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2012 model overview >Outback: 2012, more >Forester: 2012, more >Legacy: 2012, more >Impreza: 2012 Impreza 2.0i, Sport 2012 WRX, STI 2013 BRZ >Tribeca: 2012, more Rebates lnterest Finance Rates Payment Calculator Sales Quote from Joe Spitz Search Inventory My Schedule I Contact Subaru Dealer List US by state, Canada, Mexico Current MSRP price overview Safety crash tests, airbags.. GTP Guaranteed Trade Value Canada Subaru into Canada Subaru Dogs and their cars Forum, add comments Badge of Ownership Archives research older models Baja archive Winter Driving tips, chains Gas Economy Chart cost to drive, tips Subaru News reviews, articles, links Used Subarus for sale Certified Pre-Owned program Keyless entry, Alarm, Immobilizer key Tire Pressure Monitor TPMS Tires, wheels, tires chains FAQ Navigation Systems Air Filtration dust-pollen filter Subaru Speak glossary, terms Maintenance 2012, 2011, 2010 00-09 Warranty info Towing info Recalls Tech tips, tricks, hints, tips wanted Subaru Links a full page Dealer list by state A-M; N-W; Canada dealers Alaska, Hawaii residents Shippers car movers, transporters VIP program CAFE Fuel economy standards Diesel? Hybrid or electric Subarus? Medical Modifications Subaru Concept cars Subaru history Subaru advertising Malcolm Bricklin Customer comments Subaru Pictures new & old other sites
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Subaru News, Reviews and Articles, Updates, Events, Comments a completely unofficial unauthorized unapproved website - 2012s- New 0.9% is available on all 2012s and 2011s up to 36 months. 0% ended January 3rd. 0.9% for 24-36 months on new all 2012 models, including the new Impreza 2.9% for 48-72mo on all 2012 models, except Forester Forester only- 1.9% for 48-60-63 months, and 2.9%x72 months. This is the final month for 2011 special finance rates. 2012 lease rates- There are some very good programs especially for 36 months. It varies by model. Ask your local dealer. > Finance Rate webpage - financing is though Subaru /Chase. NW/Seattle area. No prepayment penalty, no loan or buy down fees. Oac. > some dealers offer to lower the rate. Its a buy down, like paying points on a mortgage, you pay interest upfront for a lower finance rate. > Payment calculator I GTP Guaranteed Trade Value- what is your car worth > Find a Subaru dealer Alabama-Montana; Nebraska - Wyoming; Canada; Mexico. Dealer news and updates wanted. > Buy a Subaru in Seattle, NW. Discounted prices. Selling Subarus since 1996. > Have a Subaru? Get your Subaru Badge of Ownership > New models coming later in 2012 > XV Crosstrek the 5 door Impreza XV Crosstrek with 8.3" ground clearance is expected here fall 2012, with either a 2.0L or 2.5L (rumor from the LA auto show, 11/16/11). No word yet on which US auto show will host the XV Crosstrek's US debut. Will it be the > BRZ- Order yours now, The US BRZ is going to be shown at Detroit's N. Am. Int. Auto Show Jan 9. It was also be at the CES Consumer Electronics Show January 10-13 in Las Vegas. Are you in the Seattle area and interested in the BRZ? Get on the list Contact me 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. Subaru News, Reviews, Articles, Updates, Links, Events, Photos, Comments... suggestions, stories, photos welcomed I much more news **************** 1/30 BRZ, is at the Philadelphia Auto Show, along with an old XT and SVX. Check them out now, January 28-Feb 5, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Of course the corporate HQ in Cherry Hill NJ and the operations center in Pennsauken, NJ are both a very short drive from Philadelphia just across the Delaware River and so its natural some special cars would be there. If anyone is going to go, please send me an email. more info here 1/29 advertising- Share the Love 2011 results For the 4th year, Subaru generously donated their maximum $1,000,000 to each of the 5 charities this year- ASPCA, American Forests, Make a Wish, Meals on Wheels, and Special Olympics. The 2011 Share the Love program ran from 11/19/11 -1/3/12. In December alone 33,701 people bought Subarus and at $250 donated per car, that would be $8,425,25 but the donation is a generous $5m total. The total for the Share the Love over 4 years is now $20,000,000! Thanks Subaru. Click for 2011 Share the Love images 1/28 California to require ultra-clean burning cars by 2018. More than the coming fuel economy standards, this means an focus on non-gas cars. "California, long a national leader in cutting auto pollution, pushed the envelope further Friday as state regulators approved rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and put significantly more pollution-free