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Subaru News...
Outstanding News:
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "Top Safety Pick" Award.
Five Subaru Vehicles Are 2010 Top Safety Picks...
Subaru also Awarded Highest Predicted Resale Value in History:
On November 17, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced their
2010MY "Top Safety Picks".
This year the IIHS added a roof integrity test as part of their standards in order to simulate the
results of potential rollover. While last year there were 94 models that achieved top safety pick
designation, this year only 27 models earned the "Top Safety Pick" designation.
We can be extremely proud that all Subaru models tested (Legacy, Outback, Forester, Impreza and
Tribeca) earned the "Top Safety Pick" designation from the IIHS. That's almost 20 percent of the
vehicles named "Top Safety Picks" being Subaru. In fact, Subaru is the only brand to have won this
designation for every vehicle class in which we compete. There were many manufacturers that did not
even have one vehicle win a "Top Safety Pick" Award.
Click the following link to watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V-msXEksH4
We can be proud that each and every Subaru is manufactured with the customer's safety as a top priority.
FHI manufactures vehicles that are not only noted for their reliability and durability, but also engineered
with the safety our customers deserve.
There is no doubt that Subaru products represent among the best engineered, fun to drive, reliable, safe
and best value in the industry. It's not just us that says it?.it's everyone in the Automotive Press like
Motor Trend, Edmunds, Kelly Blue Book and Automotive Lease Guide (ALG).
J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI)
On Monday, November 30, J.D. Power released the 2009 SSI Results. We are pleased to report that
Subaru had the 5th largest point increase and we improved our ranking from 29th to 23rd. In what J.D.
Power calls their "Mass Market" brands, Subaru is the top Asian nameplate, and with the exception of
Smart and Mini, we are the top import nameplate ahead of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, VW and a host
of others. We appreciate your continued focus on the customer selling process so we can see further
improve in next year's study.
Popular Mechanics named their Most Versatile Car: 2010 Subaru OutbackLong before the term "crossover"
became synonymous with rugged, car-based utility wagons, Subaru had
the Outback. To many, that original 1995 Outback was the first real crossover, blending the best attributes
of an SUV with the nimble handling of a traditional car and the capability of Subaru's rally-bred allwheel-
drive expertise.
According to Popular Mechanics, the 2010 Outback only widens that capability envelope. The article
states, "Riding on beefy tires, and with a suspension tall enough to produce a Hummer-humbling 8.7
inches of ground clearance, the Outback is not a corner carver. Instead, the Outback is a sweet-natured
wagon with poised road manners that scrambles effortlessly along dirt roads and up some pretty difficult
trails".
In fact, besides having the Popular Mechanics Most Versatile Car of 2010, the Motor Trend Sport/Utility
of the Year award for two consecutive years for Forester and Outback, the IIHS "Top Safety Pick
designation and being recognized by Advertising Age as one of America's Hottest Brands of 2009, our
franchise will also be winning another "major" award in December. As soon as it is announced we will
notify you.
The Subaru Outback has been named MOTOR TREND's 2010 Sport/Utility of the Year®.
The Subaru Outback's victory follows the Subaru Forester's win for the 2009 award, making Subaru the first automaker to win two consecutive MOTOR TREND Sport/Utility of the Year® awards.
MOTOR TREND editor-in-chief, Angus MacKenzie, said "The 2010 Subaru Outback offers a unique combination of comfort, efficiency, versatility and value. It boasts car-like refinement, drivability and gas mileage on the road, yet is as capable in the rough stuff as all but the most off-road focused sport utilities. Thoughtfully engineered, cleverly detailed and competitively priced, the Subaru Outback is a terrific all-rounder with broad appeal."
Learn more about the 2010 Outback by clicking here.
How Subaru defies the recession:
U.S. executives rejected a move upmarket -- and listened to their dealers
Diana T. Kurylko
Automotive News -- December 21, 2009 - 12:01 am ET
From left: Subaru of America COO Tom Doll, sales boss Tim Colbeck and marketing chief Tim Mahoney put the little Japanese brand on the right track.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- It may be the worst of times for new-vehicle sales, but in a nondescript office building on a busy highway in suburban Philadelphia, executives at Subaru of America have pulled off a miracle.
