In the market for a used Subaru?
 

Well, don't bother looking in the Atlanta area. A full-page Carmax ad in yesterday's The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sunday, 11/21/04) listed hundreds of late-model, previously-owned cars, including:

- 221 Fords,
- 101 Chevrolets,
- 74 Hondas,
- 48 Mazdas,
- 40 Volkswagens,
- 22 Saturns,
- 11 Jaguars, and
- 0 Subarus

In the same paper, there were six Subys in the classified line ads: 2 WRXs, 2 Legacys, and 2 Outbacks. Six. And in ten pages of new car display ads, not one Subaru dealership was represented.

Little surprise I had to look some 300 miles to find my SVX.

dcb

Edit: No, I didn't count the Carmax listings. If you're not familiar with Carmax ads, they break-out their inventory by make and show the total in the header for each section.

Re: In the market for a used Subaru?
 

Had to go to PA for my second SVX. The first one was found on a car lot which was traded in an hour before. That car would have gone straight to auction. Not many used Subaru's for sale in Atlanta short of SoG. They got a laguna blue FWD SVX there for sale and I think the Mitsubishi dealership in Gwinnett has a red AWD SVX.

I have noticed that Subaru Dealerships in VA advertise much less than other dealers. I see Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Saturn, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Honda ads all of the time on tv. Rarely do I ever see anything for Subaru. It's like SOA expects their cars to sell themselves...

Even though Subaru must enjoy very high loyalty from previous owners. Everyone I know who's owned a Subaru, has bought another... ;)

-Chike

If you watch as much WRC on the speed channel as i do you will notice that, thats when all the subaru ads come on. Anytime they break for commercial you will see a subaru commercial.

Subaru advertises heavily on The History Channel (and other cable nwtworks, no doubt), but the spots are pretty generic and wholly unremarkable. (But I hasten to add, better Lance Armstrong than Judge Reinhold or Paul Hogan). They made a splash with a decent, double-truck ad for the new Legacy a few months back in U.S. News and Workd Report; then... nothing.

The old "Inexpensive... and built to stay that way" campaign was memorable, largely because it was funny and different. And AWD/4WD used to set Subaru apart from all other automakers. Now the former doesn't apply, and the latter is becoming more common by the day. Generally speaking, the most out-of-the-ordinary vehicle Subaru offers is the Baja, a car for which I've yet to see one single print ad or TV spot.

Subaru definitely needs a new hook.

dcb

Agreed.

-Chike

Around here, I see a lot of Subaru ads on the tele. Not sure which channels, but they're there. But, there are also a lot of Subarus on the roads. Mostly Outbacks. But, having an AWD car in Wisconsin can be a good thing during some months...

Perhaps they're targetting a lot of ads. Having AWD in Georgia or Florida isn't nessessary. Who knows...

Personally I think Alec Baldwin voicing the commericals is just the kind of star power they need to turn things around...:rolleyes: :D

Only in Alec is doing the voice overs from france where he belongs.

Does everything have to turn political:rolleyes: It was just a joke...

Good point. I might never have stumbled upon Subarus had my then-wife and I not gone shopping specifically for a 4WD/AWD vehicle suitable for the steep, unpaved road to our home here in the hills. Actually, it was she who picked-out our '86 GL wagon, after we test-drove a (gulp)... Ford Bronco II. (I am so, SO glad we didn't buy that thing.)

But the greater Atlanta region is one of the largest markets in the U.S. One would figure Subaru would at least try to sell a few cars down here.

dcb

Yes Mike it does! :D Hey Alec made that statement himself, not me. Anyway all kidding aside, Darrell aren't you seeing an influx of WRX's in the south after the rise of the "Import Scene"? I would think the WRX has just the same, if not more, star power amoung the young then the Civic.

Yeah, there are actually a couple of WRXs here in Blue Ridge, which is pretty remarkable. But still, it seems the majority of Subys I see -- and that's not many -- are Outback wagons with Florida plates.

dcb