|
|
Outback
specs |
Impreza
specs |
Forester
specs |
Legacy
specs |
specs |
Rebates & Interest Rates | Forum |
|
content, text, formatting © joe spitz.unauthorized reproduction prohibited.you are here http://www.cars101.com/subaru/news.html v 3.8.10 |
Latest
News is on the Homepage
and is moved here as needed
top
General
Subaru and Fuji news, comments and links in 2010
Model specific news,
reports, reviews, articles etc are below. Comments and links have been
edited.
top
1/11/10 The top
25 Subaru salespeople for 2009. Updated with where they work
#1 salesperson in the US
is Desiree Farey with 500 cars, she's at Irvine Subaru, Lake Forest, Ca;
#2 is right behind her.
Ferris Reid sold 462 cars at Georgetown Subaru, Norwalk, CT;
#3 Charles Gianakis 332
cars, Cherry Hill Subaru, Cherry Hill, NJ (I should hope so- Cherry Hill
is SoA's hometown, since 1986) ;
#4 Jeff Miletta 323 cars,
Liberty Subaru, Oradell, NJ;
#5 Karl Lindemuth 311 cars,
Van Bortel Subaru, Victor, NY;
#6 Vincent Rizzo 302 cars,
Metric Subaru, Huntington, NY; #7 Theresa All 287 cars, Van Bortel
Subaru, Victor, NY; #8 Brian Johnson 260 cars, Brunswick Subaru, Brunswick
Oh; #9 Guillermo Wong 257 cars, Bird Road Subaru, Miami, FL; #10
Joe Dandrea 256 cars, Grand Subaru, Bensenville, IL; #11 Stephen Appelbe
253 cars, Manchester Subaru, Manchester New Hampshire; #12
Jack Berkowitz 247 cars, Manchester Subaru, Manchester New Hampshire; #13
Joseph Dicks 241 cars, Gary Lang Subaru, McHenry, IL; #14 (tie) Dave Denu,
Flatirons Subaru, Boulder Co, and Mir Masood at Stevens Creek Subaru, Stevens
Creek Ca with 240 cars each; #16 Julie Schulte 233 cars, Subaru of Souix
Falls, SD; #17 Mark Lidano 221 cars, Cityside Subaru, Belmont, MA; #18
Donald Jowdy 219 cars, Colonial Subaru, Kingston NY; #19 (tie) Ronald Hall,
Shortline Subaru Aurora Co, and Alesky Petrushin, Ramsey Subaru Ramsey,
NJ, with 216 cars each; #21 (tie) Anton Pankrushin, Star Subaru Bayside
NY, and Andre Tocci, Rafferty Subaru, Newtown Square, PA with 215 cars
each; #23 Glen Dalton 212 cars, Cityside Subaru Belmont, MA; #24
Colin Johnston 211 cars, Liberty Subaru, Oradell, NJ; #25 Joseph Corbett
209 cars, Minooka Subaru, Moosic, PA
2/3 winner of the 1st
Subaru/ASE award Master Tech Toby Costa of Maita Subaru in Sac.
Ca is the winner of the new Subaru ASE Master Automobile Technician of
the Year award given by Subaru and the National Institute for Automotive
Service Excellence.
The rest of the top ten
are Shawn Mitchell, Subaru of Richmond, Va; George Weller, Ambassador Subaru,
Id; Shane Maas, Cascade Subaru Wenatchee, Wa; Chris Debban, Team
Subaru of Nampa, Id; Jeffrey Sparrow, Mastro Subaru Tampa, Fl; George Thabet,
Maita Subaru (again!); Jared Kalina, Power Subaru of Scottsdale,
Az; Anthony DiSalvo, Ganley Subaru Aurora, Co; John Ochsner, Subaru of
Sioux Falls, SD
2/1 Skiiers take note
The Subaru Master the Mountain team is back at ski resorts with music
and giveaways
Demo the latest Nordica
skis, attend free mini ski and snowboard sessions (must have prior skiing
and boarding experience), get tips, behind the scenes tours and watch rescue
demonstrations. Check out footage from the Subaru Freeskiing World
Tour, The Northface Masters of Snowboarding tour stops, and the latest
film from MSP Films, In Deep: The Skiing
Below are locations of 15th
Subaru Master the Mountain
> California: February
27–28, Kirkwood; March 6–7, Kirkwood; March 6–7, Mountain High.
