2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Car owners getting more irritated with their repair experiences, study says

The J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index Study (CSI) is a barometer of a vehicle owner's happiness with the service experience. While it wasn't all bad in the 2023 study, the overall owner satisfaction score dropped. This year's tally of 846 out of 1,000 is two points down from 2022, the 43-year-old study's first decline in more than 28 years, and one point down from 2021. However, the overall score remains well up from the pre-pandemic scores of 821 in 2018 and 837 in 2020. The study claims the stumbling block is the horde of BEV launches. The flood into the new energy space has created a recall rate among EVs that's more than double the rate for ICE vehicles. Furthermore, dealership service department knowledge of EVs isn't on par with internal combustion engine expertise, leaving EV owners less satisfied with service advisors compared to ICE owners. Chris Sutton, VP of automotive retail at J.D. Power, said, "As training programs for service advisors and technicians evolve, EV service quality and customer experience must address both the vehicle and the unique customer needs. The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but weÂ’re not seeing the benefits yet." Matters are slightly worse for all owners, though, with labor and parts shortages contributing to longer wait times for service appointments. The CSI study surveys owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles to gauge their happiness with service at franchised dealer or aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work. The criteria in order of importance are service quality (32%); service advisor (19%); vehicle pick-up (19%); service facility (15%); and service initiation (15%). Lexus retains the top spot for luxury brands, giving it three wins in four years. The Japanese automaker won in 2020 as well, its run interrupted by Porsche in 2021. Cadillac, Infiniti and Acura complete the luxury top 5.  For mass-market cars, Mitsubishi wins again after a victory in 2021 and falling to fourth last year. It's followed by Mazda, Buick, Subaru and Mini.  Considering the different service needs and service experience of different body styles, the study has broken results out by segment for the first time. Lexus earned a second victory thanks to winning the premium SUV segment, and Mitsubishi earned a second victory by winning the mass-market SUV/minivan category.

Subaru executive casts doubt on manual transmission future

Some disconcerting news for Subaru fans has come out from the Geneva Motor Show. Subaru's U.K. managing director told Auto Express that he doesn't see the manual transmission as having a future at the automaker. He explained that the company is really focusing on safety, and in turn Subaru's Eyesight technology. As a refresher, that system uses stereo cameras to enable features such as automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. The feature isn't currently available on manual-equipped Subarus, and the executive said he wasn't sure if the system was compatible. And with Subaru's push for safety and Eyesight, he said that continuing to offer manual cars without the system could undermine that push. This sounds dire at first, but we shouldn't panic yet. First, this is just an executive for Subaru's U.K. branch, not for the global company or the U.S., and car companies don't have the same offerings everywhere. For example, the Crosstrek is only offered with a CVT in Europe, but here in America – land of the free, home of the clutch – Subaru offers a six-speed manual. So, while it is possible that certain regions will have reduced or no manual options, that doesn't mean it would be across the board. View 22 Photos And even if Subaru decided it would phase out manual transmissions on most of its mainline cars, as it did with the Legacy, we can't imagine the company abandoning the transmission for its performance cars. WRX and STI fans would riot in the streets, possibly on their way to buy a next-generation Focus RS or Golf R, and the BRZ, a car built around the idea of driver engagement, wouldn't survive in a market with the Miata. Subaru may want to improve safety, but they're still a for-profit company, and sales of its performance cars would surely tank without a manual option. One more reason not to fret is that, while Subaru doesn't currently have a manual-compatible suite of semi-autonomous safety features, that doesn't mean it's impossible. As it so happens, Mazda offers low-speed automatic emergency braking as a standard feature on all its models in every trim. Mazda also has higher-speed emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control as options, and they are compatible with manual transmission cars. You can order up a top trim Mazda3 Grand Touring with a manual transmission right now. Keeping all this in mind, we think it's highly unlikely that Subaru will abandon the manual transmission.

Driving the 2024 Lexus GX and Land Rover Defender 130 | Autoblog Podcast #818

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. We kick off the week by reviewing cars we've been driving, including the new Lexus GX, Land Rover Defender 130 Outbound, Jaguar F-Pace, Hyundai Kona and our long-term Subaru WRX. Next, we break down the best wagons of the 21st century, before discussing the Audi Sport RS6 GT. Finally, we discuss a bit of the 2024 Chicago Auto Show. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #818 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2024 Lexus GX 2024 Land Rover Defender 130 2024 Jaguar F-Pace 2024 Hyundai Kona Long-term 2023 Subaru WRX Audi reveals the ultra-limited 2025 RS 6 GT 2024 Chicago Auto Show Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: 2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail is a more capable off-roader and looks the part