Subaru Crew - Future Models II

dcm61 · September 2003

Yeah juice, the lower portions of the bumpers and side skirts are unpainted. Saw a couple of Champagne Opal L.L. Bean's at the dealer and it's definitely unpainted, not black paint. The 1st Gen. Outback ('96-'99) had portions of the front and rear bumpers unpainted but the sides were painted.

The pictures from Frankfurt show the H-4 model with unpainted bumpers and cladding and the H-6 model with unpainted lower portions of the bumpers and side skirts. As far as I can tell, they are unpainted, not painted black.

DaveM

rsholland · September 2003

I doubt it.

Bob

sweet_subie · September 2003

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=132&art_id=iol1064735- 250373S163&set_id=4

rangner · September 2003

Bob,

Isn't the the name for the pleiades constellation, 'Subaru', in Japanese? Maybe Ken can confirm here. Maybe that will shed some light on it.

Eric

rsholland · September 2003

Not sure if the telescope has anything to do with FHI? It might be separate from them.

Bob

dcm61 · September 2003

From the FAQ section of the linked that Bob provided:

Q 1 : Why is the Subaru Telescope called Subaru ?

A 1 : During the planning phase of the new National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) telescope, it was known as the Japan National Large Telescope, or "JNLT." When construction of the telescope began in 1991, the NAOJ advertised for a more interesting name for the telescope in Japan. The name chosen from about 3,500 applications was "Subaru." "Subaru" means a Japanese name of the Pleiades.

Doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the Subaru that we worship.

DaveM

twrx · September 2003

The stars on the emblem.

dcm61 · September 2003

Someone posted this a while back but here it is again.

http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/subaru.htm

DaveM

mrk610 · September 2003

My dealer here in South jersey have 2 of the silver outbacks on there lot . I also noticed that the outback name on the sides and back tailgate is silver not gold . Still no turbo baja's or forester's here yet .

Mike k

ateixeira · September 2003

I gotta go see those Outbacks. A Bean with unpainted bumpers would be sweet.

My wife's car has at least one scratch on the bumper where the paint stripped off. Luckily it's hard to notice, but we OCD members do. I need some touch-up paint.

-juice

lucien2 · September 2003

Both our rear bumpers have been repeatedly violated by bad parallel parkers in our neighborhood. Cuts, gashes, and multiple hex-pattern dents.

ateixeira · September 2003

You need battle-prepped unpainted bumpers. My Forester has some very minor battle scars, despite similar abuse. You can even buff those out if you take the time.

-juice

lucien2 · September 2003

but funny looking on the GT. Outback hides them better. I notice even new 3 series cars have a little rubber strip right where the bumper is most vulnerable. Well integrated, and useful. Wish we had that.

ateixeira · September 2003

Our Legacy L has a black strip along the sides. On the GT they are body color.

The Forester is far and wide the most battle-ready Subaru, if you were going to do a rally cross for instance. There is no paint below waist level. :-)

-juice

lucien2 · September 2003

not so the XT.

ateixeira · September 2003

Retrofit X bumpers from a wrecked Forester. ;-)

But seriously, if the LL Bean is coming out with an unpainted cladding option, perhaps other Subies will as well.

-juice

sweet_subie · September 2003

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=132&click_id=132&art_id- =iol1027031323913S160&set_id=4

dcm61 · September 2003

The '04 L.L. Bean does not have an unpainted cladding option. It's just the lower couple of inches of the bumpers and the side skirts that are unpainted. And I think only on the Champagne Gold Opal monotone.

DaveM

ateixeira · September 2003

Hmm, I'll have to go see one.

That's odd, though, even our Legacy L has painted side skirts. The WRX doesn't, though.

I prefer unpainted, especially that low to the ground, because that's where gravel gets kicked up.

-juice

sweet_subie · September 2003

http://www.lafayettejc.com/news20030929/200309290local_business10- 64815842.shtml

ateixeira · September 2003

How long is the product lag, to dealers I mean? I bet we'll see them in significant numbers only in May.

-juice

kens · September 2003

Nice find, sweet_subie! Do you live in Lafayette or are just very good at finding things like this?

Production starts in March, but it takes a few months to hit dealers? How long does it take to assemble a Legacy? I'm sure the big dealers with lots of allocation pull will get some by April. Also, I'm sure there's a ramp-up schedule for the plant and volume production isn't March.

It would be really cool to understand how the production know-how is transfered from the engineers in Gunma to Lafayette. Does a group of production engineers fly out to Gunma to learn the process and then come back or is a team dispatched to Lafayette directly? What's the criteria to go from a production beta to customer delivery? I'd love to understand that someday.

Ken

vetmats · September 2003

I have done some work at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, KY. At that plant at least, all of the machines used to build the cars are built in Japan and then shipped over. A contingent of Japanese engineers accompany these machines and assist with their installation and start-up.

I would assume that Subaru operates the same way.

robr2 · September 2003

"Production starts in March, but it takes a few months to hit dealers? How long does it take to assemble a Legacy?" Only a few hours but they have to make and stockpile enough so that all dealers can get their initial allocation at the same time.

lucien2 · October 2003

NASIOCers keep telling me to get mine painted, but they really do take a beating on city streets, especially now with the JDM suspension on the car. But from 10 feet away you wouldn't know because that charcoal plastic really hides the scrapes, concentrated really on that front lip, as you might imagine.

locke2c · October 2003

I had painted sideskirts and loved the look... but I didn't get it done until I needed a bit of bodywork to begin with.

No problems whatsoever with chipping and they saw some intense gravel and snow action.

-Colin

ateixeira · October 2003

You had a good paint shop.

My Miata's lower skirts have paint peeling off. It was re-painted after that damage I had about a year ago. Ugh.