While the rest of the industry cratered, the little Japanese brand has racked up big U.S. sales gains.
So how did Subaru beat the odds for two years running?
Credit a decision four years ago by U.S. bosses to dump a strategy, dictated by executives in Japan, to go upmarket.
Since 2006, Subaru has cut prices, shed its quirky styling and refocused the marketing strategy on the safety and practical virtues of its five vehicles. And it has let dealers weigh in on important product decisions.
Those and other moves helped make Subaru the best-performing brand in 2009 -- up 14 percent in a market down 24 percent. The brand has jumped from the 19th-largest U.S. seller in 2008 to the 11th, ahead of Volkswagen and within striking distance of Jeep.
"Subaru is getting the respect it deserves," says Gunnar Heuberger, owner of Heuberger Subaru in Colorado Springs, Colo., the largest U.S. Subaru dealership.
"It was one of the best-kept secrets for 20 years -- ever since they went to their platform of all-wheel-drive cars. Now that it is priced at or lower than a front-wheel-drive car, people understand that this is a hell of a deal." Subaru will finish the year with sales of about 215,000 vehicles, says COO Tom Doll. In a dreadful 2009, only two other brands, Kia and Hyundai, managed sales increases over 2008. And in 2008, only Subaru and Mini were up.
"We knew we had strong momentum last year with the new Forester," says Doll. "And we knew that could continue this year when we introduced the new Legacy and Outback."
Subaru's success is the real retail deal. Only 6 percent of sales this year have been to fleets, says Doll, well below Kia's 28 percent and Hyundai's nearly 20 percent.
Incentive spending is also low -- about $990 per vehicle, compared with $2,694 on average for the industry, say company executives, citing Autodata Corp. statistics.
New direction
Four years ago, Subaru officials decided to stop trying to compete with European premium brands such as Volvo and Audi -- a plan in the works when Subaru launched its previous-generation Legacy sedan and Outback wagon in 2004. Early in the decade, parent company Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. even contemplated launching a luxury car.
Since then Subaru has been repositioned as a value brand, outdoorsy and pragmatic. It also abandoned its goal of hitting 250,000 sales by 2010. The target now is 236,000 by 2012.
Dale Walker, owner of Walker's Renton Subaru in Renton, Wash., says the push to premium was misguided. "Even when it was going on, the U.S. guys were very concerned about that decision," he says.
Walker says three executives -- Doll, 54; chief marketing officer Tim Mahoney, 53; and sales boss Tim Colbeck, 46 -- brought Fuji "back down to Earth."
Until 2006, Subaru's prices were 5 to 10 percent higher than those of its Japanese competition. For example, a base-level Legacy sedan listed at $24,795 in January 2006, including shipping, compared to a $18,225 starting price for the Honda Accord.
The company maintained that all-wheel drive and the added safety of its vehicles warranted the premium.
But the vehicles lacked interior space and sophistication. There was no navigation system, iPod connector or the other electronics that competitors offer.
Shoppers were "simply walking way," says dealer Heuberger.
The products also had to be made more suitable for the United States. Rear passenger room in particular was inadequate.
Ikuo Mori, CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries, admitted in a recent interview that the company was simply exporting vehicles that had been developed for Japanese. "But now we design a vehicle to suit global markets," he says. For example, both the new Legacy and Outback have more legroom than their predecessors.
New dealers
In a depressed market, Subaru has added 10 dealers this year for a total of 610. Most of the new dealers are in the Sun Belt, where the brand wants to increase sales. Subaru's biggest markets are Denver, Seattle and the Northeast, places where winter warrants all-wheel drive.
Colbeck says Subaru's success has attracted top-notch retailers, too. Twenty-five percent of Subaru dealers are new since 2006, the result of terminations, closures or retirements. They replaced what Colbeck calls "our less committed dealers."
