other sites
cell phone laws
crash tests: 
summary by model, 
nhtsa.gov, safercar.gov, iihs.org; 
Carfax,NADA,KellyBlue Book, Edmunds

Independent Subaru Repair Smart Service, in Shoreline & Mukilteo, Wa

This unofficial independent, unauthorized Subaru research website is designed to help you learn about Subarus. It's not authorized, approved, sponsored, or supported in any way by Subaru or a Subaru dealer anywhere. Information is unconfirmed.
Comments and links have been edited and summarized. All info subject to change, correction, frequent updating.
Send all comments to me, Joe Spitz  (internet sales at a Seattle area Subaru dealer).

An article about the survey above reads, "Female car buyers really gravitated toward smaller, more fuel-efficient cars," said TrueCar analyst Kristen Andersson in a statement. "It was the complete opposite for male buyers, who preferred either a fast, sporty vehicle or more heavy-duty vehicle, like a large truck or SUV."
It's no surprise to find men and women playing to type. But it's worth emphasizing that few of these divides were stark: More than half of Mini buyers are still male, for example, and plenty of women buy Land Rovers and Cadillacs. "While gender preferences amongst the buyers of various automotive brands still exist, the gap is narrowing," TrueCar vice president Jesse Toprak said in a statement. But few will be surprised to hear that more than 88% of those who bought a new Porsche 911 last year were men." read this entire article

5/4 Tribeca comments, from 4 Automobile magazine reviewers. Yes there will be a 2013 Tribeca.
> "Ah, the Subaru Tribeca. This is the strangest product available at a Subaru dealership. You'd be forgiven for forgetting the Tribeca is still on sale since hardly anyone buys them and the product hasn't seen a meaningful update in several years. This nameplate has to be on the do-not-refresh list and I expect it to quietly fade away very soon. Despite its pathetic fuel economy and lack of marketing attention, the Tribeca is reasonably good to drive. There's adequate power, decent body control, and a comfortable ride. The Tribeca does lots of things pretty well, but it doesn't excel in any category. That's just a recipe to be forgotten. Every other vehicle in this segment has some key characteristic that makes it worthy of purchase. The Tribeca is just average to good in every respect except fuel economy, which is a bad place to be worst-in-class these days"
> "....Subaru's Tribeca has registered on the radar of few consumers looking for a mid-size utility vehicle. After spending a weekend with the car, I can understand why. Although there is nothing the Tribeca does poorly, there is not much that it does particularly well. Plus, in appearance and character, there is little about the Tribeca, other than its badge, that says "Subaru." While its vehicles have become more mainstream, the perception of Subaru as a fringe brand is still intact and the Tribeca embodies none of the quirky ruggedness or uniqueness that built the Subaru brand..."
> "The Tribeca is old, with little to recommend it other than Subaru's reputation for quality and reliability. It's an anonymous three-row crossover with a very cramped third-row seat. It's so anonymous that, in a crowded and dark parking lot, I couldn't find it; I saw a glimpse of a grille that could have been it, but I concluded it was a Chrysler Pacifica. I pushed the unlock button on the key fob and what I thought was the Pacifica chirped its horn and flashed its lights, and then I remembered that Subaru had copied the look of the Pacifica when it got rid of the Tribeca's original, ugly, aviation-inspired grille. Is there anything positive to say? Well, yes: the interior ergonomics are excellent; temperature, fan settings, radio dials, etc., all are easy to operate."
>"the Tribeca stands out in our collective memories from its debut back in 2005, when it was supposed to herald both a new naming scheme and face for Subaru. Its original moniker - B9 Tribeca - was shortened to just Tribeca in 2008 at which time is also got a mild facelift to rectify the strange, three-port grille. At least people had been talking about it until the facelift - there's no such thing as bad PR, right? - it's just too bad that the Tribeca went from offensively ugly to offensively anonymous. What the Tribeca does have going for it is that its price undercuts almost all of its three-row crossover competition. Equivalent versions of Honda's Pilot, Toyota's Highlander, and Ford's Explorer all run north of the Tribeca's price tag; only the Hyundai Veracruz and the Dodge Journey come in cheaper". read this entire article