-juice

locke2c · October 2003

extremely good body shop-- lifetime warranty against paint defects of any kind including chips on plastic parts.

hope the current owner is enjoying it!

-Colin
actually

wrxsoon1 · October 2003

What?!? Noone going to comment about what page we're on! ;-)

sweet_subie, Thanks for the article. As much as I don't want to read about how far out our Legacy's are going to be. Guess I'll just have to go looking for that patience I lost.

-Ian

Edit: Never mind about the page comment. Looks like I missed it.

sweet_subie · October 2003

http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phelan2_20031002.htm

ateixeira · October 2003

Decent, but not much beef to it.

-juice

rsholland · October 2003

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/news_07_2/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nb20031007a4.h- tm

paisan · October 2003

B11S

I was looking up parts for my dad's car, a '97 Legacy L. The Chassis Code for the Legacy is B11. Thought that was funny to see in the computer.

-mike

ateixeira · October 2003

Huh? OK, I lost that bet!

)

"Under development", though. I could claim that I have a flying car that runs on water at home under development. We'll see the concept later this month. I bet they do it to a micro-car.

Funny indeed, mike. I guess is they go to the alphanumeric codes, they'll just use the internal codes they've been using all along! That could get really confusing for insiders, can you imagine?

-juice

rsholland · October 2003

is using a 2.0 boxer engine and a electric motor. Unlike the Honda and Toyota hybrids, this one reportedly doesn't need the gas engine until 80 kph. I bet we see a Legacy-sized concept at Toyko.

Bob

paisan · October 2003

About as good as the Echo.

-mike

ateixeira · October 2003

That's 50mph.

Hmm, that's going to require quite a battery. My concern would be weight and packaging, something's gotta give, cargo space or gas tank size perhaps.

-juice

rsholland · October 2003

The new hybrid system consists of a horizontally opposed engine, an electric motor that can generate 100 kw and a manganese lithium-ion battery, according to the maker of Subaru vehicles.

A 2,000cc vehicle equipped with this system can accelerate to 80 kph using only the electric motor, company officials said. Hybrid vehicles developed by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. need to use both an engine and electric motor to reach that speed.

ateixeira · October 2003

If it has AWD, it puts more drain on the battery, that's gonna take a miracle to translate to the real world.

-juice

paisan · October 2003

That is a very slipery slope advertising. It's a shame that subaru would stoop that low...

"it can accelerate to 80kmph using electric" Which means if you are entering a highway you'll be on electric to 80kmph, but that doesn't mean that it will run on electric for all driving done under 80kmph, you'll run those batteries down pretty quickly in bumper to bumper or 0-40mph-0-40mph-0-40mph as is quite common in suburban interstates...

-mike

rsholland · October 2003

is what's in those two articles. It's way too early to jump to conclusions. I doubt very much if Subaru would be debuting this technology if it didn't show promise.

I'm just glad they're investigating the hybrid as a possible alternative.

Bob

kens · October 2003

When I read hybrid, the first thought that jumped to mind was some freak combination of a flat and V-configuration engine.

I guess Subaru couldn't resist the growing trend.

An STi hybird -- now that would turn heads (or not).

Ken

ateixeira · October 2003

Ken: like variable displacement? Saab was looking into that, right?

I say stick with the basics - right now I'd like to see them conquer AVCS, 5 speed Sportshifts, then maybe Direct Injection.

Only then try to land a Subaru on the moon. ;-)

-juice

rsholland · October 2003

unless you plan for it far in advance.

Hybrids will be the next "big thing" and Subaru had better have some plans in place to meet the demand. I say they're on the right course.

Bob

bat1161 · October 2003

This is talking about development, to be seen in a concept vehicle. Doesn't it usually take 3 to 4 years to see concept become reality? And even then, there will be lots of changes along the way. As Bob said, they have to start some time.

In the meantime, I bleieve you will see more of the things Juice is looking for - since this is what people want now. This is definitely a step in the right direction, in my opinion.

Mark

twrx · October 2003

However it was a Japanese sized mini-car. The encouraging thing about it was the AWD with electric at the rear and gas at the front. I'd like to see Acura do the 400 hp, 40 mpg, AWD hybrid sports sedan that they showed last year. That is too good to be true.

TWRX (I'm installing pedalson my WRX so I can make my car into a Fred Flintstone hybrid.)

Yabba Dabba Doo

lucien2 · October 2003

Europe is rejecting them so far. Diesels just have more practical use as a bridge to fuel cell technology. Having said that, I do think most makers will need a hybrid in the short run as the truck happy US market collides with CAFE, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them the next big thing.

It's a shame GM pretty much single-handedly killed the idea of diesel cars in this country.

ateixeira · October 2003

True Bob, but I'd rather see Subaru spend the money on shorter-term issues. The VDC still only has a 4 speed automatic, and it's their most upscale ride.

I'm not sure hybrids will be so big, maybe 10% market share a decade from now, tops. Subaru is small enough that it won't impact them much, IMO.

I predict diesels will creep in at about the same pace. A lot really depends on the oil supply, I guess.

-juice

locke2c · October 2003

I think the free market killed diesels. They stink, they're a bear to start when cold-- especially sub-zero-- and while they last a long time they are pricey to repair.

Add that to a distribution infrastructure already geared heavily towards gasoline and poof... diesels are a tiny niche.

-Colin

ateixeira · October 2003

It's a chicken-and-egg scenario. You won't see more service stations with diesel until you have more diesel cars, and vice-versa.

Also, the low-sulfur fuels won't arrive until, what, 2007?

Then you have the manufacturers, looks like Isuzu will be among the first to risk bringing a diesel to a mainstream non-fleet segment (SUVs).

-juice

Subaru Crew - Future Models II

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