About 90 percent of the brand's dealers are profitable. And those prosperous dealers gave Subaru the second-highest brand rating in the last two dealer attitude surveys, conducted in the past year by NADA. Only Lexus did better.
What makes it a Subaru?
Mahoney, the brand's marketing boss, joined Subaru in 1984, left in 1999 to become vice president of marketing for Porsche Cars North America and returned to Subaru in May 2006. When he came back, the marketing approach was overhauled.
Subaru once trotted out the likes of Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. These days, celebrity spokesmen are out.
The current campaign is called "Love. It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru." TV spots show vehicles getting muddy and plowing through snow. Mahoney says the company is "tapping into the emotions of car buying and letting consumers discover the rational reasons such as safety and residual-value awards."
All five of Subaru's vehicles have a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for front-impact, rollover and side-impact crash tests. Those accolades are being used heavily in advertising.
And Subaru's residuals are soaring. The brand won Automotive Lease Guide's "best mainstream brand" award for the 2010 model year. Thirty-six-month residuals have improved to more than 50 percent for each model in the lineup, according to ALG.
Combined with lower pricing, the higher residuals have allowed Subaru to offer lower leases, such as a $229 monthly payment on a 36-month Forester, compared with $299 a few years ago, says Doll. About 20 percent of Subaru transactions are leases.
According to J.D. Power and Associates' 2009 customer-retention study, Subaru's brand loyalty was 57 percent. Only Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota were higher in the category, and Subaru was tied with Lexus.
"Their marketing is focused, and they are in launch mode," says Jim Hall, a consultant with 2953 Analytics in suburban Detroit. "But they still have the same issue -- low consideration -- and they have to find a way to build that."
An avoided brand
Kerri Wise, director of automotive research at Power, says Subaru is one of the most avoided brands. Wise says about 8 percent of the buyers surveyed in its Avoider study, released last week, considered a Subaru, while the average brand attracts about 16 percent.
"The only negative perception is the styling," says Wise.
The study was conducted last May before Subaru launched its new-generation Legacy and Outback.
Subaru's new development strategy also meant shedding eccentric design cues and going more mainstream, although not without talking with U.S. dealers. A dealer board committee of four members, formed several years ago, travels to Japan three or four times a year to evaluate new products.
Walker says dealers asked Fuji Heavy to make the Forester bigger -- and management listened. The redesigned crossover, introduced in 2007, has been a runaway hit.
Designers rounded some of the sharp lines on the previous version, which looked like a tall and boxy station wagon rather than a crossover.
But dealers saw the 2010 Outback three years before launch and criticized Fuji Heavy for making it too mainstream by removing the clad-ding and softening the lines.
"It was more refined and extremely nice-looking, but it didn't hit the mark -- it didn't have that rugged look or signal a go-anywhere capability," says Phil Porter, who owns Center Subaru in Torrington, Conn., and Subaru of Jacksonville in Florida.
"All the mechanics were there, but the appearance wasn't. We saw the car late in the fall, and they flew us to Japan in March the following year to see the changes," says Porter, who is opening his third Subaru store this week because of his growing confidence in the brand.
"It is the fastest reaction I ever witnessed to input from dealers."
Environmental Policy:
SOA understands its responsibility to the global environment, society at large, our customers, our distribution network and our employees. As we conduct our business operations into the future, we commit to establish and maintain an effective environmental management system that extends further than just meeting the stated environmental laws and regulations, and that encompasses the integration of sound environmental practices in all of our business decisions.
We commit to:
* Comply with all environmental laws and regulations and other requirements related to our business activities.
* Implement effective pollution prevention systems that protect our air, land and water.
* Conserve natural resources, by reducing, reusing and recycling materials.
* Continuous improvement of our Environmental Management System (EMS).
* Create employee awareness and commitment to SOA's Environmental Philosophy and Policy.
* Work with SOA's business partners to improve their operational impact on the environment.
Subaru of America, Inc. reaffirms our commitment to being a world-class leader in environmental performance.
