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found this on nabisco
Theres an article in the NY times about Subaru styling:
If Subarus Grow Up to Be Pretty, Will They Still Be Attractive? By PHIL PATTON Published: February 7, 2005 WHEN a new car makes its public debut, the automaker listens anxiously for positive feedback. But at the Detroit auto show last month, Subaru was eager for comments of any kind about the design of the B9 Tribeca, the company's new seven-seat sport-utility vehicle. Trainers hired to coach the hostesses who worked at Subaru's display made this clear, saying that "if anyone says anything about the styling, good or bad, that's a good thing." Subaru has long been a wallflower at the prom of auto fashion. But styling is just about the only virtue for which Subarus have not been lauded. In surveys, consumers praise their durability and economy; enthusiast magazines applaud their ruggedness and sportiness. The cars have not been ugly, just forgettable. The Tribeca, which goes on sale this summer, is Subaru's attempt to fix that. As the company's first production model to carry its new, more expressive design theme, the Tribeca wears a face whose grille suggests a jet-engine intake flanked by wings, shapes intended to evoke the aviation origins of Subaru and its parent, Fuji Heavy Industries. The pronounced bulges around the Tribeca's wheel openings emphasize the presence of all-wheel drive, which has become the company's hallmark feature in the United States; a high beltline (the line under the side windows) also departs from the design of current Subarus. The new design language was developed by Andreas Zapatinas, Subaru's head of advanced design, who was hired in 2002 to bring grace and uniformity to the model line as part of the company's effort to establish itself as a more upscale brand. His influence was embodied in two stunning, if not shocking, show cars: the B9SC roadster, unveiled at the 2003 Tokyo auto show, and the four-door B11S, which made its debut in Geneva the same year. A small city car also shown in Japan, the R1e, will make its debut in production form next month in Geneva. The new look, Mr. Zapatinas said in an interview in Detroit, is intended to express the power of four-wheel drive and the qualities of precision engineering. The goal, he said, is to revise the image people have of Subaru. "We have high quality and lots of attention to detail," Mr. Zapatinas said. "Before, maybe the exteriors did not say that. "We have slowly managed to build a treasure here, to build a castle. It is time to consolidate and to give our family also a visual identity." A playful and energetic man, Mr. Zapatinas slightly resembles the cartoonist R. Crumb. Engineering and design combine for Mr. Zapatinas in one of his favorite cars of all time, the Citroën DS, the pride of 1950's Gallic technology. Mr. Zapatinas, born in Athens in 1957, studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. He worked for Chris Bangle at Fiat, later following Mr. Bangle to BMW. His work on the Fiat Barchetta and Alfa Romeo 145 has been widely praised. Subaru's design has often seemed an afterthought, a container in which technology is wrapped, secondary to engineering. Subaru executives have in the past referred to their designs simply as "packaging." The ungraceful placement of beltlines, the cartoonish swells of the fenders and the muttlike faces seem not only to express a lack of interest in the romance of styling, but to advertise an outright disdain for it. There is another side to Subaru, though. A raging rally-car personality is embodied in its signature blue sports models, notably the Impreza WRX STi that draws at least as much attention from teenagers as a Corvette or a Porsche. A six-cylinder sports coupe, the SVX, was built in the 1990's, but the upscale model baffled traditional Subaru buyers as much as the partitioned windows of its Giorgetto Giugiaro design baffled turnpike toll-takers. The Tribeca, which will be Subaru's most expensive model, has attracted a lot of attention in Japan, Mr. Zapatinas said. But the potential for confusion over the name seems great. Some prospective buyers may think that a Tribeca is a geometric figure with the same unusual shape as the grille. For others, the name may suggest a Subaru that can cope with rough roads - urban as well as rural - even if those buyers do not know that TriBeCa is a neighborhood in Manhattan, the triangle below Canal Street, where cobblestone streets are best traversed with a rugged vehicle. Some Japanese companies have made an effort recently to make their designs more, well, Japanese. Toyota designers talk about increasing the "J-factor." Nissan has incorporated elements of Japanese tradition into its designs, while