September Sales: Subaru Up 1 Percent
Earlier this year, when sales were down almost across the board, Subaru was usually Hyundai’s only company in the sales-increase club. Subaru didn’t come close to Hyundai’s percentage increase in September, recording only one percent growth, but it’s still up ten percent year-to-date. Impreza tanked by 42 percent after the Clunker crowd binged on Suby’s smallest model last month. Tribeca also stunk it up, falling to 358 units. Otherwise things were all cheddar and gravy (so to speak). Forester, which carried Subaru’s strong showings through most of the year, edged up by one percent. But that was more than offset by a 63 percent boom in sales of the new Outback, which hit 4,268 units. Legacy added 2,762 sales, a 24 percent increase.
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@kaleun : the head gasket problems have been absent since they redesigned the heads in '03. The 2.5 has been solid since.
I have no clue why Subaru had to make the performance-oriented WRX an ugly little sedan with 4 doors, or even a wagon. Such vehicles should be aerodynamic, elegantg COUPES instead. But Lesbaru would not know elegant or beautiful if it bit it in the ass.
I have had 5 Subaru since 1993. Two of them were 4-cyl models. The first was over 90k when I traded it, the second is now @ 72k. No head gasket problems to report. My last H6 (Outback VDC) had over 142k when I sold her. Not one whiff of an issue with that engine. Totally bulletproof.
John Holt: Did the problem linger that long? I thought it disappeared in MY2000. AFAIK the head gasket issues were particular to the EJ25D DOHC motor which wasn't offered after the 1999 model year until again a few years later (2003 maybe?) where the DOHC block had been redesigned for the STI. The 2.5L 4s in the early 2000s were SOHC motors that never had the same issues with the head gaskets. It's been a while, but I did research it. I have a 1999 Legacy SUS EJ25D...head gaskets blew nearly three years ago.