> Colorado: February
6–7, Telluride; Feb 27–28; Durango; Feb 20–21 Crested Butte; March 27–28,
Loveland.
> New Mexico: February
20–21, 2010, Taos
> Pennsylvania: February
27–28, 2010, Hidden Valley; March 5–6, 2010, Jack Frost Big Boulder.
> Utah: January 23–24, 2010,
Snowbird; March 20–21, 2010, Snowbird
> Washington State: February
13–14, 2010, Crystal Mountain
> West Virginia: February
20–21, 2010, Snowshoe.
1/22 Subaru to be sold
in S Korea
'Fuji has reported that
it will enter into car sales business in South Korea. The sales of Subaru-brand
vehicles will reportedly start from April 2010 in South Korea working through
the company's local distributor, Subaru Korea. Subaru Korea will operate
sales, distribution and after-sales servicing businesses of Subaru cars.
The Legacy, Outback and Forester models will be available in the South
Korean market from April 2010. Subaru Korea has set an initial sales
target of 600 units in the first year and aims to increase that number
to 3,000 units by 2015. Subaru Korea is in the process of developing its
own dealer network and plans to open Subaru outlet in Seoul and Pusan at
first then expands to the other metropolitan areas in South Korea.' the
article
1/18 Hollywood star Jessia
Biel drives a Subaru. She's from Colorado....
'You can learn all sorts
of interesting things about a person on a road trip together. For example:
Jessica Biel is a very good driver. She is behind the wheel of a Subaru
heading north from Vancouver toward Whistler, one of the ski resorts hosting
the Olympics this month. Because of record-breaking snow, Biel has decided
to ditch the more traditional plans she'd made for our interview and hit
the slopes instead. So here we are, side by side, snacking on trail mix
and listening to the sound track to Where the Wild Things Are. In the car
in front of us is Biel's assistant and best friend, Lindsay Ratowsky, who
is being driven with all of our bags and equipment. Our mini caravan left
Vancouver in the late afternoon in a downpour, and now we are driving in
the dark in a snowstorm. Wearing jeans and hiking boots, Biel, who grew
up in Boulder, Colorado, and has been snowboarding since she was a kid,
is utterly in her element. "This is very much a me moment: in the snow,
in the Subaru, listening to music," she says. "I feel really at peace in
this environment."
It's a far cry from where
we were two hours ago, when Biel had 40 pounds of ammo strapped around
her waist and an M4 semiautomatic assault rifle hoisted above her right
shoulder. We were on the outskirts of Vancouver in an empty warehouse the
size of a Walmart, part of the soundstage where she has been filming The
A-Team...' Vogue
magazine February issue
1/16 Dealer list updated. Here are a few new Subaru dealers opening January 2010 - Gateway Subaru in Delmar Md; Subaru of Dayton in Dayton Oh, Huffines Subaru inDenton, TX; Don Miller West in Madison WI, Peoria Subaru in Peoria Az, Subaru of Orange Park in Jacksonville, Fl. Check them out...
1/8/10 survey of how we
view car manufacturers
'It is only the end of the
first week of January, but for Subaru, 2010 is already shaping up to be
a very happy new year.
Just the other day, Subaru
of America reported it had its best year in 2009, selling 216,652 vehicles.
It was a 15 percent increase from 2008 and well above the automaker’s previous
annual record of 200,703 in 2006.
Now, Subaru has scored big
in Consumer Reports’ recently released 2010
Car Brand Perception Survey, a nationwide survey performed in early
December. Subaru was one of three automakers that saw at least a 30-point
improvement in how people view their vehicles. The other two were Chevrolet
and Ford.
