Some decent tech info from "Outback=Truck" article

[AgWagon]

Sorry for the length but it's a subscriber-only article so a link wouldn't have worked: A nip, a tuck - and suddenly, a truck Subaru engineers tweak '05 Outback, change its status By Lindsay Chappell Automotive News / February 23, 2004 When Don Beardon talks about the re-engineering job on the 2005 Subaru Legacy Outback, he tends to make one small technical mistake. "It's a completely different car," says Beardon, director of government affairs for Subaru of America Inc. He is still calling the '05 Outback a "car." But, technically, that's no longer true. Thanks to the engineering changes undertaken on the project, the Outback will be classified as a truck for U.S. regulatory purposes. Beardon's conversational slip-up is to be forgiven for Subaru managers. The sales and marketing unit of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. is not accustomed to thinking of itself as a truck manufacturer. Its low-selling pickup version of Subaru's Legacy sedan, the Baja, was classified as a truck a year ago. And this month at the Chicago Auto Show, the company introduced a redesigned Legacy Outback that also will receive a truck classification, even though it was spawned by the Legacy sedan. In an era when auto manufacturers are blurring all recognized lines between vehicle segments, calling a model a car or a truck or a sport wagon or a "crossover" has almost become meaningless. But for Subaru, the change in the Outback's legal classification required more than a rewording of marketing materials. It required a number of engineering changes keyed to federal regulations. Those changes in turn triggered a list of other body re-engineering chores. Setting the trends Subaru is hardly a newcomer to the art of blurring the line. The brand gained some cachet in the 1990s when it adopted all-wheel drive across its product line. The Outback was one of the first hard-to-categorize vehicles in the industry when it appeared as a muscle-clad import wagon, with rugged wheels and heavy-duty luggage and gear racks. The sporty wagon was about as close to an SUV (that means "truck") as the low-volume, cash-constrained carmaker was going to get. The new Outback goes further. The floorpan is roughly the same as the current Outback, but Fuji engineers in Japan raised it, along with the rest of the car, 1.1 inches, for a ground clearance of 8.4 inches and 8.7 inches on a turbo version. Ground clearance is a key part of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's official definition of a truck (see box, at far right). Another key attribute is that the vehicle must be capable of off-road use. Subaru has standard awd on its products, so the raised clearance became the critical focus. To get there, engineers had to redesign the undercarriage of the vehicle. The wheelbase was extended by 0.8 inch to 105.1 inches. The rear differential had to be modified. And to compensate for the higher stance, the rear bumper had to be enlarged as well as raised for clearance purposes. Making the Outback taller wasn't enough. The height gain changed its center of gravity. To ensure stability, the project team lowered the drivetrain. That process required Fuji to redesign the cross members that support the engine and transmission, and to alter the vehicle's suspension system. In the course of redesigning the metal componentry, engineers made changes to make the body stronger by switching to high-tensile steel in what the company calls its ring-shaped reinforcement design. The design is a cage structure that fortifies the vehicle cabin. Two steel rings run over the top of the car and down the A-pillar and B-pillar. Both pass down the sides of the car, through the floor pan and across the chassis. The change in metals helped make the vehicle stronger against impacts. But there were other metal changes. Body transformed One of Subaru's objectives was to deliver a more rugged vehicle that delivered better fuel economy. Two key body changes made that possible. First, engineers adopted a new design for the Outback's front subframe. The new model uses lighter hydroformed steel pieces, subcontracted to a new Fuji supplier, Elsa Corp. of Elwood, Ind. Elsa is owned by Japan's Sakamoto Industrial Co. Ltd., and operates its U.S. steel plant about 50 miles from Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. in Lafayette, Ind., where the Outback will be produced starting this summer. Second, designers decided to mix metals on the body and incorporate an aluminum hood and an aluminum rear liftgate. But that meant making changes at the manufacturing level. The Indiana Subaru plant stamps its own steel body panels. To mix aluminum lids and gates with steel body panels meant the assembly plant had to invest in new transfer stamping machinery that is capable of switching back and forth between the two. According to the company, the changes in body construction and metals allowed Subaru to make the new Outback 180 pounds lighter than the current model. The weight improvement improved the Outback's fuel economy by about 3 percent. "It's not the same car," Beardon says, making his mistake again. "It looks similar. But it's not the same car. The floor pan is similar in size, but this is a brand new car." Complex equations As Subaru prepared to unveil the redesign in Chicago, company officials bristled when a press report interpreted the Outback's change to truck status as evidence of a manufacturer with corporate average fuel economy troubles. When it comes to CAFE - the EPA method of pressing automakers to make fuel-efficient vehicles - manufacturers must count their products either in a truck fleet or a car fleet. Trucks still get a break from federal regulators. A manufacturer's fleet of light trucks must meet a 21.0 mpg average for the 2005 model year, while cars must meet a 27.5 mpg average, or face fines. Bumping the Outback into Subaru's fledgling truck fleet will bolster the average of its car fleet, which is heavily populated with four-cylinder engine cars. Meanwhile, the new Outback gained fuel economy over its previous generation's ratings, which at 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, already were a comfortable fit. Some of Subaru's motivation had to do with EPA regulations, says Beardon, because the automaker is positioning itself to meet fuel-economy rules. "I've been monitoring the regulations that we think are coming," Beardon says, "trying to make these new vehicles meet the regulations of the future. You're always changing the designs to try to meet what you think the new regulations are going to require. NHTSA is always working. Congress is always working on what NHTSA should do." But there is more to it than that, the company says. Subaru's motivation was also product-related, Beardon adds. A truck label allows Subaru to do things with the Outback that it couldn't do as a car. It now can have a darkened rear window, for example - a feature that is forbidden to cars for safety reasons. Since the Outback is the company's closest thing to an SUV, the dark window could appeal to customers who want to hide skiing equipment or other gear in the cargo area. To a larger extent, the truck label is the accurate description for a product that no longer fits the description of a "car." "It was all marketing driven," Beardon says. "Our owners were asking for more SUV features, such as higher ground clearance for off-road use or deeper snow use. The sales and marketing department made suggestions on improvements for the vehicle based on what customers have been asking for."

