Shopping for a car: IT’S VETERANS DAY!

Shopping for a car:

IT’S VETERANS DAY!

Austin-based contributor Alan Pease is often thinking about a new car, and that new car is most often a Subaru…or two! Below, he’s provides an update on his current thinking, along with a ‘call to action’ for those of you considering a new purchase soon. We’re on the cusp of Veterans Day, and while our collective attention should be paid to the Vets and their sacrifice, TVs will instead be focused on the ‘once-in-a-lifetime, never to be repeated’ deals. That’s where consumerism is today, for better…or worse. The Ed.

For some folks, shopping is a chore. But for people like me, it’s Christmas! “You can have anything you want. You just can’t have everything you want,” was told to me by a friend, who passed away earlier this year; he would have been 90 this past August. 

As I suspected they would, the deals are only getting better on Subaru’s BRZ, Outback and the WRX – Subaru is trying to clear them out. The company is sitting on a sh*tload of inventory in all three models. And the Veterans Day weekend begins this Friday! So combine the end of the month of October with Veterans Day weekend and the excitement (for consumers) should be palpable. 

Now I’m again giving more thought to a new Outback, either the Onyx XT or the Wilderness. The all-new, more SUV-ish 2026 seems to lack individuality in its looks, at least from the limited pics I’ve seen. But then it’s probably more practical than the 2025. It’s a box – not a missile.

I just put a new timing belt on my ’11 Outback, and it’s a lot of fun to drive again. I’ll need to get the synchronizers worked on at some point, and when I do that I’ll probably put in a short throw shifter. Plus, unless I move out of Travis County I’m going to fail emissions – probably sooner rather than later. But the ‘11 remains a hoot to drive! And I’m driving 500+ miles a week roundtrips to and from SA. And the dog loves it!  

I’d like to say that boxy shapes don’t appeal to me. But I’d be a liar. I drove the ultimate boxy shapes for 26 years. The ‘747 of the highway, Chevrolet’s Suburban. 

But today I’d like something smaller. Not because I think Suburbans are too big, even though they probably are too big. But because they ruined Suburbans and their siblings by stuffing them full of, well…extra stuff I neither need nor want: sound proofing, captains chairs and drop-down entertainment screens. 

The beauty of the old Suburbans was their cavernous interior and 42-gallon fuel tank. Go anywhere! Take anything! I once folded the second row of seats down and put two new Ikea sofas in the ‘96 and then drove home from Houston to Austin. Plus, I could drive from Austin to El Paso without refueling. 

I’m not your average driving advocate. I LOVE to drive. Almost anything. And ride almost anywhere.