vehicles on the road in coming years. The package of Air Resources Board regulations would require auto manufacturers to offer more zero- or very low-emission cars such as battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles in California starting with model year 2018. By 2025, one in seven new autos sold in California, or roughly 1.4 million, must be ultra-clean, moving what is now a driving novelty into the mainstream. The board also strengthened future emission standards for all new cars, making them the toughest in the nation. The rules are intended by 2025 to slash smog-forming pollutants from new vehicles by 75 percent and reduce by a third their emissions that contribute to global warming. "Today's vote … represents a new chapter for clean cars in California and in the nation as a whole," said Air Resources Board chairwoman Mary Nichols. Auto manufacturers are uneasy with some of the provisions but generally support the package, which took three years to develop. "We know the board wants to push the automakers," said Mike Love, national regulatory affairs manager for Toyota Motor Sales. "We said we're willing to go along with you and do our best." The requirements are expected to drive up car prices. The board staff predicts that the advanced technologies needed to meet the new standards will add $1,900 to the price of a new car in 2025. But that would be more than offset by $6,000 in estimated fuel savings over the life of the vehicle, according to the board's staff... .. Nichols said she has seen "a real change in attitudes on the part of auto companies that have seen the handwriting on the wall.... The reality is that companies see the future is going to be in electric drivetrain vehicles. They're moving there as fast they can." But automakers do still have concerns, particularly whether consumers will buy the ultra-clean cars. "Automakers are mandated to build products that consumers are not mandated to buy," said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which includes Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co... A zero-emission mandate is not new in California. It dates from 1990 but was progressively watered down over the years. The state's ambitious goals to slash its greenhouse gas production renewed focus on the role that super clean cars could play. "The steady drumbeat of the need to get off the dependence on petroleum is really what is driving this," Nichols said. "It's taken longer than we've hoped." Starting with model year 2015, automakers will have to meet tougher standards for smog-forming emissions and, in 2017, greater limits on pollutants that contribute to global warming. By 2025, the standards are designed to reduce the average smog-forming emissions of new cars and light trucks by 75% compared with those sold today..... "I hope the oil industry will get on board rather than dragging its feet," said board member Hector De La Torre." read the entire article 1/27 Subaru dealers like being Subaru dealers according to a NADA survey "New-car dealer satisfaction with their respective auto manufacturers continued to increase in 2011, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association's (NADA) latest Dealer Attitude Survey. The survey, conducted twice a year, measures dealer sentiment in three key areas: franchise value, automaker policy decisions that affect the dealership and the automaker's field staff who visit dealerships. Nearly 54 percent of new-car dealers nationwide, representing more 14,700 franchises, responded to the 2011 summer survey. Hyundai finished in the top overall spot for the third consecutive survey period, with affiliate Kia finishing fourth. Subaru climbed back to second place for its fifth consecutive Top 3 finish. Lexus dropped to the third spot. Mercedes-Benz finished fifth. Toyota and Volkswagen improved to sixth and seventh place, respectively. Porsche, Audi and Cadillac/Honda rounded out the Top 10. Early next month, thousands of the nation's dealers will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with top automaker executives at 26 franchise meetings to discuss the outlook for sales, marketing plans and product launches during the 2012 NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas Feb. 3 to 6 ... The NADA story began in 1917 when 30 auto dealers traveled to the nation's capital to convince Congress not to impose a luxury tax on the automobile. They successfully argued that the automobile is a necessity..." the entire press release 1/26 Tribeca. Another in the ongoing low-simmering rumor that the end is near, that 2012 might be the final year for the Tribeca. In 2011, the Tribeca's US total sales was 2791 