Is Subaru Losing Their Fanbase?

Say the word "Subaru" What comes to your mind? All-wheel-drive rally cars? The end of Paul Hogan's career? Women in comfortable shoes who are kayaking enthusiasts? While all of those are true, is Subaru severing its roots with its die-hard owners to go for sales? 2013 marked record sales for Subaru in the US for all time.

But to first understand Subaru, you have to do a quick look into its American history. Established in 1968 by an entrepreneur by the name of Malcolm Bricklin. If that name sounds familiar, he's the guy who was responsible for bringing Yugo stateside, and the production of his own safety obsessed Bricklin SV1. Apparently Bricklin was only shooting 1/3 on his success. But Bricklin had the foresight in being able to ship over the half-ton microcar stateside and avoid federal standards due to its weight and its 0.36L engine. At this time, Nissan had a 20% stake in Subaru. Throughout much of the life of Subaru, Nissan components can be found in most Subaru vehicles; particularly automatic (non-CVT) transmissions.

Subaru's sales remained weak until the introduction of the BRAT, which was the first Subaru purposely built for the American market. The BRAT proved to be so popular, later US president Ronald Regan owned one.

In 1986, Fuji Heavy Industry (the owning company of Subaru) took full control of all North American operations from Bricklin. Three years later, Subaru opened its first, and only, plant in the US in Lafayette Indiana. The plant was a joint venture with Isuzu (who had ownership in FHI) where the Subaru Legacy and the Isuzu Rodeo were produced.

In 1999, Renault purchased Nissan, who in turn sold its stake in Subaru to General Motors. This lead to a large refresh in the Subaru lineup. Legacy in 2000, Impreza in 2000, Outback in 2000, and Traviq in 2001. GM's partnership also lead to a revival of the BRAT called the Baja in 2003. But GM's interaction with Subaru also went the other way, with the badge engineered Saab 9-2X which was a rebadged Impreza.

However, GM's ties with Subaru barely lasted a decade. GM sold 8.7% of Subaru ownership to Toyota, penning a deal which allowed GM to operate the Lafayette plant until 2007, where then Toyota would take control of the plant and global operations. The remaining 11.4% stake that GM owned was released into the public market.

This pretty much brings us today. Toyota still has their stake in Subaru, and still uses the Lafayette plant to produce the Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, and the Toyota Camry. But this is also where our story takes a hard left into a field of weirdness.

Since 2008, Subaru sales in the United States are up 127%. Granted, that little economic crisis may have had a major affect on the industry. But in that time, the changes in Subaru has been obvious and glaring to a rather obsessive and passionate group known as current owners.

Since Toyota has started having its hands in the Subaru lineup, we have seen a full update of the lineup, with the addition of two new vehicles: BRZ and XV Crosstrek. And this is where long term Subaru owners are getting the feeling of concern with the company of their much beloved cars.

Subaru cars are known for four things: flat-4 or -6 engines, full-time all wheel drive, their legendary longevity, and the ability to attract fans of flannel. However, one of those quite important things has changed. Unlike Subaru cars of the past, the full-time all wheel drive doesn't exist anymore. While the cars do still have all wheel drive, it's been changed to the front-drive/rear-reserve system found in more common vehicles such as the Ford Escape or Honda CR-V. This change and the change of the driving feel has put off some die-hard Subaru owners from trading in their 400,000 mile-strong Legacy.

The anticipation for the new WRX and WRX-STI for the 2015 model year had been massive. People had been expecting a wonderful new performance go-getter from the Far East. But there has been one major problem, and people are not exactly happy about it. 2015 also marks the end of the hatchback. One of Subaru's largest previous best sellers doesn't exist anymore. Could this be a continuation of the "American's don't like hatchbacks" myth? Possibly. But is it a sign Subaru has stopped listening to their customers? Yes.

