Subaru sales up 13%, Impreza sales down 38%

[PhyrraM]

To me the Impreza has always been just as plain as the others. Nothing unique about it at all other than the hood scoop on turbocharged models. I thinks it's only with rose-colored hindsight that many folks think the 90s-'07 Impreza looked unique.

As far as the ugradability of older Subarus goes, yes they were - and it made them great. The new ones are no different. The new WRX is still on an Impreza chassis, regardless of the styling or Subarus 'corporate' tag lines. Once past the hassles of newer tech (that all cars have), you will be able to upgrade your VX to STI spec just the same as before.

My point is that Subaru really hasn't changed all that much. We have.

They still use corporate chassis across most models and a strong Lego philosophy with the parts bins. They still have basically bland, non-offensive styling that needs 'up-trim' models to make it sporty. None of the 'basics' have changed since the '80s.

[Legacy777]

Two other car manufacturers that I'll throw in the mix that have done a tremendous job in stepping up their game is Kia & Hyunda. They have come LEAPS & BOUNDS from their humble beginnings and are producing some very good looking cars with good power, good reliability, etc.

Subaru may have made improvements, but they still aren't playing with the big boys (Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, etc). Kia & Hyunda are further along at playing with the big boys IMO.

[James614]

Whoa now, playing with the big boys isn't necessarily a good thing. The day the Legacy compares in any way to an Impala or Malibu, is the day I go back to VW.

[Legacy777]

You could have just as easily put VW on that list too

[James614]

True, but as a VW guy I would probably turn back into the hypocritical douche I was in high school and so that wouldn't matter

[PhyrraM]

I agree that Hyundai (who now owns Kia and is likely responsible for it's concurrent rise) has come a long way in many catagories.

However, from my experience, they still lag in driving dynamics and overall experience. Mainstream reviews seem to agree. I DO feel, however, that they will close this gap soon.

[entirelyturbo]

My point is that Subaru really hasn't changed all that much. We have.

Very well put. I couldn't agree with this more.

Yeah, aside from my bitching about the framed windows and stuff like that, Subaru hasn't done anything different than any other car company. The market changes, customer demands change, government regulations change, and Subaru is no different than any other company: they have to change too or go out of business.

I don't want to come across like an pompous douche, but driving a new car every week has really changed my perception on cars and especially how they age.

I love my B4. A lot. I drove it today, and I left a $78,000 Infiniti QX56 press vehicle at home. When I park somewhere and walk away, I still turn around and look at it, even after 2 1/2 years. I bought it to enjoy it, and dammit, that's what I intend to do with it. But when I do, I can tell I'm driving a 13-year-old car, and I don't mean because of what's wrong with it. I don't have as much room, the seating position isn't as comfortable, I feel less confident in the suspension, and so on and so forth. I don't feel unsafe or feel like I'm driving a jalopy, but when I drive it, I get reminded that time has marched on. If Subaru tried to reintroduce the BE-BH Legacy as a brand-new car today, it would be unacceptably outclassed in every quantifiable measure.

I don't mean to insult anybody, but the newest car this forum caters to will be 20 years old next year, and I'd be willing to bet that the fastest car in this community would have to give everything it's got to beat a brand-new Camry V6 in a drag race. I understand the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that you all have gotten from building your cars into what they are today, and you obviously can't get that from a f'ing Camry, nor can you get the character either that even the most drab cars mysteriously gain as they get older. I recall telling Josh once that if both of us were at a Subaru meet, I'd pass right by every single WRX and STi to look at his car to admire the workmanship that went into it and hear all the stories he has to tell about the car over its lifetime. Whether it's the fastest car or not doesn't mean shit to me.

But to delude ourselves into believing that these cars are still on the cutting edge somehow and we're the only ones who realize it is ridiculous.

Just enjoy the cars for what they are.

[James614]

What new cars do you drive? My Legacy feels far more confident than my 2010 Charger. In fact, its so much sportier in the transmission programming and chassis tune that it feels like an honest to god sports car next to the thing. It absorbs bumps muh better, tracks corners better, communicates what the tires are doing better... everything. The Charger is a big part of the reason I don't care for many new cars. All the Legacy gives up is NVH and isolation from road noise, which I'm completely neutral about anyways. The Charger is just a low-cost (to the manufacturer) appeal to people who want something big and nice looking, and that's been my impression with many other new cars too.

I know many new cars are much better but there's still a lot that leave very much to be desired for people who like to drive cars, and don't even begin to compare in reliability or overall satisfaction to some of the good old cars.