which was at least a modest 12.90% increase from 2472 sold in the US in 2010. Thats only 5263 cars in 24 months so it shouldn;t be a surprise if they drop it. But Subaru has needed a 7 passenger all wheel drive "Subaru’s troubled people-mover to fade into history late this year. Subaru has confirmed it will dump its controversial Tribeca, with the soft-roader-based people mover now likely to disappear from the Australian market as early as next year. While Subaru has previously hinted at the Tribeca’s demise Akihide Takeuchi, the car maker’s project manager for its product and portfilio planning division, confirmed to Drive this week that the Tribeca’s US production line would start to switch off in December, ending a troubled seven-year run for a vehicle that sparked one of the fastest facelifts in automotive history. The Tribeca still sells in significant volumes in Australia - according to Subaru’s local chief executive, Nick Senior, it still accounts for 100 sales a month with very little advertising budget - but Takeuchi says capacity of the Tribeca’s US-based production line is needed for other models in the Subaru line-up" the original article 1/25 Mark your calendar for the Subaru sponsored Zombie race Run For your Lives Reed Street Productions, creators of the zombie-infested 5K adventure race, Run for Your Lives, announced today that the race will expand beyond its inaugural location outside of Baltimore into 12 cities across the country, starting with the Atlanta area on March 3, 2012. The inaugural race launched in Darlington, Md., last October with more than 10,000 participants and spectators. Atlanta - March 3; Boston - May 5; Minneapolis - June 2; Indianapolis - June 23; Denver - July 14; Seattle/Portland - Aug. 4; St. Louis - Aug. 18; Pittsburgh - Sept. 1; Toronto - Sept. 15; San Diego/Los Angeles - Oct. 20; Baltimore - Oct. 27; Austin - Dec. 15. Run for Your Lives will take participants through a series of obstacles over a 5K course, all while being chased by zombies. Racers, wearing a flag football-like belt with three flags, must make strategic choices to find the quickest route to the finish line with at least one flag to complete the race as a survivor. Survivors and newly-created "zombies" - those who finish without flags - will be able to celebrate following the event at the Apocalypse Party, which will feature live, local entertainment, music, vendors, food, beverages, and of course, zombies... A portion of every ticket sold will be donated to the American Red Cross. Athletic apparel company, Warwear is the title sponsor for Run For Your Lives, and Subaru of America has signed on as a presenting sponsor of the race. To register for Run For Your Lives or for more information regarding how the race works, please visit: www.runforyourlives.com 1/24 Subaru looks to the Sun Belt for growth "Subaru aims to generate 20% of its U.S. sales from Sun Belt states in the next two years, up from just 15% now, as it chases a fourth straight year of record sales. The brand also is racing to improve dealer service throughout the country in anticipation of an increase in service business that will result from the rapid sales expansion. Subaru plans to boost spending on training and other improvements at least 18% this year to prepare its dealer network for repair work and customer service, Subaru of America Inc. COO Tom Doll said at the Detroit auto show. Improving its retail network and expanding in the South are key elements of Subaru's goal to reach U.S. sales of 350,000 units by 2016, while keeping a market share of at least 2%. Subaru sales climbed 1% to a record 266,989 units in 2011, trailing the market's 10% increase, partly because the March 11 earthquake in Japan disrupted production. The maker of all-wheel-drive crossovers and SUVs expects record sales of 320,000 vehicles in 2012. Growth in the South will underpin the expansion. Subaru gets about 15% of its sales in the South today vs. about 9% two years ago, Doll said. That will rise to 20% in the next two years, he said. In the longer term, Subaru wants to get a third of its sales from the region. Sales in the South are benefiting from former Saturn dealers that Subaru picked up after General Motors killed that brand. Subaru picked up about eight former Saturn dealers in the Carolinas and Florida, replacing less successful dealers in its network. The former Saturn shops generate a 33% increase in sales over the dealers they replaced, said Bill Cyphers, senior vice president of sales. Subaru ended 2011 with 155 dealers in the Sun Belt states, up from 130 at the end of 2007, Cyphers said. Since 2009, the brand has filled 38 open sales points in the region and