The messenger was Shot.

I just wanted to let you all know that Subaru of America is a strong fan of censorship. I was working for their distribution company and trying to help people on this site. a few months ago, I posted something about how fast the cars are and their ability to corner, etc. Apparently some Subaru exec. saw this and was upset that the cars were being "abused". I didn't even work directly for Subaru. I lost my job anyway though. I lost my job for posting on this NON- SOA affiliated site. I tried to help people whenever I could on here and they ignored that. I think that I have been done wrong. If you think so, let SOA know that orpie_lightfoot did not do anything warranting dismissal, and that they made a bad decision. I was dismissed solely for posting on this site- no other work related incidents. They assumed that since I said I drove the cars rather fast (which was an exaggeration) I was worthless to them. I stopped driving and started doing quality inspection a couple months ago. They believed a post on this site over me, an employee who was always at work and ready to go the extra mile. I'm sorry this is off subject and can be moved if that would be more suitable. I'm sorry I won't be that much help anymore. I just wanted to let you all know what happened. enjoy your cars. orpie_lightfoot

Worst news sence I started interest in Subaru. Taking you at your word, that posts on this site was only cause for dismisal, that stinks. You should post link to SOA, with your X company name so SOA knows who we are talking about. Make it easy for everyone that was helped by you to let SOA know your impact on Leg GT confidence confidence building. They have this entire thing bassakward. Your positive comments and enthusiasm for the product, as an insider, was a factor that contributed to my confidence in a first year car and a brand that I have not owned before. I am the target Subaru was shooting for. I own a BMW, Volvo and had an Audi. I have ordered my LegGT/Ltd with short shifter and homelink mirror, thanks in part to you. If you were not advised by your mgmt that you should not participate in this type of activity and if you did not sign something that stated you would provide info from work that your company or its customer wanted to control, you may have a wrongfull termination case. I bet you did get some notice and signed something that covers employer in this case, but maybe not. Hey, good luck and thanks. I always looked for your posts and gtguy's grumpy posts to read first.

Sorry to hear that man. I would talk to a lawyer if I were you, unless, of course, you could care less about losing a job that might have meant something to you. I always welcomed your help, and support. Good luck in the near future... SOA can be a real pain in the u know where, sometimes. This time, it turned out to be for the worse. Again, good luck, and hope something brighter and better comes from this! peace, i.

i will not buy a Legacy until Orpie gets his job back.

[quote] I have driven hundreds of legacys (both GT and non) at high speeds through a parking lot, which is not nearly so even as a highway or test track. At about 90 mph, it does get scary(it's a BIG lot) but name any car that would'nt be scary under these conditions. These cars handle great, and unless a person really doesn't know what they're doing, control should not be a problem. [/quote] Did you work in a distribution point moving cars? Was this what they were angry about?

orpie, I'm really sorry about your job loss. I don't think it's fair that just because you posted about what you did and about your products, you should get fired. It's not like you work at the CIA where you are forbidden to talk about your job. Hopefully you can get a second chance and have your job returned. We appreciate all the insight you have brought to this site regardless. If there is anything else we can do, you are more than welcome to ask. Good luck.

[quote name='Deer Killer'][quote] I have driven hundreds of legacys (both GT and non) at high speeds through a parking lot, which is not nearly so even as a highway or test track. At about 90 mph, it does get scary(it's a BIG lot) but name any car that would'nt be scary under these conditions. These cars handle great, and unless a person really doesn't know what they're doing, control should not be a problem. [/quote] Did you work in a distribution point moving cars? Was this what they were angry about?[/quote] WOW!! That would get somebodies atttention. I find it interesting that they monitor this site. Sorry to hear you lost your job orpie.

[quote name='Legacy_Fan']WOW!! That would get somebodies atttention. I find it interesting that they monitor this site.[/quote] Legacy STi...

