car news
Subaru Lafayette plant rolls out 2 millionth unit
History was made at the Subaru plant in Lafayette. Just this afternoon, the 2 millionth Subaru model rolled out of the Lafayette assembly line. Everyone from the Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. cheered for such a glorious moment in the company’s history.
This afternoon, the 2 millionth Subaru unit—an Outback in ruby red body color—was showered by SIA associates with sparkling mineral water to celebrate the moment event held at the staging area at the Lafayette plant.
According to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., Motokiyo Nomura, the SIA Lafayette plant has assembled almost 3,430,000 car units in the last 22 years. This figure includes 2 million Subaru units. There were also the Rodeo, Pick Up, Isuzu Amigo and Axium, Honda Passport, and the Subaru Baja.
The SIA Lafayette plant is currently the place of production for the Subaru Outback, Legacy, Tribeca, and the Toyota Camry.
The Subaru Outback sales totaled at 51,239 units for half of this year alone. Legacy sales increased by 12 percent to 21,284 units.
According to SIA Executive Vice President, Tom Easterday, it took the company 13 years to reach the 2 millionth Subaru. However, the current speed of the production nowadays, it would only take about 7 years to reach its 3 millionth unit.
This success is a manifestation of the dedication, perseverance, and hard work of the people at the SIA plant. The Subaru units here are recognized worldwide for their safety, quality, and reliability.
Short supply of Impreza and Forester hurts sales of Subaru
The sales figure of Subaru for the month of June suffered and dropped by as much as 8% due to the shortage of supply of two key products made in Japan.
The Japanese built Subaru Forester crossover saw a 28% fall in terms of sales while the compact Subaru Impreza took a big blow a its sale saw a 35% decline due to a shutdown of their factories in Japan for three weeks. The halt in operations came after the 11 March earthquake. The Subaru Impreza and Forester will still be in short supply for the rest of July as the supply pipe in the United States try to return to the normal levels.
An insider though shared that they are seeing July with the lowest supply so sales will be dramatically impacted.
On a brighter side, the Outback crossover, the Tribeca SUV, and the Legacy Sedan which are all produced in the US showed a jump in sales in June. The Lafayette factory has returned to their nomal productions after weeks of struggle due to a parts shortage because of the Japan tragedy.
Subaru America though sees 2011 as their second best in terms of sale for the company’s history. Subaru was predicting to get their best sales figures ever with a forecast of 263, 820 vehicles for 2010 until the Japan tsunami.
The sales of Subaru was up by around 5% or 132,049 vehicles for the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period last year.
Subaru going for design revolution
The Impreza saloon concept of Subaru is set to define the design language of the Japanese car manufacturer in the next few years. The elements used for the Impreza concept defines what the “Confidence in Motion” motto of Subaru really means.
The Subaru Impreza saloon concept has very aggressive posture with its shoulder line in the liking of a Volvo S60, eye catching hexagonal grille, and the front end of the car cut by a ‘wing’.
The chief designer of Subaru reveals that the concept is really meant to define the direction of the brand in the future. Osamu Namba explains that the Impreza concept embodies the future of the model but also the design language of the entire line-up.
The design language embodied in the new concept Impreza is aiming to unite the design lines of all the models across the Subaru line-up. Critics have pointed out the inconsistencies in the design of the vehicle lineup over the years.
Consumers can expect that the next models of Subaru will take the wider and lower architecture, the hexagonal grille, and the hawk eye headlamps. The bigger rides like the Tribeca and the Outback will most likely get more than one wing on the grille.
During the auto show in Los Angeles, the Impreza concept turned heads and the Japanese carmaker hints that the next gen of vehicles might even use the Sky Silver tone. The car gets a 2.0L boxer powerplant paired with continuously variable gearbox which also defines the future powertrain of the Subaru models.
Photos and Pricing: Cosworth’s Edition of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI CS400
Seventy five lucky individuals from the United Kingdom who is willing to spend $71,750 will be able to get hold of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Cosworth Edition as it goes on market this month just in the UK market.
Details about the Cosworth Edition Subaru were disclosed during the auto show in Geneva. Info about the pricing and photos has also been going around the web prior to its official date of sale. Subaru insiders have revealed though that this version of the Impreza will not reach the US soil.