The '21-'22 ski season was the busiest ever per the NSAA!

[snoseek]

My only gripe with at least the impreza is the body has alot of plastic that's just a little too fragile and the paint seems cheap as well. Then again it's a 20k car new off the lot

 

[thebigo]

My forester was the biggest piece of shit car I have ever owned. Burned oil from new, clutch went around 75K miles, resetting the check engine light was a regular exercise, etc. There was a laundry list of ridiculous issues that I do not care to remember. Rav 4 and Highlander purchased since have been bulletproof. Highlander has been as good or better than the forester in the snow and dirt roads during mud season.

Edit - just remembered the biggest issue. After around 50K miles the check engine light would activate and disable the cruise control every time I gassed up. I used to carry around a screw driver to disconnect the battery in ski area parking lots.

 

[jaytrem]

I have a forester and with snows its a tank. Also never heard anyone call a Subaru overrated in any capacity

My friend had the Outback head gasket issue under 100K, as expected, so I guess they're not over or under rated. He even mention the issue to me when he was buying it. Got 383K out of my last 4runner. Was time for a new one, too many little issues popping up.

 

[snoseek]

My good friend owns a foreign auto shop and claims that subaru has gotten a better handle on the head gasket thing in the past couple years

 

[Newpylong]

Isn't one mandatory to live in many VT counties? Lol

 

[drjeff]

Isn't one mandatory to live in many VT counties? Lol

Don't they put green license plates on them prior to loading them on the boat to be shipped to the US?

 

[machski]

Makes me miss my wife's TDI. Car only cost us $26K new in 2011, got > 50 GPM constantly. The dieselgate buyback made it tough to keep it though at what they gave us.

Do miss our two as well, but my wife got pretty much every penny the car cost with 40K on it in the recall deal. Couldn't pass that up. And both of ours suffered the intercooler icing issue as well beyond and prior to dieselgate.

 

[JimG.]

Really? We are on our 4th. First two went 150K with no issues and then traded them in for 7K and 10K for new outbacks both around $30K price. With snow tires they go anywhere and kick ass. I disagree with your opinon watching my friends issues with Toyotas, Nisans, Fords and Chevys.

I agree with you Hawk. My family has had 5 Subarus and all of them got over 200,000 miles before they were retired. Never had the dreaded head gasket issue. My wife's 19 Outback seems bulletproof. Still driving my 11 Legacy with 6-speed just clicked over 250,000. Thing drives and sounds like new.

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

I'm 50/50 with Subarus. I had an 04 WRX that was lightly modified and ran almost perfectly for close to 200k over 14 years. After that I had an 07 Impreza for most of 2018. It had ~100k on it and had the infamous head gasket leak. Was happy to dump that car even at a hefty loss. But the WRX... nothing short of black ice ever made me nervous in that thing. Loved that car!

 

[thetrailboss]

Interestingly enough I talked to a person at Snowbird today who is on the board for Ski Utah. He said out here guest visits were still not at pre-covid levels.

Personally I'm getting nervous about inflation/recession for next season. Money I make from locals pay the bills, but it's the money from the tourists that buy the new skis, new boots, pay for spring ski vacations, etc.

IIRC 2018-2019 was a highwater mark for Ski Utah.

 

[Smellytele]

Just found a picture of drjeff

 

[Harvey]

$200 is ridiculous.

Based on what?

 

[Harvey]

If you thought it was busy this year, you were correct.

https://nsaa.org/webdocs/media_public/press/2021-22/2022_May_SkierVisits.pdf

The first time ever skier/rider visits tracked by the NSAA hit 61 million for the season!

These numbers are good, but IMO not amazing.

On the upside, the years that were close to this number in the past were good snow years. Across the US this year? Didn't seem to be great.

 

[HowieT2]

in response to all the doom and gloom on here and fwiw, in 2020 the US installed 20 gigawatts of solar capacity. Slightly more in 2021. once its online, the cost of generating the electricity is obviously minimal.

 

[drjeff]

in response to all the doom and gloom on here and fwiw, in 2020 the US installed 20 gigawatts of solar capacity. Slightly more in 2021. once its online, the cost of generating the electricity is obviously minimal.

I thnk the bigger issue with solar, especially in more wooded areas like the Northeast is, is that for generation on the scale that is needed, that often requires acres of land to be covered with panels. Where are those acres coming from, since there tends to be a bunch of opposition to large scale tree cutting in the Northeast for sure? Are we taking over/away farmland? Golf is booming as a result of COVID, so not too many course owners may consider selling to a solar company, let alone could the solar company get it through zoning to install? Then it gets down to how many roofs or other structures you can get panels on to create an extensive enough generation capacity.

One of the issues with solar and wind large scale power generation capacity, ironically enough may very well be in some places the same environmentalists groups calling for more renewable energecy generation capability may also be blocking the zoning/permitting for various sites to be developed because of other environental concerns they may have. It's like the old dog chasing it's own tail thing at times

 

[Smellytele]

a few years back I heard about a technology that they could make roads out of some sort of solar panels...

Must have been another pipe dream

 

[Andrew B.]

I thnk the bigger issue with solar, especially in more wooded areas like the Northeast is, is that for generation on the scale that is needed, that often requires acres of land to be covered with panels. Where are those acres coming from, since there tends to be a bunch of opposition to large scale tree cutting in the Northeast for sure? Are we taking over/away farmland? Golf is booming as a result of COVID, so not too many course owners may consider selling to a solar company, let alone could the solar company get it through zoning to install? Then it gets down to how many roofs or other structures you can get panels on to create an extensive enough generation capacity.

One of the issues with solar and wind large scale power generation capacity, ironically enough may very well be in some places the same environmentalists groups calling for more renewable energecy generation capability may also be blocking the zoning/permitting for various sites to be developed because of other environental concerns they may have. It's like the old dog chasing it's own tail thing at times

Funny you mention golf courses. The local course I grew up playing, nice little public course with remnants of the Donald Ross initial designed ~6 holes, has applied for permits to go solar. Initial response from the town was positive but I am hearing that may be evolving.

 

[drjeff]

a few years back I heard about a technology that they could make roads out of some sort of solar panels...

Must have been another pipe dream

Saw a report on the news recently about that. Installation costs for those panels on a bike path in Holland if I recall correctly, was something like 5 million a mile (or maybe a kilometer as it was in Europe).

Cost is a factor.

 

[drjeff]

Funny you mention golf courses. The local course I grew up playing, nice little public course with remnants of the Donald Ross initial designed ~6 holes, has applied for permits to go solar. Initial response from the town was positive but I am hearing that may be evolving.

There's actually a former golf course adjacent to the Eastbound lanes of the Mass Pike in between exits 8 and 9 maybe a mile or so East of the DOT garage that stopped being a golf course and was converted into a solar farm maybe 5yrs ago.

And as an avid golfer, and big fan of Donald Ross courses, anything but the restoration and proper maintenance of any of his gems is sacrilegious in my mind!

 

[shpride]

Capped dumps seem to be a great place for solar. Wide open and very little other uses.