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Comments
(thumbs up)
-Colin
Stephen
Stephen
-mike
As we all know, timing is everything. The timing of the original SVX was all wrong, in that the Subaru "brand" was at that time pretty much considered a low-rent, so the introduction of the "expensive" SVX was doomed from the start. That's not the case any more, so the timing for a new SVX, in a few years, could be perfect.
Bob
They sort of look like Fiats, which is appropriate given the new design chief.
$40 grand for a flagship? Guess so, but the practical side of me wants any such model to succeed. I guess if it's limited production, fine, but that means I couldn't afford it!
-juice
Are you talking about those drawings? Yes, but I won't have time today. I have some "real" work to deal with.
Bob
-juice
Ed
Bob
They used to be on my short list of cars I lusted for but now they seem a little too high maintenance and short in supply to be anything other than trailer queens. Still if I ever hit the lottery...
Ed
Obviously, Subaru will have made a name for itself as a "performance brand," so what form should the flagship take? my guess is that it will be a luxury GT—but with very high performance capability. Think of a modern SVX on steriods.
I think it will be loaded with all sorts of luxury and high-tech widgets—and that it will also be very controversial; afterall it is a Subaru...
I just hope it will be knockout in terms of looks.
Bob
I like the SVX and realize it was all about poor timing, they were about 5 years too early to catch on.
-juice
Bob
Ask most people that have driven an automatic WRX - they are usually not that impressed by it. Re-tuned or not, the Forester is heavier and will only be worse.
Major bummer. Guess I'll be polishing Sandy for a little while longer than I thought.
-juice
One way Subaru can make the turbo affordable is by selling it in the manual version.
I'd rather get a WRX wagon +trailer for that money. Or get a WRX wagon and rent a Jeep when I feel like it. Or get the NA manual Forester and put a supercharger in =D
I bet you can come up with more examples of money better spent
- D.
John
As we all know the Impreza and Forester are kissin' cousins; should the same be true of the Legacy and Outback? Or, should the Outback remain just a different flavor of the Legacy lineup, as it currently is?
It's been reported that the next-generation Legacy will be larger than the current model. Therefore doing a quasi-Pilot-like vehicle may very well be possible.
Inquiring minds want to know...
Bob
Bob
IMHO it could be Subaru's answer to the midsize vehicle they need and would compete with the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander.
Michael
Steve
We should come up with a name. Is Habanero too obvious? Jalapeno? (I don't know how to make an N with a quiggly here) Hurricane? Hurrican? Wolverine?
Legacy needs a spokesperson that symbolizes the true nature of the Legacy -- the superhero within the everyday package. Is Spiderman old enough to drive? Could we get Batman out of the Batmobile?
My thinking is that the current Outback should evolve into this type of vehicle. That way the Legacy and the Outback could focus more on their own respective audiences. As it now stands the Outback is nothing more than a "trick" Legacy. if it were allowed to evolve into more of a larger Forester-type vehicle (with 3 rows of seats), I think it would find a larger still market.
I would keep the Outback name, since there is a lot of (positive) equity associated with it.
Bob
Though I can see your point about using Outback's name to carry forward with the marketing momentum. But I think that Outback-today going to Big-Boxy Outback is too much of a phase-shift. The current Outback has a shark-thing going -- it's way sleeker than Forester, even the new sleeker Forester. A boxy Outback would be too jarring. like taking a name and putting it on a totally different vehicle. So, I say keep the current Outback, and take it forward with updating that's logical and evolutionary. And add a new vehicle with its own styling and image -- play off the Outback, but keep them both. Outback's bigger sibling, not angry Outback goes Hulk.
If Subaru could get that bullet-proof niche image -- an image that plays both ends of the spectrum -- it would be golden. And I think that Outback was trying to reach that image. Toyota got some of that magic with Landcruiser -- it was a jeep-knock off kind of thing that evolved into leather and wood opera cruiser.
Steve
Me, I'll just quietly wait for my dark blue B4 or H6 GT Sedan. :-)
-Brian
I rejected Chiracahua, Jicarillo, Lipon, and Apache. Commanche was taken. Navajo was used, and their image is too peaceful now anyway -- though they were very much like the Apache once upon a time(even closely related linguistically and historically). Santa Fe is taken and the other cities in NM don't play well. The Farmington? The Truchas? (it means trout) The Antelope Wells? The Alamogordo? (fat cottonwood) The Gallop? The Rosewell? No. There's the El Paso, of course -- but have you ever been to El Paso? Don't name a car after El Paso. The Chihuahua (The Mexican state just across the border)? Chihuahua's slogan is the Big State -- but no...don't name a car the Chihuahua.
Jornada...maybe. It means journey. The Gila? Maybe...but it's not pronounced the way it's spelled and it is a bit monsterous.
No -- Mescalero! It sounds rugged and ready for anything, with a flair. Subaru Mescalero.
Bob
How about... Can't think of anything. Oh, well. Something more neutral. Like Forester or Outback or Legacy...but not the aforementioned. Something like a jelly donut...but not a jelly donut.
Timberon? Potenza?
-mike
Why both? Because the Outback is a hot seller, so it would be a huge risk to drop their meat-and-potatoes model. The Legacy isn't well known enough to fill the current Outback's shoes.
Look at the Outback Sport and the Forester - they co-exist and combined sales are much higher than sales of either model alone. So the model worked on the compact segment, do the same for the mid-size segment.
Maybe they could re-name the current Forester as the "Forester Sport". Call the big model simply "Forester". Same as they do for Outback and Outback Sport.
-juice
http://www.subaru.net/prototype/exiga.html
-Dennis
A Pilot EX with leather breaks $30k and will demand full retail, or even markups, for a while, so there is demand.
-juice
-mike
Give it a double-decker look, with a more pronounced raised roof towards the back, like an Outback but more so, or like a Disco with those extra windows. Make the H6 standard, with seating for 7. AWD, of course. Give it the Aussie low range just to make it quirky.
A Bean carries a street price of $26k, so there is room for a big brother to that model. They could even have a VDC model, but it would likely peek into the 30s in price.
-juice
-mike
It would just be for effect - put it in all the ads and then only offer it on maybe 10% of the cars manufactured.
The Grand Forester Safari Edition.
-juice
I think that may make it look like a commercial vehicle.
Maybe open upwards like the tailgate ala the lambo and ferraris.
-Dave
If the wheelbase is long enough, make the door square, i.e. with no wheel well intrusion, to facilitate entry into the 3rd row. For example, the Suburban has this but the Tahoe does not. This could also allow the rear window to open all the way.
And what about a 3rd row window that can open? I don't think anyone has one. The MPV stands out from other minivans with a 2nd row opening window.
A hill holder clutch, full-time AWD, low range, and car-based seating for 7 with practical access and acres of windows would be incredibly quirky and unique. Totally Subaru, in other words.
-juice
-Dennis
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Some of the ad lyrics included: "smells like a steak and seats thirty-five," "Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts," and the voice-over disclaimer, "The Federal Highway Commission [sic] has ruled the Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving."
Unsavory associations.
Ed
Cascade
Koala
How about the Subaru Mike?
We have the Outback LL Bean Edition, The Forester (Crocodile) Dundee Edition could work.
Badging: Crocodile head rising above the name Dundee.
-Dave
-mike