Subaru News - Electric Subaru Stella poised to leap over ankle-high sales target

Electric Subaru Stella poised to leap over ankle-high sales target

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Subaru, Japan

To paraphrase Pamela Anderson (I believe that’s a first for ABG), “It’s great being a plug-in Stella - with such low sales expectations it’s easy to impress.” So, extremely impressed we are that the kei-sized city electric is poised to clobber its underwhelming sales target of 100 units set for it by Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru. The early interest is pouring in from fleet customers like Takeda Pharmaceuticals, who have ordered up 50 copies for themselves.

Who else is interested in a lithium battery-powered car, capable of recharging 85 percent of its 50-mile range in 15 minutes? The Japanese Post office is mulling adding more to their current fleet of one and Car Sharing Japan Co. has shown interest. There are also regional government entities eager to show off their “environmental friendliness” in queue alongside members of the public. The car should go on sale in Japan this summer.

[Source: Green Car Congress]

Electric Subaru Stella poised to leap over ankle-high sales target originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: www.autobloggreen.com

[tags]subaru cars, subaru news, subaru models[/tags]

Subaru News - Subaru indefinitely delays diesel Impreza launch in UK

Subaru indefinitely delays diesel Impreza launch in UK

Filed under: Diesel, Subaru, UK

The Japanese yen is currently causing lots of problems for Japanese automakers. When the yen is weak, profits go up for Japanese companies that make most of their money by exporting vehicles to other countries. Conversely, when the yen is strong - as it is right now, having hit its highest valuation in 13 years - profits diminish. Subaru is just one of the automakers that’s finding it tough to make a buck (or a yen) these days, and it has responded by indefinitely delaying the launch of its oil-burning engine option in the Impreza for the UK market. This news likely comes as a major blow to European dealers, considering that diesel engines handily outsell their gasoline siblings when they do manage to go head-to-head. Still, it’s just as well that it’ll be delayed as it would be priced out of the market if launched on schedule. Japanese officials have already called on the government to intervene by lowering the value of the yen, and if that happens, Europeans will finally get their diesel Subarus.

[Source: Autocar]

Subaru indefinitely delays diesel Impreza launch in UK originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: www.autobloggreen.com

[tags]subaru cars, subaru news, subaru models[/tags]

Subaru News - Future Subaru’s to vie for Biggest Loser title

Future Subaru’s to vie for Biggest Loser title

Filed under: Subaru, Lightweight

Future fuel economy and emissions regulations are going to make sweeping changes to the way our cars are designed. While many of the best innovations will be made to the powertrain - whether its electric, diesel, gasoline-powered or a combination thereof - there are plenty more ways to increase overall vehicle efficiency than just modifying what goes under the hood. To that end, Subaru looks to be investing heavily in technologies to reduce the overall weight of its vehicles.

New materials like high-tensile strength steel and new types of plastic will be used where standard stamped sheet steel had been specified in the past. The goal? By 2012, Subaru hopes to have shed an average of 10-percent of weight from its line, with another 5-percent coming by the 2015 model year. When combined with Subaru’s newest engine technology, the Japanese automaker plans to decrease the fuel consumption of its cars by 40-percent before 2014.

[Source: NASIOC]

Future Subaru’s to vie for Biggest Loser title originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: www.autobloggreen.com

[tags]subaru cars, subaru news, subaru models[/tags]

Subaru News - Better Place: more partnerships in Japan; electric car parking lot opens in Israel

Better Place: more partnerships in Japan; electric car parking lot opens in Israel

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Subaru, Green Daily, Japan, Middle East, Better Place

A few bits of news from the Better Place electric vehicle juggernaut today.

One, Israel’s first electric parking lot has opened at Cinema City in Pi-Glilot. Pictured above is Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky with one of the Renault vehicles plugged into the station. So, how does the Better Place battery-swap idea fit in with these charging stations? There is an interesting tidbit in this Guardian article that says that Better Place “expects a lithium-ion car battery to last for 106 miles. Given Israel’s small size, the company expects relatively little need for changing batteries.” Let’s just note for the record that Better Place is OK with not swapping the packs. (The Guardian says the first charging station in Israel is located by a shopping center in Ramat Hasharon, near Tel Aviv.)

The second announcement is that Better Place will join with Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., (i.e., Subaru) and “other Japanese carmakers” for a electric vehicle project in Japan (guess the rumors were true). For now, Better Place is building a battery exchange station in the city of Kanagawa for the Ministry of Environment. The government project will start in January and last “three to six months.”

[Source: Better Place]

Better Place: more partnerships in Japan; electric car parking lot opens in Israel originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: www.autobloggreen.com

[tags]subaru cars, subaru news, subaru models[/tags]

Note to Subaru: whoops, your agency doesn’t know your product

Filed under: Time Warp, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Subaru

It’s a fact that the English language is currently being sliced to ribbons. Spelling and grammar have gone out the window, and elocution is such a lost art that we’re amazed when a speaker can manage a paragraph. It’s interesting to see where these shortcomings manifest themselves. One would assume that an advertising agency, being in the business of communicating, would double- and triple-check a message before sending it out for the world to see. Imagine our surprise, then, when across our digital desks slid a memo from Carmichael Lynch trumpeting the Minneapolis, MN agency’s relationship with Subaru of America.

It didn’t start well. The subject header of the email read: “Subaru 360 Goes Airbourn (sic) To Find Home on 10th Floor.” Interesting capitalization, and a very creative spelling of airborne. Bush league for an agency that handles Harley Davidson, Jack Link’s, Cargill, and Toys ‘R’ Us, to name a few. Intrigued by the mention of a 360, Subaru’s diminutive first stab at automobiles, we read on. Carmichael Lynch, upon landing the Subaru of America account in 2007, located a 360 and had it spiffed up for display in the company’s 10th floor lobby. While small, the only way to get the little Subie ten stories up was a crane, which hoisted the car through a window last Saturday. Delightful little story, and we were inclined to give the wacky subject line a pass until we read the last sentence, which started: “Today’s Subaru Forrester…” Whoa. If we were SoA, we’d be incensed. Spelling bee time: Forester. F-o-r-e-s-t-e-r, Forester. Forest is a chronically misspelled word, but it’s still intolerable when it’s the very firm being paid to represent the actual product.

Well, now we feel better. Check out the pictures of the 360’s crane ride in the gallery, and hit the jump to see the original text of the email from Carmichael Lynch.

[Source: Carmichael Lynch]

Continue reading Note to Subaru: whoops, your agency doesn’t know your product

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Next Page »