Theory on why they made the TriBeCa.

[TheBrian]

Subaru has one fairly bizarre car at a time. Maybe they're not trying to sell a hundred thousand Bajas, but it's a car that gets them some attention and gets people into showrooms. It also helps Legacy and Impreza drivers feel like they drive something out of the ordinary. (As if a Boxer engine or a Japanese station wagon weren't unique enough).

 

Until 1987, this role was filled by the BRAT. Then there was the Justy (3-cyl, available eCVT) from 88-94, the SVX from 92-97, then the Baja.

In the latest Motor Trend, it was speculated the Baja may be discontinued soon. It's no longer needed, now that there are Tribecas to catch people's eyes.

 

Some car dealerships have 30 foot tall inflatable gorillas out front. Subaru has wacky cars instead.

[Setright]

The often misjudged "halo effect". I like it.

[tailgatewagon]

i say its just a STUPID person with a pencil.........from GM

[Lawsonmh15]

Subaru has one fairly bizarre car at a time. Maybe they're not trying to sell a hundred thousand Bajas, but it's a car that gets them some attention and gets people into showrooms. It also helps Legacy and Impreza drivers feel like they drive something out of the ordinary. (As if a Boxer engine or a Japanese station wagon weren't unique enough).

 

Until 1987, this role was filled by the BRAT. Then there was the Justy (3-cyl, available eCVT) from 88-94, the SVX from 92-97, then the Baja.

In the latest Motor Trend, it was speculated the Baja may be discontinued soon. It's no longer needed, now that there are Tribecas to catch people's eyes.

 

Some car dealerships have 30 foot tall inflatable gorillas out front. Subaru has wacky cars instead.

 

Baja, Forrester, AMC Eagle.

 

These are my frontrunners in the WTF were the designers smoking category.

[Snowman]

Baja, Forrester, AMC Eagle.

 

These are my frontrunners in the WTF were the designers smoking category.

 

Sorry, but I just had this vision of a couple of engineers finding a bag of weed in a brat that one of them just bought, taking a couple of hits while sitting in the brat's rear seats, and proceeding to design the baja.

[Dr. RX]

Sorry to disappoint all of you, but the real reason was that they had no vehicle that could seat 7 people, and a lot of loyal customers were demanding a seven seater. I think they missed the boat on the styling, but I have talked to several non-Subaru owners who actually like it, so maybe Subaru did hit the market that they were intending to hit. If Brian's therory were to hold true, what was the model before the BRAT. Did it really start with the 360?

[mtsmiths]

Sorry to disappoint all of you, but the real reason was that they had no vehicle that could seat 7 people, and a lot of loyal customers were demanding a seven seater. I think they missed the boat on the styling ...

 

There it is in a nutshell. And it must be true, cause there are a lot of them showing up on the streets of Whitefish. sigh, I guess I better get used to them.

[Al_SemC]

Yeah, I'm not really concerned about it too much since the SUV as a vehicle-genre is and will continue to be on the downfall, what with gas prices, the Tribeca's relative good milage notwithstanding. What I'm really concerned about is the direction Subaru styling is going. The '06 designs are starting to look like Alfa Romeos. This is not a good thing for two reasons: First, Alfas are just plain ugly. Second, Alfas are not good cars. They fall apart. Alfa Romeo has the dubious destinction of having the car with the largest depreciation rate in existance. (Ref: an episode of BBC Top Gear, I'll get back to you on which).

 

Needless to say, when I was last at my local dealership picking up some parts, I wandered through the showroom and spotted an '06 STi. I was horrified.

[blitz]

i say its just a STUPID person with a pencil.........from GM

LOL! The styling really does have GM written all over it.

 

Looking at the styling cues, I'd swear GM is in the early stages of what will be the eventual consolidation of Subaru & Saab together into one division.

 

Ironically, the reason GM styling lacks fluidity IMO is the lack of pencil drawings in favor of "focus group" design philosophy. The HHR is the obvious departure, but isn't truly as inpirational as it is just a direct ripoff of the PT.

 

The HHR just might be the vehicle that keeps GM out of receivership over the next 5 years.

