Subaru: Gettin' tough in the countryside

The new Subaru ad that I heard the other day on the radio has me sputtering.

And wondering. I'll be interested to see if there's an irate reaction from the groups that are trying to get more kids away from their computers or TVs and out into the real world.

The guy in the ad talks about how he takes the kids for a drive in the country every spring. This is so they can see the trees and other greenery budding and coming into bloom. Nice start.

But he acts like this is an expedition into dangerous territory.

It sounds like they go out in the rain, for instance. Gee! What intrepid explorers. But other than being kind of stupid -- you can't see much in a downpour -- is it really something that you need a special car for?

And they sometimes encounter mud. Mud! Holy cow! What brave adventurers.

The guy says his Subaru is so wonderful that it might even be able to take on a meteor shower.

See? Another danger of venturing into the outdoors. Falling rocks! Better stay inside, kids.

Is this what nature defecit disorder has wrought?

The way I see it, the possibility of getting wet, muddy and seeing shooting stars sounds just about perfect.