One of the big Toyota/Subaru joint ventures has been the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86/Scion FR-S. A unique car for the Subaru lineup as this doesn't come with all wheel drive. For the past two years, Subaru has been selling these cars along side Scion in the US, selling 56,327 since it's debut. But the one thing consumers has been clammoring about is a performance model. Or at the very least; an available turbocharged engine. The corporate response has been lukewarm with promises of an upgraded model which end up falling off the table for one reason or another.

Then there's the general feel of the new Subaru vehicles. To quote Hamlet, "Something is wrong in the state of Denmark." In this case, I guess I should say Japan. Something has been lost with newer Subaru vehicles. The joy and passion of driving seems to have been thrown out the window. In the past, it didn't matter if you had the WRX-STI or a base model Legacy, you could still have some fun with the car. You felt connected to the road in all conditions, and didn't get thrown around in your seat like SS Minnow in its third hour.

While Subaru's sales are up, their lack of keeping that warm and fuzzy feeling to its existing customers is waning to the feeling someone would get from one of the American Big 3 or Japanese Big 3. Opposite of the sales is the repeat customer rate, which for years scored Subaru a top four spot, which is now at 36% behind Kia, Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda, according to a study by Experian. Worse yet, this puts them in company with Mercedes and BMW who aren't exactly known for their high quality anymore. An obvious sign, that Subaru is now at the point of selling cars to sell cars, instead of selling cars for their customers.

2012 Global Car Awards For No Reason!

That's right! It's time to give out some awards.

Now, these awards were originally given out on Facebook, but with Facebook's removal of Notes, it's getting pushed to here.

Disclaimer: A decent amount of these awards are silly, but are given in all seriousness of the car itself. I have personally driven a large amount of these cars. Cars I have not drove are stated.


This has been a great year for a majority of the automakers, with nearly every automaker releasing an important vehicle. So, without further ado, time for the awards!

The "Best Car of 2012" Award

2013 Ford Focus ST

The global Focus was re-released May of 2011, giving Americans the chance to own a proper Focus again. Though, unlike the last Focus Americans were... umm... offered, this new global Focus brings an ST variant from across the pond. 

Offering a unique exterior, Recaro seats, and a 247 hp, turbocharged, 2.0L EcoBoost engine which moves the car from naught to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. Ford's Torque Vectoring Control seems to have a magical way to handle that power to the front end and deliver an excitable drive while maintaining to keep control in nearly all conditions. 

On the interior, unique seats and instrumentation pod are the only two major differences over the standard Focus offer a familiar feel to other cars in the Ford family. It doesn't seem too small, especially for a compact car, and the Recaro seats feel quite comfortable, with the exception of taking the car on rutted dirt roads.

The only drawback which has been noticed has been the Goodyear Eagle 1 tires which come as standard equipment. While the tires are quite grippy, the amount of grip is too much for typical driving, and easily pick up stones and throw them at the car. 

The "Mission Accomplished" Award

2013 Cadillac ATS

If you were born before 1985, or have an affinity for dumb cars, you probably remember the Cadillac Cimarron; Cadillac's last attempt at a small luxury car. To this day, even uttering the word "Cimarron" outside of reference to Philmont Scout Ranch is almost a death sentence. 

The ATS is Cadillac's first small luxury car since the death of the Cimarron in 1988. By all means, this is NO Cimarron. Built on the brand new Alpha platform, which is looking to be the future of the Camaro and CTS, allowed engineers at GM to develop a whole new car, without being restrained by the constraints of existing GM vehicles.
After several months of development, the Cadillac team unveiled  a sleek, fuel efficient, luxury car which has several styling cues from the rest of the Cadillac lineup, but something completely different.

Offering three different engines (two four-cylinders, and one V6), and two six-speed transmissions, atop the well tuned chassis, releases a 3-Series (which until the current generation used the same Hydromatic automatic transmission) fighter which appears to be taking der Deutsche down a notch or two.

On the track, this car is very well put together, but it's in regular traffic this car shines. This is Cadillac's proof you don't have to spend $70K to have an fun-eye catching car.

Why is this the "Mission Accomplished" award? Cadillac's goal was to have a small luxury car which would be a hit, and remind people that they don't rebadge cars. And they met that goal.