[GBY]

Interesting, Cheers AgWag.

[dimil]

:)

[SUBE555]

I shake my head everytime I hear about that. It might be something everybody does with their mini-utes based on cars, but it's still cheating.

[kage]

I shake my head every time I hear about it too. Every other manufacturer has been doing it for YEARS, so WTF is everyone making such a federal case of it? Every single person on this board should be [b]thankful[/b] Subaru is doing this, because it allows them to bring the turbocharged cars to market and not force the consumer to pay extra for being a gas guzzler.

[SUBE555]

I still want them to make a good hybrid that gets excellent mileage and performs well, all in one box. Would help sell those things if they move well additional to leaving more room open for turbo power. :twisted:

[kage]

Turbo hybrid? Sure, why not? For that matter, I wish someone would explore Miller Cycle engines again. Better fuel efficiency AND improved power; what could be better?

[SUBE555]

I'm more thinking REVETEC low-displacement design hooked to a generator (tuned for torque and low rpms), spinning motors at each corner or a motor per end of the car hooked to a CVT and differential (no central gearbox and driveshafts in between.) No direct mechanical connection between engine and wheels. I'm sure with the right mechanical advantages, a small, low-displacement motor could put out some nice power from a generator and run good power to the ground with some decent performance and economy.

[MSB]

Subaru Legacy Outback Long Term Test Review From AutoExpress UK Website Let the train take the strain? Not likely! Our new Subaru Legacy Outback long-termer is a far more comfortable and reliable way to commute than the railway system as it clocks up 70 miles a day from north Hertfordshire to London and back. The rugged off-roader cum estate car has been with us since December, and has already done 4,438 miles and had a 1,000-mile service to replace the thick running-in oil. This takes an hour and is free. Until the oil change we had kept the revs low, but now we can open up the 162bhp engine and really start using the power. As well as commuting duty, the car has been pressed into service as a DIY support vehicle to lug six heavy flagstones from Cambridgeshire to my home near Stevenage. There's no doubt that the massive boot is one of the Subaru's strong-est features, but it's a shame that the cabin is not as impressively spacious. Although our SE spec model looks smart, its cramped driving position has come in for criticism. While the electrically adjustable seat offers a degree of flexibility, we've found it impossible to get the chair low enough, and the problem is com-pounded by the fact that the adjustable steering wheel can't be lifted as high as we would like. However, we've been much more impressed by the ride, which is supple, the reassuringly strong brakes and accurate steering. What's more, the all-wheel-drive transmission adds extra grip and stability to the already neutral chassis. Despite our confidence in the car's mechanical and structural strength, the plastic wheelarch spats don't appear to be well fitted, and we have still to find a use for the five-speed gearbox's transfer case. Although it's good to have the op-tion of a low-ratio drive, it would be preferable to have a sixth gear, which would improve the car's already impressive 32.2mpg fuel economy. Unfortunately, public enthusiasm for the Out-back is not as strong as mine is, as I have still to see another on the road. Yet in the same period, I've spotted two Ultima kit cars, a new Rolls-Royce Phantom and an original Bentley Continental. Nevertheless, its practicality means the Legacy is in demand at Auto Express, so its life is unlikely to get easier. Stay tuned to see how it fares. Pros: Massive boot space, robust build, stable chassis, comfortable ride, fuel economy Cons: Driving position too high, low-range gearbox, fit of plastic wheelarch spats

[SUBE555]

That's a pretty darn good write-up! :)