Mazda expresses its zoom-zoom message with a look of samurai armor. Does Mr. Zapatinas want his cars to look more Japanese? "That should come out, not in a presumptuous way, but as an expression of Japanese premium engineering," he said. "We want to show the same attention to detail you see in the display of vegetables at the market in Japan and even in the way the clerk gives you change at the checkout." For the most part, Subaru drivers seem never to have missed fancy styling in their cars. The company succeeded in establishing itself as the leader in all-wheel drive before most other makers caught on to the interest in this feature. It jacked up an all-wheel-drive station wagon and called the result "the world's first sport utility wagon," finding a large pool of customers who wanted all-weather capability without an S.U.V.'s boxy body. For many Subaru buyers, homeliness is not only acceptable but serves as a visible token of their refusal to be seduced by the superficialities of styling. "I can't imagine anyone who cares less about the aesthetics of his car than I do," said David Laskin, the owner of a 2001 Subaru Outback. Mr. Laskin, who lives in Seattle, is a writer specializing in weather. He has driven his Outback many miles promoting his book, "The Children's Blizzard," about a deadly snowstorm that struck the Great Plains in 1888. "It's an L. L. Bean edition, although we didn't buy it for that," Mr. Laskin said. He compares it to an L. L. Bean boot, waterproof and warm, even if it is not as fashionable as a Florsheim or Bruno Magli loafer. "It's like a fleece vest instead of a cashmere sweater," Mr. Laskin said. "Out here in Seattle there's a whole lot of the 'earth muffin' thing about Subarus." This counterchic suggests a perverse pride in the homeliness of the vehicles. A Subaru's look may say as much about its driver as the rakish shape of a Porsche 911 does, but in a wholly different way. It fairly screams anti-consumption. "We are not the sort of people to be deluded by such things," the sheet metal seems to say. With such customers, Mr. Zapatinas's design direction holds risks. The Tribeca shows a daring amount of grace. The taillights recall the lovely Alfas that Mr. Zapatinas worked on in the late 1990's. There is a hint of Porsche Cayenne in the face, and the shape of the grille is echoed in an interior more elegant and flowing than those of earlier Subarus. Could a new generation of Subarus become, well, too pretty? "Only if it becomes too trendy, too fashionlike," he said, and he promises not to let that happen. To judge from the reaction to the Tribeca, Subaru is safe from the dangers of prettiness for a while yet. "Too pretty? No way!" said Mr. Laskin, the Seattle Subaru owner. "It's just as chunky and drab and unassuming as always."
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1993 25th Anniversary Edition # 156 of 301 ~ 121, 488 miles ( SOLD TO svxfiles 8/6/06) 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i....5spd - My daily driver 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i -7k miles..Mom's daily driver 2,543 Member of the SVX World Network |
#2
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Well, the SVX got a little mention in there
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#3
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Speaking of the B9 Tribeca. I just got back from the Chicago Auto Show, and here's the pics I took of the Tribeca.
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[/COLOR][/COLOR]-Scott My Locker 2014 Grey Ford Fusion 2.0 EcoBoost Bought: 12-5-14 2005 Silver Legacy GT Ltd 5mt. Bought: 3-3-07 Sold: 12-5-14 1996 Brilliant Red L (AWD). Bought: 6-14-04 - Sold: 3-3-07 - 15.370 @ 89.65 1992 Claret/black LS #4086 (GF's). Bought: 6-30-04 - Sold: 7-29-07 1994 Pearl White LSi Bought: 2001? Sold: 2004? |
#4
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Tribeca
Hmmm,
It kinda looks like a Toyota Sienna/Bentley that hit a wall doing 50. Still it is kinda different. Steve |
#5
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i still wanna know what their thinking with those new front ends.
dustin
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-Dustin 1992 Ebony LS-L w/191k miles Mods: a few and acouple more 1995 Brilliant Red L/AWD w/154k miles Mods: Stebro catback exhaust, K&N drop in filter, ECUtune ST1v5, 4.44, lots of JDM goodies 1992 Pearly LS-L w/154k miles Sold Mods: 4.11, rust 2008 DGM Legacy spec.B w/245k miles Mods: Cryotune Stage3, VF52, bushings galore, STi pink springs, Bilstein HDs My Locker The only man alive who drives three "Subu SVS's".......according to my insurance company |
#6
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Yea the alfa romeo grills are killin it.