The "You Get A Gold Star For Trying" Award

2013 Lincoln MKZ

(Not Driven)

Unlike it's platform mate, the Ford Fusion, the new MKZ is a mish-mash of design. With much feedback criticizing the stale and Baleen Whale like design of Lincoln's lineup ended up leading to the hiring of Max Wolff, who came from a successful run at Cadillac. The result? That's still being figured out. 

The exterior design is best looked at head on. Literally. It's about the only decent view of the car. The back end looks proportionally off, and in a side view, it looks like there's about 2 dozen bowling balls in the trunk. 

Strangely enough, with the "committee designed" exterior, the MKZ provides a comfortable and ergonomically logical interior. 

So, to Mr. Wolff and the rest of the Lincoln design team: Your foot is in the grave. Stop trying to build what you're building or you're division will be as dead as the man it was named after.

The "Way Too Overhyped By The Media" Award

2013 Subaru BRZ

With a design you either love or hate, the BRZ has been the "talk about" car for 2012. Yet, with all the extremely positive press this car has received, I'd really like to know if Toyota/Subaru had given media journalists a tuned or specialized version than what the consumer would get off the line.\

This is a great car, if you don't mind numb suspension, loose steering, and a weak engine similar to what you would expect for a 10 year old Miata. (Note: This was not particular to one car, but to four)

This car could be great given an extra 30hp (turbo?), stiffer suspension, and better bushings in the steering, but until this happens, the BRZ is going to be a mediocre wannabe track racer.

The "Kirstie Alley Went Off Her Diet Again" Award

2013 Infiniti JX35

Infiniti (and Nissan) has always had a different design language which never really seemed to mesh with the rest of the industry. The new JX35 continues this tradition. Sitting on the same platform as the Maxima and Altima (in the same fashion of the Ford Explorer), Infiniti brings luxury to people mover.

Along with the Maxima, the JX35 does handle surprisingly well for a 2+ ton wagon, but it's the sheer size of the vehicle which hurts the JX. With the design proportions given make the JX35 a huge boat which pulls into gas stations with a similar effect of the Exxon-Valdez (18/23mpg). Though the size isn't the only big thing about this car, the base price starts off at a steep $42,500, but this does include amenities which would be expected in a luxury line.

The "Someone Needs A New Pair Of Glasses" Award

2014 Chevrolet Silverado

(Not Driven)

Just last week, GM unveiled the next generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. It's amazing how two vehicles can be based off the same components, and end up with different results (See Lincoln MKZ above). While the new Sierra has a very distinguished front end to bring it along the design language of the rest of the GMC lineup, the Silverado's exterior failed to meet the expectations of, well, anyone. While the interior has had a great and highly needed overhaul, the outside looks as if the design department spent all but $75 on the inside, leaving only a change to projector headlights and a slightly revised grille to the equation. So, I congratulate GM on releasing the 2006 Silverado for next year, but you guys definitely missed the mark on an exterior re-design. Hopefully, the frame and suspension upgrades are enough to justify the massive change. And the addition (or re-introduction) of the V6 is well expected.

The "I Hate My Life But We Have To Save The Environment" Award

2013 Toyota Prius C

It's hard to believe that the Prius, a name synonymous with hybrids, has been on sale for over a decade in the United States. Though Toyota has in it's history produced cars which scream "I hate my life" while driving down the road. The Toyota Echo is the quintessential example of this. Though, now that the Platz based Echo since 2005, it was apparently time for Toyota to come up with another self-loather: The Prius C. While the idea of the car makes perfect sense in both a market and a sales point of view, the execution was anything but. The road noise is comparable to a 1st generation Ford Escape, and the driving experience makes you feel like you're driving a box of chocolate. Just waiting for something to fall off, break, or rattle. However, Toyota's expertise in hybrids is where the car really shines. While on the surface, the fuel economy seems to match the Prius, it's in city driving where the C outperforms it's big brother. But it's at the point you remember you drive a Prius where the self loathing starts to come back.



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