Subaru's (Portland, Green, Detroit: buying, camping, live in)

[Juxtaposition109]

It seems that Subaru's are the most popular car in the city of Portland. I was wondering what makes them so popular in the city. I figured they probably don't get very good gas mileage b/c they are all wheel drive. Do Subaru's last a long time like Honda's? Since Portland hardly ever gets any snow do most people who own Subaru's in Portland mainly have them to drive the Forest roads when they go camping?

[Sarcastic_Twit]

Mainly image. Subaru's have been voted as the most gay-friendly car and therefore popular to progressives (gay or otherwise). They see the forest about as much as any Land Rover with the brush guards, grill, and aftermarket Hella fog lights see the desert, mountains, and Amazon rainforest.

MPG is comparable to Honda and Toyota, not hybrids of course. Throw in a Thule on top of the ski rack and bike mount in the back and you've got the VW Microbus for our generation.

This video has been linked several times:
YouTube - Icy Winter Driving - Portland, OR - 16-Jan-2007 and I believe the second or third wagon is a Subaru. There's definitely a few Subaru's in the after action shots at the end.

[sofia76]

I know a lot of people who have or have had subarus and they are pretty reliable, no nonsense cars. I see a lot of them on the road in part because they last a long time. Also, I've met a number of Subaru-philes (or whatever they're called) ... apparently the older Subarus (maybe the newer ones, too, I don't know) are fairly easy to tinker with and do repairs on. They seem popular among the gearheads who also like to mountain bike and stuff like that.

[aroseinrain]

I remember back in the late 80s, early 90s, my friend had this book that listed "good" companies based on several factors; how they treat their employees, what their recycling efforts were, what their foreign policies were, how "green" their product was, etc. etc. etc. Subaru was the only car company to make the list at the time.

I wish I could remember the name of the group that put out the book! He said they put out a new list every year and if it wasn't in the book he wasn't buying it/shopping there.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Juxtaposition109

It seems that Subaru's are the most popular car in the city of Portland. I was wondering what makes them so popular in the city. I figured they probably don't get very good gas mileage b/c they are all wheel drive. Do Subaru's last a long time like Honda's? Since Portland hardly ever gets any snow do most people who own Subaru's in Portland mainly have them to drive the Forest roads when they go camping?

They're popular because the type of people who want to own Subarus for the image come to Portland from all over the country and bring their Subarus with them. Then they trade in their old ones for new Subies (because Subaru sends very little to landfill, making them "green" apparently) and then the local yokels get the hand-me-downs. They also get decent gas mileage, carry a lot of stuff in wagon form, and are reliable and long-lasting. They'll take a lot of abuse. Same goes for Volvos, but Volvos don't get quite as good gas mileage.

[roneb]

As has been said already, Subarus are relatively inexpensive, get good mileage for an AWD, are extremely reliable, and are easy to work on/maintain. Pop the hood on almost any car these days and compare it to the engine compartment of most Subarus - things are a lot easier to reach and work on in the Subaru.

[knrstz]

It's not unique to Portland. I've been in Colorado Springs all weekend and I've never seen so many outbacks in my life.

[tigerlily]

I think the Prius has cut into Subaru popularity in Portland. I would have considered an Outback had they not turned it into a truck to avoid tougher fuel economy and air pollution standards. Portland leads the U.S. in Prius ownership. I'm trying to find statistics on Prius complaints in Oregon as opposed to other states because of high ownership statistic. Because of Prius popularity in our area, it would follow that we have a large number of complaints compared to other states.

To Avoid Fuel Limits, Subaru Is Turning a Sedan Into a Truck - The New York Times

[khyron]

It would be so nice if Subaru would choose to bring the Boxer Diesel to the U.S. market, especially for folks who live in places where responsibly-sourced, quality biofuels are available. I drive a TDi currently, but would love to have one of these as the "family" car someday. I can only imagine they would be fairly popular with the Prius, etc. crowd.

SUBARU | SUBARU BOXER DIESEL

Detroit 2008: Subaru changes their mind, diesel coming to the US after all! — Autoblog Green

Subaru still considering diesel boxer engine for U.S. if fuel price drops — Autoblog Green

2010 Subaru Forester 2.0D - First Drive - Motor Trend

Unfortunately, as far as I know, the on-again off-again decision making process at Subaru that's gone back and forth over past several years is currently off-again (for all the usual practical/legal reasons that's it's harder to make the business case in our market). I believe the diesel Mini Cooper is on a similar trajectory right now (haven't been tracking with too much attention since they don't interest me personally).

[enigmadsm]

Boxer engines are not necessarily that simple/easy to do major work on. However minor maintenence is a sinch. Not to mention it seems like a lot of people in the PNW are into the whole outdoorsy thing, whether its hiking, biking, skiing etc. Subaru has created the image of being the perfect vehicle for this type of person.

Someone mentioned seeing a ton of them in Colorado Springs... I can imagine its for all the same reasons. whenever I spend time at Lake Tahoe or in Flagstaff Arizona (all are outdoor paradises) the most prevelent car i notice is subaru.

I think they are great vehicles, awd is definetly handy, spacious, and pretty good gas mileage.