Credit where credit is due, Subaru is the best marketer in the car universe. While Ford may have more fans, and Ferrari may have the wildest ratio of cars built to people wearing its logos, it’s hard to argue that Subaru hasn’t built the most thorough emotional universe around its brand. Now there’s a new design that Subaru is giving to its dealerships, and it’s kinda brilliant. Fleece, it’s what makes a Subaru owner a Subaru owner.
I’m going to try to keep today’s Morning Dump news roundup a little more upbeat. It’s Friday, and I could use a little positive energy going into the weekend.
What else? Inventories are recovering a bit, and hybrid inventory is surging as automakers start stocking up on the tech (if they can). Tesla is coming out against the EPA’s move to disavow the GHG Endangerment Finding, stating that it’ll harm their business.
Uhhh dogs. Let’s do dogs. Isuzu has a new line of accessories for dogs.
Behold, The Subaru Connection Hub
Nothing yet, including my own experience, has persuaded me to abandon my belief that Subarus are mostly economy cars+. The WRX is an economy car+ rally speed, which is excellent. The Crosstrek is an economy car+ grit. The Forester is an economy car+ marketing.
And I bought the marketing! Within a year of buying my new Subaru Forester, I was an REI Co-Op member and had a tent. I literally had never tent camped in my entire life, and then all of a sudden I’m standing outside in the cold morning in a Patagonia pullover, proudly making camp oatmeal on my little green Coleman propane stove and nodding knowingly at the other dads over their little stoves.
Even the names of the cars imply outdoorseyness. Outback, Forester, Tribeca… ok, maybe not that last one, but they got rid of it quickly, and now that model is the Ascent. You’re ascending with a Subaru.
My local Subaru dealer was also a Volvo dealer, and so I usually went over to the Volvo side to work while my vehicle was being serviced (which happened a lot). The Subaru side wasn’t anything special and in need of an update, whereas the Volvo dealer’s waiting room had that whole Swedish minimalism thing going on.
Now an update is coming, and Subaru is leaning hard into it. Here’s how Subaru describes it:
The new concept reimagines the automotive retail experience, transforming dealerships into immersive, hospitality-driven spaces that strengthen customer relationships and community connections while embodying the Subaru Love Promise®, the company’s commitment to be More Than a Car Company® by showing love and respect in every interaction.
The Connection Hub shifts traditional dealership perceptions, positioning Subaru retailers as vibrant community destinations. Customers will experience bold product displays, interactive personalization tools, and welcoming social spaces designed to make every visit – from purchase to service – memorable and meaningful.
What’s that going to look like? A park-like pavilion, a “consetllation lounge” with a “dynamic digital media wall spotlighting Love Promise initiatives.” There will also be “outdoor green spaces.”
That sounds great, and it’s been like 18 years since Subaru has done such an initiative, so it’s long overdue. It’s here I feel like I need to point out that Love isn’t what makes a Subaru a Subaru. No brand will love you, and no brand is your friend (except HEB and The Autopian, obviously).
I said this is like a little REI, but it also reminds me of the LL Bean Flagship store in Maine, which is a bigger version of this experience. It just gets you in the mood to, like, kayak or whatever.
Why is this happening? Subaru is particularly at risk from tariffs, and it’s about to launch more EVs into a space that’s going to be a lot more difficult without incentives. It’s raising prices on just about everything, so image is going to be even more important going forward as it has to justify those prices.
How do dealers feel about this?
Automotive News has the answer:
Jeff Williams, former chair of the retailer council who owns a Subaru store in Lansing, Mich., said the redesigned look fits the brand and its values but is an additional expense when dealers are seeing their margins tighten.
“I don’t think it’s the best timing, considering the current economic state of the auto business and interest rates,” Williams told Automotive News. “But it is a consumer-centric and lifestyle-designed facility that matches our customers’ values.”
Subaru did not release cost estimates for retailers to update their stores.
C’mon, Jeff, it’ll be fun to have a little café.