The survey covered 1,752
adults in households that had at least one car, and the scores reflect
how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: safety, quality,
value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation and environmental
friendliness.
Subaru had a 39-point increase,
the largest of any brand, doubling its score from last year and taking
it from 18th place to ninth place in this year’s survey.
The top-10 scoring brands
based on the perception of the car owners surveyed were: Toyota (196),
Ford (141), Honda (135), Chevrolet (124), Volvo (92), Mercedes-Benz (92),
BMW (90), Cadillac (87), Subaru (81) and Lexus (80).
Subaru’s improvement is
significant on multiple fronts. It was one of the top 10 scoring brands
based on the perception of car owners, and in third place in terms of perceptions
of being a safety leader. Moreover, Subaru is seen as more environmentally
friendly than in last year’s survey.
“In the last 12 months,
they’ve made some dramatic improvements to their product line, sales have
been relatively strong and the products deserve them,” said Jeff Bartlett,
Consumer Reports’ deputy online editor, who was an author of the survey.
“The cars are good,” he
said. “They’ve improved the fuel economy while making the cars bigger,
and they’re not more expensive. They’re really hitting on a lot of the
magic hot buttons.”
The survey found that safety,
quality and value were the most important factors for new-car buyers. Sixty-four
percent of those surveyed said safety was most important, 58 percent cited
quality and 52 percent said value.' from
the NYT
1/7/10 2009, the
car year in review
2009 total vehicle sales
10.43 million, -21% from 2008 and the lowest total since 1982. Most
ever sold, 17.4 million in 2000.
Cash for clunkers was a
great program and boosted sales across the board.
Losers for 09: Hummer
-67%, Suzuki -54%, Smart (owned by MB) -47%, Mitsubishi -44%, Chrysler
-36%, GM -30%, Mazda -21%, BMW -21%, Toyota -20%, Honda -19.5%, Nissan
-19%. MB Daimler -17.8%, Ford -15%, Volvo -14.6%, Land Rover /Jaguar
(Tata) -14%, Audi -5.7%,
Winners for 09:
Hyundai + 8%, Kia (owned by Hyundai) +10%; Subaru +15% to 2.1% of the US
market from 1.4% in 2008.
Top sellers: 1. Ford
F-150; 2. Toyota Camry; 3. Chevrolet Silverado; 4. Toyota Corolla/Matrix;
5. Honda Accord; 6. Nissan Altima; 7. Ford Escape; 8. Honda
CR-V; 9. Ford Fusion; 10. Honda Civic
1/6 Top 20 new Subaru
dealers in the US. The dealers are loosely clustered as expected in
the Northeast, Northwest, West coast and Rocky Mtn areas. NY and Colorado
have 3 of the top 20, then WA, OR, PA, CA, CT have 2. #1 toip volume
new Subaru dealer in the US for 2009 once again is Heuberger (Colorado)
with 2537 cars for the 2009 calendar year. That's a lot of cars. The rest
of the top 20 in order- Van Bortel (NY) 1300 cars in 2009, Manchester (NH)
1245 cars, Carter Subaru Shoreline (WA) - where I work- 1121 cars, Colonial
(CT) 1116 cars, Bill Kolb (NY) 1101 cars, Chaplins (WA) 1089 cars, Continental
(AK) 1034 cars, Patrick's (MA) 1030 cars, Carr (OR) 1029 cars, Becker (PA)
1019 cars, Go Arapahoe (CO) 994 cars, Wentworth (OR) 985 cars, Northtown
(NY) 974 cars, Irvine (CA) 945 cars, Goldstein (NY) 903 cars, Shortline
(CO) 899 cars, Georgetown (CT) 888 cars, Lithia Reno (NV) 885 cars, Stevens
Creek (CA) 884 cars.
