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Comments
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
As an ex diesel owner in Chicago who put up with winter starting and fuel jelling problems I can't imagine buying one again. The increased engine noise and odor are other negatives as well as few diesel pumps.
Direct injection gasoline engines with new control algorithms for lean combustion will probably be available quite soon; they should rapidly kill diesel in the USA.
On the other hand, diesel engine is somewhat unique from others. It has made big strides, best exhibited in long-distance racing (LeMans etc.) wins by Audi R8. That can't be ignored and is probably a good indicator of its potential. Soon enough we may have diesel hybrids, which may get us 60 mpg+, or even 100 mpg for small city car applications.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Though it's not the low-sulfur variety, so you only see older pickup designs with diesel engines. My dad had a Chevy Blazer diesel (not Trailblazer, the old Blazer).
Taxi fleets are converting to propane. They put tanks in the trunk, and run for less than half the cost of gas.
I'm sure the party will end soon.
Race it on Sunday; sell it on Monday. That is why make an R8 to publicize Audi non-racing diesels. However, in warmer climes there may be a place for diesel...as well as in trucks with fuel tank heaters.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I think the taxi fleet in Brazil is setup up to use multiple fuels, i.e. gas, ethanol, or propane. They call them quads but I'm not sure what the 4th fuel is (a blend?).
I've never driven a CVT before so I don't know if I'd like it or not but this would be key for Subaru IMHO. I hope it is true.
Bob
Subaru tried a CVT before (remember the Justy?) but it had reliability issues. Might be best to wait out CVT intro to be sure design is durable.
I haven't heard complaints about them.
Also, the Altima has one, so they're building them in much higher volume now.
I test drove an Altima and the CVT was seamless. It didn't drone the way I expected it to.
-mike
I'm commenting on the fact that there will be a RWD Subaru coupe. Yuch!
Bob
The looks are fine, though I doubt that sketch is more than one person's opinion of what it might look like. You know how it goes.
The early Forester sketches were WAAAAY off.
The RWD thing? Well, at least it's not FWD.
I've heard a few complaints that the WRX and especially STI no longer come in coupe format.
Perhaps the most desireable WRX ever was the GC8 coupe, even though the USA never got the WRX version.
I do like that they mention one version possibly competing with the Miata, though. Could there eventually be a Subaru roadster? Brenda and I could finally share our B9 Scrambler. :shades:
If they were still with GM the 05 Legacy might have been a Malibu clone - or worse - AJ would be buying a Vue cone for his wife.
I was open minded enough to test drive a Vue. The steering is no longer completely numb, like the old Vue was, but the seats are still awful, with way-too-short cushions. Plus it just feels heavy, and isn't very fuel efficient.
Space efficiency is also poor. It's big outside, small inside.
The Vue Greenline is a mild hybrid, and too costly especially compared with the original Greenline, and on top of that the two-mode that's coming soon will be based on the V6, which is just dumb.
If the Forester were a Vue clone I would spend my Subaru Bucks to:
* replace the cracked windshield on our Legacy
* fix a dent on the lower passenger door panel
* spend the rest on universal accessories like a bike or ski rack or something
Then I'd burn the card, and resign as Subaru Crew Chief.
Why is a Celica clone any different?
Well, for starters, it's really Toyota that would be cloning Subaru, not the other way around.
RWD > FWD for performance applications. I'd still prefer AWD, though.
Plus they mention a roadster. B9 baby!
I'ts a HUGE problem.
Bob
Oh, and I BET you any money that by the time this thing nears production AWD will be AT LEAST optional on the Subaru version, if not standard. They are basing it mostly on the existing JDM Impreza after all, if I am reading between the lines correctly.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Someone e-mailed me a press release that says Toyota will increase its share to 16.5% and the sport coupe is a green light! Both Toyota and Subaru will get one.
This is pretty exciting. Just give the Subaru version AWD, and I'll be in heaven. :shades:
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
From Auto Observer, this part made me scratch my head:
"Toyota will begin providing a compact car that the companies didn’t name to Fuji by the end of 2010 as a way to expand Fuji’s product portfolio"
Like what, a Subaru Yaris? That doesn't even come in AWD.
If they do a FWD compact and a RWD coupe/roadster, will they still even be Subaru?
It's the End of the World as We Know It...
Like what, a Subaru Yaris? That doesn't even come in AWD.
Perhaps a Subaris hatch that at least has antilock brakes unlike the Toyota hatch! That might even get it on the Consumer Reports recommended list unlike the Yaris.
