Subaru Crew - Future Models II

paisan · May 2001

Who do we submit the name change to at SOA? Are we share-holders yet?

-mike

rsholland · May 2001

ateixeira · May 2001

It gets confusing, like when someone says they are shopping for an Outback and they mean the little one.

Oh well, what do we know? They're selling like hot cakes.

-juice

rsholland · May 2001

when the introduced the F-250 Super Duty pickup. They already had an F-250, which was based on the F-150 chassis. Then they introduced the F-250 SD, a completely different truck but using a similar name. It confused truck buyers to no end.

Finally, Ford got smart, and rebadged the F-150-based F-250, an F-150/7700 (with the GVW listed). Now there's no confusion.

Bob

bluesubie · May 2001

The 02 OBS' are in the Impreza brochure. I called to get a brochure a couple of months ago and requested 2002 Outback Sport. They sent me the brochure for the 01 Outback line (including the Sport).
Hey, didn't Mitsubishi copy Subaru -Montero/Montero Sport?

Dennis

ateixeira · May 2001

I think you can track the "Sport" moniker a bit further back than that.

-juice

bluesubie · May 2001

True. Explorer Sport for one.

rsholland · May 2001

Cherokee Sport, etc. The "Sport" label has been applied to just about everything, at one time or another. Like the term "Limited," it's one of the most overused (and meaningless) labels out there.

Bob

paisan · May 2001

the only thing I've seen sport really mean, is a scaled down or stripped down version of the name it is sporting. Never saw "sport" refer to a higher model than the name denotes.

-mike

rsholland · May 2001

in recent years. However, I can rememember back in the '60s or so, the term "Sport" was applied to premium models. Remember the Impala Sport, and Impala SS (Super Sport)?

Bob

ateixeira · May 2001

Remember the Buicks that were "Custom"? Yeah, right, as if the customers custom ordered them.

Maybe some are "Limited" because the price is too high! ;-)

Speaking of silly labels, remember the "Sport Wagon" label on some Chrysler minivans? I mean, c'mon, it's neither.

-juice

rsholland · May 2001

offer the "Custom" label. It's a sub-series of the Century line. If I'm not mistaken, it's the entry-level Century. So, now the word "Custom" = entry-level.

Bob

ateixeira · May 2001

I guess buyers "customized" them by deleting options?

-juice

rsholland · May 2001

like "Limited" used to mean special, exclusive, premium, etc. Now it often equates to "cheap" and "ordinary."

Bob

paisan · May 2001

Well I testdrove a Yukon last night at a GMC/Pontiac/Buick dealer. Rendevous looks a lot nicer than the Aztech. But it's still a mini-van IMHO. Yukon was interesting, but it had no power at all. The exhaust sounded awsome compared to my Trooper, but it didn't have any significant pickup gains over my Trooper. The C pillar all but made looking over your right shoulder during a merge useless, the window sills were too high, and too deep so you really couldn't look out of them easily. The 50/50 split rear door made the rearview less than perfect. Wind noise and road noise was higher than my Trooper despite the highway tires. The auto-4wd did seem to work well, although i don't know for sure since there is no indicator like the TOD on my truck. It was much wider than the Trooper, and had 3rd row of seating, although the 3rd row wasn't outstanding room-wise. Overall a decent truck, but the sticker was $40K, They'd give me a new one for $36K, and a demo for $34K sold as new. Also noticed that the step-up height was significantly higher than the trooper, yet it had lower ground clearance. On the upside there is probably a dozen places to get SC and Turbo and dual exhaust for the Yukon, so power could be increased relatively easily. How this relates to subarus I don't know! Oh yeah GM owns part of Subaru, yeah that's it.

-mike

lark6 · May 2001

Centurys and LeSabres both come in Custom and Limited trim levels. Many, many years ago when Buick went to model names instead of numbers (around 1936-37 I believe) the names were:

Special - small straight 8, short wheelbase body
Super - small straight 8, long wheelbase body
Roadmaster - large straight 8, long wheelbase body

They then hit on the idea of putting the big straight 8 into the short wheelbase body and dubbed it the Century because it allegedly could hit the "century mark" on the speedometer. The "Limited" was essentially the Roadmaster with more luxury appointments, though they could also be ordered with coachbuilt bodies by Brunn and Fleetwood. They were limousines on the order of anything Cadillac could build, hence Caddy put the kibosh on them after a couple of years. I believe the "Limited" tag also owes a bit to the Twentieth Century Limited, a streamlined passenger train designed by Raymond Loewy Associates and operated by the New York Central Railroad.

Don't ask me why I have so much useless Buick knowledge in my head.