Year Of The Hybrid Continues
We’re now into year two of Year of the Hybrid (Decade of the EREV, just you wait). While new vehicle inventory increased about 1.1% month-over-month according to S&P Global Mobility, it depends quite a bit on what kind of vehicles you’re looking at.
Importers are getting hit, with declines at Volvo, Audi, and Mazda (with the exception of the US-built CX-50). Automakers wisely stopped producing a bunch of EVs a few months ago, and now EV inventory has fallen from a high of 188,000 vehicles in June to just 169,000 in August.
Buy hybrids? There are a lot of hybrids.
The hybrid segment is showing promising growth, with its share of total new vehicle inventory increasing to 11%, a rise of 3.8 percentage points year-over-year (YoY). Total hybrid inventory has surged by 47% YoY, totaling 292,000 units.
Toyota remains the dominant player, accounting for 34% of all hybrid inventory, and has seen a 26% increase YoY. Notable increases within Toyota’s lineup include the RAV4 Hybrid (+28%) and the Highlander Hybrid (+117%), while the Camry Hybrid has decreased by 37% YoY.
Kia has also made significant strides, with a 173% increase in hybrid inventory YoY, particularly with the Sportage Hybrid (+313%) and the Carnival Hybrid. The Carnival Hybrid is a new 2025 offering.
Bring. It. On.
PHEV share has dropped, which has a lot to do with the Wrangler PHEV’s decline. A PHEV could be a great idea, and they’re popular in Europe, but America mostly has the wrong kind.
Tesla Admits It Needs Those Carbon Credits
I talked a lot about the EPA GHG endangerment finding a couple of days ago, so you can read that if you haven’t to get up to speed. The short version is that the EPA, at the direction of the Trump Administration, wants to kill the legal basis for the government to restrict greenhouse gases. This feels like both a reflection of a White House that doesn’t believe in global warming and a handout to automakers hurt by tariffs.
Personally, I think this is bad. It’s fine to give automakers relief, and it’s reasonable to admit that the goals were going to be difficult to reach, but this is a crappy way to do it.
Tesla, unsurprisingly, agrees with me, and does an extremely thorough job in its filing of ripping apart the EPA’s justification for removing the finding. Why does Tesla care? Maybe it’s because Tesla gets money from automakers that can’t reach these goals, and it doesn’t want to lose this key source of income that helped build the company:
Given the exceedance of the underlying standards that comes from the sale of a battery electric EV, Tesla has expected to continue to generate compliance credits that it can market to other companies –companies that, based on their own business strategies, opt to purchase compliance credits rather than comply with the performance standard. Such credit revenue has facilitated Tesla’s expansion and continued investmentin innovation. Tesla would be adversely affected by the proposed change in these standards that would curtail the value and continued marketability of such long-established credits
The company has made billions of dollars from these credits, and it still makes up a large portion of its profits. If more governments follow suit, Tesla stands to lose a lot of money.
Here, Enjoy This Very Good Boy
I’m seriously bummed that we don’t get Isuzu passenger trucks anymore. How cool would it be to be able to buy a turbodiesel D-Max? Also, in the UK, you can get a D-Max with a bunch of accessories from premium outdoor dog gear brand Ruffwear.
The model in these photos, by the way, is “brand ambassador” Siobhan Sellar.
Marketing Manager at Ruffwear UK, Sarah Burns, said: “We’re thrilled to bring Ruffwear gear to Isuzu D-Max owners. These accessories make every adventure safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable for dogs and their humans, whether you’re heading to a local park or venturing to the Scottish Highlands.”
Group Resources Director at Isuzu UK, Darren James, said: “The D-Max has always been about tackling adventures with confidence. Now, with Ruffwear accessories, dog owners can make every journey even more enjoyable for their four-legged friends, from secure travel to post-walk clean-ups.”
Maybe this company should team up with Subaru in the United States.
Delightful!
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Hey, look at that, Edmonton’s own Purity Ring is back with a new album (it’s been a minute), inspired by games like Final Fantasy X, which is quite obvious when you watch the video for “many lives + part ii” embedded above. Enjoy it, nerds.