experienced another 19 buy-sells, in which an existing dealership changes ownership, he said. Subaru is shooting for a nationwide network of 630 dealers by 2015, compared with 620 today. Subaru also is focusing on improved dealer service. Because the brand has boosted sales 50% over the past three years, executives expect to see service rates double in the next three years as the expanding fleet ages. "Our ability to continue to grow our business will depend on how well we can get these customers serviced," Doll said. "We're conquesting so many competitive brands, we have to make sure they have a good experience with us. We've got to get our dealers thinking different." Last year, Subaru added four training managers to the 13 it already had nationwide, he said. And this year, it plans to add four training locations to the 10 it has. Subaru said it expects to run 750 training sessions in 2012 for a total of 9,300 hours of instruction, up from 588 sessions and 6,260 hours in 2010. Subaru also will keep pushing dealers to improve customer waiting areas, Cyphers said. Dealership improvements will be covered by dealers. But Doll estimated that Subaru will increase spending on training 18 to 20% this year." By Hans Greimel at AutoNews.com 1/23 a brief comment on the BRZ at the Dertoit NAIAS auto show "...The Subaru BRZ has a surprisingly nice interior, with open sight lines, supportive seats, and quality materials. The interior in the FR-S is very similar, but I wasn’t able to sit in the Scion and, from what I’ve read, it won’t be available with the Subaru’s up-level faux suede trim. How did the joint venture sports car end up with a nicer interior than you’ll find elsewhere in either partner’s lineup?..." by M Karesh 1/22 Cruising Seattle in the snow in a Subaru looking for a coffee ... "Some days, I confess that I feel very Northwestern. Most days, I suppose. But some days, more so than others. Take yesterday, for example. It snowed. While everyone else was panicking about it, I was hopping in my Subaru and heading off to find any coffee shop situated on a decent hill. Snow is great. Snow is fun. And driving down snowy hills in an all-wheel-drive vehicle produces an obnoxious feeling of superiority. Of course, when looking for hills in Seattle, one doesn't necessarily need to look far. But for hills and coffee at the same time, the Phinney Ridge neighborhood is an excellent bet. I ended up at Cafe Bambino, most of the way down 65th, ordering an Americano and trying to determine whose coffee they were serving..." the entire article 1/21 Eagle SX/4 all wheel drive. From 1981-1983, Eagle, owned by AMC, made a very cool all wheel drive 2 door hatchback called the SX/4. I recently saw one on the street. Click the image for photos  1/20 XV Crosstrek review. In the UK it is available with a 1.6L, 2.0L, and a turbo-diesel. Only the 2.0L is expected in the US (no diesel). It’s not particularly pretty and it’s a bit too expensive but the XV is a good move for struggling (in the UK) Subaru. Once it soared higher than the sun, its Pleiades badge affirmed rally championships, promise and, as it turned out, the hubris of Icarus. The portents were there. From a reliable farmers’ vehicle to a design ethos that lost its way, with each new model more lividly repulsive than the last. These days, not many people want a Subaru. Last year’s sales were half those of 2010 and Porsche sells twice as many cars in Britain. These days a Subaru seems to be driven by young men whose necks have felt both a policeman’s and tattooist’s hands. A Subaru has become, like the old Jaguar Mark 2, an uncouth getaway car. Perhaps the fightback for this 57-year-old car maker owned by Fuji Heavy Industries starts with the BRZ, an old-school, great-handling sports coupé built by Subaru in co-operation with Toyota (which calls it the GT-86), or with the XV, a crossover SUV claimed as the company’s first foray in this sector – as if we’d forgotten the Tribeca, the Forester or the Outback. The marketing random-word generator left us knee deep with “City Style” and “Urban Adventures!” Look beyond this folderol, however, and the XV is the sort of compact sports utility aimed mainly at young suburban mums. With a body style that eschews capacity and ground clearance for style, and with no transfer box in the transmission, the XV is unlikely to trouble the Darién Gap or Rubicon Trail, but it should have the gumption to tackle light snow flurries in supermarket car parks.... Start it up and you get that flat thrumming “boxer” beat, although the horizontally opposed Subaru engine doesn’t “box” in the strictest sense, as each bank of pistons moves outwards from a common central crankshaft.... The