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Subaru Minivan in 2007?

92 messages,  Last post on Jun 19, 2006 at 4:56 PM

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#1 of 92 Subaru Minivan in 2007? by Sylvia STAFF Jun 29, 2005 (2:45 pm)
Subaru May Field Minivan for U.S. Subaru could be the next brand to bring a minivan to the United States to compete with the heavy-hitting Chrysler minivans, Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey. Reports last week indicated that the new vehicle could be offered sometime after 2007, when the company redesigns its Legacy sedan and bumps it up into a larger size class. A Legacy-derived minivan could be built in the U.S. as well. The proposed van would be a seven-seater with all-wheel drive and a flat-six engine. Replies to this message: rsholland (Jun 29, 2005 3:50 pm)
#2 of 92 first question i have is how big is it going to be by njswamplands Jun 29, 2005 (3:01 pm)
nothing less than odyssey / sienna size for me
#3 of 92 Re: Subaru Minivan in 2007? [Sylvia] by rsholland Jun 29, 2005 (3:50 pm)
Replying to: Sylvia (Jun 29, 2005 2:45 pm) Sylvia, a few things:   • There was a report of this, as you mentioned, last week. However the FHI guy was quoted as saying this minivan would be a "global" product, which suggests to me that it might not be quite as big as the not-so-mini Chrysler, Toyota, and Honda minivans. I hope I'm wrong here, because I think a Subie minivan needs to be the size of those in order to stand a chance. That maxi-minivan size is clearly what America wants.   • In order to do this Subaru needs to have a much more torque-friendly engine. There is a rumor that a H-6 turbo is just around the corner. Frankly, I'm not sure if a turbo is the best answer for minivan customers. My choice would be for a larger non-turbo H-6. I think it would be cheaper to build and buy, could be tuned to run on regular gas, and won't "scare" the average minivan customer who generally are skeptcal of turbos.   • A larger Legacy? Interesting... I wonder if it will be built off the Tribeca platform?   Bob
#4 of 92 Article from AutoWeek: 6/21/05 by rsholland Jun 29, 2005 (6:35 pm)
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102622
#5 of 92 Subaru Minivan by jchan2 Jun 30, 2005 (2:37 am)
I think that it probably won't be as large as the current Sienna and Odyssey unless its a US/Canada only product.
#6 of 92 Minivan by ateixeira Jun 30, 2005 (6:15 am)
I'm in the minority but I'd like to see something MPV-sized, now that everyone else seems to have vacated that size segment.   -juice Replies to this message: rsholland (Jun 30, 2005 6:50 am) sweet_subie (Jun 30, 2005 6:55 am) navigator89 (Jun 30, 2005 7:26 am)
#7 of 92 Re: Minivan [ateixeira] by rsholland Jun 30, 2005 (6:50 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 30, 2005 6:15 am) Everybody vacated the MPV size for a good reason, very few people were buying them. That size might do okay on the "world market," but not here in North America. Then again, if gas prices keep rising, who knows... Maybe American minivan tastes will change.   Bob
#8 of 92 Re: Minivan [ateixeira] by sweet_subie Jun 30, 2005 (6:55 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 30, 2005 6:15 am) same here, i would love MPV size.
#9 of 92 Re: Minivan [ateixeira] by navigator89 Jun 30, 2005 (7:26 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 30, 2005 6:15 am) Something MPV sized would do wonders for the handling because of less weight, however...   If Subaru even wants a chance at competing, or even toppling the Odyssey/Sienna/Caravan from the minivan throne, it needs to be fullsized, offering fold flat third row seat, Nav, DVD entertainment, refined powertrain, and storage space. You can't do all this with something MPV sized.   Mitsubishi makes the Space Wagon and Honda makes the Stream. Both are tall station wagons/minivans but they can't compete in North America because of their small size. Everyone's vacated that size segment because those vehicles dont sell (remember the Nissan Axxess, Eagle Summit?)   A large minivan doesnt mean sloppy handling. The Odyssey/Caravan are large, yet they handle the best in the segment.
#10 of 92 Throne by ateixeira Jun 30, 2005 (9:00 am)
I don't think Subaru has the resources to aim to topple those on the throne currently, and in fact it might be a costly/risky strategy to try.   Toyota has more dealers, tenfold more, and tenfold R&D resources as well.   Subaru has to play a little on the fringe, it doesn't necessarily have to be smaller in size, but something about it must be unique.   They'd be looking for 40-50k sales per year, and could achieve that with an AWD MPV, which Mazda never offered here.   -juice Replies to this message: rsholland (Jun 30, 2005 9:09 am) jeffmc (Jun 30, 2005 1:22 pm) robr2 (Jun 30, 2005 4:03 pm) jeffmc (Jun 30, 2005 6:52 pm)

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