Ed

rsholland · May 2001

The first car I ever remember was my dad's black 41' Buick Special Sedanette (2-door fastback). I've always had a soft spot for Buicks since that was the first car I "bonded" with.

As a kid I always loved Buicks (and Packards). It was a drive in a 1300cc '54 Alfa Giuletta Sprint coupe (with an Abarth muffler) that lead to my downfall as a fan of American cars. It's been that way ever since.

Bob

ateixeira · May 2001

My dad still has fond memories of his 70's Buick Electra. I hated it - only two doors meant we had to crawl in back, and the vinyl seats were hot/cold in summer/winter.

$40 grand for any vehicle is a lot of cash.

-juice

p0926 · May 2001

I don't want to revive the optional leather argument but the statement "the vinyl seats were hot/cold in summer/winter" applies equally to leather.

-Frank P.

texsubaru · May 2001

Was just reading the Edmund's "first drive" story on the new T-Bird. I've really admired the exterior looks since I first saw photos of it a couple of years ago, BUT I noticed that the interior shot with the Edmund's review was bland as heck. Arguably less character in that interior design than in the much-cheaper WRX or the more nearly comparably priced VDC or LL Bean. Not like a new T-Bird was even remotely in my budget, so I shouldn't care, but, geez, what a design cop-out to build such an eye-catching exterior and do so little of interest with the interior.

dsackman · June 2001

I thought OBS stood for Outback Sedan? Now you are telling me it is Outback Sport?

rsholland · June 2001

I guess it could stand for either one. I think most people here have been referring to the Outback Sport.

Bob

hypov · June 2001

in most boards it references Outback Sport.
I think they refer the sedan to SUS

locke2c · June 2001

I agree with hypov. I'm also extremely surprised the Legacy Sport Utility Sedan because a regular production item... those things sit on sales floors a long time around my way.

-Colin

hypov · June 2001

don't see them too much (actually, at all) on showrooms. Since their intro (1999, is it?), I've only encountered 3 on the road.

suberube1 · June 2001

Just got a new Subaru Forester; 2001. It came with alarm system, which doesn't work. Or, I should say that it works selectively. Have read and reread entire pamphlet and checked things out, and I know it's not me. Sometimes when I push the button on the remote, it locks the car like it is supposed to. Sometimes, it doesn't. In that case, I have to lock it manually. Then when I try to get into the car, and push the button on the remote, it does nothing. So, I have to use the key to open it. When I unlock it with the key, the alarm goes off, and gets in several loud, thunderous honks before I can stop it by pushing the buttons. So, it looked like I was trying to break into my car at work, in the public parking lot by my doctor's office, etc. Besides being annoying, this is really embarrassing.

So, I asked my husband to take it back to the dealer and make an apt to get it fixed. I was not in the mood to go there and have the mechanics try it and then tell me it works fine, and let them snicker about me being a dumb broad.
He went there and the salesman who sold us the car tried it several times and it of course worked. My husband advised him to try it a bunch more times and then it didn't work. The mechanics can't see the car to fix it for 2 more days. And, my husband was told that they can only fix it if it's not working. If they try it out and it's working, then there isn't anything they can do! that sounds majorly bogus to me.
It would seem that they could take things apart and check the wiring or something like that. I'm supposed to wait until it's not working again, then drive it over there that instant and pray that it doesn't work AT THAT MOMENT?
Doesn't this sound weird? Anyone else have this problem? Any advice for me?

hypov · June 2001

try using the other fob, maybe change the battery.
I hope the '01 isn't padded down(soundproofed) so good that it is blocking transmission from the fob.

bluesubie · June 2001

I see Outback Sedan's semi-regularly here in NJ.
Saw a nice black one this past Saturday. It
*was* called the SUS when it debuted.
When 300 were built for Subaru of NE as a test, they all sold instantly. Don't forget that there's going to be a VDC Sedan. I guess they're selling somewhere.

Dennis

kens · June 2001

Kathy,

I've been in the same situation as you. My 98 Forester's alarm was responding sporadically so I tried the following simple things first:

- Try the other key fob
- Check the battery
- If possible, see if the antenna in the alarm unit is extended all the way (I don't know how it's set up with the newer Alpine units, however).
- See if the problem occurs in specific areas -- transmission towers will interfere with alarm signals

After that was unsuccessful, I took it into the dealer. Sure enough, it worked fine when they looked at it. When I went to pick it up, I had the mechanic try it over and over with me there. Finally, the unit did skip a few responses and it turned out that the head unit itself was the problem. I had a new one installed under warranty.

Don't give up. Keep a record of your concerns and when a dealer looked at it. I'm sure it'll get resolved in time.

