By Zachary Harmuth
Think about the car you (or your teenager) drive, and the day you bought it. What made the car sitting in your garage tonight, specifically, more valuable than all the other cars that could be, but are not, in its place? What about it mattered most- power, price, gas mileage, resale, speed, lifespan, appearance, safety or something else?
Most people probably strike a balance between several competing factors that they see as even, placing for example price and safety above gas mileage and longevity; then ending up with whatever car that compromises between a Prius, a Pick-up and a Porsche.
But if you drive a Subaru Legacy or Outback, whether you know it or not, what you value most is safety and resale value. Those two models rank, respectively, as the first and second safest cars on the road in the country, according to results of a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. And Subarus in general hold their value better than any other automobile, at least in Williamson County, according to a senior salesman at Darrell Waltrip Subaru Dealership in Franklin.
As we near November, with the overnight low dipping down to 35 degrees last week, even the most stubbornly summer-loving and short-sleeved among us will soon be throwing on a sweatshirt before lighting up the grill or fiddling sadly with the pool cover.
Fall, of course, provides a wonderful break in the heat but also warns of coming winter weather, and the potentially dangerous driving conditions that snow, rain and nighttime temperatures below freezing bring.
Add to that mix the 5,000 or so Williamson County teens who, according to tn.gov, reach the legal driving age every year and who for the first time will be driving alone, and a lot, with their new-found freedom-
As a result, since 2003, in the county accidents have occurred significantly more often in the winter and among drivers between 16 and 24 years old.
In fact, in Williamson County, over the past 10 years almost as many accidents happened in the three winter months (December through February) as happened in the other nine months combined, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety.
Over that same time period, drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 wrecked almost 25 percent more often than any other age group.
Auto safety means two things, really: How much less likely a car is to get in an accident at all, and if it does get into one, how much less likely it is that the driver or any passengers get hurt.
Subaru more or less follows the strategy that a good offense is the best defense, loading up on features that reduce the risk of an accident. Such as its industry-unique symmetric all (not four) wheel drive system, which gives the Outback and Legacy four times more traction and control than any comparable car (and comparably reducing the chance of hydroplane or skidding on black ice by 75 percent). Also the collision avoidance system and auto-braking on the Outback and Legacy proved more effective than any other automaker’s car.
“Subaru means complete safety, all across the board,” Wayne Marshall, a senior salesman at Franklin Darrell Waltrip Dealerships, who sells Subarus and various other makes, said. “They hold their value and are the most reliable cars out there, which is the reason they have such high resale value.”
So whatever you value in a car, Subaru values safety and reliability.