[zyewdall]

Alpha romeo huh? I was thinking that the 2005 legacy looks decidely european now. I liked the old look (around '96, or even better '82) much better, the wagon isn't too bad now, but the new sedan is downright ugly). Might as well buy a passat 4 motion if I want an expensive all wheel drive station wagon with bad styling. At least it comes with a diesel engine option.

 

Of course, I'm convinced that the last really good looking pickup was made in the 70's, so maybe I'm just out of touch with the modern american consumer.......:-p

 

Yeah, I'm not really concerned about it too much since the SUV as a vehicle-genre is and will continue to be on the downfall, what with gas prices, the Tribeca's relative good milage notwithstanding. What I'm really concerned about is the direction Subaru styling is going. The '06 designs are starting to look like Alfa Romeos. This is not a good thing for two reasons: First, Alfas are just plain ugly. Second, Alfas are not good cars. They fall apart. Alfa Romeo has the dubious destinction of having the car with the largest depreciation rate in existance. (Ref: an episode of BBC Top Gear, I'll get back to you on which).

 

Needless to say, when I was last at my local dealership picking up some parts, I wandered through the showroom and spotted an '06 STi. I was horrified.

[Al_SemC]

Yeah, since GM owns a large percentage of the Fiat Group SpA, part of which is Alfa Romeo, they got an Alfa designer who is, as I understand it, responsible for the Tribeca in its entirety and for the rump roast-ugliness of the new models.

[mwatt]

Yeah, I'm not really concerned about it too much since the SUV as a vehicle-genre is and will continue to be on the downfall, what with gas prices, the Tribeca's relative good milage notwithstanding. What I'm really concerned about is the direction Subaru styling is going. The '06 designs are starting to look like Alfa Romeos. This is not a good thing for two reasons: First, Alfas are just plain ugly. Second, Alfas are not good cars. They fall apart. Alfa Romeo has the dubious destinction of having the car with the largest depreciation rate in existance. (Ref: an episode of BBC Top Gear, I'll get back to you on which).

 

Needless to say, when I was last at my local dealership picking up some parts, I wandered through the showroom and spotted an '06 STi. I was horrified.

 

You mention "They fall apart. Alfa Romeo has the dubious destinction of having the car with the largest depreciation rate in existance." I still think that distinction belongs to Kia, but Alfa can't be too far behind. And what doesn't fall apart ends up rusting.

[Martinjmpr]

I read something a few weeks ago that pointed out a fact that I hadn't considered, because I've never had kids: One reason for the increase in popularity of both mini vans and SUVs is because nowadays kids have to be in car seats until they're damn near Jr. High, and you simply can't put more than 2 car seats in the back of a typical compact. Back when I was a kid, parents could throw 3 or 4 kids into the backseat of the car (or even the front seat, since we didn't have airbags) and it was no problem. But for any family with more than 2 kids a modern compact or even standard sized car is just impractical. Hence the need for 3 rows of seats, which can only be obtained with a vehicle the size of a mini van or SUV (which, IMO, are simply two versions of the same thing: A utility vehicle that morphed into a passenger vehicle.)

[dpoppeli]

Damn good point.

 

I run into that all the time... Indiana law just raised age limit too so now we're stuck with one of those oversized chunks of plastic for an even longer time! I don't know if it was the insurance companies that fed the state the data to cause this or what, but I wonder if we're giving ourselves a false sense of security. Of course we could put the burden on the car manufacturers and have them design seats which contains the function but then most people may not need it and then we're stuck with additional vehicle cost.

 

 

I read something a few weeks ago that pointed out a fact that I hadn't considered, because I've never had kids: One reason for the increase in popularity of both mini vans and SUVs is because nowadays kids have to be in car seats until they're damn near Jr. High, and you simply can't put more than 2 car seats in the back of a typical compact. Back when I was a kid, parents could throw 3 or 4 kids into the backseat of the car (or even the front seat, since we didn't have airbags) and it was no problem. But for any family with more than 2 kids a modern compact or even standard sized car is just impractical. Hence the need for 3 rows of seats, which can only be obtained with a vehicle the size of a mini van or SUV (which, IMO, are simply two versions of the same thing: A utility vehicle that morphed into a passenger vehicle.)