__________________
1993 25th Anniversary Edition # 156 of 301 ~ 121, 488 miles ( SOLD TO svxfiles 8/6/06) 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i....5spd - My daily driver 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i -7k miles..Mom's daily driver 2,543 Member of the SVX World Network |
#7
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I still like it, Alfa Romeo grills and all. Alfas sell really well in Italy, and you can't tell me the Italians don't know cars.
How's the price looking for the B9 anyway?? |
#8
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I would imagine price would be high 20's low 30's.
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1993 25th Anniversary Edition # 156 of 301 ~ 121, 488 miles ( SOLD TO svxfiles 8/6/06) 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i....5spd - My daily driver 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i -7k miles..Mom's daily driver 2,543 Member of the SVX World Network |
#9
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Grille
I think I could handle the grille better if it was turned upside down. Maybe.
Lee
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SVXx2 92 SVX LS-L Silver 92 SVX LS-L Burgundy (structurally challenged with 2792 miles) 96 SVX LSi Red 92 SVX LS Pearl (Parts) 01 F150 4X4 Red (+6 with other members of the family) FREEDOM IS NOT FREE |
#10
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Quote:
it will be the most expensive Sube ever.
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Alan 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 1997 SVX LSi (Ebony) SOLD! 2005 Legacy GT (Silver) [Cobb Stg 2+] SOLD! 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 2005 Forester XT Premium (Crystal Gray Metallic) SOLD! 2008 Lancer Evolution X MR (Apex Silver) [Cobb Stg 1+] 2015 Outlander Sport 2.4GT AWD (Mercury Gray) 2013 G37xS (Obsidian Black) |
#11
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IMHO the '05 subaru line-up was the best looking cars they've designed (that weird-windowed coupe they had in the 90's looks better though ) i just dont see why they would want to change so soon.
dustin
__________________
-Dustin 1992 Ebony LS-L w/191k miles Mods: a few and acouple more 1995 Brilliant Red L/AWD w/154k miles Mods: Stebro catback exhaust, K&N drop in filter, ECUtune ST1v5, 4.44, lots of JDM goodies 1992 Pearly LS-L w/154k miles Sold Mods: 4.11, rust 2008 DGM Legacy spec.B w/245k miles Mods: Cryotune Stage3, VF52, bushings galore, STi pink springs, Bilstein HDs My Locker The only man alive who drives three "Subu SVS's".......according to my insurance company |
#12
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Quote:
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1992 Liquid Silver LS-L (Sold-5/16/13) 1997 Spruce Pearl Outback (Sold) 2006 B9 Tribeca |
#13
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It reminds me of a walrus
Blechhh!
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Matt Locker Link 2015 BRZ Limited 6MT 92 Ebony LS-L ECUtune Stage2av1, Z32 MAF, 370cc injectors, TomsSVX intake, BontragerWorks 22mm RSB #003, HID Hi and Lo beams, OT endlink and bushing mods, PWR Aluminum radiator, Harvey's QC shift kit, 2.5" flowmaster 80 exhaust, 17" Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Poly sway bar bushings, Slotted Bradi rotors, AFBeefcake powdercoated calipers, 97 grill, and a huge set of air horns. 300,000 miles and counting 92 Ebony LS-L. ecutune stage1v4, motorsport 1pc pulley. Garage Queen - sold to Dad in upstate NY 155,000 miles 19 Subaru Ascent Premium - -Hers !. 89 DL 4x4 little red wagon - a.k.a. The immortal suby. 275k R.I.P. |
#14
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Re: It reminds me of a walrus
Quote:
P-chop some tusks on that B9!
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Alan 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 1997 SVX LSi (Ebony) SOLD! 2005 Legacy GT (Silver) [Cobb Stg 2+] SOLD! 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 2005 Forester XT Premium (Crystal Gray Metallic) SOLD! 2008 Lancer Evolution X MR (Apex Silver) [Cobb Stg 1+] 2015 Outlander Sport 2.4GT AWD (Mercury Gray) 2013 G37xS (Obsidian Black) |
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Re: It reminds me of a walrus
Quote:
__________________
1993 25th Anniversary Edition # 156 of 301 ~ 121, 488 miles ( SOLD TO svxfiles 8/6/06) 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i....5spd - My daily driver 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i -7k miles..Mom's daily driver 2,543 Member of the SVX World Network |
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