Impreza sales slump
28 January 2012, 01:47 PM
#61
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F1Fan, the fact that you want Subaru to pull out of the UK is the giveaway.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
28 January 2012, 02:00 PM
#62
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F1Fan, the fact that you want Subaru to pull out of the UK is the giveaway.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
I guess you must have bought one of these overpriced jokes by the way you are so desparate to defend them. Well good luck to you... more momey than sense in my book, but that's up to you.
Anyway whether you like it or not Subaru will soon be history in the UK, and deservedly so ... no car company can survive with sales that low. People will still be able to appreciate them... via import... and spares will be available via someone so what's the issue. Good riddance to a once great marque destroyed by accountants and marketing people.
28 January 2012, 03:41 PM
#63
F1Fan, the fact that you want Subaru to pull out of the UK is the giveaway.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
How would that be to your benefit ? It would only serve to prevent those who still appreciate Subaru cars from doing so. You are like a little boy who sees others riding their new sophisticated mountain bikes when he is stuck with his 'penny farthing'. Give it a rest.
28 January 2012, 09:34 PM
#64
Could the BRZ save Subaru in the uk ?
Great reviews by all the motoring press toyota ft86 prices could be 26-28k so depends how they pitch the BRZ price wise
Unless we get a Impreza to retail at 22k or relaunch the wrxd in prehaps sti bodywork Subaru future I agree is not looking good
Great reviews by all the motoring press toyota ft86 prices could be 26-28k so depends how they pitch the BRZ price wise
Unless we get a Impreza to retail at 22k or relaunch the wrxd in prehaps sti bodywork Subaru future I agree is not looking good
28 January 2012, 09:45 PM
#65
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The BRZ goes against Subaru's AWD philosophy and not sure it's going to float people's boat with 0-62 in 6.8s. I'm sure their will be tubo's bolted on before long, but won't be in the same league as a well sorted STI with AWD and 400bhp+
Anders
Anders
28 January 2012, 10:59 PM
#66
So the fact we have one of highest prices for fuel in developed countries has nothing to do with it then? When are we going to stop bending over & taking it up the **** from the biggest bunch of thieving f*uckers we call government.Going back to earlier posts i also think subaru will be history in years to come as they seem to have lost thier way in the british market.
29 January 2012, 11:48 AM
#67
Seems the woeful sales would back me up too and don't quote recession at me, sales of the Impreza are way down on any other manufacturer. The car is a pup and the sooner it is killed off the better or better still the sooner Subaru get out of the UK the better. They had their day and it was great, but now they have blown it so best to bow out gracefully and go and chase the American market where they will buy anything. 
Car is a pup - well I guarantee it will run rings round the other Impreza's
The are chasing the US/OZ market of course, and they appear to be doing very well at it too
29 January 2012, 01:02 PM
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You can dress it up however you like but the fact remains for the UK market the hatch was a mistake.
The brand does OK in Aus as the 4WD is more useful there and they sell a lot more cooking models than performance and it does well in America. but they will buy anything given the woeeful efforts of their domestic manufacturers.
Anyway we can revisit this when I post a nice celebratory thread the day Subaru annouce they are pulling out of the UK
30 January 2012, 01:08 PM
#76
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No I hate the hatch because, leaving aside the fact that out of the box it is at best average and at worst going to blow up, it is a complete disaster from an aesthetic design perspective.
There is nothing good about it and all these people trying to convince themselves it looks the part are just deluded. Go and look at cars like Alfas or the new Jaguar coupe to see what style is and then look back at the Impreza with a mass of bulges and drooping lines and laugh at the day the cleaners must have got into the deisgn office at Subaru and come up with the hatch for a laugh.
There is nothing good about it and all these people trying to convince themselves it looks the part are just deluded. Go and look at cars like Alfas or the new Jaguar coupe to see what style is and then look back at the Impreza with a mass of bulges and drooping lines and laugh at the day the cleaners must have got into the deisgn office at Subaru and come up with the hatch for a laugh.
Last edited by P1Fanatic; 30 January 2012 at 01:16 PM.
30 January 2012, 02:53 PM
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Since when was any Impreza stylish? Even the ltd editions like the P1 and 22B are not beautiful cars and were not back in the day. So I dont know how you can hold that against the Hatch. It seems to be a trait that since the classic shape none have been that photogenic and look a lot nicer in the flesh imho - blob, hawk, hatch and even MY11 saloon.
The hatch on the other hand has none of that, it is a mass of lines, curves, and unecessary details added to combat earlier basic flaws in the aesthetics. Put simply it does not work on any level as a design study. At the end of the day people have to look at their cars sat on their drive, outside their house so deisgn does matter to a extent especially at these sort of prices and the lack of sales over and above the downturn suffered by all manufacturers in the recession would indicate the public in general at least some way concurs with that thinking.
