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Subaru's fortunes sinking - can they turn it around? - READ ONLY

3134 messages,  Last post on Jul 20, 2009 at 7:18 PM

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Messages Page 310 of 314

#3085 of 3134 Re: Dude! [nippononly] by ateixeira

Dec 24, 2008 (10:33 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Dec 16, 2008 8:42 pm)
FWD rallys, no Subaru, is the world coming to an end?
 
Can't blame them, though, the French makes were spending a fortune to win and this isn't the time to spend buckets of money to start winning again.

#3086 of 3134 Re: Dude! [ateixeira] by nippononly

Dec 24, 2008 (12:01 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Dec 24, 2008 10:33 am)
Next thing you know Ford will drop out as it gets squeezed in the U.S., then instead of the WRC it will just be the ERC (European Rally Championship).
 
And Honda is out of F1 racing. I think the world really IS ending.
 
But I will miss the Impreza's face in WRC racing the most.

#3087 of 3134 Re: Dude! [nippononly] by steve_ HOST

Dec 24, 2008 (1:07 pm)

Replying to: nippononly (Dec 24, 2008 12:01 pm)
There's always the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge.
 
"This year it's the $2008 Challenge, meaning that competitors have to produce documents and receipts which prove that no more than $2,008 (not including labor) has been spent on the vehicle in question."
 
One example - an '82 Corolla:
 

#3088 of 3134 full year by nippononly

Dec 27, 2008 (12:07 pm)

sales figures for 2008 will be published in a week or so. Will Subaru prove to be one of only two automakers who had flat or positive sales results in the U.S. versus 2007? (the other being Daimler, which only increased sales this year by adding the Smart line of cars to the U.S. market, otherwise it would be down like all the rest)
 
Between that and the way they got their SIA problems sorted out with Toyota taking a share of the plant for Camry production, we will have to change the title of this thread to "Subaru's star rising - can it ever stop?"
 

#3089 of 3134 Re: full year [nippononly] by boaz47

Dec 27, 2008 (2:26 pm)

Replying to: nippononly (Dec 27, 2008 12:07 pm)
What percent of the market does Subaru have? Can they ever be a rising star?
 
I wonder if you have any glasses in your house that are half empty? No for all the years we have been talking I believe yours are all half full.

#3090 of 3134 Re: full year [boaz47] by dino001

Dec 27, 2008 (4:00 pm)

Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 2:26 pm)
The raising star was a joke, but I'm totally with Nippon in terms of "half full" this time. I would call it a great achievement if your market did not shrink while others contracted by 20-40 percent, wouldn't you? Marketshare is really irrelevant, but if you insist - if others see sales go down and yours stay flat, it means your marketshare goes up. To top the spin, if your starting point is really low than you see a big growth in that marketshare .
 
But it's more important if you made money or at least did not lose too much of it. Toyota became No. 1 in US and guess what - they generated their first loss, not a pretty thing considering their big profit projections.
 
Flat sales figures in rapidly contracting market show very stable, loyal and relatively affluent customer base. I would venture to say that large portion of Forester/Outback owners park next to their coworker's BMWs and Audis or what not, not because they couldn't afford anything "better", they simply didn't see any reason to. Obviously not all of them, but I read that already five years ago their median income was $70K - I know it's not as much in New England, but it's enough to get you a more expensive car if you live with your parents .
 
Perhaps a few of those who traded down from truck-based 15 mpg monstrocities were also picked up on the way to build those raising new Forester figures. If you look at the itemized figures, it is basically new Forester that saved them. All other models are in the tank - which is a concern for SIA (Outback/Legacy production). Hopefully new Legacy and the country coming to its senses from SUV addiction will revive the midsize sales.

#3091 of 3134 Re: full year [dino001] by nippononly

Dec 27, 2008 (5:42 pm)

Replying to: dino001 (Dec 27, 2008 4:00 pm)
All other models are in the tank - which is a concern for SIA (Outback/Legacy production). Hopefully new Legacy and the country coming to its senses from SUV addiction will revive the midsize sales
 
That's not true! Impreza sales are flat, which would normally be bad as it was only recently redesigned, but in a market that's down 20% I call that OK.
 
And of course the new Legacy and Outback launches next year. The current one is 5 years old, so if that is down in sales on pace with the overall market, I will call THAT OK too!
 
I don't know their exact market share, but it's about 2% in normal years. If the overall market is down 25% or more this year, then Subaru's overall share may have gained as much as a whole point, which at 3% would be the largest share of the American market they have ever had!

#3092 of 3134 2 of subaru's problems are... by explorerx4

Dec 27, 2008 (7:34 pm)

the small suv market, cr-v, escape, rav 4. they have become more car like.
also there are more awd sedans. you get an awd fusion for about the same price as an imprezza.

#3093 of 3134 Re: 2 of subaru's problems are... [explorerx4] by zman3

Dec 27, 2008 (10:18 pm)

Replying to: explorerx4 (Dec 27, 2008 7:34 pm)
Broken record here....
 
Plus they need to get rid of the 4 speed auto already. Five, six, and seven speeds are becoming common. I think it is a crime that they have the 4EAT with the 4 cylinder engine.

#3094 of 3134 Re: full year [dino001] by boaz47

Dec 27, 2008 (11:37 pm)

Replying to: dino001 (Dec 27, 2008 4:00 pm)
I have never denied that Subaru customers are unbelievably loyal. And for such a small company to hold on in this economy is worth mentioning. I am not holding my breath for 2009 however. A small company doesn't have as much wiggle room as something like Toyota. I also realize that the sun belt isn't a prime area for Subaru sales. We don't have many dealers in this area and the need for AWD and the cost isn't justified over all the small car compitition. In the snow belt they have even a more loyal following than Honda does here. I just don't put much stock into calling such a small company a rising star. Parts of Subaru have been bought and passed around too much over the last few years to call them a star.
 
But if I lived in the snow again Subaru would be on my short list. I just wonder how they will do next year, or should I say in the first quarter of 2009. That will be a test to see how far customer loyalty goes. Without a spin of course.

Messages Page 310 of 314

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