^Iortlanb (Obscrucr
May 7. 2008
I P o r ila n J O b s e r v e r A u f © R
C V IC W
Page B 7
News and reviews on new motor vehicles
2008 Subaru Legacy
controls on the steering wheel. W'hile the
front seats offer excellent side bolstering
in corners, on long trips can be a little
uncomfortable. The Legacy 2.5 G T Spec. B
com es with leather-trim m ed seating that
feature stylish Alcantara inserts that give
a look o f suede but feel closer to cloth.
The electrolum inescent gauge cluster
provides a stylish touch to the instrument
panel. The inform ation screen is located in
tachom eter and controlled using buttons
on the low er part o f the steering wheel.
One aspect that seems redundant in the
cluster is the MPG gauge. W hile the gauge
does give quick and easy view o f the ca r's
instant miles per gallon, the same thing
can be tracked digitally using the inform a­
tion system. Its m ere presence is alm ost
comical w atching it su in g from the plus
(good mpg) to the m inus (bad mpg).
Known for its safety, the 2008 Subaru
Legacy received the highest rating from
both the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance
Institute for I lighway Safety (11HS) for fron­
tal, side and rear impact protection. Key
aspects to the Legacy's safety include seat-
mounted airbags and whiplash-protecting
active headrests for the front passengers
and roof-mounted side airbag curtain for all
outboard passengers.
With an as-tested price o f $35,730, the
Legacy is rather pricey when com pared to
its competition but few other m id-size se­
dans leave a driver smiling after tight S-
curved roads.
2.5 GT spec. B
Specifications' 2.5-
Liter 243-hp @ 241
Ib-ft. torque DOHC
Intercooled Turbo
engine; 6-speed Si-
Drive m anual trans­
m ission; AWD: 1 7-City
24-Highway MPG;
$ 3 5 .7 3 0 . MSRP
The Turbo Legacy
B y K athleen C arr
The problem with expectations is the
sole fact that they exist. Throw a turbo­
charged boxer engine, a six-speed manual
transm ission and a sport-tuned suspen­
sion together and many drivers may ex­
pect the latest perform ance car from
Porsche.
O ne car nobody w ould expect is the
2(X)8 Subaru Legacy 2.5 G T Spec.B. The
Legacy is constantly outshined by its
rally-inspired stable-m ate, the Impreza
W RX STI, but with its 243-horespower Hat
fourengine and symmetrical all-wheel drive,
the Legacy is more than capable to hold its
own. In com bining the horizontally op­
posed engine and Subaru’s Sym m etrical
A ll-W heel drive system, Subaru has cre­
ated one o f the most balanced m id-sized
cars on the market. Drivers can expect to
race from 0 to 60 mph in about five and a
h alf seconds.
The G T spec. B Legacy adds several
perform ance enhancem ents to the the well-
equipped G T Limited trim. In addition to
G T features like a Morno steering wheel,
electrolum inescent gauges, and Si-D rive,
the spec. B includes upgraded Torsen
lim ited-slip differential, a stability control
system , sp o rt-tu n ed su sp en sio n w ith
Bilstein dam pers, 18-inch alloy wheels,
perform ance tires and alloy-trim m ed ped­
als covers. T he spec. B also gets a lower
stance thanks to a ground effects kit. A
navigation system is also standard.
The sm oothness o f the Boxer engine is
achieved by having the pistons counter­
act each o th e r's force by reaching top
dead center at the sam e tim e. This com ­
bined with the low center o f gravity af­
forded to flat-style engines, gives the
Legacy stellar handling capabilities. Un­
like other all-wheel drive vehicles, Subaru's
Sym m etrical A ll-W heel drive offers a 50/
50 torque distribution between the front
and rear. The Spec. B 'sonly available trans­
m ission is a six-speed m anual and this
specific car cam e equipped with the o p ­
tional ($45 1) short-throw shifter that made
driving the car even more fun.
