Hey, there! Log in / Register

Globe review says the 2019 Subaru Forrester is the perfect car for homeless people

Yeah, yeah, the car section of the Sunday Globe is all ads and ad-related filler material, so maybe we shouldn't blame the newsroom for this review (published on paper today, but online last month), but still:

Suppose you’ve been kicked out of your apartment because you can’t pay the rent.

It’s not unlikely given the federal minimum wage is a mere $7.25 an hour. That’s $15,080 annually, or 91 percent less than a congressman’s $174,000 salary. Although at $84 an hour, members of Congress earn far less than most bloodless, uncaring, multi-millionaire, robber baron CEOs.

Still, should this happen, you’d want to own the redesigned, fifth-generation 2019 Subaru Forester crossover; its roof is engineered to hold 700 pounds when parked. Knowing that you can pitch a tent on top of your car means you’ll never be homeless.

Did nobody at the Globe actually read this before it got their publishing imprimatur? Like, maybe ask how a homeless person making minimum wage is going to pay for a car that starts around $25,000? Or even talk to Kevin Cullen (yeah, that Kevin Cullen?) about the column he just wrote about the guy who was homeless because he couldn't afford rent and got beaten to death?

Or maybe I'm the last person to actually read the articles in the Globe car section and so am getting all het up over nothing since nobody else will ever read this review?

Topics: 
Free tagging: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

Aside from that being tone-deaf and obnoxious, I'm not sure it's even great advice. I would suggest living in a panel van over a tent on top of a Subaru. People living this way have done some clever things to make a lite RV of sorts. Plus you can stealth camp in urban settings without anyone realizing you're living in the van. I'm thinking a tent on top of a Subaru just might draw attention.

up
Voting closed 0

I'm not getting how this is tone deaf at all... there's no suggestion in the review that homeless people should go out and buy 2019 Subarus to live in. The premise of the review is that any of us can imagine ourselves losing our job and getting evicted, the same way any of us can dream about winning Powerball. So, here's a ridiculous idea we can insert into our fantasies.

"Tone deaf" has become an overused label for things we want to feel offended by.

up
Voting closed 0

Tone deaf because nobody in such precarious financial straits would be shelling out for a new station wagon - let alone someone earning the minimum.

This a car for someone who is many more than one paycheck away from losing their housing.

up
Voting closed 0

He sold his house and is doing the traveling thing for a couple of years. He was/is a moderately famous person in his field - founded a couple of companies, wrote a column in a major magazine, was on panels at trade conferences, etc.

Wouldn't even take extra mugs at a trade show because he doesn't want more junk in the van.

More power to him I say.

up
Voting closed 0

After reading the piece, it seems to be either a failed attempt at humor or a cry for help from a burned-out former journalist who has been forced to scrape for work from "Tribune Content Solutions."

up
Voting closed 0

up
Voting closed 0

Or just looking to score a job at Vox

up
Voting closed 0

What's the difference?

up
Voting closed 0

Maybe a little bit of bad taste, but I don't think they intended to be offensive, and its not worth getting all worked up over.

up
Voting closed 0

n/t

up
Voting closed 0

to withstand rollover crashes (due to high center on gravity of popular high SUV-type vehicles), not camping or transporting furniture.

up
Voting closed 0

Subies already have amazing roof strength because they fully expect that the people who drive them are going to load up the roof with wild abandon.

I'm very happy that mine will take on my thule roof box and a 80lb double kayak without concern. But I wouldn't camp on the roof for any number of reasons - I'm short enough to sleep in the vehicle and leave the boat and storage box on top.

And, yes, it is tasteless to call the thing an alternative micro home. There are better vehicles if you are going to do that on purpose.

up
Voting closed 0

This is why I don't bother reading past the hard news, front page articles about women who wear coats in the winter.

up
Voting closed 0

They "succumb" to them, the Globe tut-tuts.

up
Voting closed 0

I kind of love this. It's a little tone deaf (not to say outright offensive) if the idea is that it's pitched at homeless people or that it's actually about homeless people and pitched at the rich. But that's not what this is. This is a car for the upper-middle class and the audience for the piece is the same. It's got real facts! That you should really be pissed about! And it's funny! Somebody get this writer a job writing about something other than cars! Somebody get him a class warfare trophy, and a sarcasm medal. And somebody get Adam a brand new Forester for being the last remaining human to read the Cars section!

up
Voting closed 0

Someone should start a Facebook group to get this reviewer fired. My thoughts and prayers go out to homeless people or those about to lose their home (except if they lost their job because they got #metoo'd).

This reviewer is tone deaf. A Subaru doesn't even come close to the utility a homeless person would get for a Ford Econoline van. You can get an Econoline with a hot plate much cheaper and use the extra money to buy suits for job interviews.

up
Voting closed 0

Your thoughts and prayers aren't going to keep anyone warm or fed.

up
Voting closed 0

He is clearly not working on salary.

There is a whole new class of working homeless people that no one here seems to be aware of. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/google-employe...

When rent is 3k per month, you are spending 36K a year. There are a growing number of people that despite having a decent job, can't afford to rent (much less buy). As strange as it seems buying a car to live in is a better investment then renting an apartment. The article i referenced is overly positive point of view. There are many people in California camping in parks and living in cars.

That being said, a forrester would be a bad choice. Despite the fact that it can support the weight, pitching your tent on top of a car is not optimal. Most of the successful people doing this are selecting used cargo vehicles that are tall enough to stand in, and has windows that can be covered for privacy.

I don't know what you think writers like this get paid, but he might be living in his car already. This comment is pretty tone deaf to the real cause of homelessness. Paying more than half your salary for rent equals living paycheck to paycheck. And when you living paycheck to paycheck, you are only 2 weeks away from homelessness at any time with no end in sight. When you are paying towards something you own then whatever you are risking there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Not so with rent. We need to create more (truly, not subsidized) affordable housing alternatives. Micro apartments are an answer to this. Also Boarding houses don't have to be dangerous and unsafe, they can be licensed safe and clean.

up
Voting closed 0

Why should a homeless person buy a 2019 Forrester? How about be sensible and buy a 2015, and use the savings to buy food/gas. That's how Americans get into debt, buying things they can't afford.

up
Voting closed 0

A 2015 Forester is 20k. No homeless person can buy that in cash. And remember if you have credit, the interest rate on new cars is much better than even late model.

Subaru is a very dependable safe brand. Even old subaru's are safe and dependable. If you have to drive to work in bad weather or conditions, a subaru can be a economical choice.

If you are planning to live in car and have 20k to invest then you will be better off in something that you can stand up in and cover the windows. There is whole industry for outfitting cargo van's as mini homes.

up
Voting closed 0

Printz is a syndicated columnist. He doesn't work for the Glob. The Glob pays him to run his articles, along with dozens of other papers and magazines. He lives in Florida, and it probably wouldn't affect his bottom line much if the Glob stopped running his columns. He'd still reach more than 8 million readers daily.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/author/larry-printz

It is pretty tasteless to joke about being homeless. He should have found another way to call attention to the roof feature.

up
Voting closed 0

It is a clever device that elevates an ordinary review into the realm of literature. Well, maybe not not that high, but certainly to the mezzanine.

up
Voting closed 0