If the looks have to "grow on you" then IMHO it isnt a good design.

It was patently obvious to anyone that the bug eye wasnt going to be a success. Everyone i have talked to hates the bug eye, all apart from the poor souls who have bought one it seems, there seems to be little support if any from outside this grouping.

The 03 is a large improvement and will go a long way in convincing peops who have been put off with bug eye styling, morrettes or not, to buy one. But even with the facelift it still doesnt look as good or aggressive as say a P1 or import sti classic. At the end of the day the facts speak for themselves.



[Edited by scoobynutta555 - 12/4/2002 12:47:59 AM]

 

Friend of mine who know's a bod in the marketing department at I.M today told him that one of Subaru's top guy's in Japan who 'signed-off' on the Bug-eye Impreza for production has resigned due to the poor sales (worst sales in 2000-2001 for 4 years apparently)

ooops........what was he thinking ?!!

MY03 looks like should put em' back on track.........

 

He should commit Sepaku. It is the only honourable thing to do..

 

Worst sales in the UK or Worldwide? The Americans love the "New Age" Impreza - big market (whether we in the UK like it or not...).

Personally, I hated the shape when it came out. Drove one within a few weeks of its arrival and had it not been for an expensive divorce, would've ordered one there and then. "Iffy" looks (or so I thought at the time), but a way superior car - if not as fast.

After 3 "classic" shapes and 155,000 combined miles, I'm delighted with the WRX I bought, and have had 7K fun filled miles in 3.5 months. And I love the looks with Morettes... :-)

Whoever designed the car, got the overall package right, whether you agree with the looks or not.

Cheers

 

Dont know about the rest of you guys but I hated the bug eye when first released, but it has really grown on me since then. IMO the new MY03 just looks so front end heavy and the front over hang is huge. Maybe it's a bit of a rush job to het the sales issue moving again.

They just hav'nt managed to gel the lot together as comfortably as the classic shape that just got better and better with each new MY till the bug eye.

Interested to know what others opinions on the new car is as most people i've spoken to have the same kind of opinions.

Cheers dazza.

 

Personally, I'm with the guys above as the looks grew on me over time, like any radical departure ie. cortina to sierra, escort to focus, why does it seem to be fords? mm. I have a 3week old WRX with morettes and love it, I think the 03 looks like an upscaled Hyundai Accent!?

 

At the risk of upsetting some of the obviusly passionate "classic" hardcore I think that attitude could have resulted in everybody still driving Model T Fords (any colour as long as it is black) Things move on and new models very rarely immediately grab you and make you want to rush out and buy, although some do, personal opinion but still think the 03 looks like a Hyundai

 

nutta
you're spot on, all the blokes I work with say " christ, I bet you're glad you bought your Impreza when you did, or you'd have ended up with one of those butt ugly ones". This comes from people who really don't know an awful lot about cars but obviously know what works aesthetically (sp) and this is the general attitude of the buying public. Lets be honest Subaru wouldn't be changing the car if it wasn't a complete sales disaster.

glen

 

Toonman1: It's hardly surprising that the Americans like the bugeye - it's the first time it's been possible to get an Impreza Turbo in the US. The old shape was only available as a 2.5 litre NA car with about 165bhp, so it's hardly surprising that demand was strong for the turbo regardless of what it looks like.

Personally I'm not too struck on the looks of the MY03 either, but given the good reports about the STI (esp. the Jap-spec STI with the clever turbo) I might just have to try one out

A.

 

Many of you may say the new model looks like a Hyundai, but the old model (Bugeye) looked like a Toyota Corolla at the front, and I think that it worse!!!

What were they thinking of with that utterly tasteless turbo scoob on the MY03 though??? Why can they employ a half normal car enthusiast to provide feedback during the design stage and save us the need to go and modify the looks straight away???

 

So what is Stevie Wonder going to do now? Go back to making records, hope he has more success with that than designing cars

 

This guy should be welded into the cockpit of a Zero and be given enough fuel to reach the local Mitsubishi design plant to see if he can help sort out the shape of the new Evo 8. It looks quite good to me..

 

i'm with dazzatyper on this. was'nt keen at all on the bug eye but in time it grew on me. after going to the tsl open day last week and seeing a few togeather i thought it really does look good with some subtle mods. i thought in paticular MATTel's looked awesome....

 

each to there own & alll! i bought a modded bugeye over a very nice rb5. & one of the reasons was that the rb5 no matter how nice is a nearly 4yrs old with over 40k on the clock & was showing its age a little. i have owned a catalunya which was nice but the new age is so much more refined & looks more expensive in my opinion.

 

The new one grew on me, and I agree with some of the posts saying that new looks take time to sink in etc,

BUT

I INSTANTLY fell in love with the MY03

 

I have an MY02, and yes it has got Morettes on..!!

If this one is called the bug eye then the My03 must be called the cross eye or Bog eye..if you look at it from the front it definately looks cross-eyed.

Why not get rid of the bonnet-scoop, remove the fog lights and attach air intakes to there instead (Stops ***** driving around with them on as well!)? You'd have better aerodynamics and better looks IMHO .


(Never owned an original style, so can't comment on differences driving them, but my MY02's interior is excellent)
Tony

 

I have had two classics my current one the interior aint that bad. Blue SWRT alcantara seats and blue console and dash.

Never really got on with the bug eyed shape and not keen on the MY03 WRX but the MY03 STI looks nice and would be the one I would go for if I was in the market to buy one.