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Even more bad news for the Outback uglier and no XT


ABPillinois

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The way it looks, if you want the turbo, you need to go with the Forester, if you want a 6, the OB is your choice. Either way, you get a slushbox.

 

Or...

 

Opt for the WRX 5-door, which is what I did. With the seats folded you can get a surprising amount of stuff in it. The frosting on the cake is that it's more fun to drive than any of those you listed.

 

Bob

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Whew! Yes, I did change it to XT! That just goes to show you that you shouldn't send anything out when you have a head of steam up and just finished a big Martini.....

 

I did look at the WRX and like it a lot, but there is no way my wife will give up the Outback's cargo room.

 

Actually, I kind of look forward to doing some suspension and exterior mods, so I'm not too broken up about keeping it. My wife's Miata is 15 years old and my Jaguar is 35 years old (28 of them mine).

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hopefully someone from subaru will read this and maybe make a change for 2011 and 2012. i cant believe how ugly they made it, whats with the jumbo ass and the stupid reflectors in the back bumper, its like a gm product and they finished it and said oooh we forgot to add reflectors well we can stuff them in there.

the plastic front bumper faux chrome looks stupid, the black plastic side skirts look stupid , the faux wood just about made me puke, what kind of demographic do they think buys an outback and want faux wood? i was so looking forward to buying a 2011 outback diesel or legacy wagon diesel when they arrive but if they look like this well im done with subaru.

the impreza looks like a kia, the forester looks like a mom getting groceries and now teh outback looks like jumbled vomit on a shag carpet.

i cant believe how cool the legacy wagon 2.0r i have in europe looks and now they went to this? i guess when i move back to canada i might as well buy a jetta wagon diesel.

 

thanks subaru for killing your product.

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Before I retired, I was an executive at an auto-related company. You should not assume a well-written and non-hysterical communication will be a waste of time. It can create serious changes. You will never know about it and they take a while to activate, but I've seen it happen, some of it by me.
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Whats with the body cladding? Did Subaru USA hire a bunch Pontiac designers? At least Pontiac finally dropped the cladding. My wife took a look at the photos and said "what's the purpose of the body cladding and those notches along the running boards? It's just ugly in my opinion. Maybe some people think it makes the car look tough? But really it just makes it look cheap especially when it's a different color than the rest of the car.

Interesting I don't see the cladding on the pics of the JDM version?

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Quick shots from the show:

http://john-r-coughlin.com/pictures/legacy/outback1.jpg

http://john-r-coughlin.com/pictures/legacy/outback2.jpg

http://john-r-coughlin.com/pictures/legacy/outback3.jpg

http://john-r-coughlin.com/pictures/legacy/outback4.jpg

 

Enjoy.

 

-John

 

 

See that guy in the last pic? he's saying " I know, I know, it's really ugly. Just don't punch me in the face." I don't know why Subaru is trying for the corporate look. each different model is supposed to look different. remember when all nissans looked the same? huge suck! all dodges look the same, even huger suck! Very glad I have a good looking subaru.:spin:

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See that guy in the last pic? he's saying " I know, I know, it's really ugly. Just don't punch me in the face." I don't know why Subaru is trying for the corporate look. each different model is supposed to look different. remember when all nissans looked the same? huge suck! all dodges look the same, even huger suck! Very glad I have a good looking subaru.:spin:

 

I watched a video from this very event and the guy (Doll) used word "beautiful" in reference to the new Outback.... :lol: I, mean, c'mon.

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Before I retired, I was an executive at an auto-related company. You should not assume a well-written and non-hysterical communication will be a waste of time. It can create serious changes. You will never know about it and they take a while to activate, but I've seen it happen, some of it by me.

 

I worked for Jaguar's North American Headquarters for 6 years and you are right that they do read well written, non-combative letters. What I would suggest is we come up with a form letter for everyone to use, sign and forward to SOA with our thoughts, comments and suggestions for the new Outback/Legacy model line.

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Before I retired, I was an executive at an auto-related company. You should not assume a well-written and non-hysterical communication will be a waste of time. It can create serious changes. You will never know about it and they take a while to activate, but I've seen it happen, some of it by me.

 

to make sure the change happens the communication should be with FHI. SOA is locked in their view and pushed for this flattening of model lines for years. They always wanted a Camry DX, just with Subaru badge on it.