5/3 great PR article for an internet manager in Las Vegas
"During a time when employee turnover is a huge issue, Findlay Automotive Group's director of Internet operations, John Taylor, is a breath of fresh air.  A retired U.S. Air Force veteran, Taylor has been with the automotive giant since February of 1989 when he joined Pete Findlay Oldsmobile Subaru Daihatsu as a sales consultant on Boulder Highway.
"I had been dropping off resumes to get a job as a weather forecaster on either television or radio since that's what I did in the service," Taylor said. "I stopped by to see someone at the RV lot and the person asked me if I wanted to go into the car business. The next thing I knew, I was being interviewed by Findlay Oldsmobile General Manager Rich Abajian (now of Findlay Toyota) and the rest is history.
"My intent was not to go into the car business. When I learned about the possibility of (a) a good income and (b) the health benefits, I decided to give it a try."
...Taylor took over as director of Internet operations in October 2000, opening a new world for himself.  "There was a very small percentage of people shopping for cars on the Internet back in those days," Taylor said . "However, now you can figure that 95 percent of the people walking through the doors have done one to six hours of research online. People today are very schooled when it comes to the car business, so we need to be prepared, for sure." ..."Needless to say, the car business has changed dramatically from the day I first walked onto the lot. As an example, Findlay Automotive Group had 101,129 hits in March of 2011. A year later, that number went to 154,811 hits. The Internet correspondence changes daily," he said. Taylor travels long distances covering 25 stores in Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Utah. "I love working here," Taylor said. "Quite a few of the Findlay employees have been working for the company for more than 20 years. The company promotes from within and it's a great family atmosphere." read the entire article

5/2 a question and answer about dog friendly cars
"Q: Do you think there's any chance of Honda bringing back an updated version of the Element? I just bought a gently used 2008 model and feel as though I've found my vehicular soul mate, mostly because I'm a dog owner and cyclist and love the fact that the back seats are removable. The car seems to have a fairly large following among owners online. —Ann Vick, Redwood City, Calif.
A: Honda says it is not planning to develop a direct replacement for the Element. However, the car maker has been guiding fans of the discontinued vehicle to its new CR-V compact crossover. Of course if you (and your dog) try one out you'll see that the CR-V's interior space isn't as "perfect" for pets, bikes and other gear as the Element's.
Still, your best bet is to try out other small SUVs and crossovers like the CR-V, Subaru Forester and Chevrolet Equinox. There are also capable wagons like the Volkswagen Jetta and Acura TSX that could work if your dog isn't a large breed." read the entire article

4/30 Congress passes new or updated regulations, and studies for future ones,  including standards for Event Data Recorders (EDRs);  brake override systems;  pedal  placement;  electronic components;  pushbutton start systems;  childseat LATCH systems; entertainment systems; rear seatbelt reminders;  child seat crash standards; unattended occupant warning systems.  Subaru is ahead of the curve on many of these features- they are installing brake override systems and event data recorders in new models.
Here is a very brief summary...
> The 112th Congress, 2nd session. March 14, 2012. Bill # S 1813. "An Act To reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes
Subtitle D--Vehicle Electronics and Safety Standards..."
Sec. 31402. Vehicle stopping distance and brake override standard... mitigates unintended acceleration...
Sec. 31403. Pedal placement standard. ... consider a safety standard that would mitigate potential obstruction of pedal movement in passenger motor vehicles,
Sec. 31404. Electronic systems performance standard .consider a safety standard that requires electronic systems to meet minimum performance requirements including the interaction of electronic components; security needs to prevent unauthorized access; and the effect of surrounding environments on those electronic systems.
Sec. 31405. Pushbutton ignition systems standard...  consider standard for pushbutton ignition systems that establishes a standardized operation, including for drivers unfamiliar with such systems, and in an emergency situation...
SEC. 31406. Event data recorders (EDR). Subarus already have these. Require beginning with model year 2015, an event data recorder to store data covering a reasonable time before, during, and after a crash or airbag deployment, including a rollover ... data stored on such event data recorders should be accessible with commercially available equipment...
(e) ... require the owner’s manual to disclose and explain that the vehicle is equipped with such a data recorder.  Data is the property of the owner.. and may not be retrieved by a person other than the owner unless a court authorizes it or the owner consents to it for the purpose of studying, diagnosing, servicing, or repairing the motor vehicle etc
Sec. 31407. Prohibition on electronic visual entertainment in driver’s view. ...  prohibit displaying TV, movies, video games etc to the driver while driving...
Sec. 31501. Child safety seats. ... establish front and side crash protection requirements for child restraint systems for children weighing more than 65 pounds.
Sec. 31502. Child restraint anchorage systems. Improve the visibility and access of lower anchors and tethers
Sec. 31503. Rear seat belt reminders...  to warn when rear seat belts are not being used
Sec. 31504. Unattended passenger reminders ...research into warning that a child or other unattended passenger remains in a rear seat after the motor is disengaged.
Here's a link to the complete text with full details

