With all precincts reporting, Subaru officially takes second place in the 2009 annual sales increase sweepstakes, with a 15 percent annual increase. That achievement was bested only by Jaguar Land Rover, which finished the year up 65 percent with 38,261 units sold. Only Hyundai improved its volume more than Subaru last year, up 56,852 compared to Subies 28,953 increase. Still, Subaru was clearly an up-and-comer this year, shrugging off industrywide declines for one of the best all-round sales performances since the beginning of the so-called Carmageddon. And the momentum seems to be going strong, as Subaru closed the year with a 33 percent increase in December and 23,074 units sold. And to think it all started with the 360, a car that made the VW Beetle look, sound and perform like a freaking Bentley.
Subaru’s monthly sales report is as follows:
Dec-09 Dec-08 % chg YTD Dec-09 YTD Dec-08 % chg
Legacy 3,620 1,824 98% 30,974 22,605 37%
Outback 8,376 4,067 106% 55,356 44,271 25%
Impreza 3,647 4,192 -13% 46,611 49,098 -5%
Forester 7,223 6,499 11% 77,781 60,748 28%
Tribeca 208 705 -70% 5,930 10,975 -46%
Total** 23,074 17,287 33% 216,652 187,699 15%
No wonder they go like heck in the snow; it’s running on a 356cc snow-blower engine.
Shoulda left the tiller on the front though ;)
0-50 in 37 seconds? Ya don’t say! . . . I LIKE It!
My last rental was a Forester
…my cat’s breath smells like cat food
So that decision to sell JLR is really working out well for Ford then….
That 360 has character; I like it. I’d rather have it than this:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ev-firm-thnk-picks-indiana-site-for-us-factory/
For $40k, I’d rather have a 2008 Corvette AND a subi 360 :o
Somewhere, Malcolm Bricklin is taking credit for this.
As he should. 360’s are cool. Even though that clip suggests they are so anemic you can’t get up enough velocity or wheelspin to do a proper drift.
Anemic? What I got from that clip is:
Hey! RWD cars with a short wheelbase don’t suck as much in the snow!
The year I owned a 1988 Cougar, I spent the winter in the ditch.
and no thanks to TTAC’s review of the 2010 outback.
The Outback is on my ‘short-list’. Lots of value, and excellent in poor weather.
I thought the outback had no market, but looking into it, it’s a nice alternative to the Tribeca (less wind drag, less weight, same engine in the high-end).
No HIDs is kind of stinky though.
Outback has been a great success. Forester was a great success. Impreza was a strong success. I see a trend here, let’s keep it going! Now, how about that X/T manual Forester or Outback back in the mix?
We just discovered Subaru this year and have a ’10 Forester Premium in the driveway now. The dealer was moving them as fast as he could get them in during CFC time. It has been very good in the rough weather we’ve had lately, it lives up to the hype (we live in a rural area and have a small farm operation). My ’94 Ranger 4WD is a beast in the snow but this is way more refined of course, although you won’t see the Forester running through the farm fields like the Ford does. I’ll say too the ’10 Tribeca looks a lot better than it did, just got an issue of the Subie of America’s magazine Drive that has an article about it. Too rich for my blood however.
As I’ve observed while accompanying a friend on test drives last week (she’s looking to buy her first new car), the non-WRX Impreza is more desirable than I’d imagined; even the base model has 16-inch wheels, 4-wheel disc brakes and stability control. The Impreza would seem to be the only agile, maneuverable Subie anymore, which is a great shame. I know several people who would be in the market for a Forester if they were still the size of the first two generations, not the relatively huge current model.