They're getting to be more mainstream than you might think. VW Golf/Rabbit, Mazda 3, WRX wagon (it's a hair bigger, but it's a 5 door hatch), Ford Focus, Audi A3, Lexus IS300 Sportcross, Kia Rondo, Dodge Caliber are all 5 door hatches. They are getting much more common here.
OOOOOOOOOO...that must be right. wait..didnt subaru make a US ONLY sedan because they know the US doesnt like hatches. ???
imo there is a difference between mainstream and what manufacturers are actually making. kia rondo BLAH caplier BLAH focus omfgwtfbbq BLAH
I think you're letting personal preference get in the way of reality here. Ford has sold more Focuses than Subaru has sold cars in the last few years. Dodge will sell plenty of Calibers, and Kia will probably even move a few Rondos. And I'm kicking myself for forgetting the Fit, the Matrix/Vibe and the Scion xA and xB. Even Hyundai has a 5 door hatch, the Elantra GT.
Denial is a terrible thing...and I'll elaborate. Subaru is by no means a mainstream company. If anything we're late to the party in regards to this. Just about every other "Mainstream" car manufacturer out there has a 5 door hatch in one form or another, and people are buying them. Subaru is hedging their bet by doing both, but I don't know how long the sedan will stay around, especially if the STI is going to be hatch only. Subaru accounts for less than 2% of the total autos sold in the US, so I'd look more at companies like Ford and Toyota for what I'd consider "mainstream". This is pretty much the same thing that happened when the bugeye first dropped, everyone was pissed that it was a 4 door sedan instead of a 2 door coupe, they hated the styling, etc but they sold every one of them that they could get onto a dealer lot. Now, (in the irony of ironies) they're considered some of the better looking of the GD series by a lot of people. I think once people have a chance to see it in person a lot of this is going to die down and people are going to like it. Evolution isn't always easy, but if it leads to a better vehicle then I'm all for it.
I think Fuji's from japan So after reading that page on the sti...so...probably same engine as the 07? If so...nice!
Well the new Suby is a 5-door hatch. The "older" wagon is not. IMHO, what differentiates a wagon from a hatch is the extra set of windows just after the rear doors. Wagons have them and hatches don't.
Ya cross between the Ford focus, the headlights of a acura rsx and i dont think the bugeyed look good with that grill!!@!
i think one thing we should be worried about is subie's are look like other cars the wrx sti and so on and so forth were like one of a kind
How exactly is a 4 door sedan "one of a kind"? There isn't anything special to the WRX or STI sedan, it's just that. A 4 door sedan with a perfomance drivetrain, I'm not seeing the uniqueness lookswise.
I love how everyone is all up in arms about yet another UGLY Subaru. I never bought either of mine based on looks.
Exactly. I like the fact that my car is everything I've wanted in a vehicle all at once. Safe, sporty, fun to drive, decent drivers layout with great visibility, all weather capability, easy to work on and will hold 5 people or a couple of bikes inside the vehicle. I couldn't care less what the outside looks like.
Does anyone know what turbo is going on the new WRX? I thought I read somewhere that Subaru somehow managed to make peak torque earlier. Does that possibly mean that they put an even smaller turbo on? Yuck.
I did. Personally, I've always been a fan of Subaru's because of their unique styling, which the '08 seems to lack.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=5211 [/QUOTE] New STi renderings. I like it a lot, might consider one in the future.
now those renderings have my mind whirling. i like/i dont like/i like/i dont like, stop teasing us and show us the real thing subaru!!!
the flares, rims and that rear end spoiler under fin thingy are sweet, the black grille looks better too
I'm still glad I got my 07. STI still needs much more to make it unique. Did anyone ever think that subie is trying to tone down the popluarity of a WRX and convince more people to buy STIs instead? Either that or they're just trying to make one butt-ugly year to sell off the rest of the 07s. hahahah
Didn't they say that in some press release? I thought they said something along the lines of trying to make the WRX more for the mass, then they want people who wanted performance to buy the STi. Not that I think it is really going to change that, because there will be a ton of aftermarket for the WRX anyway! Basically, everyone who has a WRX that is modded probably would've rather had an STi to begin with, but couldn't afford it.
The STI looks alot better than the WRX, but right now I could see myself buying a EVO if I was between the two. Which I won't be for at least five years. Then there might be a sweet looking STI.
I could afford an STi. I bought a WRX. in 06-07 the STi just didn't look like as good of a deal to me. Also no STi wagon was a dealbreaker, I regretted having two previous impreza sedans instead of wagons. I still would like to put in an STi tranny one day but with all the money I spend on this car it still wont add up to anywhere close to what an STi would have cost me instead. For the next generation due to the fact that the STi looks so much better and is already a wagon clearly its a win for me. I will probably be getting an 09-12 STi wagon whenever I get tired of my current one. You only get certain windows on getting a great deal on teh best of breed cars and then they're gone and they don't come back, and the 06-07 wrx was that for me. I say the same thing to evo people, buy an evo 9 as soon as you can because in 20 years that will have been the one to have to everyone. the 08 wrx is a stripped down cost adjusted one. I cant wait until 5 years from now when the sales go down and they start putting some nicer parts on it like they did in 06.
At first glance(when the car and drive pictures were leaked) I hated every bit of it. But just like some wise man at nasioc pointed out, give it some time and it will grow on you, and it did for me. When I will see it in person I'll probably think it's great.
Look what i found on nabisco!!! Heres the thread if anyone wants to read http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1249090
