So you're concerned about the OB's switch in NHTSA classification from "car" to "truck" because of the lower EPA numbers permitted by the new classification. And you're sufficiently concerned that you're going to both write to Subaru and stop buying their vehicles. So would I be out of line in assuming that you researched and compared the actual EPA numbers for the old OB "car" and the new OB "truck"? I would be inclined to assume that you'd done this research, because otherwise you'd have no basis for your outrage.
Well it turns out I obviously *would* be out of line in that assumption, because I just checked with my local dealer, and the EPA numbers for the
2005 OB's haven't been released yet! (And at the time of my reading your message it's already about 2 weeks old!) But what the dealer *could* confirm is two things: First, that the base engine (the 2.5L 4-cylinder) is up 3 horsepower to 168, and that 90% of his customers buy the base engine. How much lower than the 22/27 city/hwy numbers could the new model possibly be? And how much worse will the upgraded engines in the '05 model be from the numbers for the '04 and earlier models? Enough to justify all the outrage it's generated? And how can people be outraged about something they don't even yet know (because the actual numbers aren't yet available)?The current (May, 2004) issue of Car and Driver has an editorial by Csaba Csere (the magazine's Editor-in-Chief) that is, unfortunately not yet available on their web site (else I would have linked to it). I'm going to risk a copyright lawsuit by quoting from it here:
"According to NHTSA, a vehicle is also considered a truck if it meets the agency's definition of an off-road vehicle. That means having either four-wheel drive or a gross vehicle weight of over 6000 pounds and meeting four of five dimensional criteria having to do with ground clearance and approach, departure, and break-over angles. That refers to how steep a hill a vehicle can negotiate without dragging its bumpers or underside in the dirt.
This is the provision that gets car-based SUV's into the truck fleet. In fact, if a vehicle meets these particular standards, it /must/ be classified as a truck. [Italics in the original - Greg] Subaru's new 2005 Outback sedans and wagons have greater ground clearance and more elevated front and rear bodywork to make them more appealing to customers, according to Subaru, but those qualities have now made them trucks in the eyes of the NHTSA.
**The irony is that Subaru isn't in any CAFE trouble and won't benefit by moving those vehicles into its truck fleet.**" [Double-asterisk emphasis added by me - Greg.]The above two paragraphs came after citing examples of other automakers who
*did* benefit by moving vehicles that any normal person would call "cars" into the NHTSA's "truck" category, such as the PT Cruiser and new Dodge Magnum. I believe that your (and everybody else's) ire over the new classification of Subaru's OB line as "trucks" is ill-considered and misplaced. There is no indication that Subaru redesigned their OB line with the intention of skirting CAFE rules and every indication that their new classification is merely incidental to changes that were made to improve consumer desirability of their cars. There is no doubt that there are manufacturers who *do* design vehicles with such benefits in mind. It just doesn't appear that Subaru is one of them.Your opinion is your own, and your consumer dollars yours to spend as you see fit. But before you punish Subaru for being unconcerned about energy efficiency, you might want to expend a little bit of *personal* energy researching whether that punishment is actually *deserved.*
Respectfully,
- Greg Reed