[quote name='Deer Killer'][quote] I have driven hundreds of legacys (both GT and non) at high speeds through a parking lot, which is not nearly so even as a highway or test track. At about 90 mph, it does get scary(it's a BIG lot) but name any car that would'nt be scary under these conditions. These cars handle great, and unless a person really doesn't know what they're doing, control should not be a problem. [/quote] Did you work in a distribution point moving cars? Was this what they were angry about?[/quote] If this was indeed the post in question, you're driving customer cars at 90 mph in a parking lot. That constitutes a bit more than driving them "rather fast." If you were exaggerating for the board members, I could see your "exaggeration" comment being pertinent. I can, frankly, see an SOA exec getting bothered about customer cars being flogged before a customer even got them. People within the thread from which the quote was excerpted, also expressed concern about brandy-new cars being treated in such a fashion. Your job loss is a bummer, and I wish you luck in landing on your feet. I do think that you generated much enthusiasm for the product and the car within this site, and the information you provided was appreciated. Kevin

That's BS man- where can I send e-mails/ letters?

was it in your job / appropriate for you to drive the cars like that? were you autherized to 'test' the handling of the new cars? My dealer told me there are a signifigant portion of cars that are delayed because they must repair damage gained in transport. 1 out of every 20 cars he has seen needed dents fixed, or bumpers, etc replaced... Not to mention the 'hidden' damage to the engine, etc if it was red lined over and over in the first few miles. If you were wrongly fired... then shame on SOA.... but if you were fired because you did things you weren't supposed you.. well then you got caught... SOA and the dealers have to spend a lot of $$ to fix these incidents before the customer complains.

I was exaggerating when I typed that, at home, possibly drinking. I would imagine most of the transport damage comes from the truckers and the rail cars. I'm sorry for exaggerating,(especially now) but that also means I was terminated for something I said in a public place, off the clock, at home. It just doesn't seem right. Of the thousands of cars I interacted with, I caused damage to 2, one of which was a small paint chip from a ratchet, and the other also occurred inside the shop. I just figured you'd all want to know. orpie_lightfoot

well.. .then you should be able to find out 'why' you were fired. I don't know where you live.. but most states are an 'at work' state.. meaning you can leave anytime you want.. and your job can fire you anytime they want. even if they fired you 'just because' I can bet with 99% certianty that they have a file on you.. every time you are late, every little thing. Looks better then saying... "he was fired because we don't like him" its" he was fired because of a,b,c,d, ..... "

Y'know what? Orpies' been really helpful and is very knowledgeable. I've enjoyed his posts and although I don't know all the details, it seems very unfair to me. I'm gonna sticky this for a while and let people get a chance to see this. Orpie- who can we write/e-mail to in protest?

That's why everyone says SOA is EXTREMELY conservative to all kinds of matters. We have no doubt about that.

Maby they should just sacrafice a few cars and let the employees have a "track day" with each new model to get it out of their system. They do it for the press, why not the employees.

Hi, It is sad to hear that you have lost your job, probably due to your exaggeration. However, if we think from the company's point of view, should they tolerate staff abusing the cars and then brag about it on public forum? Do we as buyers want to end up with the cars that were "tested"? For example, for us who owns cars, imagine when we send our rides to workshops and the staff there "test" our cars to the limit for their own benefit (and share on pubic forum, of course). What would u do when u discovered this? Though orpie_lightfoot may have been intoxicated when u wrote ur piece, it is a confession/declaration on ur part what u had done, exaggerated or not. Granted that it did generate a lot of interest and enthusiam, but coporates cannot tolerate this type of "publicity" as it is double edged. I doubt smaller retailers will also accomodate this behaviour. There is nothing "stiff" or "conservative" about it. IMHO, orpie_lightfoot had abused the trust the company had in him. If u really feel that u have been wronged, u can always engage a lawyer and fight them for wrongful dismissal/termination. If u know they have a strong case against u, then just learn from this, move on and try not to repeat this again. 8)

[quote name='Vamp']Hi, It is sad to hear that you have lost your job, probably due to your exaggeration. However, if we think from the company's point of view, should they tolerate staff abusing the cars and then brag about it on public forum? Do we as buyers want to end up with the cars that were "tested"? For example, for us who owns cars, imagine when we send our rides to workshops and the staff there "test" our cars to the limit for their own benefit (and share on pubic forum, of course). What would u do when u discovered this? Though orpie_lightfoot may have been intoxicated when u wrote ur piece, it is a confession/declaration on ur part what u had done, exaggerated or not. Granted that it did generate a lot of interest and enthusiam, but coporates cannot tolerate this type of "publicity" as it is double edged. I doubt smaller retailers will also accomodate this behaviour. There is nothing "stiff" or "conservative" about it. IMHO, orpie_lightfoot had abused the trust the company had in him. If u really feel that u have been wronged, u can always engage a lawyer and fight them for wrongful dismissal/termination. If u know they have a strong case against u, then just learn from this, move on and try not to repeat this again. 8)[/quote] I am sorry but I have to agree with the above post - I bet 99% of the people here will do the same as what SoA did (yeah you can lie all you want here, but you cannot lie to yourself). -_- Thank you for all the info, orpie_lightfoot, and wish you the best.

