XLeezardx Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 If this is true, Im going to Nissan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 If Subaru ditches the Boxer and AWD, what are you left with? Not a Subaru, so why would a person buy one? There would need to be some incentive to not get a Camry, Accord or Altima. What Niche would a FWD Subaru have to sway consumers?They've already moved away from frameless windows! Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 On one hand it's understandable that there has to be cheaper models too, but at the end of the 80's there were the Trendy (also known as Justy if I'm right) with a 3-cylinder engine first at 1.0 liter and then 1.2 liter. It also packed a CVT transmission (called ECVT) as well as manually engaged 4WD (normal for the time). The mileage with the CVT gearbox was actually lower than for the same with manual transmission. I did test drive one once and it was a really interesting experience keeping the same rpm on the engine all the time while accelerating to 90km/h - but not very powerful. A quick review can be found at: http://www.carsurvey.org/review_31478.html where it's stated that it does 40mpg. (if it's imperial or US gallon I don't know) It looks very much like a Nissan Micra of the same age. The real problem with small economic cars is that you still need a bigger car whenever you want to haul things around. That's the reason why I have a 2.0R Legacy Wagon with a trailer hitch. Fuel consumption in the range of 7 to 8.5 liters per 100km depending on how heavy the right foot is... (do the math yourself to get the right gallon/mpg). The real problem with minimalistic cars is that they have a tendency to be unable to withstand heavier use (about every usage profile that is heavier than what retired aunt Ethel has). And actually - compared to many other engines the boxer engine is very compact and lightweight so there is no reason to suspect that it will disappear in the near future. The new diesel sure looks interesting - and diesel technology is very fuel efficient compared to petrol. One experience I have is that the AWD system itself may add some extra weight - but it's not really an extreme weight compared to the weight added by soundproofing and a lot of other things in a car. A more important factor - especially if you only drive shorter distances is which type of oil you have in the transmission since it will cause a considerable amount of drag when the car is cold. And the time before the transmission is getting warm is much longer than the time it takes for the engine to get warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTlegacy06 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 They've already moved away from frameless windows! Eventually their new phrase will be: "Frameless Windows, It's what Makes a Subaru, a Subaru!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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