In the top 100, the
#100 spot is shared by Day Apollo (PA) and Lee Galles (NM) with 511
cars each for the year.
| top
news and reviews edited for length, content |
| 2010 calendar
year
|
|
Subaru Outback news and reviews edited for length, content |
| 2010 calendar year
(archives 2009) 1/30 Outback and Legacy
article from Denver
|
|
Subaru Legacy news and reviews edited for length, content |
| 2010 calendar year
(archives 2009) 2/2 New interest rates announced. Both Legacy and now Forester 1.9%x36 mos. Other models continue with 2.9%. more 1/30 Outback and Legacy article from Denver 'How do you know you've officially stopped being a true mountain person, and turned into one of those loathsome Front Rangers? Simple: You're the guy stuck on Loveland Pass (a ski area in Colorado) New Year's weekend for three hours, “just trying to beat the traffic,” when you could have been chilling at the Goat or passed out on a friend's couch. And as I sat there, grating my teeth and cursing my Denver-area mailing address, the only thing that kept me from breaking down in tears was the warm, safe and now quite substantial shelter provided by the all-new 2010 Subaru Outback. The high country's most ubiquitous ride (and its sedan sister, the Legacy) both got a total makeover this season and the results are quite impressive — though they may prove a little unnerving to Subaru purists. In an age when many carmakers have opted to downsize their wares, Subaru has been working to bring its fleet up to 2000s-era American standards, the result being an Outback which is now 2 inches wider, 4 inches taller and has a 3-inch-longer wheelbase, but is actually shorter overall than the car it replaces... While Subaru still owns just 2.5 percent of the American car market, the mountains are obviously a huge exception to that rule and so the company is heavily stressing that adventure lifestyle in all of its national ad campaigns — as well as prominently plastering its vehicles with “AWD” badges. Not sure if this strategy will fly in the sun belt (I saw a grand total of zero Subarus during my week in south Florida at Christmas), but up here, it just takes a well-known entity and makes it better. I got to tackle the pass (quite literally) in an Outback sporting a 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine, a larger mill borrowed from the Tribeca, and I was suitably impressed by both the 256 horsepower and the 23.5 mpg I got in mixed highway and city use... Even with company-supplied all-seasons, the symmetrical AWD system kept me absolutely glued to even the worst of roads. At 3,658 pounds, it's no longer a lightweight vehicle, but the substance and the size felt good; Outback's growth also results in easier entries and exits and a more commanding view of the road. With the exception of those new, ungainly body mouldings — Subaru apparently did not see the lack of aesthetic success GM had with them on its old Avalanche truck — the larger, taller-yet-shorter, much-more-angular look is very nice. A fresh dash and instruments, plus a streamlined center stack, also brighten things; the futuristic-looking shift knob, slightly bioluminescent gauges and the requisite mix of perforated leather and wood paneling makes it all rather pleasant. The apparently nuclear-powered heated seats are even hotter than ever. A couple of new touches include a new, fully electronic and oddly loud-to-engage parking brake (also found on the Legacy); a new continuously variable “six-speed” transmission is an option. I also spent time a few weeks later in the reconfigured Legacy (you know, the Subaru sedan that nobody in the mountains buys), and while it's pleasant-looking and also sporting the whole taller-wider-longer-but-actually-shorter thing, I must admit that I absolutely loathed its base, non-turbo 2.5-liter boxer engine. Subaru old-schoolers may feel some extra affinity to the gurgling clatter of the boxer (you knew it and you loved it in your Brat), but I found myself frequently parking the Legacy and driving the Suzuki SX4 I had at the same time just to avoid the Legacy's rototiller engine noise. The Legacy's six-speed manual, also new, was overly sticky.' the article 1/26 Manifest Destiny? Outback and Legacy go south. 