The car has no image any more, 10 years ago everyone wanted one, now most ordinary people just dismiss the marque as having 'lost it'.
30 January 2012, 03:43 PM
#78
10 years ago they were getting huge publicity on television via rallying - we even had live stages then on terrestrial tv.
It was a "new" car, not another model.
Not much would touch it from a performance point of view unless you were paying probably 50% more then the cost of the Impreza
Fuel was not the ridiculous price that it is now.
It was a "new" car, not another model.
Not much would touch it from a performance point of view unless you were paying probably 50% more then the cost of the Impreza
Fuel was not the ridiculous price that it is now.
30 January 2012, 04:58 PM
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The Impreza does still have an 'image' but unfortunately that image has somewhat changed over the years. It is now perceived by many as the hooligan of the road, being driven by uneducated pond life from the wrong side of town. You rarely see a classic, bug or blob that hasn't been modified with an exhaust pipe the size of a dust bin lid causing it to sound like its running on two pots and annoying everybody within earshot. Even though the latest models are more subtle in their appearance with their more sophisticated quad tail pipe exhausts, they are tarred with the same brush owing to them being identified as Imprezas. Even the dropping of the Impreza name on the 2011 models doesn't seem to have helped to persuade many of those with around £30k to spend on a car to part with their cash. Those that have the money would rather spend it on middle class icon badges such as BMW, Audi, Volkswagen etc so that they can park it on their drives and say to the neighbours, hey look, I'm 'upwardly mobile' rather than have a car with vastly superior performance and nailed on reliabilty but one which might suggest that they are a bit down market.
First thing we did was upgrade the tail pipes, I must be a chav
30 January 2012, 06:19 PM
#82
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To add my two penith:
I doubt a VW/BMW buyer is the same as the Impreza buyer & Subaru know that. What Subaru produce with the Impreza is a different take on the BMW 3/5 series and VW A4 etc and their perspective buyer knows and wants that.
As far as comparing pricing this is a bit of a mute point. When Subaru drew up the plans for the new Imprezas it was meant to undercut the big German brands on price. It was never meant to be almost £35k where it would be going head to head with these cars. But due to the rest of the world buying the Yen as a safe bet in these times of uncertainty, the value has been kept high. This has vastly increased the price of the Impreza in other currencies. With the pound's value falling over the last few years this has made the problem worse.
Recently Toyota and other big Jap car manufacturers have threatened to take drastic action if nothing is done by the Japanese government to intervene. But the Japanese government wont just start selling Yen reserves in vast quantities and then buy e.g US dollar or GBP. One, because its also a risk & doubt the US would approve of Japan intervening in currency markets to help their exports. What some of these Japanese manufacturers may do is either streamline their model range or move some manufacturing to Europe or US or worst case scenario, temporarily pull out of UK / Europe. Recently Renault & Alfa have reduced their entire model range to approx 2 cars in the UK!
To add my two penith:
I doubt a VW/BMW buyer is the same as the Impreza buyer & Subaru know that. What Subaru produce with the Impreza is a different take on the BMW 3/5 series and VW A4 etc and their perspective buyer knows and wants that.
As far as comparing pricing this is a bit of a mute point. When Subaru drew up the plans for the new Imprezas it was meant to undercut the big German brands on price. It was never meant to be almost £35k where it would be going head to head with these cars. But due to the rest of the world buying the Yen as a safe bet in these times of uncertainty, the value has been kept high. This has vastly increased the price of the Impreza in other currencies. With the pound's value falling over the last few years this has made the problem worse.
Recently Toyota and other big Jap car manufacturers have threatened to take drastic action if nothing is done by the Japanese government to intervene. But the Japanese government wont just start selling Yen reserves in vast quantities and then buy e.g US dollar or GBP. One, because its also a risk & doubt the US would approve of Japan intervening in currency markets to help their exports. What some of these Japanese manufacturers may do is either streamline their model range or move some manufacturing to Europe or US or worst case scenario, temporarily pull out of UK / Europe. Recently Renault & Alfa have reduced their entire model range to approx 2 cars in the UK!
30 January 2012, 06:33 PM
#83
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Its a completely different market to what it was 10-15 years ago.We had only 1 tier of road tax,none of the c02 garbage now imposed on us and petrol prices were reasonable,where the poor economy of the turbo did not seem so bad.
Crash tests and pedestrian safety have taken their toll on car design too.
If Subaru have a factory in the US,would it not benefit them more to bring cars from there as the £ to $ is a lot better than the yen?
