Subaru Impreza
New Subaru Crossover set to hit U.S. market by 2013
Subaru Crossover
By 2012, Subaru will be retiring the Outback Sport and will let the Impreza Sport that has several options take the reign. The Subaru XV that was unwrapped during the auto show in Frankfurt a few weeks ago will be heading to the United States under a different nameplate.
According to Subaru, the XV will be under the wings of the Impreza brand as part of the 2013 MY lineup.
This will widen the Impreza range and give it a distinct model that has off-road capabilities, higher ground clearance, and unique wheels. The specifics about the Subaru Crossover has not yet been revealed but the US version will sport a new fascia and front grille.
The XV Crossover will most likely be renamed when it is launched in the U.S. to conform to the Subaru tradition of having proper word names for their car models. The only alphabetic tag is the upcoming sports car, Subaru BRZ.
The Subaru XV production version that will also be marketed in Europe in Asia was previewed as the SV Concept during the auto show in Shanghai this year.
The 2012 Imrpreza sport meanwhile is a transitional model for the brand and is a 5-door hathback which has a combo of Impreza options coming with it. The Sport will roll on 17-inch rims for some package options including an All-Weather setup. It will also have options for fog lights, roof rails, and rocker panels.
The Outback Sport is considered as a last generation 5-door Impreza that was marketed with several options and body accents. It did not utilize the Legacy platform used by others in the midsize lineup of Subaru.
The 2013 XV will add some brute force to distinguish its all wheel drive system and abilities off road which will be adding depth to the Impreza line.
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.