Ken

pattim3 · June 2001

Does the keyless not work in any specific area? Maybe, if it does, the dealer can bring it there to try to isolate the problem? You can call us if they cannot resolve it.

Patti

pattim3 · June 2001

I'm currently driving one and I've seen quite a few in the South Jersey area. I really like it and wouldn't mind having one for my next test vehicle, but that is unlikely. They like us to try out different models.

Patti

pattim3 · June 2001

As you all requested - I've been really pushing for the Blitzen in the U. S.

Last week I was told that we might have a "similar" model here in the near future. I could not get details about how similar and when, but I'll keep pushing and I'll keep you informed.

Patti

bluesubie · June 2001

That's great news, Patti!
Similar model? Ok, we'll take a Legacy GT-B.

Dennis

leomort · June 2001

but I was wonder if anyone compared the Forester to the Mazda Tribute. What's your opinion? Would you still chose the Forester? Perhaps the 2003 Forester will get a little bigger to compete?

Leo

rsholland · June 2001

That is great news.

As I posted a while back, I'm pretty certain that the new (just released) Japanese-spec Legacys and Outbacks are a preview of what we might expect, in terms of both styling and content. I feel fairly certain that we might see the 2.0 twin turbo that is on their top-of-the-line Legacy sedans and wagons, as well as their DOHC 2.5 with variable valve timing.

Bob

kens · June 2001

Patti,

That's very exciting news. So, how similar is "similar"? :-)

Is that a sign that SOA is feeling confident about marketing more performance cars based on the success of the WRX?

Ken

subaru_team · June 2001

I promise, I'll let you know as soon as I have more information. Twin Turbo? Hmmm - I'm not sure with U. S. emissions.....Otherwise, I think you are on target, Bob.

Stay tuned...

Patti

hypov · June 2001

you've got us, well I know myself for one, salivating.

subearu · June 2001

Twin turbo or not, bring it on!

Patti: will it be 2.5 or 2.0 based? or is it too early to tell yet?

Make sure they leave the expensive wheels and steering wheel (MOMO ala WRX) as options. Basically, I just want a current Legacy GT sedan with the Blitzen motor (or equivalent). I personally don't need the fancy wheels (the GT ones would do for me) and a steering wheel is just a steering wheel to me (the stock one will do just fine). Is that too much to ask?

-Brian

paisan · June 2001

I think if they bring the blitzen etc. over here it will be another VDC flop, where they get bad writeups due to the expensive price tag. Let's hope not though.

-mike

kens · June 2001

If the VDC wagon is SOA's flagship vehicle, I'd assume that any other model would need to be priced less.

I could live without the McIntosh stereo, wood trim and even a sunroof, but not without a great engine, tranny and suspension set up.

Ken

hypov · June 2001

I second the motion/notion

locke2c · June 2001

Ken will get his wish this model year when the EZ30 H6 is installed in more models besides the two specialty Outback wagons.

-Colin

rsholland · June 2001

Do you know something here the rest of us don't? Are you saying that for '02 we will see the H6 in other models besides the top LL Bean and VDC (sedan/wagon) Outback models?

Bob

locke2c · June 2001

Of course! Why wait another model year for the competition kick sand in Subaru's face?

-Colin

paisan · June 2001

Cause that is SOA's SOP. Wait til it's almost too late to offer the right stuff, other than the OB wagons

In all seriousness, they should have had the H6s in the '01 model line, not just in the top end models, as well as the VDC driveline as well. It should be across the board on the legacies as an option.

-mike

amishra · June 2001

I think it's almost a given the Legacy GT will have a different motor in it for 2002.

How can you really call it a GT when it's got less power than an Outback?

lark6 · June 2001

I went to Colonial Subaru to schedule my next service appointment over the weekend. While they had no WRXes in stock, they had plenty of Outback Sports (now called "Impreza RV" in other markets and the subject of some discussion here previously).

I don't mean any offense to Patti, SoA, or anyone who's bought one, but what possessed Subaru to upholster the OBS seats in burlap?

Ed

bluesubie · June 2001

Ed the comedian, ;-)
IMO, they went with bland upholstery because they were criticized so heavily for the previous interiors. If you take a look at my car (97) you would say it's definately an improvement. The 97's had some very funky designed cloth that looks light paint was haphazardly thrown around on the seats and doors.
Cheesey looks aside, my seats are VERY durable and are more comfortable than the seats in my wifes 99 OB Ltd (esp. thigh support). Function over form, that's for sure.

Dennis

subaru_team · June 2001

I didn't think the interior seats were that bad. Now I'm going to have to go out and re-look!

Thanks!

Subaru Crew - Future Models II

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