The Subaru Clean Plant
Here's something to think about: next time you take out your trash at home for collection, you're sending more trash to landfills than the entire Subaru manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Indiana (SIA) does in a year. The Subaru plant was the first auto assembly plant to achieve zero landfill status - nothing from its manufacturing efforts goes into a landfill. It's all reused and recycled. Each year, SIA actively recycles 99.3% of excess/leftover steel, plastic, wood, paper, glass, and other materials. The remaining 0.7% is shipped to the city of Indianapolis and incinerated to help generate steam. In 2006, SIA recycled 11,411 tons of scrap steel, 1,537 tons of cardboard and paper, and 963 tons of wood. That's equal to conserving 31,040 mature trees, 31,572 cubic yards of landfill space, 711,631 gallons of oil, and 10,759,000 gallons of water.
But SIA is no stranger to being a trailblazer when it comes to being environmentally responsible.
* In 1994, SIA was also the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. to be smoke free.
* In 1998, SIA was the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. to be ISO 14001 Certified.
* In 2002, SIA became the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. with an on-site solvent recovery system that produces drystill bottoms.
* In 2003, SIA became the first U.S. automotive assembly plant to be designated a wildlife habitat. Deer, coyotes, beavers, blue herons, geese, and other animals live there in peaceful coexistence with the Subaru plant. It's our commitment to leave as small a footprint as possible, delivering real-world benefits that everyone can enjoy.
* In 2004, SIA became the first U.S. manufacturing facility to reach zero landfill status.
* In 2006, SIA was awarded the U.S. EPA's Gold Achievement Award as a top achiever in the agency's WasteWise program to reduce waste and improve recycling.
Green Supplier
To build a green machine, you have to start green. See how we've set and achieved environmental stewardship goals for manufacturing at our Subaru of Indiana plant.
Wildlife Habitat
In 2003, Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. became the first automotive assembly plant to be designated as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SIA's 800+ acres serves as a home for various wildlife including: white-tail deer, rabbits, Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, squirrels, beavers, coyote, snapping turtles, frogs, red-tail hawks, blue heron, and the Bald Eagle. Check out these pictures of our neighbors.
Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles
Subaru offers the most fuel efficient All-Wheel Drive vehicle lineup in America. Since 2003, Subaru has offered Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) certified Legacy, Outback, and Forester models for sale anywhere in the U.S. Subaru PZEV vehicles meet California's Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle exhaust emission standard. Gasoline vehicles meeting PZEV emissions standards can have even lower emissions than hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. Subaru PZEV vehicles are also U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Certified SmartWay Vehicles and are honored in the EPAs Green Vehicle Guide located at http://www.epa.gov/emissweb.
Zero Landfill
In 2004, Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. became the first automotive assembly plant to be 'Zero-Landfill'. SIA achieved this outstanding accomplishment in May of 2004 and has remained zero landfill. SIA sends nothing from its manufacturing process to the landfill. In other words, a typical household puts more trash in the ground than SIA's entire manufacturing facility.
Subaru of Indiana Automotive
Subaru recognizes that clean vehicles are just one component of a clean environment. In 2004, the Subaru of Indiana (SIA) plant was the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. to achieve zero landfill status - nothing from its manufacturing efforts goes into a landfill. Everything is reused and recycled. Since that time, the Subaru plant has produced zero landfill waste and 100 percent of the by-products from production are reclaimed. In fact, when you carry out your trash at home on the next collection day, you will be sending more trash to the landfill than the entire Subaru manufacturing plant does in a year. SIA is based in Lafayette, Indiana and produces the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Tribeca models.
MID-2010 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI SPECIAL EDITION AND WRX LIMITED EXPLORING THE EXTREMES
TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE PERFORMANCE-ENTHUSIAST SPECTRUM.
SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI SPECIAL EDITION
The WRX STI Special Edition focuses attention on elements that made the original WRX STi so popular. With upgraded handling components and a return to more basic features, the Special Edition emphasizes pure performance. It does all this at the lowest starting price for a 2010 WRX STI.