ride feels quite stiff at first and the XV batters away at road seams and potholes, which report through the bodyshell like distant gunfire. There’s stiff roll resistance built into the MacPherson-strut front and wishbone rear suspension and that, together with the low centre of gravity and ride height, means the XV turns into corners well, with none of the lurching weight transfer of some of its contemporaries. The cabin is large and airy and there’s plenty of room in the front and rear seats for the claimed five-adult carrying capacity, although at 380 litres without a spare wheel the boot is rather small (even the standard Qashqai’s is 410 litres) and the false floor is fiddly to use, although it does provide a useful hidden suitcase-size cubby hole. Careful attention to the design of the B and C pillars and the low ride height means the XV is an easy car to get into and out of, especially the rear seats, which can be something of a mantrap on rivals. The trim might be a big advance for Subaru, but the opposition has moved on again. On a vehicle that will see lots of family abuse, durable plastics are perfectly acceptable on the bottom of the doors but not on the dashboard.... For all its deficiencies, there’s something quite likeable about the XV. Where almost all the rivals place you in some sort of suburban pecking order, the XV keeps you out of that nonsense. Plus it’s actually quite fun to drive and has an aura of toughness and longevity. The trouble is, it’s built in Yen and that’s really not good news for Subaru. While the range will start at about £21,000, the diesel will be about £24,000 and that’s too much" read the entire article 1/19 an electric Forester cruises around Bozeman, Montana "Folks puttering around Main Street the past week or so may have noticed a particular Subaru Forester rolling around the past couple weeks. It’s decorated with decals from the Wild Joe’s (coffee shop), lacks a tailpipe and runs on electricity. The car is the recently completed pet project of Ron Gompertz, owner of Wild Joe’s. It became roadworthy late last year and in the last couple weeks was pressed into service as a grocery vehicle for the local coffee shop. Gompertz got the car about six months after starting Eco Auto, a boutique electric car dealership that closed in 2008 after about two years in business. Seemingly everyone that stopped by the dealership would ask how far the small cars would go and whether the vehicles were safe. So he decided to convert a Subaru — what some consider the quintessential Bozeman car — into an electric vehicle. “I thought of it as a Trojan horse,” Gompertz said. Building the Trojan horse proved to be a challenge, as it took about three years of waiting for the car to go from an idea to a reality. After he bought the Subaru Forester from a Denver dealership at a corporate rate, Gompertz drove the sedan to Bozeman. It went straight to Intensive Car, where he had the engine, gas tank, air conditioning and exhaust system pulled out. All the parts were boxed up and later sold for about $2,500. The car was then trailered across town to Autopilot, where the car was fitted with an aluminum mounting for the soon-to-be installed electric engine. It waited around in a garage for about six months before the next step in the process — actually converting the car to an electric vehicle. It was trailered over to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to the garage of a man that converted gas-powered vehicles into electric hot rods, Gompertz said. There it sat for the better part of about three years while the battery technology improved to where the lithium batteries were efficient and cheap enough to install into the car, a job done by a Spokane, Wash.-based Patriotic Motors. The car holds 100 batteries that give the engine about 320 volts, with a range of around 60 miles.The electric car dealership closed down before the car could be completed, however (the heating system was finished last week). But Gompertz is using the car as a grocery buggy and commuter vehicle, ferrying groceries from Town & Country to Wild Joe’s and going from home to work each day. “It’s really the ultimate science project,” Gompertz said." read the article 1/18 safety- more sophisticated and newer electronics means NHTSA needs to increase its focus in that direction. Also recommends black boxes (EDR) to record data. The 2012 Impreza has one. "A branch of the National Academy of Sciences reported Wednesday that federal safety regulators lack the expertise to monitor vehicles with increasingly sophisticated electronics. In a widely anticipated study, the group called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to