'This could be the beginning of Subaru Manifest Destiny, as the maker of hardy all-wheel-drive cars tries to move beyond its heartland in the great, icy north to places where frost is seen mainly in the freezer. That would be a huge change, because Subarus have had some geographic limitations. With four drive wheels and a practical nature, they have been a logical choice in snowy, mountainous regions. In such places, where drivers put a premium on bad-weather propulsion, the cars’ negatives — scant rear legroom and middling fuel economy — were more easily tolerated than in much of the rest of the country. But the redesigned 2010 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon — all Legacys are now sedans and all Outbacks are wagons — have significantly more rear legroom, much better fuel economy and upgrades in safety and civility. They are not just for Yankee blizzards anymore. The Legacy and Outback share mechanical underpinnings but are aimed at different customers. The Legacy’s competitors include the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion. The Outback’s probable rivals include the Chevy Equinox, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape... Attractive and similar, the interiors show that Subaru has moved upscale. There is a practical simplicity in the controls and enough storage to bring order to the daily mess of motoring. For extra gear, the back seats flop down. The important safety features, from side impact air bags to electronic stability control, are standard. The 2010 Legacy and Outback are rated “top safety picks” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, based on front, rear and side impact crash tests and the roof’s ability to withstand a rollover... The Legacy works well at speed on the most demanding roads. It’s not a hard-edged sport sedan, but good... With 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the Outback rides almost three inches higher than the Legacy, giving it an advantage in light off-road use or deep snow... ..Greater use of high-strength steel has resulted in solid, shake-free bodies. In addition, the glass in the doors is fully framed; the frameless glass of older models made the doors feel flimsy and produced more wind noise. A 2.5-liter 4-cylinder rated at 170 horsepower gives adequate acceleration, with the strongest response above 3,000 r.p.m. While Subaru deserves credit for offering a 6-speed manual transmission, its linkage is a bit balky. The $1,000 Lineartronic automatic is an intriguing alternative. Because it is not limited to six gears, the engine always responds quickly and allows particularly low engine speeds for cruising. ...The enhanced appeal of all these Subarus could bring more good news for the company, which in 2009 managed to distill lemonade out of a lemon of a year for the auto industry. Overall light vehicle sales were down 21 percent in the United States, but Subaru managed a 15 percent gain, to 216,652 vehicles. “We sold more cars in one year than we have ever done before,” Thomas Doll, chief operating officer of Subaru of America, said at the Detroit auto show. Things could be even better in 2010. Subaru predicts that the new cars will be much more appealing to a far wider group of owners. One might ask why it took so long to go mainstream, but in any case the Legacy and Outback have evolved from Northern necessities - at least for some people - to compelling alternatives to the usual candidates.' read the whole article from the NYT 1/3/10 Inventory is down on many models, especially Outback and Legacy, at least here in the NW |
|
Subaru Forester news and reviews edited for length, content |
| 2010 calendar year
(archives 2009) 2/5 Why I didn't buy a new Forester and fixed the old one instead. 'Story: I was driving home from Salida (Colorado) about 10 days ago when my speedometer and tachometer needles suddenly jumped a bit and then froze in place. The speedometer was at 62 mph, and the tach was at 4,200. And a state trooper running radar was on the horizon. I let off the gas, and nothing happened. Now, the Subaru dealer who sold me my Forester a little over three years ago is in my cell phone address book, so I called and spoke to the service department. And, I might mention, I pulled off the side of the road. There is no speedometer cable; without looking at the car, the service rep's best guess was a cluster gone bad. Hmmm, I thought. Cluster indeed. This was Thursday, and I made an appointment to take the car in the following Monday... Somewhat unsettled by the lack of gauges, I drove home, and the only other trip I made was to church on Sunday before taking the car to the dealer. The service rep very kindly provided me with a rental, and I came home, expecting to pick my car up on Thursday... In the meantime, the cost of repairs, a new set of tires (which I needed) and a new timing belt crept upward and surpassed $2,000. And then the thought occurred to me: Why not trade in my old Suby with 108,000 miles for a brand-spanking new one? Great idea! And