The initial production run of the WRX STI Special Edition features 125 units in an exclusive Aspen White exterior. Models produced later will be available in WR Mica Blue, Dark Gray Metallic, and Obsidian Black Pearl.
At the front, the Special Edition has halogen rather than High Intensity Discharge headlights. Around to the sides, the car has standard body-color mirrors without turn signals. It also has been given new charcoal-color 18 x 8.5-inch wheels from the JDM WRX STI spec C.
Mechanically, the suspension also features components from the JDM spec C. The front and rear springs are upgraded - 16 percent stiffer in the front and 29 percent stiffer in the rear. The rear stabilizer bar is 24 percent stiffer, and the rear subframe has been given more substantial bushings.
Inside, the automatic climate control system is replaced by manual air conditioning, and the audio system features a single-disc CD player rather than a 6-disc unit.
In test-drives of the car, clear performance differences were apparent between WRX, WRX STI, and WRX STI Special Edition models. A track session on the Lightning Course at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, resulted in these impressions:
- "The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is a strong track car. For anyone who might consider it too soft, though, the WRX STI Special Edition addresses that issue."
- "Overall, the WRX STI Special Edition provides more precise turn-in and more stable and predictable handling. It promotes greater turn-in confidence by decreasing the sensation of car pitch and body roll. It also provides reassuring track-out when exiting corners."
- "The WRX STI SE allows for more consistent cornering - at entry and exit - at or near threshold levels."
- "Even with its added capability, the WRX STI Special Edition doesn't compromise ride quality or daily driving characteristics."
SUBARU IMPREZA WRX LIMITED
The 2010 Impreza WRX Limited adds popular features to the WRX Premium model. These include a leather interior, standard moonroof, and SIRIUS? satellite radio.
Of course, the WRX Limited retains the 265-horsepower intercooled, turbocharged SUBARU BOXER engine, Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, and 5-speed manual transmission.
SUBARU ROAD RACING TEAM DRIVER ANDREW AQUILANTE TAKES A LAP OF THE LIGHTNING COURSE AT NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK
Turn 1 - fast and blind: Braking and entry is all uphill. The apex is not blind, but the exit is. So commitment is everything to getting Turn 1 correct. I get back to full power at the apex and carry the car over the crest to the track-out point.
Turns 2 and 3 - two more fast right-hand corners where the line and carrying speed are everything: The key is to not over-slow and upset the car into the first right and roll the speed around to the second right.
Turn 4 - the first left and the second-slowest corner on track. With an apex speed of 65 mph, Turn 4 is not a "slow" corner: You are rolling speed through the previous right-hand corners, and you need to keep that speed going through this left. It is important not only to carry the speed out of Turn 3, but to track right for the entrance of this left, and then use all the exit road.
Turn 5 - blind and dangerous: This turn is very tricky, and the line is debatable. There is a slight arc in the short straight leading up to Turn 5. I like to cut the distance by driving straight toward the turn-in point and make the braking zone as straight as possible. Some will say to arc out wide into the corner, but that doesn't give an optimal braking line. The apex is at the crest of the hill, which makes an inside line work well by using the elevation. The exit is on the down slope of the hill, which makes it dangerous. So don't pinch the car too much at apex.
Turn 6 - the slowest corner on the track, and the only place the track really "stops": But that slow point is still 60 mph. The straight again is not straight, so taking a line to get the car straight going under the bridge for the brake zone is important. The apex is a little earlier than normal because there is a little camber to help with an early turn-in.
Turn 7 - the Lightbulb Corner - very long, very fast: I take off about 20 mph going into this corner. Another arc to the corner entry, which again makes the line up for debate. Again, I like to charge right at it and brake as straight as possible. With such brake application, it is very important to not upset the car. I like to enter the corner about mid-track, then about halfway around the corner come down to the apex, and about two-thirds of the way around get back to power as soon as possible. The corner is also heavily banked, which allows you to carry more speed.
This track rewards a smooth driver in turning, braking, and accelerating. Subaru AWD helps significantly over the crests at Turns 1 and 5.