4/28 The Mayors of SIA's Indiana hometown W. Lafayette (John Dennis) and Lafayette (Tom Roswarski) write about spinning cats and touring Subaru factories in Japan.
John Dennis writes "Hidy-ho there, Hoosiers! Greetings from Ota City, Japan. We have successfully conquered our first Japanese road trip, and it was pretty amazing. But first things first. The meetings with the Subaru executives went very well. We had a very involved presentation about Subaru's production, finances and the impact the tsunami has had on the overall production. We don't really consider all of the different distributors and vendors that have been impacted by the earthquake and tsunami. Subaru has done an amazing job in keeping up with demand and quality in their product.
Tony and I also visited the Tokyo City Hall. See the enclosed picture. Yuparoonie, two twin towers for city hall. It is a beautiful structure, and the courtyard is nothing short of amazing. After the meeting we all loaded on a bus and hit the road to Ota. The trip was to only take a few hours, but as always, there were just things we had to do. While "en route" we stopped in a small city where there was an incredible blend of historic structures, like 500 years old or older, that have been modified to house shops and restaurants. I tried to leave a copy of our historic preservation ordinance, but they were more interested in selling me a stuffed spinning cat. Honest. Apparently it was a child's toy, a stuffed cat-like animal if you will, that attached to a stationary bar by bending its stiff tail around it, then the cat would just start spinning. Its eyes were closed, so it looked rather gruesome. I will be bringing several home for gifts. After the spinning kitty event, we found a restaurant for lunch, and once again our inability to communicate became an issue. I ended up with a pot of boiled weirdness with noodles. Nuh-mee. Eventually we loaded back up on the bus and tooled on down the road to Ota. One observation: The roads in Japan are clean, well maintained and so smooth you could play marbles on them. Well done, Japan! Wednesday is a full day of meetings and meals. Overall, Japan is a very welcoming county that truly understands and respects its history and culture. On a personal note, my dad and my older brother hiked to the top on Mount Fuji when we lived here in the early 60s. Although it was a bit rainy on the way to Ota, I believe I got a quick view of the foothills that they must have encountered on their assent of Fiji. Coolieo. That's it for now. Dennis out.
Tony Roswarski: An eventful day Here Wednesday Day 3. This is a very busy day, starting off with a meeting at the Subaru plant in Ota City. We met with Yukihiro Kozuka, senior general manager, Eiji Ogino, general manager, as well as with other members of the leadership team.  We were given information about the plant and its overall philosophy, which is definitely "customer first."  We took a tour of the plant and also learned about technology firsthand. We were given to opportunity to drive a car with an automatic braking system using Eye Sight version 2, which is a camera system that uses dual video cameras to recognize obstacles or another vehicle stopped in the road, even when you don't. The system stops the car. The Subaru Gunma plant is located on Lafayette Drive, named so because of our sister-city relationship. Many people are very familiar with our Lafayette Plant.  Our next stop was the Shigeru Co., which is the parent company of Heartland Automotive, which operates in Lafayette. They supply the instrument panels for SIA. We met with Kan Shoda, chairman of the board, and Atsuo Shoda, president, as well as other company officials. We exchanged welcomes and our commitment to each other. Heartland will be building a new facility in Lafayette, which speaks well for all of us. We toured the plant. Their operation was very efficient and seeing the raw materials to the end product was impressive. They are definitely committed to quality and being strong supplier for Subaru. Our next stop was the NHK Co., which has a plant in Frankfort. NHK makes the seats for Subaru. The process for making the seats was interesting, as every part of the seat is made in-house and assembled. The pace of the work was extremely fast and a few of the task were definitely not easy. Associates were actually running at times. They work on a very tight schedule to deliver their products on time. I believe our visit was well received. At this point, the formal business part of our day was over. Our host took us to the top of a small mountain to see what was left of a 500-year-old castle. It was interesting, and the view was beautiful. We then met with our sister-city delegation for dinner. Wednesday was a good day. At every stop, we were greeted by numerous people and treated so well. At NHK, there were probably 30 children and adults waving American flags as we pulled in. You can feel the sense of friendship and mutual respect between all of us." the original article

Check out some other Subaru stuff

3/21 Subaru pressure washer and generators. click for more info


3/20 BRZ arrives for display at the NW area dealers. Sorry, its only a "sit 'n see", in other words not for test driving, but at least its around!  Its the red car on the truck in the image below. It will make the round of local dealers. The model is a lightning red Premium with automatic transmission. Its currently at Carter Subaru in Shoreline for a few days (contact Joe Spitz there for details) and then it will go on to the other local dealers. Again, its not available for test driving but at least you can see and sit in it.  Click

3/19 spring starts tomorrow Tuesday 3/20

3/18 BRZ- there's an early BRZ marketing pamphlet given to dealers. It has the rear disc brakes at 15" but that's reportedly incorrect, it should say 10.5".