I know someone with an Audi Allroad and it has some very impressive features, such being able to change the car's height, the retractable towing hitch, etc.; it's sort a Swiss Army knife of a vehicle. But the price is pretty high and it's still a smallish car. I can't help but look at the Allroad and think of the many alternatives at lower prices. The Outbacks, even the priciest versions, undercuts the Allroad's price.
According to Consumer Reports, many/most of the German cars sold in the US have reliability problems. I've also read that many of the German cars are so high-tech (example: BMWs with the iDrive feature) that they're difficult for many drivers to use, while at the same time the reliability of many German cars has gone way down. The emphasis has gone into going high tech and they're not paying enough attention to quality and reliability.
Meanwhile, the Japanese makers are being more conservative and keeping quality and reliability as priorities.
Only one person's POV, but my family had VW Bugs from around 1955 until the mid-80s. I've lost count of how many, but they were all good transportation vehicles, not particularly great in any department, just reliable and easy/inexpensive to keep running. We bought more of them for these very reasons.
When VW came out with the water-cooled models in the mid-70s, they sold us a few. And, in general, those cars were such pieces of junk that nobody in the family has bought or will ever buy another VW. According to car mags and biz pages over the years, we weren't the only defectors, and VW's spent the last 25 years trying to rebuild a market they threw away. Look at the way they gear their advertising today: mainly to young buyers who weren't around to see "the fall." And, according to the car section in last Saturday's local paper, VW's never been able to regain lost ground, and, with rising prices, is losing MORE in the US market. Touaregs and Phaetons will never take the place of a mid-range market IMO.
I see some parallels with Subaru, and think there's a lesson for them to learn. People buy cars for lots of reasons, but reasonably priced, reliabale transportation's still at the top of the list for lots of us. When you go to a dance, don't forget the one who brought you!
That's what I call the "myth of German engineering." Nothing new--it's been that way for 60 years or better. Read the reports of the initial field testing of the Panzer tanks in WWII! As a friend and I (both having a bit of Teutonic blood) like to joke, "Have I ever told you why our ancestors lost the war?" Looks like they'll lose this one, too.
We had a Bug and a Kharmann Ghia (just the Bug in disguise) and while they weren't particularly good at anything, I appreciated the simplicity of the design.
However, VW is one way in the US the envy of other car makers, because VW has the youngest average for buyers: 37. Compare that to the age of the full-size Lincoln buyer: 70. Lincoln won't see many repeat buyers for that model! ;-)
Cadillac is successfully pushing down the age of the buyers with their more recent, aggressively-styled and advertised models. Toyota found the Echo wasn't helping them reach younger buyers, and now they have the Scion brand, aimed at young buyers.
Those may represent the direction VW wants to go in and/or those new, pricey VWs may give some luster to the cheaper VWs.
At the moment, the Passat is the only VW that Consumer Reports recommends, due to the reliability problems with the cheaper models. I think CR tested the Touareg V6 model briefly, but found it underpowered. No test for the Phaeton yet, if memory serves.
I sat in and looked at a Phaeton at a car show and it seemed pretty nice, but wouldn't spend that much for a VW. Then again, I thought nobody would want really high-priced Nissans and Toyotas, yet the Infiniti and Lexus cars were a big hit as soon as they were introduced, so I could be wrong. But Infiniti and Lexus had the advantage of the excellent reputation of their cheaper brands and many of those owners wanted to move up to luxury cars. VW isn't in that position now, although I think the cheaper VWs are pretty nifty looking and have some cachet due to that.
Hyundai/Kia, with the Amati, are also looking at moving upmarket. Mazda planned to have a luxury line with a new brand name, but abandoned that.
People like us are looking for a car as a commodity and for practical reasons. Subaru may want to start luring in customers with more $$$ and more desire for luxury and exclusivity.
I do know of somebody who made an interesting choice a few years ago, a woman who looked at the Outback, but was turned off by the gold lettering. So instead, she bought a 5-series BMW station wagon. So that's at least one example of a wealthier (at least, wealthier than me!) customer who looked at Subaru when she obviously could afford more. So by giving the Outback a more elegant look this year and advertising aggressively in magazines, Subaru may be looking to attract customers like her, who can afford the higher prices too.
I know what you mean, but for at least a few models, Subaru may want to attract more well-heeled customers.
Here in America, at least, people put a lot of emphasis on cylinders. Thus, to the average buyer here, a turbo four isn't as good as a NA six, and a turbo or supercharged six isn't as good as a NA eight. So really, in order to truly compete with an 80k V8 powered car, they'd need an H8 or at least a twin-turbo H6.
BTW, as I understand it, for towing, you'd want more cylinders, not a turbo. 25 years ago, turbos looked like the Next Big Thing, but now the car makers seem to be able to get plenty of power w/o turbos.
Perhaps so, although I doubt that there's really much need to compete with an $80k V8 Audi Allroad. I see very few Allroads and I suspect that the $80k version sells poorly, if at all. I was only aware of it after I looked it up in a magazine.
But I bet the $80k version of the Allroad makes the dealers and their sales staff happy, if they ever do sell one! But it's a lot smaller than luxury SUVs like the Range Rover and Porsche Cayenne that are near $80k. Not that I really know; I'll never be able to afford that sort of vehicle. Well, maybe I could, if I didn't have to send anybody to college and retire... ;-)
Seems to me that I read somewhere that Subaru will eventually have a
7-passenger SUV, but I doubt it'll cost anything like $80k. The extra rear seat seems to be a hot feature in SUVs in recent years, completing the whole family-minivan-in-drag metamorphosis of the SUV.
I've not seen any pictures or concept art of the new vehicle, but my hope is that the new "suv" is really just a return of the classic American station wagon, sort of like the new Dodge Magnum, which is also referred to as an SUV. The last thing I want to see is some bloated tippy box with the Subaru emblem on it.
Thanks! With all that tape on the front, it somehow looks like the recent small Mitsubishi SUVs, like the Outlander. The rest looks like a larger Pontiac Vibe.
If oil supplies don't get worse and the SUV fad doesn't die out, the big Subaru could sell well, I guess. At least it gives Subaru in the US another model to gain consumers' attention.
Thanks for the link. It's a bit too thick in the sides, I think - reminds me a lot of the Porsche Cayenne in proportions.
Pontiac version? It's a dark day when Pontiac gains access to reliable technology. People might actually start thinking that Pontiacs are good. ;) I'm guessing the Pontiac version will have red dash lights, a heads-up display, a gigantic spoiler, and of course, driving excitement, or something like that.
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