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Subaru is to radically alter its brand values to try and improve its position in the UK.

The company plans to lessen the focus on performance cars and concentrate on creating more comfortable, spacious and refined cars instead.

Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of IM Group Ltd, Subaru’s official UK importer, explained that Subaru “is not disregarding its rally heritage, but in the long term we need to broaden our target audience.”

Tunnicliffe maintains that the strategy w...Read the full article

I think Subaru need to review their design team in the first instance. the new Imprezza and now Legacy are just awful looking cars.

when you see the american market Imprezza saloon, it is a big improvement on the hatchback.

I don't think subaru uk know what their customers want. Why for example did they never have the Legacy Turbos in the UK, because that would have been a big seller judging by the large number of imports from Japan that are available.

Autocar:

Subaru is to radically alter its brand values to try and improve its position in the UK.

Brand values? What about not making the cars look so bloody bland and/or awkward? The current range is wholly unremarkable: emotionless, insipid, and generally lacking.

There are some real corporate prats alive and well in the boardroom of businesses up and down the country. The Subaru UK MD seems to be one of them.

They'll have the odd 'blue sky' session and then get down to some strategy type stuff where they'll 'roadmap' the path they wish to follow and then convince themselves it can be done and it's really clear that's what's happened here.

Some corporate prat at Subaru thinks they can grab a decent market share based on some fancy powerpoint presentations and a plan when the fact of the matter is Subaru are a niche manufacturer who have blown out they're core customers and replaced the model line up with fecal matter that NO-ONE wants to buy.

I despise this shi te, I despise people like him.

Anyone have a scooby what this REALLY means?

Neads admits that the brand was “not absolutely robust, and in many ways was polarised, but the new strategy should make it more cohesive and introduce new buyers.”

I'd suggest he doesn't have a clue about what the brand is, where it sits and what it means to people.

Subaru's board in Japan and the UK don't appear to have a SCOOBY what their core brand values are!  They can still offer utilitarian mainstream models, but why drop all that engineering heritage in the process.  This was what made Subaru.  Their Boxer diesel is a great piece of automotive engineering. They need to employ a braver design team too!  Who in their right mind would sign off the design for the latest Impreza, unless they had not seen the competition?  Even previous versions of the Impreza's rivals out do it in the looks department.  The Legacy was always deemed bland, but that allowed it a little Q car status. All they needed to do was improve the looks and move the interior on a generation, but instead they have gone backwards.  Why are they putting the poor quality Impreza dash in all their new products?

It's corporate suicide. They should be looking at business plans of smaller manufacturers like Jaguar, Saab, Volvo. Or maybe Toyota should step in to give them a helping hand.

Bring back the Legacy Spec B and the Saloons!!! 

i agree with everyone else here. the cars are now too ugly. they will not appeal to the mainstream, and yet they are pulling out of the specialist market they practically invented. i predict a reveral before too long as they just wont sell anything.

Its a shame, they are well made, well engineered, and usually good to drive. But they are not the only maker to offer this, so you need a reason to buy one, and i cant think of one right now.

In a world of looky likey Fords, Vauxhalls VW`s etc, I like the "go it alone" Subaru ranges of this world.

Brutal styling, 4 wheel drive, wonderful flat 4 engines, love it

I agree. Mercedes-Benz and Saab were once like this too, until the engineering philosophy was perverted by the Power Point brigade. Now they are just (rather naff) 'brands'.

 You would hope that someone from Subaru UK would read a thread like this and see the common theme.

Subarus of the past may never have been beautiful but that had a definite purposeful and aggresive look to them.

The previous generations of Impreza all had it.

Even the current (now previous?) Legacy was a handsome car particualrly in estate form.

The new generations of both look really dull and resemble previous generations of japanese cars that even the Japanese have moved on from.

If you want to make middle of the road cars then your designs have to be as good as VW/Ford/Vauxhall etc. At least before they had the market pretty much to themselves and they were good at it.

Pavgub:

Why for example did they never have the Legacy Turbos in the UK

Totally agree with you. Why was there a turbo Forester but no turbo Legacy in the UK? In today's environment of downsizing, and drives for efficiency they should have direct-injection, turbo versions of their 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 litre petrols across the range. They should forget about the new 3.6 litre.

There should have been a flat six 3.0 diesel by now too, with one or two turbos. With this range they would be able to have comparable performance to BMW, Audi et al.

The Impreza should have kept the saloon option, with the new hatchback sold as 'broadening' the range.

The automatic gearbox should have been more than 4-speed for a long time now - surely they can buy one in.

While I am no fan of the new Legacy's looks, the loss of frameless windows, or the 'solid' rear pillar in the Tourer, it is the lack of improved engines that currently puts me off.

It was not so long ago that Sabaru were rubbished as pointless left field choices that might appeal to vets in the Highlands. The rally success and the sale of high powered turbo models changed all that.

 Given that a lower powered mainstream models do not need four wheel drive and that the SUVs are not efficient vehicles what are they hopong to do? Build a Mondeo beater on a shoestring?

It's amazing how many WRXs and STis you see on the roads today.   Having owned one in the past (Peter Steven's styled 03 plate), which I bought new and kept for five years, I can say it really was an amazing car.   With the performance pack and lowered stiffer springs it was fast, grippy, and a joy to drive.

But, I tried the new Impreza hatchback.   Then, not being that impressed, I went to another dealer to try it again.   Sure if you're going for a white knuckle ride it can grip, but when you're tottling about it's just not that convincing.   I was so gutted that I even went to a Mitshubishi garage - but the sales person in Hamilton talked me out of it telling me how the Evos keep breaking down and are very expensive to repair!   Excellent sales person.   ;-)

What should Subaru Japan do?   Firstly, ditch the UK importer as they're creaming off too much.   You often see WRXs in car supermarket for £ 6k less.   As a hatchback they've put the WRX right in target of the Focus ST, and the Ford is quite impressive.   Not driven the Focus RS, but from what I've heard it's very impressive so that's covered the STi.

Ford have managed to sell the ST and RS so there's still a market out there.   Either Subaru comes up with the right product, or reduces the price by the suggested means to a point where it sells again.

As for my 03 Impreza.   90k+ miles, no breaks downs, never let me down once.   Fun every day reminding you that driving is to be enjoyed, especially in this increasingly 1984 world we live in.  It really did look superb when it came time for it to start a new journey with it's new master.   Oh I do miss it's performance.....