No more wagons?

G

GreatArtist

Someone briefly said in a magazine article that Subaru will stop
building wagons. Is that true? I like Subaru wagons and I always
thought of them as Subaru's main product.
 
GreatArtist said:
Someone briefly said in a magazine article that Subaru will stop
building wagons. Is that true? I like Subaru wagons and I always
thought of them as Subaru's main product.


Well, yes and no. Yes, they stopped making "wagons". They also stopped
making "sedans".

What they've done is changed the names. The sedan is now called the
4-door, and the wagons are now 5-doors. Although some people will also
call them hatchbacks, they still look like a wagon.
 
Well, yes and no. Yes, they stopped making "wagons". They also stopped
making "sedans".

What they've done is changed the names. The sedan is now called the
4-door, and the wagons are now 5-doors. Although some people will also
call them hatchbacks, they still look like a wagon.

Well, there isn't a Legacy wagon any longer. To get a wagon body in a
Legacy-sized car, you have to buy an Outback. And as noted, the
Impreza is now a 5-door hatchback.

Dan D
'99 Impreza 2.5 RS (son's)
Central NJ USA
 
Ragnar said:
Well, yes and no. Yes, they stopped making "wagons". They also stopped
making "sedans".

What they've done is changed the names. The sedan is now called the
4-door, and the wagons are now 5-doors. Although some people will also
call them hatchbacks, they still look like a wagon.

I had a '98 Forester and now have an '03 and an '08. It takes a studied
eye like mine to tell difference in model years. I like this. My
wife's '08 looks better than my '03 but differences are minor. It is my
opinion that Subaru has been wise to save money on annual model changes
to suit the public trend towards crossovers. Sheet metal stamping dies
cost in the millions each and 2 dies may be needed for each part. I
rather Subaru put the money under the hood in performance and durability.

Frank
 
Someone briefly said in a magazine article that Subaru will stop
building wagons. Is that true? I like Subaru wagons and I always
thought of them as Subaru's main product.

They are. Unfortunately, a large part of US population is
allergic to that word. Hence the clever name games.

And for some really uncomfortable types there
are wagons built on truck frames: luckily, Subaru never
bought into it and $4/gallon prices should sort
the matter with the uncomfortable types.
But so we thought when $3/gallon "happened":
the-mine-is-bigger types were never cured.
Me thinks another republican term and a third
concurrent war may fix that if $4 gas won't.
An air lift of a bradley fighting vehicle takes quite
a bit of fuel ya know...
and then people wonder why oil supplies are running
low :)
 
They are. Unfortunately, a large part of US population is
allergic to that word. Hence the clever name games.

And for some really uncomfortable types there
are wagons built on truck frames: luckily, Subaru never
bought into it and $4/gallon prices should sort
the matter with the uncomfortable types.
But so we thought when $3/gallon "happened":
the-mine-is-bigger types were never cured.
Me thinks another republican term and a third
concurrent war may fix that if $4 gas won't.
An air lift of a bradley fighting vehicle takes quite
a bit of fuel ya know...
and then people wonder why oil supplies are running
low :)


No matter what you call them, Subaru has essentially cornered the US
market on wagons for more than a decade. Most Outbacks, all Foresters
(their SUV categorization nonwithstanding) and 25-35% of Imprezas go
out of the showroom with 5 doors. I'd bet that no other manufacturer
comes close in total numbers of wagons sold (unless you want to count
every SUV as a wagon). Giving up the wagon would be suicidal, but
Subaru has made some bizarre moves in the past, so it's not
impossible. I would sooner expect the sedans to go away since they've
never gotten over the hump and produced a car to compete directly with
the Camry/Accord segment (price-wise) or BMW/Audi market (in
perfomance). The Legacy GT, and even the Impreza 2.5RS have been fine
cars, but appeal to Subaru loyalists rather than compete directly with
the broader market.
 
No matter what you call them, Subaru has essentially cornered the US
market on wagons for more than a decade. Most Outbacks, all Foresters
(their SUV categorization nonwithstanding) and 25-35% of Imprezas go
out of the showroom with 5 doors. I'd bet that no other manufacturer
comes close in total numbers of wagons sold (unless you want to count
every SUV as a wagon). Giving up the wagon would be suicidal, but
Subaru has made some bizarre moves in the past, so it's not

Did I argue otherwise? You're preaching to the choir :)
impossible. I would sooner expect the sedans to go away since they've
never gotten over the hump and produced a car to compete directly with
the Camry/Accord segment (price-wise) or BMW/Audi market (in

I don't think anyone in their sane mind think of Accord/Camry as a
competition
to Legacy. Apples to oranges.
perfomance). The Legacy GT, and even the Impreza 2.5RS have been fine
cars, but appeal to Subaru loyalists rather than compete directly with
the broader market.

Yep. Niche market it is. I just wish given two Impreza trims Subaru
kept LSD
on the basic trim and offered VDC with no LSD on the "premium" line.
VDC is "better" anyway, right? ;-)

Then you'd keep LSD on Legacy GT and remove LSD add VDC on the
L.L.Bean
edition for all I care :)))))))
 
Did I argue otherwise? You're preaching to the choir :)


I don't think anyone in their sane mind think of Accord/Camry as a
competition
to Legacy. Apples to oranges.


Yep. Niche market it is. I just wish given two Impreza trims Subaru
kept LSD
on the basic trim and offered VDC with no LSD on the "premium" line.
VDC is "better" anyway, right? ;-)

Then you'd keep LSD on Legacy GT and remove LSD add VDC on the
L.L.Bean
edition for all I care :)))))))- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I go along with expanding the LSD availability to the hot rods and
lower cost performance models like the RS (or whatever they call it
now) and leave the VDC for the models they market to the soccer moms.
As for Legacy as competition for Camrys and Accords, I guess it
depends on whether you live in the snow belt or not. Where I am, at a
higher elevation in the northern NY suburbs, Subarues, especially
Outbacks, are the dominant form of family transportation. Mine is one
of 3 2-subie familes on my block alone. In my line of work, we get
busy when the snow falls, and just about everyone's got an AWD or
4WD. Management gets SUVs as company cars.
 
Subaru has clearly forgotten its roots and forgot the product that
saved them -- the Outback. They newer versions of this vehicle are
pale shadows of the 2000-04 versions which were clearly the high point
of subaru design and engineering. They are trying to move "upscale"
despite the fact they have a solid reputation for making high quality,
go anywhere, reasonably priced vehicles. The teibeca has sold poorly
and I wouldnt buy another subie until they go backto basics with
design.
 
Subaru has clearly forgotten its roots and forgot the product that
saved them -- the Outback. They newer versions of this vehicle are
pale shadows of the 2000-04 versions which were clearly the high point
of subaru design and engineering. They are trying to move "upscale"
despite the fact they have a solid reputation for making high quality,
go anywhere, reasonably priced vehicles. The teibeca has sold poorly
and I wouldnt buy another subie until they go backto basics with
design.

While I may not be as severely critical as you are, I DO think they were
too late with too little to the entire SUV craze and should have let it
pass while concentraing on dominating their niche. Even the Forester is
'pushing it' I think.
And why not bring over the R1 or R2 or even the electric R-car?

What happened to the old advertising slogan they had; 'Inexpensive and
Built to Stay That Way' ?

Carl
 

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