Subaru STI commercials

So, I keep seeing these STI commercials.

Shows a lot of great footage, well cut, with great music. A really good effect. Shows Rally america footage, etc, etc. All rally. All footage is of the older pre-08 cars.

The commercial ends with some lame footage of the new round STI.

What a let down. Very symbolic... really points out how they are no longer in WRC, etc.

What a downer.

I noticed that too. RIP Subaru

I was worried I'd need a flame suit for putting that up... but, yeah.

Anyone else seeing the (motorsports) "death" of Toyota repeating itself?

Edit- Just saw it again. Now that im paying attention, it gets worse... Dirt dirt dirt awesome dirt.... ashphalt drifting, asphalt drifting... blegh. Next it will be a subie strolling a curvy bit of two lane blacktop with leaves blowing around... "Have you driven a subaru lately?"

Heh.
Also- Is that song some kind of version of "Beautiful People"?

I'll keep saying it: Subaru jumped the shark with the release of the Forester.

No matter how good it may or may not be, it was a sign of them relinquishing their guns in the name of broader market appeal.

No flame from me. Subaru is officially suck in my book as I posted some weeks ago.

I just don't like the whole "love; it's what makes a subaru, a subaru" bit. It's lame.

Joey

mm, its obvious who they are aiming at with the new SUV (forrester, whatever)

I'll still take it over almost anything else. But they aren't as cool as they once were.

I just watched it... They could have the end in almost any car. wow. It can go drift around a corner with water on the ground. WOOO!!

Alright I will say it. Subarus rock. Maybe not quite as much as before but still more than most. Ya the stylists are asleep over there but the STi is one of the all time greats. As far as the commercial goes, that one is far better than most of theirs in recent memory. In fact I am not sure they have ever advertised the STi before.

Cliff notes version: Ugly styling, car rocks.

Saw this article the other day, seems appropriate here -

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30295854/

"Subaru’s boring approach works in tough times - Function over form is helping the automaker to actually grow sales"

Doesn't mean the enthusiasts will be happy though.

I find their "Love" campaign to be damn creepy.

Although I prefer the new STI styling (and usability of the hatch) to the old car.

I also like the new STI better than the old car, but I also drive a SAAB hatch so I am already "weird".

I have an in on some market research for the "love" campaign. according to the research, almost everyone who owned a subaru said that they LOVED thier car, not liked, not enjoyed, LOVED....that is emotion that Toyota just cannot create, and the advertising firm (Carmichael Lynch) wanted to evoke that feeling of love in the ads. The Fraternity of STi was also thier idea, and frankly I love it. Subaru people are just as pasionate about thier cars as Jeep people or Corvette people.

I, for one, am a fan.

has anyone ever bought a subaru because of its looks alone? i mean they have made some cars that are attractive, but for the most part the cars sold because for what they can do and how long they last.

I'm kind of dyed-in-the-wool. Subaru FTW, unless they stop making WRXs and STIs.

It's not the looks though, it's the cars. They're going downhill, FAST. The new STi doesn't hold a candle to the old one and the WRX sucked so much they had to call it the GT and make a bumped-HP WRX the next year. They're heavier, with worse suspensions, and less quality. That's why so many of us Subaru-holics are feeling cold.

the first crack at the WRX sucked, and they admitted it...then they released the new one, and it is almost as good as an STi at about 2/3rds the price...pretty sweet car, it could do with some fender flares though...

P71 wrote: It's not the looks though, it's the cars. They're going downhill, FAST. The new STi doesn't hold a candle to the old one and the WRX sucked so much they had to call it the GT and make a bumped-HP WRX the next year. They're heavier, with worse suspensions, and less quality. *That's* why so many of us Subaru-holics are feeling cold.

why do you say the old STI doesn't hold a candle to the new STI?

I had a bugeye WRX and used to work for SOA. I can tell you the new one is better in many respects. The old car's coilover suspension on all four corners was a major weakness.

The new car has better suspension, better interior, better engine. What am I missing?

I said the new one doesn't hold a candle to the old one. Rally America had exactly 1 new STi try and it failed where the 07-and-earlier triumphed. The new one is slower and does not autocross as well (observing some 20+ events over the last year and a half).

More weight, less brakes, more weight, worse lesser models (Impreza/GT), "mainstreaming", STi as a Wagon only, etc.

Plus what they did the Forester and Legacy is just atrocious.

I'll always love the pre-08's, but from 08-on Subaru jumped the shark and released worse models.

Vermont Sports Car is running 2 09's in Rally America with decent results...

boofighter wrote: has anyone ever bought a subaru because of its looks alone? i mean they have made some cars that are attractive, but for the most part the cars sold because for what they can do and how long they last.

I wouldn't say looks ALONE won us over, but we really liked the looks of our Saabaru...of course, it's technically not a Subaru. We also thought a Legacy GT wagon would be nice, but opted for the slightly sportier Saabaru. My parents bought an '01 Impreza RS based largely on the looks, of course the AWD was part of the deal but there were other AWD cars they could have picked.

These days, I don't like the looks of the Subies at all...IMO, they're getting uglier nearly every year.

P71 wrote: I said the *new* one doesn't hold a candle to the *old* one. Rally America had exactly 1 new STi try and it failed where the 07-and-earlier triumphed. The new one is slower and does not autocross as well (observing some 20+ events over the last year and a half). More weight, less brakes, more weight, worse lesser models (Impreza/GT), "mainstreaming", STi as a Wagon only, etc. Plus what they did the Forester and Legacy is just atrocious. I'll always love the pre-08's, but from 08-on Subaru jumped the shark and released worse models.

If you're referring to the new STi running in Rally America last season, they were at a serious disadvantage because of the brake sizes. There weren't any rally tires available that would fit on wheels that fit over the bigger brakes, so those trying to run them (such as Paul Eklund) had to resort to snow tires on the front and rally tires on the back. This year there's a new class that allows them to DOWNGRADE the brakes so they can fit smaller wheels and tires on, thus allowing them to actually be faster by having better tires.

I'm not trying to defend the new STi, just shedding some light on the poor performance last year. FWIW, any new car will be subject to teething problems as well until people getting the chassis sorted and figure out the strengths/weakness of a car with experience.

Bryce

Aren't the new Imprezzas actually a bit lighter than the ones they replaced?

And it makes total sense that you'll see them going slower at the Auto-X. They're being driven by new drivers. Not people who have been Auto-Xing their STi for a couple of years now.

Nope, seen the same drivers jump back in forth between same-classed ones and the new ones get STOMPED every time.

Tom Heath wrote: I'm kind of dyed-in-the-wool. Subaru FTW, unless they stop making WRXs and STIs.

Me too..............I am on my fifth Subie and that includes a couple WRXs and a STi. I can't think of anything else that does so much for the price, as a WRX does.