my friend just bought an outback. it has an automatic car starter. When she starts it and it's running, when she opens the door, the engine stops and she has to start it again. That's seems pointless,

talk to your dealer...then cash it in on an earlier model that did not have this "improvement"~

reminds me of the Ralph Nader seatbelt interlock of 1974 such that you could not start the car or take it out of the garage without the seatbelts on...phooey on that.....in the name of safety what? pop-N-win airbags~ need I say more?

Automatic car starters are more to warm your car in the cold or run your A/C in the hot before you get into it, not to prevent you from having to turn the key. Not only is it a safety feature, but if your car is automatic the car mechanically would not let you put it in gear without turning the key anyway.