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finally a car I can put some cash down on... in 2010

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WTF are car makers waiting for!!?? Bring on the diesels in vehicles most people want to buy. Why, Subaru, are you waiting 2 1/2 years to bring this to the US? Who would buy your current fare with something like this coming down the pike? Having to unnecessarily wait for years just may make us jump to another maker - but wait, most automakers are waiting, too. Honda just delayed their diesel entry and it went from an Accord to an Acura. Why are they trying to kill it before it even gets here? Would a descent automaker put it in something for under $30k? I don't count VW as descent - too damned many problems. Whew! It felt good to get that off my chest.

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@CT-Jake :

Because your average american is not interested in a) a wagon b) a diesel and if they want AWD, they're more likely to buy a SUV/CUV

I'm not saying its right. It's just the way it is, and automakers are guying to build what people want, not what they (or we) think they need.

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I would have to argue that automakers have been telling you want you want for years.

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Not bad for AWD.
FWD 140 hp 2.0 Ford Mondeo is rated at 39.9 mpg
FWD 140 hp 2.0 VW Passat is rated at 39.9 mpg as well
AWD 140 hp 2.0 VW Passat is rated at 35.1 mpg
RWD 177hp 2.0 BMW 320d is rated at 48 mpg, but to get AWD on a BMW you have to go to the 6 cylinder models....
AWD 231hp 3.0 BMW 330dx is rated at 34.1 mpg... 0-60 in 6.5 though.

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Hello from Ireland,

They are pretty impressive figures, my brother has a forester 2.0l turbo and i Think about 20 mpg us would be good for him, I think getting any of them figures would require a very light foot. I have a new mondeo diesel and i'am getting about 36mpg us and the best I have seen is 38.5 mpg us

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@ CT-Jake -

one word: emissions.

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I very seriously doubt you'll get 0-60@8.5 and 41mpg at the same time. Diesels due their best work at highway cruise.

Is this a Subaru engine? I didn't thinkthey had any diesels?

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@rqseidl Emmissions are only for the 12 states that use the CARB "Tier 2 Bin 5 standard" as it applies to diesels. Here in Texas, they don't have any emmissions at all, only the existing EPA standard (which is an approved diesel engine). That means that the manufacturers install an EPA approved engine, and there isn't an emmissions check ever again.

So technically they could bring it over right now, and sell it to 38 states.

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@ CT-Jake -

three words: real world validation

I'm quite happy to let the UK find and resolve any bugs that may be tied to this brand new engine before it makes it stateside. Of course, I'm not the kind of person who runs out and buys a new model after a complete redesign, I tend to give it a year or two, so I don't mind the wait at all. Shame they couldn't have done this years ago however.

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@psarhjinian My 1.9 TDI Golf will do 0-60 in 8 seconds easy (here's a hint... It's not stock check out the performance section on forums.tdiclub.com ), if I just flog it like I stole it, I get 33MPG in town, or about what my Wife's Honda Fit gets on the highway, and her car does 0-60 in about 11 seconds (if we flog that car we get 22 MPG in town). On the highway, we've done 100 MPH runs (over 600 miles on a tank without stopping) where we've gotten 45 MPG. If we keep our foot out of it we get 42 MPG in town, and 50 MPG on the highway (75 MPH cruise control on).

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Auto manufacturers have been telling us for years "what we want". It's called "MARKETING 101" and it simply means that you convince the buyer that your product is what they want/need. People aren't interested in wagons over here for various reason but mostly it's because they've been convinced it isn't as good/cool/useful/convenient/etc. as a utility vehicle that has "crossover" or "sport" attached to its title. The manufacturers have a clear reason for wanting you to buy a cuv or suv over a wagon. The wagon is based, many times, on the same platform as the cuv or suv but the manufacturer charges, usually at a minimum, $5k more over the car/sedan based version. Five k more for a little utility is usually an idiotic choice for the average heavily leveraged American...but guess what, we continue to do it. And of course that suv/cuv gets lower fuel mileage then the wagon and handles worse as well. And no way in hades the manufacturer EVER gives up that margin or the perception that creates the possibility of that margin. I firmly believe that is why Mazda, as one example, isn't going to bring over the hatch/wagon version of the new 6 - they're protecting, primarily, the CX-7 which sells for a lot more ($$$ margin vs $ margin) with similar content...and has crappy fuel mileage #'s. That's my two cents.

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marketing 101...

from a free credit report dot com commercial... (not endorsing them)

"Well I'm shopping for a new car, which one's me? A cool convertible or an SUV.
Too bad I didn't know my credit was whacked, so I driving off the lot in a used sub-compact.
F-R-E-E, that spells "free", credit report dot com baby. Saw their ads on my TV. Thought about goin' but was too lazy.
Now instead of lookin' fly I'm looking fat, my legs are sticking to the vinyl and my posse's getting laughed at.
F-R-E-E, that spells "free", credit report dot com baby"

I drive a used subcompact, and I like it... nevermind that it had 50 miles on it when I bought it... it's "really" used now!

your correct that it's what the marketers want you to buy, it's also the perception of the product... everyone loves hatchbacks/wagons when they own them, but they're mocked in the media, and that changes the perception of the vehicle.

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I LOVE my Subaru. I put 85 miles on it a day so I am one of those who can't wait for the Subaru G4e or even a diesel. But, I too, would rather have another market be the ones to work out the first year(s) bugs. If you are like most Subaru owners, then a.) your current Subaru will easily last another year or two b.) unless you leased, you're likely to have a year or two of no car payment during the wait - you may not be contributing to cleaner air, but you are saving money that you could finally use to re-insulate your house or replace the windows to save energy costs there.

I'll wait for Subaru to get ti right before introducing the G4e or the diesel engine here in the states - I'm going to buy it anyway and I'd prefer to be a happy scooby owner than a disappointed on.

Now if they only made a minivan, they'd have the half way intelligent nuclear family market locked up. Ahhh, and all wheel drive Subaru minivan with a diesel or plug-in hybrid powerplant - errr its so easy to be a consumer and to know what a manufacturer *should* do.
:-)

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Brian Hague...
ALL states now require T2B5 from diesel cars. You can't buy a VW TDI car in Texas right now, for example. But you can buy a big smoky diesel truck, since those have different standards.

And as to why it takes so long to bring it to the USB.....this Subaru wouldn't be legal here, and it's going to take them a couple of years to clean it up to T2B5 standards.

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So marketing works on everyone except ABG readers who are smart enough not to fall for the ads? By the way the current Mazda 6 is available as a wagon right now. SUVs sold well because gas was cheap and we Americans like large vehicles. Crossovers are selling better now because they get a little better mileage than a truck based SUV and drives more "car" like. This is what made mini-vans so popular. Mini-vans sales are now taking a dive because people want something different. Car sales go in cycles one manufacturer strikes gold and everyone follows, look at hybrids. Sure advertising helps move product. But to suggest people are incapable of making a smart buying decision for themselves is silly.

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Oh Thank God! Now I hope that it's legal to purchase here in New York State, which is a CARB state, because this would do me right. I'd even take a diesel minivan at this point. But I refuse to buy an SUV, partly for personal taste and partly because I don't like being up so high when I drive. With a family on the way, I'd take a minivan, but I suspect all else being equal, this car would have better performance and mileage than a comparable minivan.

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psarhjinian - yes, this is a Subaru-engineered and Subaru-built engine. In fact, it is the world's first "boxer" diesel.

You can find out more details about the Legacy/Outback diesel models in this UK press release:
http://www.newspress.co.uk/DAILY_LINKS/arc_jan_2008/54510sub.htm

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