The L egacy’s SI-D R IV E allow s the
driver to sw itch between three driving
m odes. Intelligent ( I ), Sport (S ) and Sport
Sharp (S#), that fine tunes the engine
perform ance and throttle response . The
driver controls the SI-D R IV E setting us­
ing either a dial near the gear shifter or by
using buttons located on the steering
wheel. The Intelligent mode optim izes fuel
econom y. The Sport and Sport Sharp
m odes noticeably tune the perform ance
capabilities o f the Legacy especially in
reference to throttle response.
Not one to grab too much attention, the
L egacy’s design is unique but doesn't
stand out too much. T he pillar-less doors
and functional hood scoop definitely add
character to the L egacy. The lower stance,
10-spoke w heels and projector beam
headlam ps gives an aggressive look to the
Spec.B model.
A throaty note o f the exhaust under
acceleration is sim ilar to many tuner cars
- making dow nshifting and heavy accel­
eration very enjoyable. The 100-watt, six
speaker audio system also helps to pro­
vide excellent listening enjoyment. C on­
veniently controllable from the steering
wheel, the audio system features a six-disc
CD changer with M P3/W M A capability
and A UX input.
Inside, the layout o f the interior is very
simplistic and useful featuring touch screen
navigation within an easy reach and basic
Veteran’s Needed
Home Repair Done
Ray and Dina Clark plan on getting a new lease on life aftervolunteers
came to help the family m ake badly needed repairs to their home.
More than 6 0 volunteers made about $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 worth o f repairs to a veteran M arine's Portland home through a charitable event
organized by Sears, Sovereign Construction, Hands On Greater Portland and Rebuilding Together.
m other’s day
Mailbox Food Drive Saturday
Letter carriers to collect donations
C lose to 3,(XX) letter carriers in Oregon and
C lark C o unty, W ash, will help Stam pout Hun­
ger on Saturday, May 10, by collecting dona­
tions of nonperishable food from postal cus­
tom ers w hile delivering the mail.
T he letter-carriers food drive is the largest
single-day food drive in the state. In this time
o f econom ic difficulties, donations to the O r­
egon Eood Bank are down w hile dem and for
food is up.
The food collected during the National A s­
sociation o f Letter Carriers Food Drive helps
the Oregon Food Bank Network serve the es­
tim ated I92,(XX) people who eat meals from
em ergency food boxes in an average month. O f
those, nearly 72,(XX) are children. T h at's the
equivalent o f 160 elem entary schools each
month.
Studies show that children who are hungry
have more trouble learning in school and may
face irreversible health problem s later in life,
such as hypertension, diabetes and heart dis­
ease.
“Food drives like National Association of
LetterCarriers provide a critical source o f much
needed nutritious, shelf-stable food,” says
Rachel Bristol, the focxl b an k 's executive direc­
tor and CEO.
Wed., April 3ftr- Sur
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____________ THE_____________
SPINAlCOLUMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Americas natural healing profession
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 17. Understanding Pain:
Why do you have it? How can you get rid of it?
: My friend constantly lakes and nervous system . W hen the health in other areas o f the body
pills. I'v e tried to convince body yells, “Fire!" and you experi­ as well. O ur specialty is finding
her to see a Chiropractor. Can you
ence pain; it is trying to get your the cause o f your problem and
m ake any suggestions?
attention that it is being injured. taking care o f it, painlessly, w ith­
: You might try asking your When there is stress in the nervous out d ru g s...Ju s t as nature in­
friend this: “ If you heard a system, this is a serious problem.
tended. If you suffer from pain,
fire alarm going offin the middle o f The nervous system controls stop pulling the alarm wires from
the night, would you call the Eire every other function o f the body the walls. Together, we can put
D epartment or would you
and left untreated can cause ill- the fire o u t.. .for good!
Yank the wires out o f the wall
and calmly go hack to sleep?"
You see, pain is your nervous
system 's lire alarm. Painpillsm ay
2124 N.E. Hancock Street, Portland Oregon 97212
alleviate the pain but will do noth­
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 *5 5 0 4
ing to take the stress off the spine
Q
A
T erry
• Cremations
• Pre-arrangements
Portland's Newest Funeral Home
Serving the Metropolitan Area.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
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2337 N. W illiam s Ave.
Portland. OR ‘»7227
V
Available 24 hours a day
503-249-1788