add technical help, refine its investigative techniques and push for automakers to install “black boxes” that record data in car crashes. It also recommended that the federal agency form an advisory panel of specialists who can assist both in regulatory reviews and specific vehicle investigations. With electronics systems becoming more complex, the agency needs to “gain a stronger understanding” of both the hardware and computer software that automakers are installing in their latest models, the group said. The National Academy of Sciences was asked to review procedures at N.H.T.S.A. after the agency’s investigation of unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles and a possible link to electronic-control systems. The Japanese automaker recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide in 2009 and 2010 to fix sticky accelerator pedals or replace faulty floor mats that Toyota had claimed could cause unintended acceleration. In a statement, the safety agency said it had “already taken steps to strengthen its expertise in electronic control systems,” but added that it would review the recommendations by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences to do more. The agency said it would “continue to evaluate and improve every aspect of its work to keep the driving public safe, including research to assess potential safety concerns and help ensure the reliability of electronic control systems.” Members of the science committee said that despite its shortcomings, the safety agency had done all that it was capable of doing to determine why Toyotas were suddenly accelerating out of control and causing serious accidents. They concluded that the agency had correctly closed its investigation after failing to find evidence of defects in Toyota’s electronic throttle systems...." read the entire article 1/17 Impreza review from Canada "Most car companies have a small, entry-level car in their lineups. What most car companies don't have is a small, entry-level car with all-wheel drive, and that is what makes the Subaru Impreza unique. Based solely on size, the Impreza has a list of competitors that includes big names like the Honda Civic, Mazda3 and Hyundai Elantra. But that number dwindles when you include only models that offer all-wheel drive: do that, and you're left with the Toyota Matrix, Suzuki SX4 and, if you stretch the definition of compact car a little, the Mini Countryman and Nissan Juke. For a long time, Subaru depended on the relative exclusivity of the Impreza's four driven wheels to drive sales, but changing times bring new priorities. Lowering fuel consumption is a big one across the industry right now, and so, along with new interior and exterior styling for 2012, the Impreza gets a smaller, more efficient engine... With 148 horsepower and 145 foot-pounds of torque, the updated motor's numbers are competitive in the class, but are well off the 170 hp/170 ft-lbs that last year's model offered. A daring move, maybe, but Subaru obviously feels the much improved fuel consumption figures will make up for any loss of interest from the brand's current consumer base. "Much-improved" is not just hyperbole, either... That's serious stuff, promising a 27-per-cent improvement across the board. Real-world driving is always another story, though, especially in a new, not quite broken-in car with just 1,500 kilometres on it, driven in wintry conditions; my automatic-equipped tester averaged 11.0L/100 km in cold and snowy early-January city driving. I will say that result is about what I'd expect from the previous generation Impreza in city driving and warm weather, so my test car's result is more promising than it looks at first glance. The 2.0-litre's power deficit is noticeable (though not shockingly so), particularly on the highway, where the new Impreza is not as strong in full-throttle passing situations. Throttle response at low speeds is impressive, if a bit abrupt. The thrumming vibration that horizontally-opposed engines are known for is still there, but as in other recent Subarus, has been quelled to the point where it's merely quirky, and not annoying. Subaru's CVT is not my favourite example of its kind; it works smoothly but is noisier than similar transmissions by Nissan, whose CVTs I regard as the best in the business (even though I'd still prefer a traditional automatic). In all but the base model, the automatic gets paddle shifters on the steering wheel that allow manual control of the transmission, forcing it to shift through six set ratios...." read the entire article 1/16 Impreza XV Crosstrek expected to be for sale in China mid February. The US version of the Crosstrek, a 5 door Impreza with 8.3" ground clearance, fender flares etc, is scheduled as a 2013 model in the fall 2012. 