2010 Subaru Outback: Love/Hate

My husband and I have officially begun the sometimes-intimidating process of shopping for a new car. If you visited Cars.com over the summer, you likely saw my 11-year-old SUV on the homepage illustrating the government’s Cash for Clunkers program. My car is one major repair — or one major pothole — away from becoming a trade-in.
 
Because of positive reviews from a couple of Cars.com co-workers who own new Subaru Outbacks, the all-wheel-drive wagon has crept onto our shortlist. To say I was looking forward to spending a long weekend driving the Outback is an understatement.
 
Love: Cargo area
The cargo area of the Outback is spacious without making the car look like a grocery getter; there were no flashbacks to ‘80s wagons here. The 60/40-split folding rear seats are standard, increasing the space dramatically without eliminating all the rear seats. Also standard across all trims (in the cargo area only) is the all-weather mat, which is a huge plus in my book. You don’t even want to know what the carpet in the back of my SUV looks like after multiple interstate moves and Christmas tree hauling.

Inside Toyota's Recall Solutions

Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons shows the newly redesigned all-weather floormat (right) compared to the old floormat (left). The new floormat is thinner, smaller and more flexible.

In a three-hour session on Thursday, Toyota summarized and demonstrated for reporters what it’s doing to correct the acceleration and braking problems that led it to recall millions of cars around the world. The fixes they’re employing address both short- and long-term solutions as the automaker looks to remove consumer doubts about the quality of its vehicles.

Sticky Accelerator Pedal Recall
Vehicles Recalled in U.S.: 2.3 million
Vehicles Repaired: As of Thursday morning, more than 600,000
Short-Term Fix: Existing cars receive a metal shim inserted to increase spring tension on the pedal to help it spring back or a redesigned pedal assembly replaces the original pedal assembly.
Long-Term Fix: New cars have redesigned pedal assembly.

Since repairs started Feb. 5, Toyota dealers have processed more than 50,000 vehicles a day, but many observers, including U.S. lawmakers preparing for congressional hearings about the Toyota recalls next week, want to know exactly when Toyota became aware of the problem.

Ford Offering Big Discounts on F-150

As February winds down, we’re finding many automakers adding big incentives to many of their models. In Chicago we’re seeing up to $5,000 in cash back on the F-150 pickup in SuperCrew and SuperCab configurations. Free scheduled maintenance for two years is also included. The rest of the country isn’t getting shorted, either, with up to $4,500 on the same models in many areas.

Want one of the cheaper regular cabs? We found up to $4,000 cash back in Southern California and $3,000 in Chicago. Before you head to your dealer, make sure what rebates are available in your area by visiting Ford’s official site. These deals are updating quickly, but it appears these specific rebates are good through March 1, and unfortunately the F-150 Raptor is not included.

Today's News From the Cars.com Family

A reader wants to know when the 2011 Honda Odyssey will go on sale, and Ask.cars.com lays out a timeframe. Then, PickupTrucks.com takes a look back at the 1961-63 Ford F-100 “unibody” pickups. Finally, MotherProof.com highlights a common baby safety instrument for the car: a backseat baby mirror. You might be surprised, though, that our writer says you might as well skip them.

When Will the 2011 Honda Odyssey Go on Sale? (Ask.cars.com)
Looking Back: 1961-63 Ford F-100 “Unibody” Pickups (PickupTrucks.com)
For Safety’s Safe, Skip Backseat Baby Mirrors (MotherProof.com)

Feds Open Corolla Investigation, Toyoda to Testify

UPDATE: Toyota CEO Akido Toyoda will appear before Congress next week during hearings regarding the recent recalls of popular Toyota models.

ORIGINAL POST: With scrutiny on Toyota never more intense, news that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has officially opened a formal investigation of the new Corolla’s reputed steering issues was expected, but it remains significant.

Although complaints from drivers feeling as if they were losing control of the vehicle number fewer than 100, Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million Corollas worldwide last year with 300,000 in the U.S., making it the automaker’s most popular model other than the Camry.