Isn't that a little harsh reaction of SoA? Orpie-lightfoot was telling a "story" in a public place and they took that as a real word? If that is the reason then it is very unfair. I heard about the ships from asia and how the employees drive the cars to get them off the ship. Some "quicker" working is demanded and the drivers don't creep to the parking lots. So I would guess that the distribution company wants their employees to work fast, and that means not to drive slowly with the car. I would also guess that SoA knows very well that this is the kind of "abuse" with transport/distribution but they don't want the customers to know this! :evil: By the way: 90 mph can be achieved without redlining the car or go over 4000 rpm. And whould somebody of us really buy a car with a engine that would break down if taken to the redline before the break in period ??? Think about how many owners did this to their brand new car by incident. (Me too :cry: ) How finally did they find out that is was YOU telling this story? I wish you good luck in finding a better job asap! Don't look back. Obviously it wouldn't be worth it.

Opie, I'm really sorry about you job man. I think you should fight it. Good luck and I hope everything turns out ok for yeah. If it wasn't for people like you, who drummed up enthusiasm for the Legacy, some of us wouldn't be driving Legacy’s right now. - Mike

[quote name='Flo4Legacy']Isn't that a little harsh reaction of SoA? Orpie-lightfoot was telling a "story" in a public place and they took that as a real word? If that is the reason then it is very unfair. I heard about the ships from asia and how the employees drive the cars to get them off the ship. Some "quicker" working is demanded and the drivers don't creep to the parking lots. So I would guess that the distribution company wants their employees to work fast, and that means not to drive slowly with the car. I would also guess that SoA knows very well that this is the kind of "abuse" with transport/distribution but they don't want the customers to know this! :evil: By the way: 90 mph can be achieved without redlining the car or go over 4000 rpm. And whould somebody of us really buy a car with a engine that would break down if taken to the redline before the break in period ??? Think about how many owners did this to their brand new car by incident. (Me too :cry: ) How finally did they find out that is was YOU telling this story? I wish you good luck in finding a better job asap! Don't look back. Obviously it wouldn't be worth it.[/quote] He didn't represent it as a story, however, but rather as real-world driving impressions. Call me naive, but I'd rather not know that someone is flogging my car at 90 mph across a parking lot. Does "fun" take place with consumer cars? Yep, undoubtedly. Should it? No. Absolutely not. My car had seven miles on it at delivery. Were any of those miles hard? Dunno. But Subaru has a right to react in the way that they did, however unfortunate it is for someone. Think about the jobs that many of us have, and the things that are firable offences. Were we to post on a message board of our participation in something that is a firable offence, and our employers found out and fired us, should we really be surprised? We can all agree that orpie_lightfoot did a fine job of drumming up enthusiasm for the car, and answering some questions that some had. But some things should have been reserved for emails or Private Messages. As I wrote earlier, I wish him well in his future efforts. Kevin

Is your name Orpie Lightfoot? If not, my biggest concern is how they found/decided it was you.

Maybe it was some personal information he/she put on the profile page. Maybe orpie visited this page at work, which then they could very easily determine which sites he visited.

[u][b]The MIRANDA Warning for Forum Posters[/b][/u] [b]"Anything you type can and will be used against you in a court of law."[/b] I don't think many people really acknowledge the risks involved with posting anything on an automotive forum (or anywhere on the internet) relating to: -your driving behavior (speeding, drag racing, road rage incidents, etc.) -car accidents you're involved in, especially if they result in some kind of personal injury (whether or not you were at fault) -insurance coverage and disputes -modifications to your car and warranty / dealership issues

LOL - they can try it but I'd like to see it stand up in court. There is no way to prove a statement made on a message board is fact. Every post could be pure fiction, and probably [b]is[/b] in the eyes of the court. Even videos and pictures are meaningless. They could just as well have been doctored, edited, or completely faked. This was proven in another situation a local person was in a year or two ago regarding videos on the web and gung-ho prosecutors.