1/16 advertising- what makes a campaign work. Here's an article about advertising that works and that doesn't, and how an ad campaign revitalized Subaru. "Brand USA, a partnership of the travel industry and federal government, plans a $200 million campaign to attract visitors to the country. The theme: "United States of Awesome Possibilities." Suppose Brand USA spent $200 million in each of the next five years promoting its "awesome possibilities" idea. Five years from now, how many people are likely to associate "awesome" with the United States? Not very many. That's the problem with marketing today. Almost every campaign starts with a press conference and a blaze of publicity about a new logotype (the letters "USA" spelled out with multicolor dots), a new website (discoveramerica.com) and an inspirational message (United States of Awesome Possibilities).... Here's the paradox. Even if massive advertising programs were successful in associate these slogans with the companies' brand names, so what? Would you buy an Audi because you thought the company told the truth about its engineering? And no slogan will work for a brand that covers a wide range of products or services. Before you can bring your slogan down to Earth, you need to bring your brand there so it stands for something. What's a Subaru? "If you asked a Subaru dealer or an employee or the press what Subaru was all about, it was pretty confusing," George Muller said in 1993, when he took over as president of Subaru of America. He chose to focus on four-wheel-drive vehicles. Advertising theme: "The beauty of all-wheel drive." (What the auto industry calls "all-wheel drive," people call four-wheel drive.) It was an exceptionally bold decision because at the time four-wheel-drive vehicles represented 48% of Subaru's sales. But the company had lost $250 million the previous year, so something had to be done. It didn't take long to turn the brand around. Three years later, Subaru was essentially a four-wheel-drive brand, and sales were up 16%, to 120,748 units. Subaru registered a sales increase in 12 of the 14 years between 1996 and 2010. It sold 263,820 vehicles in the U.S. in 2010, more than Volkswagen, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Mazda, Chrysler, Buick, Cadillac, Acura and, of course, "Truth in engineering" which moved only 101,629 units. (If Subaru had a better name, it would probably have been even more successful.) read the entire article 1/15 Searching for Japanese 4wd project cars. "These days, it's no big deal to walk into your local car dealership and drive out in a shiny new car with a reliable, quiet
four-wheel-drive system that lets you navigate those icy mall parking
lots with ease. Where's the fun in that? 1/13 Subaru adds AHA radio by Harman as an option for 2013 models, starting with the BRZ.
1/12 top selling cars for 2011 1/11 advertising- Subaru
sponsors SIA Snow Show but its not the same SIA as Subaru Indiana America.
Its SnowSports Industries America. The SIA Snow Show is January 26-29,
2012, Colorado Convention Center, Denver.
1/10 BRZ arrives in Detroit
at the NAIAS North American Int. Auto
Show, and also at the CES in San Francisco.
1/8 STI review
1/6 trades a Peugeot
diesel for a GM diesel (this in the early 80s) that keeps breaking down,
so he trades the Oldsmobile in for a Subaru and drives it for 140,000 miles.
1/5 BRZ is getting close. The US version is going to be unveiled at Detroit's N. American Int. Auto Show January 9, 2012. It will also be at the CES Consumer Electronics Show January 10-13, Las Vegas. Are you in the Seattle area and interested in the BRZ? Contact me 1/4 December sales and
2011 total sales- what an ending to a troubled year for SoA, with the
best month ever and best year ever!
1/3 final
days for 2011 sales,
1/1 master cylinder recall
hits China
More car news from China
possibly affecting Subaru's joint venture with Chery.
12/31 goodbye 2011 a
rough year for Japanese car companies including Subaru.
12/30 Crosstrek marketing
-
The Impreza Get your Subaru Badge of Ownership > Did you know Subaru makes small engine and portable home generators? Parent company Fuji also has Robin America with l engines for lawnmowers, jets skies, generators etc. They make Subaru generators including quiet inverter ones. Subaru generators comments, articles, stories welcome I More Subaru reviews, news, articles 2010 News- Subaru news, car reviews, articles from calendar year 2010 This website is happily
created and maintained by Joe Spitz, selling Subarus in Seattle and
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