2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K

2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K

SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K

SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K

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I watched a video from this very event and the guy (Doll) used word "beautiful" in reference to the new Outback.... :lol: I, mean, c'mon.

 

he was probably comparing it to new Legacy...

2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K

2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K

SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K

SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K

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Darkfox1: I hope it isn't huge. It should be a #10 stock font but bold. The reason is probably the same as why people customize cars. To be a bit different and also by tradition. For example, all our cars for 25 years have been white. It's a family tradition. As for the blue type, for much of my working career, I used a fountain pen with a bold tip and Royal Blue ink. This is as close as I can get to that in this medium. You now know more than you ever wanted to.
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From what I could glean from the business press:

 

Ikuo Mori, President and CEO

Fuji Heavy Industries

Subaru Building,

1-7-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8316

 

Subaru of America

Thomas J. Doll, EVP, CFO

Subaru Plaza 2235 Route 70 West

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

 

Subaru of America

Timothy J. Mahoney, Sr. Vice President

Subaru Plaza 2235 Route 70 West

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

 

Subaru of America

Rick Crosson, Vice President

Subaru Plaza 2235 Route 70 West

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

 

Subaru of Indiana

Hiroyuki Oikawa, President and CEO

5500 State Rd. 38 East

Lafayette, IN 47905

 

Subaru of Indiana

Masahiro Kasai, Executive Vice President

5500 State Rd. 38 East

Lafayette, IN 47905

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This is the letter I sent to the prior captioned Subaru executives. I did not copy others on the individual letters. Let them figure it out. The reference to car guys vs. financial guys is a dig at the CFO heading SOA and probably should be left off or softened. When and if you send your own, I would tend to downplay personal issues with style since that is subjective and probably has the most thorough market research regardless of whether they got it right or not.

 

I have received a press release concerning the 2010 Legacy Outback. I am disappointed the lineup contains no XT turbocharged model as I currently own. I had anticipated purchasing a 2010 model XT in the fall but will not now do so.

 

I have the sense that Subaru North America is attempting to homogenize the model line up and target the crossover population. I suggest to you there is peril in that course. In my opinion, the niche occupied by Subaru is not a simple one. It is derived from a matrix of owner biases that are not necessarily compatible. One is a body of owners with a performance bias but a need for storage and utility offered by the Outback.

 

To put my experience in perspective, my first Subaru was a 2002. I put about a dozen friends in them, several in Legacy GT wagons. When I tried to buy one in 2006, the GT wagon was discontinued and I reluctantly opted for an Outback XT instead. I find now my XT will also be discontinued. I looked at the five-door WRX, and it is not a satisfactory substitute. My experience is not unique from what I have read on the various independent owner websites. Many of us owning the XT live at altitudes where turbocharging is desirable. In my opinion, abandoning a passionate, influential and perhaps annoying market segment in order to attract an uncommitted browsing buyer is shortsighted.

 

Forgive the arrogance of making suggestions to executives of one of two makes having sales increases in 2008. Having said that, erroneous paths may erode those admirable gains. I believe homogenizing the line to reduce the modest expense of buyer choices poses serious risk and smacks of a financial guy rather than a car guy making critical choices; a recipe for short term savings and long term losses.

 

The 2010 Legacy/Outback line appears to target the crossover market that is already saturated with many fine consumer choices, most available with AWD. I see no reason to consider Subaru over any other crossover. I had considered no other.

 

Best of luck on your strategy. It will execute without this customer.

 

Regards:

 

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:lol:

 

not more than I wanted to. Its interesting... and here I thought I was a creature of habit. :lol:

 

its hard for me to read that blue.. The letters are thick.

 

maybe I can strip formatting in my settings?

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
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This is the letter I sent to the prior captioned Subaru executives. I did not copy others on the individual letters. Let them figure it out. The reference to car guys vs. financial guys is a dig at the CFO heading SOA and probably should be left off or softened. When and if you send your own, I would tend to downplay personal issues with style since that is subjective and probably has the most thorough market research regardless of whether they got it right or not.

 

 

 

Thanks a lot for doing this. I am waiting to hear what kind of response you will get.

2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K

2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K

SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K

SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K

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LOL. This happens every time a new revision comes out.

 

"OMG! The crap! It looks like a car+car+car-car blended with truck+llama! I hate it! I'm gonna buy a Amish buggie instead!"

 

Needs XT option. But while people rag on them they are one of the few makes actually showing growth right now.

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