[TheBrian]

... 3 rows of seats, which can only be obtained with a vehicle the size of a mini van or SUV

But what about the Mazda5? It's a 7-seat station wagon, complete with sliding rear doors, and it's just a little longer than a Mazda3 / Ford Focus Wagon. There are also more conventional three-row wagons on the market, though not many of them. I think (and hope) we'll be seeing more three-row wagons and trailer hitches as the price of gas continues to rise.

[mikkl]

I was thinking that the 2005 legacy looks decidely european now.

 

It certainly does, which is on of the reasons I purchased it. (I miss the cars that I used to drive when I lived in Europe) Not to mention it rides like a Lexus with the security of AWD.

 

mikkl

[Lawsonmh15]

Sorry, but I just had this vision of a couple of engineers finding a bag of weed in a brat that one of them just bought, taking a couple of hits while sitting in the brat's rear seats, and proceeding to design the baja.

 

 

LOL. Indeed. Shwag. I bet a headache followed.

[BlindSight]

has anyone ever seen the book... "the worst cars ever"? Its a must read for anyone who likes cars. So what about Azteks????????????????? what the heck was pontiac thinking?????????????

[Snowman]

has anyone ever seen the book... "the worst cars ever"? Its a must read for anyone who likes cars. So what about Azteks????????????????? what the heck was pontiac thinking?????????????

 

I'm not sure if it was the same book or just a similar one, but the XT is in it!

[Dr. RX]

The '06 designs are starting to look like Alfa Romeos. This is not a good thing for two reasons: First, Alfas are just plain ugly. Second, Alfas are not good cars. They fall apart. Alfa Romeo has the dubious destinction of having the car with the largest depreciation rate in existance.

Well, I can't say anything about the current Alfas since they are not imported to the USA, and I have not owned one that was newer then a 1963 model year. But the 13 Alfas that I owned were great little cars, I even raced one in F Production road racing. I took that same car on on of the early preformance rallies here in the Pacific Northwest, back in the days when they were part of the WRC. Back then, Alfas were rugged cars. I don't know about depreciation, but the 58 Sypder Veloce that I raced, today would bring over $25,000 at an auction, not bad for a car that I paid $500 for.

 

By the way, GM does not have a contoling interest in SUbaru, so I don't know where people are getting that idea then GM is making the decisions at Subaru.

[dpoppeli]

I don;t think anyone is saying that GM is associated with Subaru in any way. They appear to think that Subaru is lacking in imaganatve design and their vehicles are starting to look like just another GM make.

[dpoppeli]

I stand corrected (temporarily)... now Toyota is buying GM's Fuji shares. I notice there is another thread disucssing this too.

 

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9597221/

 

I don;t think anyone is saying that GM is associated with Subaru in any way. They appear to think that Subaru is lacking in imaganatve design and their vehicles are starting to look like just another GM make.

[Roostman]

About a year ago, maybe longer, I did a marketing analysis on the Tribeca. They offered to me because of my Outback purchase (03 Outback LL Bean) and paid me $100 cash (or maybe it was $75, I dont remember now). It was kinda funny cause all along the group of organizers (not affilliated with Subaru as I understood it) told us (the group of "analyzers" lol, actually just a bunch of Outback owners) that it was a perspective new Subi, and then at the end of the ordeal they told us that they were lying and that it wasnt a Subi but a concept for Audi. As it turns out, they were lying about that and it is the new Tribeca. I remember telling them numerous times and even on a camera interview that they did for each member how ugly the back of the thing is! I dont mind the rest of it but the rump roast of that thing is FUGLY! Oddly enough most of the others people thought it was nice and said that they would probably buy it if they were in the market for a new SUV compact. Oh well, at least I got paid to tell them to try again, even though it didnt come to pass....

[zyewdall]

It certainly does, which is on of the reasons I purchased it. (I miss the cars that I used to drive when I lived in Europe) Not to mention it rides like a Lexus with the security of AWD.

 

mikkl

 

I like the engineering of most the car modles sold in Europe alot better than here (more useable room in small station wagons instead of just going to enourmous SUV size things, plus they're all available with a diesel), just not the styling so much.

[Dr. RX]

Here is another article on GM selling it's shares in Subaru (actually Fuji Heavy Industry, Subaru's parent company),

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B18917D34%2D8BB2%2D404F%2DBA8A%2D972E93065C67%7D&siteid=google