The preliminary investigation will involve roughly 500,000 vehicles, according to the Transportation Department.

In other Toyota news, the New York Times reports that President and CEO Akido Toyoda previously said he would not appear in front of congressional lawmakers unless Congress issued a formal request. Well, said Congress, consider yourself formally invited.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that is investigating the Toyota recall troubles, has officially requested that Toyoda meet with the congressional panel in a hearing scheduled for Feb. 24. There has been no comment from Toyota if its president will appear.

Feds to Open Formal Investigation of Corolla (MSNBC)

2011 Hyundai Sonata Named IIHS Top Safety Pick

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the 2011 Hyundai Sonata as the latest vehicle to earn its highest award of Top Safety Pick.

To qualify for a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn a Good rating in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. It must also be equipped with electronic stability control.

Earning the award became tougher when IIHS added a new roof-strength test that is twice as stringent as the federal requirement. As a result, many of the vehicles that had previously qualified as Top Picks fell off the list in 2010.

4G Prius Displayed at Mobile World Congress

Don’t let the driver-distraction folks see this.

Communications company Alcatel-Lucent used the Mobile World Congress 2010 gathering to show off its 4G-connected Toyota Prius concept car.

The tech fest in Barcelona, Spain, usually highlights computers and hand-held devices like the Droid, but the 4G Prius garnered buzz with its smorgasbord of screens and sensors connected to a 4G network.

According to the company, the vehicle’s display would not only be able to keep drivers informed on the car's various functions but would also be able to show high-definition videos, bring up Google Maps or run a web browser.

Sounds like Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s worst nightmare.

4G Cars, Androids and Dancers at MWC 2010 (ZDNet.uk)

Who Drives More in Your Relationship?

If you’re familiar with Freakonimics, you either think it's bunk or genius. In a recent column for the New York Times, Eric A. Morris posited that men are at the wheel more often than women when both are in a car. Take that as you will, but he then followed up with how readers responded. One-hundred-eighty-three of the respondents said the man in the relationship drove most of the time, versus only 51 saying the woman drove.

Well, guess what? It’s time for another poll, dear readers. If you’re in a relationship, let us know who drives more, the man or the woman. I’m also adding an answer for folks in a situation like mine. When we’re in my wife’s car, she drives nearly 100% of the time. When we’re in my car — and obviously test cars — I drive nearly 100% of the time.

Ford, BMW Named Most Innovative

Fast Company — one of the few magazines making a case for print publishing’s continued existence — has released its 2010 Most Innovative companies list. Even with a category just for transportation, only two established automakers were honored, BMW and Ford, but not for their cars.

Ford landed at No. 5 on the top mobile companies list behind Google, Apple, Amazon and HTC in that order. The magazine lauded Ford’s use of Sync in the past and its new MyFord Touch platform. And get this, the walled-off world of the automotive industry was praised for opening up to third-party applications.

BMW the automaker actually wasn’t honored at all. The company’s DesignWorksUSA subsidiary made the most prominent list of the magazine — in the last No. 25 slot — for loaning its services to design better-looking computer printers and coffee makers. Yes, coffee makers. The whole cars-as-appliances jokes sort of apply to BMW now.

What companies landed on the actual transportation list? The top spot went to Alston, a next-gen train builder. Zipcar, Chinese car company BYD and Fisker Automotive were also listed.        

One other automaker did get a mention, but not in a good way. Toyota was among the list of past winners that were highlighted for falling from grace, but the magazine said it wasn’t just because of the recent recalls. We believe them, since we know these lists take months to put together.

Check out all of the lists here.

Reader Review of the Week: 2010 Toyota Venza

“Hard to Please” from Auburn, N.Y., certainly sounds like a tough customer based on the chosen moniker. Despite a few “gripes” about the 2010 Toyota Venza, though, “Hard to Please” may have found a vehicle that makes pleasing look easy. And, yes, it is purely coincidence this follow our own review of the exact same vehicle. Check out the full reader review after the jump to learn why, then post a review of your own vehicle here.