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Change the side mirrors and build that sucker!
The IIHS does a very good job of getting manufacturers to build safer cars. But I feel that they are starting to get a little too picky. First it was the head on test. Then it was the offset test. Now's it the partial offset test. What's next??
You know, a few years ago the idea would have seemed whacky, but nowadays with everyone scrambling for the "next new thing", life has come to not only imitate satire, but render it dead.
After the Smart Car, I came to believe everything I hear. :P
Up from just 28 thousand a year ago!
Subaru came out on top with Legacy and Outback models equipped with EyeSight avoiding collisions at both speeds
"At 12 mph, the damage to both vehicles was $5,715"
That's rather absurd, don't you think?
Thing is, with crumple zones, the cars are designed to accordion. So the passenger cell stays intact but the cars suffers severe {energy absorbing} damage.
Surely Subaru and others can design better bumpers than this.
I recall there used to be a bumper basher tests, and the Ford Escort of the 1980s suffered $0 damage.
I wouldn't want to get in a wreck, though!
12mph is not that slow. You've got a couple of tons of mass that have to come to a full stop in about a foot or two.
Edit: also, $5700 was the damage to both vehicles (a Benz C and a Malibu, not a Subie). So about half that per car.
I've seen that Subaru system, it looks like a couple of old camcorder lenses stuck at the top inside windshield near the rear view mirror. I wonder if any are bought. I wonder who got this ball rolling - MB had it back around 2000-2001 I think, maybe not the best thing as it might encourage distraction.
Hopefully insurance companies will offer big discounts for those systems and they'll pay for themselves.
I'm all for it given the number of already-distracted drivers on the road.
Subaru - 313,407
Monthly:
VW - 31,920
Subaru - 31,755
Sept. 2013
For reference, here is Subaru in 2009:
Subaru stats for 2008 - 2009
Yearly sales Sept. 2009 - 158,421 (Up from 143,788 in 2008)
Monthly sales Sept. 2009 - 14,593 (Up from 14,491 in 2008)
So Subaru has literally "Doubled" its sales in just 4 years... :shades:
Subaru seems to be doing something right, and VW seems to be doing something wrong (at least as far as the USA is concerned).
They'll never have the deep pockets that VW has, but it would make sense to use Toyota's supply chain for things that don't affect the driving experience, like Entune, climate control (ask any Subaru owner about HAL), etc.
With the BRZ they were even able to help in the engine bay.
Subaru is small so let's see them use a bit more leverage to grow from this point, because now they're competing with Goliaths.
So glad that situation was averted by the upcoming GM bankruptcy as well as the partial stake bought by Toyota...
Next thing that Subie needs to do IMO would be a replacement for the long forgotten, over-the-hill Tribeca and IMO I think Subie would make a killing with an AWD minivan in the lineup...
I can't disagree with those thoughts! I really think they ought to push to get their diesel engine certified in the US. Even if they re-invent the Tribeca and/or being a minivan over here, I just don't think they'll compete well in those markets unless they can distinguish themselves with something unique (no, AWD in the minivan market is not unique, though it is limited to one other model right now).
It used to be that Subaru offered a price advantage when one looked at the content vs other competitors, but i don't think that is nearly so much the case any longer. They certainly don't offer eye-popping fuel economy (yes, AWD is great, but you have to pay for it, too), especially with big sedans creeping back up into the mid-to-high 30s these days.
Unfortunately, if Subaru were to go through the expense of engineering the emissions and certifying the diesel only to offer it in, say, the Forester, they'd likely have to price it at a level that would not attract a huge number of buyers. Push it out into other models, especially larger ones, though, and I think it could be a real winner. Let the partnership with Toyota really pay off; they can do the hybrid tech and let Subaru lead the way with diesel.
Get that diesel over here and go places with it, Subaru!
Their current diesel doesn't meet CARB, they would have to add urea injection and that would make it cost even more.
Content any model with that engine at the top end, and put Forester ~$35K, Outback ~$38K, and a Tribeca replacement ~$43K. If they made a reasonably attractive minivan available and put it at a hair under $40K fully contented, I think it would perform well against the Sienna XLE AWD, even if Subaru's idea of "fully contented" isn't quite the same as Toyota's. ;-)
Then again, this is Potomac...they're not equipping any of them below $44k for this market, I suppose.
Yes, I could go back a page, and then scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find out. But that wouldn’t be necessary if you would quote “just a little, just enough”, and more people might participate in these conversations if you made it a little easier for them.
Thanks for your consideration.
ON EDIT: I bet you guys are doing this from smartphones, aren’t you? Which makes it 10 times more difficult to quote.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/10/2014-subaru-forester-motor-trend-suv-year-vid- eo/
I'm glad that means something now. Early Sport Sharp modes only changed throttle mapping, to a less linear map, no less. Now it actually affects powertrain behavior.
Hopefully the next iteration will be more stylish as well as get much better mileage on regular grade fuel (Or diesel).
Subaru sales have been on a major upswing, not surprised that they no longer have excess capacity problems anymore...
Article says they are making more room for Foresters which have been selling like hotcakes.
It will happen eventually. Toyota just has to find more space for the Camry.
Hey, maybe they'll produce their diesel Foresters for the NA market there! :P
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Clearly, though, if the trend continues (sales, that is), they're looking at more capacity needed *somewhere*.
2015 Legacy Concept
Yep, we're in for another five years of "meh."
/facepalm
When Subaru and Toyota part ways in Indiana, the move could give Subaru capacity for up to 400,000 of its own vehicles annually, something it desperately needs if it intends to keep pace with current vehicle demand. Subaru is on a roll; this year, it is poised to outsell Volkswagen in the United States.