Is Subaru Making The Right Moves?

Issue #201

​Do you like Subaru?

Today, we discuss how the company has lost fans, why it’s happening, and why its latest move could be an excellent idea.

Or, you can continue to read by scrolling down.

Market News

• Toyota could be cannibalizing its fleet with the new Prius. Here’s why.

• This SUV is the basis for Chrysler’s comeback. Do you like it?

• A four-door Mustang could happen. Yes, a four-door Ford Mustang. Here’s what we know.

• Honda promises two significant updates: a “futuristic” Accord and a more “masculine” Passport. Here’s more.

• A redesign, expensive fuel, and limited inventory are driving used Toyota RAV4s to behave this way.

Safety and Recalls

• This is the major manufacturer with the fewest recalls over the past 10 years. Are you surprised?

• With the latest recall of 550,000 Highlander SUVs, Toyota has reached one million vehicles recalled in 2026. Learn more about the recall here.

• BMW recalls some iX3s for a shocking reason. Here’s more.

Car Culture

• This car was ahead of its time, but too unusual to survive. Have you ever heard of it?

• This one safety feature almost destroyed American car design.

• Toyota created a dual-engine car with 700 hp, seven cylinders, and AWD. Oh, and it’s a Camry. Here’s more.

• Lincoln used to dominate long-distance racing in the 50s. This is the only example left of those years.

• Do you remember ‘Pimp My Ride’?One model ended up in a junkyard, and you can junk it for parts.

Video Of The Week

Are these the 7 best project cars? This fun list brings some great project cars to consider.

In The Know

This Japanese Automaker Wants Its Fans Back

What words come to mind when you think of Japanese car brands? I can think of reliability, practicality, longevity, and, yes, boredom. Let’s face it, not many Japanese cars are exciting.

However, there’s another word that comes to mind: loyalty. People rarely switch from Japanese automakers, even though the average American car buyer is ditching loyalty, as this article explains.

Among those brands, Subaru had an even stronger reputation for loyalty, as buyers often stayed with it for decades. Even last year’s JD Power Loyalty Study showed it ranking high, as you can read here. 

I must admit, I wasn’t one of them after having electric gremlins on my Forester and valve issues with my brother’s XV.

Yet, all it takes is a couple of months for loyal buyers to switch sides. As this article shows, 2026 has seen buyers switch from Subaru to Toyota, and it all stems from Subaru’s past.

Back in the 2000s, what many at FWT consider to be the best decade for cars, Subaru had a reputation for building cars and SUVs with brawn, brains, and handling. This wasn’t easy to find in other brands. It was easy to think of them as rally cars for the road.

Lately, that spark has gone. The Subaru Impreza STI lost its personality, and all of the company’s SUVs now resembled the rest of the competition: bland and gray. Plus, and it was a big factor, other brands also offered AWD systems.

So, nothing about Subaru sets it apart that you couldn’t get from another brand.

To make matters worse, 2025 saw a major redesign of one of its most iconic SUVs, and it fell flat. It’s never good when the media calls the redesign a “love-hate” thing.

This loss of momentum translated to lower sales. 2025 ended with fewer sales than 2024, marking a trend the company had seen in 2020, 2021, and 2022, as you can see from this data, and Subaru failed to surpass its 2019 sales mark of 700,112 units.

However, not all is lost. In fact, Subaru has hinted at its next move, leaving the world anxiously waiting for more information. 

The Japanese Market roundtable revealed that Subaru plans to release an affordable hatchback, a new BRZ, and a WRX with a manual transmission. While it’s only for the Japanese market so far, it’s very likely that this will also come to the US.

This decision makes perfect sense, but Subaru has also made another one that’s pointless. It plans to send an American-made SUV to Japan for sale, without changing anything. Here’s why it’s a bad move.

Political decisions aside, the US market is longing for a cheaper vehicle that checks all the boxes, and there’s no doubt that a Subaru can fulfill that. The question isn’t “is it going to make it here?” Instead, it’s, “when is it coming?”