Has Subaru Succeeded Because They Dared To Become The Poor Man's Audi?

While much of the U.S. auto business is just beginning to emerge from retrenchment mode, sales at Subaru of Glendale are climbing every month—and owner Sam Ershadi is even considering expanding his California dealership. "Our customers were not affected by the recession," he says. "They have a better financial situation."

By courting financially solid buyers with a taste for the quirky, tiny Subaru of America sped through 2009, logging record sales and market share along the way. Last year Subaru became the 11th most popular U.S. auto brand, up from No. 19 just a year earlier.

Record sales in cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, and Orlando helped make Subaru the fastest-growing mass-market car brand in the U.S. for the last two years. It's the growth leader again so far in 2010—up 41 percent through April. For the first time, its unit sales exceed those of such better-known brands as BMW, Lexus, Mazda, and Volkswagen.



 
 
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Shredmo - 5/28/2010 11:29:59 AM

+7 Boost

..."The Poor Man's Audi". Aside from brand cache, Subaru owns Audi.

Joe_Limon - 5/28/2010 11:35:39 AM

+9 Boost

hmmm... Subaru isn't what I would call cheap...

Agent009 - 5/28/2010 11:50:58 AM

-2 Boost

It is interesting to see the avg Subaru household makes $88K, $10K more than the avg Toyota household.

Joe_Limon - 5/28/2010 11:58:19 AM

+7 Boost

Badgewhore, I'm not bashing Subaru, I like the company, I'd take a WRX over any similarly priced audi any day. That being said, you have to be retarded if you think that Subaru is cheap/economy in any way. They are well built cars, not pop can cars.

Agent009 - 5/28/2010 12:34:17 PM

+2 Boost

Subi makes a hell of a car.

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 3:41:11 PM

+2 Boost

"Visible, its pretty simple.

009 = Pathetic Blogger."

- I'm not in agreement with that. He does add some interesting articles that do strike up good discussion. And no one is perfect BTW.

uaw_lax - 5/28/2010 11:48:24 PM

-2 Boost

it's 009 job to stir the pot..... dont take it to heart.

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 11:47:53 AM

+4 Boost

A poor Man's Audi that actualy outperforms the Audis.

Agent009 - 5/28/2010 11:51:31 AM

-3 Boost

in what respect? be specific

Shredmo - 5/28/2010 12:16:10 PM

+7 Boost

First respect, my 2005 FXT does 0-60 in 5.3 seconds, has 56k miles on it and has NEVER returned to ANY service center since it left the dealer lot with 7 miles on it. In a nutshell, the cars perform and are reliable.

Agent009 - 5/28/2010 12:36:25 PM

+1 Boost

Shredmo - In the most simplistic terms then you assessment may be correct. They are rock solid.

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 12:52:26 PM

+3 Boost

"in what respect? be specific"

- You have to get up to an Audi S4($65k), to get an Audi that's faster than a regular WRX. All non "S" A4s/A5s and A6s are easily out performed by the WRXs, Legacys and Foresters.

It doesn't end there. The STI outperforms the S4 and the S5s. Subaru's model line-up on average, outperforms Audis model line-up (not including the R8, which BTW could easily get destroyed by a Modified STI or WRX)? Audi’s model line-up isn’t about performance. Subaru’s is. It that specific enough?

AlleVier - 5/28/2010 1:42:07 PM

+1 Boost

"Enthusiasts" on these kinds of forums can never seem to get much beyond 0-to-60 as the measure of performance, especially as it pertains to dollars spent. I propose that these people use the following formula to determine whether one car is better than another:

1,000,000 / ((0-to-60 time) x (Price of car)) = y, where y is the "Acceleration Value" and dividing into a million inverts the values to a more-or-less single-digit value where a higher value represents a higher value.

Using the formula:

Bugatti Veyron 1.6
Audi S4 4.36
Subaru Legacy 2.5GT 5.84
Kia Rio 9.5
Tata Nano 23.52

So, along the lines of the discussions here, I think we can all agree that the Tata Nano may be the best performing car of all.

AlleVier - 5/28/2010 1:44:44 PM

+1 Boost

where a higher value represents a higher value.

where a higher value represents a "better acceleration value"

Joe_Limon - 5/28/2010 3:01:21 PM

+2 Boost

I think a better equation would be 1000*Power*Torque/(Weight*Price)

Giving
Veyron 0.129
S4 0.648
Legacy 0.727
Rio 0.406
Nano 0.403

AlleVier - 5/28/2010 3:33:42 PM

+1 Boost

There are lots of possibilities and, while I was being somewhat facetious, it's still an interesting proposal to come up with a good bang-for-the-buck measure. I think yours measures broader performance potential better, but doesn't consider things like gearing, tires, and drive setup. Of course mine is heavily biased by those things (as well as technique) which can be bad as well.

uaw_lax - 5/28/2010 11:52:25 PM

-3 Boost

lets not over complicate this and just keep 0 to 60 times vs price.

bmwdrvr - 5/28/2010 12:01:59 PM

+1 Boost

Whats the obsession really....I dont get it. What an insult to say Subaru is trying to be a Poor mans Audi, Subaru as a brand is far more unique than Audi will ever be, has a long rally and performance history, has had all wheel drive for decades, and has never been a brand that until recently is known for making warmed over versions of another brand uh hem. Your articles no longer have any journalistic skill, its simply either some attempt to incite some long thread about why what you said is overly bias and wrong or completely false.......why are you allowed to post again?

