue of Drive arrived today. I always find at least one article I enjoy reading. You really do a nice job on this magazine. I just wanted you to know I especially enjoyed the “Peek in the Attic” and “Civil War Campaign Trails.”
I now own a 2000 Forester. This is my second Subaru – I had a wagon for 10
years before this car. I have been very pleased with both. They are reliable cars.
Embracing the Beauty of Subaru AWD My wife and I just bought an ’05 Legacy 2.5i Sedan. On July 4th, we went to the beach to watch the space shuttle launch. The only place to park was in really soft, sink-to-your-ankles beach sand by the Dunes. By the time we got back to where we had parked, the sand was all churned up in front of and behind our car from people getting stuck and digging themselves out. So we wound up driving through rutted, soft sand to get out. The Legacy never even struggled. We swerved around stuck car after stuck car, with everybody staring at us.
I traded a 4WD off-road truck for my Subaru. Now I wouldn’t trade my Legacy
for anything (except maybe a Subaru Baja). An Apology In the Summer 2006 issue of Drive we published a letter from Mr. Murat Ozbilgin. Mr. Ozbilgin contacted the Subaru.com Web site to share his experience with renting a Subaru Outback. His expectation was that these thoughts would remain private. Contrary to our established procedures, we published his letter without first contacting him to seek his permission. We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ozbilgin for our mistake. Sibley Map Correction I was interested to read the article “Civil War Campaign Trails: Historic Road Trips,” because I saw that it mentioned Fort Davis in West Texas, one of my homes. Then I looked at the map that was a part of this article: no way did Sibley follow the Rio Grande through West Texas! I am including a Web site that better shows the trail that Sibley would have traveled: http://www.forttours.com/pages/peralta.asp.
I bought a 2002 Forester because I thought that I would be spending more time at
our place in the Davis Mountains, but moved to San Diego instead! I do enjoy my
Forester; it is one of two of the most comfortable cars I have ever owned –
a good thing, too! I made six round trips in one year between West Texas and San
Diego during the year of my move. During the editing process, we cut some copy that affected mapping and the accuracy that you point out. It was, “... the Seventh Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers paraded through town and began the long trek westward along the ‘Upper’ branch of the old San Antonio-El Paso Road.” Later, the author pointed out that the actual route was north of what we have indicated in the magazine, but his observation was made too late to make the correction to detail. He suggested that only the most observant would notice.
So far, you are the most observant! A Dedicated New Mexican Thanks for the superb article “Civil War Campaign Trails.” My Aunt Mary actually owned the property in Glorieta, New Mexico, that was the site of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, also called the Battle of Valle’s (Valley’s) Ranch. The battle occurred in the vicinity of Pigeon’s Ranch, New Mexico, which lies directly on the Santa Fe Trail about 20 miles east of Santa Fe. One thousand Confederate troops, mostly Texans, under the command of Lt. Col. Willam R. Scurry left Johnson’s Ranch in Canoncito with the intent to capture Fort Union, which would have given the Confederates direct control over a portion of the Santa Fe trail and the commerce route west. They were met in the Glorieta Creek valley by about 850 Union troops commanded by Col. John P. Smith. The advantage shifted sides several times in the melee, which lasted from 11:00 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. on March 28, 1862. In the end, the Confederates retreated when they learned their unguarded supply train at Canoncito was attacked and destroyed by a small contingent of Union soldiers. The San Pedro press published a booklet entitled “The Battle at Valley’s Ranch,” which describes this major Civil War event in detail. Despite being well documented (at the time) by local reporters for the Santa Fe Gazette, few people have heard of “the Gettysburg of the West.” This one battle was instrumental in securing the Santa Fe trail for the Union and ending the Confederate push into the western states. During the early 1990s, my aunt was in the process of refurbishing an old hunting lodge, and during the repairs, they unearthed a rifle and some clothing remains, which led to a full-scale archaeological dig. Despite the very detailed accounting of the battle, there were virtually no reports of numbers killed or of formal grave sites from either army. Prior to the opening of the state-run museum erected at the site, all unearthed remains were interred at the Veterans Cemetery in Santa Fe with military full honors. There were many people at this historic and long overdue ceremony, some even in period uniforms of the Confederate and Union armies. What I remember most was my aunt bringing the first articles from her “find” over for us to see in her Subaru Outback.
Mary Welch Greene was a dedicated New Mexican, a wonderful presence in any setting,
and a longtime Subaru enthusiast. She unfortunately passed away in 2005.
360 Van Fan A neighbor of mine had an FF-1 new and drove it for more than 100,000 miles. He tells me it was the best car he ever had. About 12 years ago, I helped to connect someone from your Cherry Hill office with the son of a club member who had died and wanted to sell his late father’s mint-condition 360 sedan. A year or so later, he shipped me a 360 sedan with a good body that someone had butchered mechanically, and I got it back on the road for him. I taught my two oldest daughters to drive in our 360 sedan, and the youngest learned in our ’77 Subaru Four-Wheel-Drive wagon. She now lives in Wisconsin and owns a Forester.
I still drive the 360 van we bought in February 1975. |