off I went, with my neighbor, Linda, on the appointed day. The service rep knew my plans for the trade, and I arranged to meet with a salesman. Kelley Blue Book figures in hand, I was ready to talk turkey. Which we did for about 90 minutes. But when the salesman checked on my car appraisal, I was hit with the news that because the cluster had been replaced, the odometer read zero. And the car's value went from a reasonable amount to a pitiful amount. Out in the parking lot, waiting for me to pay for all the repairs and new tires and new timing belt, sat my old, suddenly devalued car. There was just no way to mask the disappointment I was feeling. To put it mildly and in car terms, I was honked off in a big way. Linda was standing off to one side as I paid the cashier, and I said, "Let's go spend money." So we did, finding flameless candles for her house and, for my house, a comforter on the clearance rack...For 24 hours I fumed and fretted and fired off a righteously indignant e-mail, but eventually my anger was replaced by contrition and even some embarrassment. What had me so upset was a thing? A thing like a new car, when my old car is mechanically sound, steady and reliable? Then the most crucial question came to me. Where, that Still Small Voice asked me, is your treasure? In a new car? Because if it is, then your heart is there as well. Well, it's mighty humbling to have the slack yanked out of me at this age, but I am so thankful for the end of this story. It's II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Thanks be to God I am that creature. Amen. And of course, hallelujah..." read the article 2/2 New interest rates
announced. Both Legacy and now Forester 1.9%x36 mos. Other models continue
with 2.9%. more
1/23 new Forester brochures
out- updated with new X 'SE' and Limited 'Navigation and Convenience
Package' model information
|
| top
news and reviews edited for length, content |
| 2010 calendar year
(archives 2009) 1/29 Prices announced
on new mid year models.
1/23 WRX 5door with Navigation
and Mitsubishi Ralliart compared by Popular Mechanics - Ralliart preferred
1/12 Detroit Auto Show.. new mid year STI SE and WRX Limited models should be available starting March |
|
Baja, SVX, Loyale, 360, Brat etc and all other models news and reviews Subaru halted production of the Baja sport-utility truck in mid-April 2006 |
|
| top
DIESEL, HYBRID, ALTERNATE FUEL and CONCEPT CAR news in 2010 edited for length, content 1/12 Detroit Auto Show The Hybrid Tourer Concept was there and and Thomas Doll said Subaru hopes to have something like the Tourer out in 2012. STI SE and WRX Limited should be available starting March FUEL Economy in 2010: ratings, issues, news, EPA and CAFE' news etc edited for length, content top
SAFETY CRASH TESTS safety news, including recalls etc in 2010 edited for length, content top
Subaru and Toyota news in 2010 edited for length, content 1/26 Toyota goes all the way - recall the cars, stop sales, shut factories This is the right time to compare Legacy-Camry, Forester - Rav4, Impreza - Corolla/Matrix, Outback, Tribeca to Highlander. 1/30 updates- a fix for the sticking gas pedal will be shipped in the coming week. Honda Motor Co. meantime is recalling 140,000 2007-2008 Fit hatchbacks because of a bad window switch, after a child died when fire broke out in a car last year. 1/29 updates- the recall now includes Europe, China etc. 'Consumer Reports has temporarily suspended its "recommended" status for eight Toyota vehicle models and one Pontiac model that may have accelerator pedals that can stick and cause unintended acceleration. We are also advising used-car buyers to avoid purchasing any of the affected vehicles until this issue is resolved.' CR website Toyota, known for building
some of the best cars around, is taking the drastic step of not only recalling
2,300,000 cars but also halting new sales of 8 very popular cars and trucks
and actually shutting down the factories that make them for a week because
the gas pedal can stick causing unintended acceleration. The US government
requested this action.
top Subaru ADVERTISING and SPONSORSHIP news in 2010 edited for length, content 2/5 Advertising- Subaru
Puts Dogs in the Driver Seat for New Campaign
1/27 Advertising -
Subaru
Free Love Event chocolate heart embossed with the Subaru logo now arriving
at dealers that ordered them, just in time and nicely packaged for a Subaru
Valentine's Day. Makes you smile. Pictures
here
1/24 Subaru videos- fun old Subaru videos from youtube 1/13 Forget the Super
Bowl, watch the Puppy
Bowl VI Feb 7th, 3-5pm...
1/4/2010 advertising-
what's love got to do with it?
|