April 2014: Subaru of America, Inc.

[William Maley]

May 1, 2014

SUBARU REPORTS BEST-EVER APRIL SALES

• 29 consecutive months with year-over-year growth
• Best April ever for Forester, Outback, XV Crosstrek, BRZ
• All-time WRX/STI record
• Fourth month that Subaru brand sales exceed 40,000 sales
• Forester now marks nine consecutive months of more than 10,000 sales

Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. today reported 40,083 vehicle sales for April 2014, a 22 percent increase over April 2013 sales of 32,943 and the best-ever April sales month in company history. Year-to-date sales for Subaru total 152,471 - a 22 percent increase over the same period in 2013. The company has now seen 29 consecutive months of year-over-year growth and is already on its way to its sixth successive annual sales record.

Year-to-date, the Forester model increased sales 54 percent over the same period in 2013. Sales of the small crossover, XV Crosstrek were also notably strong with 15,143 vehicles reported sold year-to-date.

“Demand for the Forester has been incredibly strong,” said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “We are looking forward to the all-new Legacy and Outback models arriving into our retailers this summer to even further boost consumer interest in Subaru models.”

“We continue to attract more and more first time owners to the brand,” said H. William Cyphers, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. “Demand for Subaru product has never been higher, and I thank our retailers for efficiently managing their vehicle inventories. We are on track for another record year!”

[Drew Dowdell]

Every month Subaru continues to embarrass VW and pull further ahead.

and one of those Foresters was my doing. I talked a friend into one instead of a new CR-V.

[Z-06]

Subaru indeed is the envy of VW. With limited models it continues to embarrass the world's #1 manufacturer.

Only wished BRZ sold in little more quantities than that.

[A Horse With No Name]

Suburu indeed is the embarrassment of vw. Volkswagen is in trouble, methinks.

[ocnblu]

Last year, VW sent me a survey letter. One sentence stood out to me: "At Volkswagen, we are working hard to improve the quality of our cars."

I do have to say that judging from my experience with my car, aside from a design flaw in the intercooler system, the car has been trouble free for the first 20k miles. Something I could not say about my '02 Golf, 2 '98 Beetles or my '00 GTI. So they did their homework, at least on mine.

I am not sure if past sins are dogging VW, or if other people are still having issues.

That reminds me, it is time for my 2nd oil change, to be paid for by VW. I am going to try to drop it off over there in the morning before work.

[A Horse With No Name]

I like their cars, but they are in a sales slump. Interested to see how people like the Mk 7 golf and gti.

[ocnblu]

The Golf/GTI are, rightfully so, at or near the top of the European sales charts. Been that way for decades... it mystifies me why such a nice car doesn't sell for crap over here. As nice as the Mk VII is, I don't see that changing here in the U.S.

[Drew Dowdell]

The problem is VW's inconsistency in quality and reliability. The GTI, GLI, Beetle, Passat, and CC all sit in the same showroom. I am sure there is a price range where they all overlap. Yet the feeling of quality and the issues with reliability can all vary greatly. The beetle can be a $32k car with cable operated hvac controls for example.

[ocnblu]

"Cable operated hvac controls" what in the world are you talking about. Who cares. Dead reliable, likely cheaper to repair than a whole electronic control unit.

[Drew Dowdell]

"Cable operated hvac controls" what in the world are you talking about. Who cares. Dead reliable, likely cheaper to repair than a whole electronic control unit.

Well in that case, you should just buy a John Deere and be done with it.

The feel is exactly the thing someone writing a check for $32k cares about. I'm talking about the cheapo feeling of the vent controls where you can feel cables pulling the different baffles closed. However, when you write a $27k check for a Jetta GLI, you get the fully electronic HVAC controls that would be appropriate in an Audi A6. It is this inconsistency of quality at those price levels that I am pointing out.

[ocnblu]

To me, quality means precision in assembly, durability and reliability.

[Drew Dowdell]

To me, quality means precision in assembly, durability and reliability.

And you can find all of those at your local John Deere or Tupperware retailer. To most of the rest of us, quality also means using fine materials and including well designed modern technology that makes our lives easier.

Here is the difference between my definition of quality and yours. The Hyundai Genesis Sedan, a car that neither you nor I have any love for, uses a metal rod with a tupperware plastic tip with 6-indents for the tilt wheel function in lower level models. It feels like ancient technology to use... in fact, it is basically the same as the tilt wheel in my '81 Toronado. Assembled well? Sure. Durable? Absolutely. Reliable? Certainly. But in a car with a $34,000 base price, is that what we call quality? Not if it is duplicating technology in a 35 year old Oldsmobile.

Over at Toyota, the Avalon also starts at around $34,000... ditto our mutual feelings of the car... But the Avalon comes with a power tilt and telescoping wheel. When unlocking the car with a specific key-fob, the car automatically sets the wheel to the programmed possition for the respective fob. Is it reliable? Toyota has a long list of complaints, but that is one I haven't heard of. Durable? It will probably outlast the ownership. Well assembled? Probably, it's a Toyota... their issues have been with design, not assembly.

For the same $34,000, you can buy a luxury car with a John Deere - Tupperware supplied tilt steering lever or you can buy a car that automatically electronically sets the tilt and telescope for you as soon as you unlock the car.

Which one is higher quality?

[ocnblu]

Blah blah blah, Good Lord. Quality has nothing to do with technology.

And... John Deere has been around since 1837. If they weren't a quality brand, they'd have been gone. Do not diss John Deere to me, mister.

Edited May 6, 2014 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

Really? How's your turbo intercooler doing?

[ocnblu]

Good now. It has been modified to deal with the condensation problem that plagues a lot of turbo/intercooled engines. I am not sure why VW decided to let their customers endure such a problem when they've known about it for so long. But thanks fer askin'.

[A Horse With No Name]

Good now. It has been modified to deal with the condensation problem that plagues a lot of turbo/intercooled engines. I am not sure why VW decided to let their customers endure such a problem when they've known about it for so long. But thanks fer askin'.

probably the same thing that caused gm to use headliner adhesive that failed in every vehicle they built for twenty plus years.

[2QuickZ's]

Has Subaru improved their quality? From my experience with my 2005 Saab 92X Aero (nee Subaru WRX) I used to own, the quality wasn't anything to brag about. I would venture to say it was one of the lower quality modern cars I've ever owned. Probably should have got the Legacy GT I was looking at instead.

I really liked the look of their 2005 - 2007 MY vehicles but since then the styling has been a pretty steady downhill slide IMHO.

Edited May 9, 2014 by 2QuickZ's

[A Horse With No Name]

Their latest batch of stuff has been very reliable.