They say it ain’t so, but yet it is…

Driving a car, SUV or truck using three peddles seems to be a thing of the past much like listening to reel to reel tapes. Unfortunately in my case I still listen to reel to reel as well as old 78s on my gramophone and I therefore wish to continue driving a manual vehicle.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to find a manual car and when you do they punish you by not offering and premium features and finish. In fact next year Subaru will not offer a manual transmission in their Legacy or Outback so if you had it in mind to get one of these you best place your orders immediately.

In the case of my Forester I ordered a manual at the top-level called  “Touring Edition”. It came nicely equipped but leather seats and a premium sound system were just not an option. To get these one would have to sacrifice the 6-speed manual transmission for the CVT transmission. I believe it is a Grand Conspiracy by the automotive and environmental organizations to gently nudge us away from driving manual and accept a very fuel efficient CVT transmission with automatic driving features so that in five to fifteen years most cars will drive themselves for the most part.

Nope, I will remain the small percentage of persons who actually drive their own car (until they take my license away).

So I decided to take action and add the features I wanted to this brand new Forester 2017 and the hell with the nudge!

1. I changed the tires from the stock Geolander which are terrible in the rain to the new Michelin Premiere A/C which has their new wet driving technology. Click the link to learn about this new technology. They are a bit pricey but I do believe they are worth it in the long run.
2. I added XPEL Protective wrap to the front bumper, hood, fenders and the rear view mirrors to protect the Forester from rock and salt chips.
3. I ordered Weathertech car mats front, back and in the trunk compartment.
4. I added a Thule Roof Rack for the canoe.
5. I added Polk Audio Upgraded speakers and tweeter and a JL Subwoofer.
6. I had installed the latest and greatest Clarion NX807 that has everything one could desire including apple and google car play, HD Video, Navigation and Excellent Speech Activation.
7. Finally, I had leather seats by Katzkin installed. I matched the colors to the interior and added some custom stitching.

Everything was completed yesterday. I picked up the Forester from the leather seat installers and now all I have to do is enjoy my new Forester.

Have a Look:

Oh Yes, My Phonograph…