Repost... also in General... Admins feel free to delete whichever (if either) one you feel is in the wrong place...

In this months issue of Subaru Drive, I just read a interview with Takao Saito, Chairman, President, and CEO of Subaru of america and a few very intersting things came out. Here are some selected peices

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Q: Can you share with us your plans for Subaru over the next few years?

A: (part of it) "In 2004, we will introduce the next generation Legacy and Outback, and in 2005, Subaru will bring an all-new, seven-passenger car-based AWD vehicle with many of the attibutes of an SUV."

Q: Subaru has been known for vehicles like Legacy and Outback. Now Subaru also offers perfomance-oriented vehicles like the Impreza WRX. Why are you introducing these kinds of vehicles?

A: (part of it again) "Two years ago, we introduced the WRX, and it opened another market to us. SO out corporate strategy rests on two pillars: Crossover, which will continue to accoujnt for the majority of sales, and Driving Performance, which will offer special models to the driving enthusiast".

Q: Will Subaru continue this performance development?

A: (full responce) "Yes. The STi version of the WRX came next, and, with 300 horsepower, it is a very specail car. For the 2004 model year, we will offer Turbo versions of the Forrester and Baja. Turbo will be offered on the Legacy and Outback in the near future, so the full line will have a driving performance option. Subaru customers can choose the approach that suits them best."

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I knew parts of this allready... that the new legacy will be coming out next spring and that Turbo will be offered. I also knew that the Forrester and Baja Turbo were already offered. The largest thing that suprised me about this was the seven passenger SUV from Subaru? Has anyone else heard about this?

These are my conclusions about this:
1. Subaru is trying to set up more sales in non-weather prone areas by creating a seven-passenger car-based SUV to target the large SUV crowd.
2. The STi will DEFINATELY be a limited production car, most likely ending production at the end of 04 or at the latest, 05.
3. We will see more STi or high-performance models, that run in limited productions. Hopefully a Legacy STi and possibly a Forrester STi.
4. The New legacy will come with three engine choices at first at least. EJ25 N/A, the H63.0 N/A, and the EJ25T.
5. There will be at somepoint a STi Legacy to compete with the high performance 40-45k range sedans like BMW, Audi, Saab, Mercedes and the like.
These are only my predictions so dont flame me for it.
Cheers
-Jeff

 

gack. that sucks. screw seven passenger land yachts, the last thing we need is one more manufacturer branching into the huge vehicle market. i'm all for more STi cars, but the 7 passenger idea is just wrong.

 

i think it's the motor currently in use in the outback sport, it's a horizontal/flat six cylinder engine.

 

Not outback sport... Outback.

Its a quite nice engine with 210hp and about the same tq. I've driven one quite a bit and the pedal feel is much better than that of the 2.5 N/A. Lots of Mid-range torque.
Cheers
-Jeff

 

EJ25T Legacy would be crazy. Sounds like a bad *** car. Kno anything else on it or any links?