I tried to imply to my friends this morning that Purity Ring is the “thinking man’s Grimes,” but I was corrected. Perhaps they are the thinking man’s CHVRCHES.
The Big Question
Did you ever have an animal that loved to be in the car? Did you ever have a pet that hated being in one? Tell your pet/car stories!
Top photo: Subaru
Did you ever have an animal that loved to be in the car? Did you ever have a pet that hated being in one? Tell your pet/car stories!
So most of my dogs have really enjoyed being in the car. But I had a husky/border collie mix who was fairly high strung (border collie was the dominant breed personality wise) and she really had issues in the car. Usually when we took her somewhere, we’d have to stop within an hour so she could get out an poop. After that she’d relax a little. But yeah, the car always sped things through the system.
I bet it would be a hit if they would present all of this Hub non-sense and give customers a choice to vote before doing all of this: this Hub or let’s say $1000-1500 off msrp cause I bet this is not peanuts to get this goin and maintained. people do not understand they are financing all of this and then wonder why the heck the cars are worth so much nowadays.
Hey, get the heck out of our nice waiting area and go back to your own. Nobody wants to smell the stink of body odor, broken wheel studs and faux-outdorsiness.
I’m sure their waiting room has a play-skool “my first kamping set” play area for y’all. Leave the Volvo area to those of us with a little dignity and a morose air of mild self-superiority.
What’s a REI?
for me it was a clickbait. i still don’t know what rei is
I don’t really understand the obsession with pointing out that Subarus are economy cars.
I’m not sure I agree with the statement, but I guess it just depends on where you draw that line. I think I saw recently that the average new car is 50 grand, in which case most Subarus are certainly on the cheap side of that line.
I will say that my entire life of driving has all been what I assume qualify as economy cars: In chronological order, starting with a 1984 model:
Chevy Cavalier, Mercury Topaz, Pontiac Sunfire, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Matrix, Chevy Aveo, Toyota Prius C, Subaru Crosstrek, Nissan Sentra.
I’ve also experienced a slew of comparable cars as rentals during travel, or test drives while shopping for some of the cars above.
My experience has been that the Crosstrek (and the VERY closely related Forester which we also test drove a lot) are significantly more expensive than those competitors, but that the ride quality, interior noise, and handling were all quite a bit better. Not to mention that they have the best all wheel drive system around (obviously no comparison to real 4WD when you need it, but as AWD systems go, Subaru is just awesome).
Our Crosstrek is the most expensive car we’ve ever bought (but not by a huge margin) and is head and shoulders above everything else in terms of comfort and many aspects of performance, while also including AWD.
So yeah, it’s not a Lincoln, Cadillac, Audi, Lexus, etc. but it sure feels like a big step up from the rest of our economy car background. If it gives you better comfort, capability, and performance, and if it also costs more, at some point can’t you just acknowledge that it’s not an economy car anymore?
Or, on the other hand, if we’re just saying anything below $50k is an economy car, then that’s fine, but why single out Subaru? What’s so uniquely weird about Subaru making economy cars? I just don’t get it.
No argument that they have clever marketing and a cultish following. That’s undeniable!
Subarus are increasingly hipster Toyotas, with anything not Toyota a reliability risk, so I can see the need to differentiate with the dealer experience. But that is still not going to get me to pay $5,000 more for a GR86.
“No brand will love you, and no brand is your friend (except HEB and The Autopian, obviously).” 😀
The Fat Electrician (Youtube) says HEB is even better than Aldi, with such conviction that it’s impossible not to believe him. I’ve never been to a HEB (and only to Aldi a couple times) but would like to.
What’s the back of that Isuzu lined with? It looks like that short-pile grey carpet you see in some commercial uses, but maybe it’s actually just textured like a spray-in liner? I can’t imagine having something soft/absorbent on the floor of a truck bed would be good. I’ve got an old rug in the back of my wagon for my dog’s comfort, but I can always pull it out and hose it down if needed.
