I love my Ice Silver Subaru Forester. It’s logged 70,000 miles and is seven years old.

In 2018, I traded a 2014 version because I wanted the ‘new’ blind spot detector technology.

I shopped around, whittling my choices to a Buick Encore and the Forester. Both had the detector, and to my surprise, the Encore had better gas mileage.

However, when I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, all my father’s Republican friends drove Buicks, as did he. Today, some of my best friends are Republicans, and they drive Buicks.

I test drove the Encore. It did everything right and was cheaper.

Could I be a Buick owner? After all, my first Forester’s right rear wheel bearing went out at 40,000 miles, which is unusual.

Yesterday, my mechanic removed this failed left rear wheel bearing.

After replacing the right one three years ago.

At forty thousand miles.

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