Also they need to get their c02 emissions down to compete.ie a impreza petrol turbo with c02 around 160gm,lower tax = more incentive to buy,and around 18-19 k ?
With fuel prices the way they are the market now demands decent economy and not just 0-60 in 5 seconds.
As others have said,in other markets they are doing really well.
Crash tests and pedestrian safety have taken their toll on car design too.
If Subaru have a factory in the US,would it not benefit them more to bring cars from there as the £ to $ is a lot better than the yen?
Also they need to get their c02 emissions down to compete.ie a impreza petrol turbo with c02 around 160gm,lower tax = more incentive to buy,and around 18-19 k ?
With fuel prices the way they are the market now demands decent economy and not just 0-60 in 5 seconds.
As others have said,in other markets they are doing really well.
30 January 2012, 08:14 PM
#84
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The hatch on the other hand has none of that, it is a mass of lines, curves, and unecessary details added to combat earlier basic flaws in the aesthetics. Put simply it does not work on any level as a design study. At the end of the day people have to look at their cars sat on their drive, outside their house so deisgn does matter to a extent especially at these sort of prices and the lack of sales over and above the downturn suffered by all manufacturers in the recession would indicate the public in general at least some way concurs with that thinking.
. Your opinion is not that of most Subaru owners i have met. It's over the top and of course designed to pull a reaction.
I agree that Subaru UK may vanish, they have messed up in many areas. The Hatch has some issues but don't they all.
Hawks - Head Gaskets
Blobs - Stereo's were terrible
Bugeye - Looks originally but now i love them
Classics - Great car (other than the red one's which turn pink)
Looking forward to the BRZ, new direction is the only hope.
31 January 2012, 07:59 AM
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Its a completely different market to what it was 10-15 years ago.We had only 1 tier of road tax,none of the c02 garbage now imposed on us and petrol prices were reasonable,where the poor economy of the turbo did not seem so bad.
Crash tests and pedestrian safety have taken their toll on car design too.
If Subaru have a factory in the US,would it not benefit them more to bring cars from there as the £ to $ is a lot better than the yen?
Also they need to get their c02 emissions down to compete.ie a impreza petrol turbo with c02 around 160gm,lower tax = more incentive to buy,and around 18-19 k ?
With fuel prices the way they are the market now demands decent economy and not just 0-60 in 5 seconds.
As others have said,in other markets they are doing really well.
Crash tests and pedestrian safety have taken their toll on car design too.
If Subaru have a factory in the US,would it not benefit them more to bring cars from there as the £ to $ is a lot better than the yen?
Also they need to get their c02 emissions down to compete.ie a impreza petrol turbo with c02 around 160gm,lower tax = more incentive to buy,and around 18-19 k ?
With fuel prices the way they are the market now demands decent economy and not just 0-60 in 5 seconds.
As others have said,in other markets they are doing really well.
I think price is definetly the biggest killer. I think you would be crazy to buy a new MY11 at £33k when year old ones are selling for £10k cheaper. Same example RSmk2 was what £26k new and I probably see them 1 of them every other day. 2nd hand prices for 2yr old cars are still over £20k.
That said Im still set on picking up a 2nd hand MY11 hatch later this year so I must be a mug
I just think they have character and I like the rarity factor. That and driving a FWD non-lsd CTR for 3 yrs makes you appreciate 4WD that much more!
31 January 2012, 08:09 AM
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31 January 2012, 06:14 PM
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Pick any manufacturer's price list, scan down to the £33K mark and there's your answer.
There isn't a worse car than the hatch in that price bracket when you take into account all round real world considerations such as residuals, reliability, cost of running, fuel consumption and build quality as well as the things the Impreza does well which is get from A to B quickly and make the neighbours laugh at you for buying one!
There isn't a worse car than the hatch in that price bracket when you take into account all round real world considerations such as residuals, reliability, cost of running, fuel consumption and build quality as well as the things the Impreza does well which is get from A to B quickly and make the neighbours laugh at you for buying one!
31 January 2012, 06:35 PM
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Pick any manufacturer's price list, scan down to the £33K mark and there's your answer.
There isn't a worse car than the hatch in that price bracket when you take into account all round real world considerations such as residuals, reliability, cost of running, fuel consumption and build quality as well as the things the Impreza does well which is get from A to B quickly and make the neighbours laugh at you for buying one!
There isn't a worse car than the hatch in that price bracket when you take into account all round real world considerations such as residuals, reliability, cost of running, fuel consumption and build quality as well as the things the Impreza does well which is get from A to B quickly and make the neighbours laugh at you for buying one!