Actually that 20% stake that GM held in FHI during the design phase of the new Impreza, can be clearly seen in the new Impreza (design direction influenced by GM). Very cheap feeling hard plastics all around. The headliner in the car, the interior lights etc are picked from the cheapest parts-bin. Hopefully they have not made too many compromises on things we can't touch or feel. I think the engineers were doing all their design to a very low cost threshold and hopefully whatever compromises they made, they did on the (in my opinion) non-essentials like the interior plastics and cheaper materials than the essential stuff like the drivetrain, structure, suspension etc. Time will tell.
Subaru is not cannibalistically competing among its own models. Every model of Subaru is competing with models from external automakers and thus has to stand on its own merit. A Tribeca shopper will not refuse to buy the product, just because an Impreza model is beating it in power (last thing on their minds !). But a potential Tribeca shopper might reconsider, if it has less power, space and features than the upcoming 285HP 3.7L Honda Pilot, that yields better mileage. That is what a product planner has to keep in mind, when thinking about what features/power etc that a model should have. Sure there will be some amount of overlap shopping from among its own models but that in my mind is a good thing. If product A from Subaru's lineup sells better than product B, all they have to do is to change the sales mix projection. Sure it might mean that the margins might be thinned a bit, if the model that sells better has a lower built-in margin, but it is certainly better than losing a sale to a competing automaker.
I think the "WRX" brandname has been weakened, cheapened and squandered by Subaru over the past several years and without some real vision from the management to turn it around, has been (or will soon be) lost for ever as an aspirational product. The STI's 300HP in 2008 is simply ordinary, when it should have been positioned as a terror-inducing barnstormer with adequate cohones to go with it....another squandered brand-name. In fact, I think the current STI (with its 305HP and other hardware) should have been the configuration of the 2008 WRX, if it had logically progressed from its introductory situation in 2001. Why expect less from a turbo-charged super-sporty product, when 280HP family cars like Honda Accords, Nissan Altimas and Toyota Camrys prowl the landscape ? JMHO.
The Yaris hatchback is certainly small enough! Give it better steering, antilock brakes and even the 1.8 liter engine from other Toyotas and it might be an acceptable Subaru. That would give Subaru a 35 mpg car to boost its Corporate Average Fuel Economy.
It has not worked in the past, nor will it work in the future, IMO.
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
I can't say enough good things about the new joint sport coupe. And Subaru will get to have its boxer engine under the hood, so it will have no apologies to make to its own customers on that score. As for Toyota salesmen and customers, none of them will understand or give a darn that the Toyota version has a boxer engine. Longtime Toyota customers are so starved for anything remotely sporty, they will eat up this new sport coupe with a spoon!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
That said, producing this vehicle should be economically beneficial for FHI. Of course, if they're merely producing a coupe in exchange for Toyota's Daihatsu producing a low-profit kei car, maybe it's a wash. I suppose FHI could streamline quite a bit by halting their kei car chassis/drivetrain production and development.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
A few ways possible: packaging, equipment, styling, interior, price. As long as they don't create a Saabaru 9-2X fiasco (same car to the dials on the console, just different sheetmetal and price), there may be plenty of reasons of buying one vs another.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Impreza enjoyed double-digit sales growth in March, a miserable month for the auto segment. Face it, it's been successful!
On the other hand, I agree with you that a Subaru Yaris is a bad idea.
Subaru could offer AWD only, toss in a standard all-weather pack while you're at it. They could be priced higher, and plan on selling in lower volumes, as you would expect them to anyway.
Look at how well Toyota distinguishes sheet metal on cars that share identical platforms. The Matrix looks nothing like a Corolla. They do not even look related.
I'm sure they can use Toyota's expertise to differentiate the styling. Toyota seems to be good at that.
I am sure there are more than a few Subaru diehards out there that have been waiting for the next Subaru sport coupe, so this will be their chance.
Toyota will cheap out on everything inside to save a few pennies and advertise a low low base price, while the Subaru version will probably be more plush. I will most likely be visiting the Subaru store...:-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Of course that will be a CE model with plastic wheel covers and no A/C.
I'm allowed to tease Toyota since I now own one.
It would be nice if the AWD Subie version of this coupe could pull Miata gas mileage or better.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
And they are already talking about making AWD optional. It's just one step from there to making it standard on the Subaru versions, and if they can hit their weight target I figure even the AWD version would only weigh 2500 pounds or so, still very reasonable for a coupe with a 2.0 making 175 hp....
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)