I miss Isuzu in the states myself. I can’t be sure, but it’s possible that an Isuzu VehiCROSS was among the very first new cars I ever test drove (this was a lot of years ago).
Subaru has some of the best advertising ever.
They ran years of campaigns targeting lesbians, which were tremendously effective, and nobody other than the lesbians noticed.
https://priceonomics.com/how-an-ad-campaign-made-lesbians-fall-in-love-with/
During a big move, we rented a minivan to drive the pets and valuables across the state. Our more stressed out cat was the best boy and stayed very quiet the whole time. He was pleased we were taking him with us. He’d been returned to a shelter once or twice before and had abandonment issues.
Totally called this Tesla moment a few months back when we discussed the CAFE penalties going away.
Our Rottweiler LOVES going in the car. To the point that he just shakes and whines when he sees my wife’s car pull out of the garage and stop in the driveway.
Subaru press release, promoting their genuineness image:
Aaaaaaand, Subaru has now officialy entered the corporatespeak/marketingspeak/bullshitspeak quicksand pit, and drowned in under 60 final seconds of mental torture.
We had a couple of Labs that absolutely LOVED hopping into the back of our CR-V and even, oddly, loved it even more when we pulled into the parking lot at the Vet’s offices. Every other dog I’ve had resisted when we were walking to the Vet’s front door.
Isn’t that what Subaru is going for, though? It’s true their prices have been climbing, but so have everyone else’s, and I’ve never seen Subaru market themselves as any kind of semi-premium brand. The closest to “premium” Subaru has ever gotten would be the LL Bean Legacys, but even those were never remotely comparable to luxury makes, and I don’t think Subaru ever presented them that.
Back in my WRX days, everyone on the Subaru forums agreed even STIs were economy cars.
Don’t economy cars have to get good fuel economy? Subarus haven’t been particularly economical ever since the standard-AWD era started 30 years ago. I would just call them cheap. Car and Driver recently published a subcompact crossover comparison test, with the Crosstrek coming in last. After reading the article, now I know that the Crosstrek has a plastic (!) steering wheel. Completely unacceptable on anything costing over $20,000, let alone $30,000.
I think “utilitarian” cars would be a better description than economy or cheap, as they’re not quite either. Outbacks are the new middle class stead in my neck of the woods, hands down.
There was an REI next to the Costco we would stop at for gas, and we would always play the ‘count the Subarus game.’ Usually, it was a greater than 1:1 ratio of Subarus to any other OEM in the REI parking lot. Although I did notice a slight increase in Rav4s over the years as a distant, distant second.
I should check out one the giant indoor Subaru dealers here in Oregon. While Subaru and REI do co sponsor stuff, the only actual branded Subarus were LL Bean editions.
Regarding dogs and cars, Ruffwear is based in Bend Oregon a few blocks from Hydro Flask, and across town from Cascadia Vehicle Tents. Our dog is a small Labradoodle, and her car experience is vehicle dependent. The Buick LeSabre and Toyota HiAce are fine but she hates the Suburban and F150. She also doesn’t like kayaks or paddle boards, perhaps a canoe would suit. Related an Isuzu D-Max would be cool, and they could be sold at Mazda dealers since the current B Series is a rebadged D-Max.
Losing carbon credits will hurt Tesla since their cars are aging and sales are falling. I suppose the Boring Company will buy a hundred Model X or Y CUVs for the Nashville Loop, but that doesn’t make for all those prospects buying Kia, Hyundai or BYD
You have a HiAce in Oregon? pre 2000 I would imagine?
Yes there are lots of JDM imports in Oregon. My son has a 99 Deluxe Cabin
We rescued 2 litter mate sisters in 2020. Made their first trip from FL to CT to see the Oma’s at 7months old. Have LOVED any sort of vehicle ride ever since, the longer the better.
The new Purity Ring self-titled album is… fine. I kept finding the opening track to be very obnoxious and off-putting. I almost turned it off entirely. But I stuck it out and it got the job done. But honestly, the other albums are better to me.
Love Purity Ring, Flood on the Floor slaps!