AlleVier - 5/28/2010 12:56:58 PM

+5 Boost

"Your articles no longer have any journalistic skill, its simply either some attempt to incite some long thread about why what you said is overly bias and wrong or completely false"

And you fell for it. No response = no hits = no incendiary headlines. That said, the headlines and emotional pandering will continue. They do reflect the real-world thinking of fanatics and we just can't help ourselves.

bmwdrvr - 5/28/2010 1:19:02 PM

+3 Boost

lol yeah your right never thought about it like that

VISO - 5/29/2010 7:37:56 PM

-1 Boost

Really? Far more unique than Audi? How? Actually, it is an insult to compare Subaru (and I love Subaru for its quirkiness) to Audi. Unless Subaru or BMW for that matter wins the next 9 Le Mans, spots DTM, and other arenas where Audi dominates then maybe we can see a fair comparison. Otherwise Subie is not the same league yet alone planet compared to Audi. Your comments are ignorant and lack any level of understanding. BMWdrv you are the ultimate badge (BMW) whore. Stop trying to look like your subjective. Everyone of your posts in an Audi blog is negative and derogatory towards Audi. We get, keep driving your Ultimate Overrated Machine.

bmwdrvr - 5/31/2010 3:11:11 PM

+2 Boost

First off psycho (your throwing a trantrum on ablog about cars and being insulting seek help please). this is a blog about subaru that this horrible poster of course makes it to a flame war by of course having to include Audi in all their post for that matter and in a post that both insults subaru yet praises them at the same time. In regards to whatever else you said im not even going such disgusting words as clearly one thing I dont have to do is stoop to such a childish level of name calling over cars...grow up.

F005 - 5/28/2010 12:43:17 PM

+5 Boost

Focusing on what they do best & not loosing themselves for some quick opportunities that might have taken their attention off the ball, Subaru has been quite remarkable.

bintintin - 5/28/2010 1:22:32 PM

+2 Boost

Can't this same argument be made for any Merc, BWM, etc.? I have not seen any base Audi, BWM, or Merc get easily out performed by a base Impreza/Legacy/Forester. Last I checked, Audi has had a rally and performance history and also has had AWD for decades.

Every tuned Subie I hear, is turbo's of course, with loud exhaust even when idling. I myself prefer performance on demand and to be able to ride in comfort, quietness, with power when traveling. I hate turbo lag.

I don't see Subie as a luxury car or any aspirations of being such. I see them as a great basic car that I would prefer over a Honda, Toyo, or Nissan. Subie offers tuned cars cheaper than any Luxury marque and that's great for them.

r_driver04 - 6/30/2010 5:38:11 PM

+1 Boost

The key phrase is "tuned". The nice thing about Subaru turbo cars is that you don't need to tune them to be able to run and or beat many of the more expensive makes.

pennfootball - 5/28/2010 1:28:13 PM

+6 Boost

Yep I bought a WRX because I did not have the cash at the time to Purchase an S4 because it was tied up in a bunch of b/s investments from the global economic meltdown...UGH!

uaw_lax - 5/28/2010 11:54:51 PM

0 Boost

You also own a Jeep product, am a correct?

pennfootball - 6/2/2010 12:23:49 PM

0 Boost

yes Wrangler Rubicon

thstone - 5/28/2010 1:37:16 PM

+1 Boost

All I know is that my 17-yr old son wants to buy a used Imprezza RS this weekend (sorry, but no WRX for him at that age). Subaru is doing something right to get the attention of buyers.

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 1:50:35 PM

+3 Boost

You realize that the Imprezza RS can be easily made to be faster than the WRX? Seems like your son realizes something that you don't? He's getting one over on you if you believe that the Imprezza RS is somehow a slower (read:safer) car than the WRX. Kids are smart these days? Eh?

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 4:11:06 PM

-3 Boost

You're account probably got deleted because all you are doing is attacking 009 personaly, instead of talking about cars.

Did 009 feel you up when you were little?

_43LE - 5/28/2010 4:42:29 PM

+5 Boost

Bias009, this has been going on for years it's nothing new. We all know this, even if he doesn't consciously realize.

LexSucks - 5/28/2010 4:51:58 PM

-3 Boost

Bias009,

I got you know. No problem if that's what 009 is really doing. But I do like the idea of having a central location for web-based articles. Sure beats me trying to find them my self. But I think I'll start to look at autoblog.com site some more.

uaw_lax - 5/28/2010 11:57:37 PM

0 Boost

"This will be my very last visiting to this crooked website. Peace out."

we shall see

JUGNU - 5/28/2010 5:46:18 PM

+1 Boost

Subaru is far more pure than Audi. All Subarus are AWD can't say that for Audi. The are rock solid and ultra reliable with great engines. I have loved all my Subarus. My only complain is their spare parts are very expensive but on the other hand they last almost twice as long as say Toyota. Audi is also nice but no way Subaru is poor man's Audi. Both have their own place in the market.

JUGNU

Willis - 5/29/2010 2:00:08 AM

+2 Boost

What a pathetic thread. Period.

mpls - 5/29/2010 5:39:06 PM

0 Boost

Stupid title.. Like the Audi.. a rich mans VW

r_driver04 - 6/30/2010 4:56:18 PM

+1 Boost

Subaru has been successful because they've remained consistent with their message and product offerings. They've developed a very loyal and growing following by providing reliable, capable and safe automobiles. Granted they've never had more than a handful of product lines but that's they've been able to remain focused on what they do well.

2008 Legacy GT Spec B Owner