subaru love

    

You may have noticed Subaru's ad campaign launched this summer, which shows short stories of how Subaru owners "love" their cars. Subaru America describes the ads with the following statement:

"I love my Subaru" is one of the most-used phrases we hear from Subaru drivers about our brand. That's why our new marketing campaign created by our agency of record, Carmichael Lynch, is based on the strong emotional bonds Subaru owners develop with their vehicles.

By focusing on the love Subaru owners have for their car, Subaru challenges non-owners: "Do you love your car?"

As a Subaru owner myself, I'd have to agree completely with the above sentiments. Whenever someone asks me about my car the first words out of my mouth are always "I love my Subaru." I thought that the feeling would begin to wear off as time pasted, but I honestly love it just as much today as I did when I bought it a few years back. In fact many of my friends would attest to the fact that I'm a bit overprotective and OCD about my car, which is a complete 180 from any other car I've ever owned.

All that aside, in regards to the new ad campaign it makes me wonder... if I didn't own a Subaru already would I want to buy one because of this campaign? Well I'm not sure. Prior to being dragged to the Subaru dealership by my Dad who is also a Subaru owner I had always thought that Subaru's were a bit uninspiring. What I realized quickly was that I didn't know what I was talking about. The test drive in particular sold me.

I think Subaru isn't far from the truth with the Love concept, but better than any marketing campaign what it has going for it most is word of mouth promotion from owners. That's something you simply can not have without producing a high quality product. Especially in the world we live in today where there are ENDLESS options making brand loyalty a thing of the past.

To prove my point here are the chain of events leading up to my purchase of a Subaru:

1. My Dad bought an outback after his good friend recommended he check it out. His friend is also a Subaru owner might I add. 

2. When I was thinking of getting a new car my Dad insisted that I go test drive a Subaru since he was so happy with his outback.

3. I ended up purchasing a Legacy. (There was no contest...)

4. A year after purchasing my car I insisted that one of my friends who was looking to buy a car go test drive a Subaru, which lead to her buying a Forester.

Coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. A happy customer is always you're best form of promotion. And that's priceless.

If you haven't seen the Subaru Love Campaign it's your lucky day. They compiled them all for you at Subaru America.

the air car

Motor Development International (MDI) may have a solution for breaking the world's dependence on oil! And the answer is...drum roll please...The Compressed Air Car!

Models like the CityCAT can hit up to 68 mph with a range of 125 miles. They can be made into a hybrid as well to extend the range.  The best part is that it costs only around $2.00 to fill up with compressed air! (it holds 340 liters of air) Coming in at an estimated cost of around $13,000 it's also affordable.

These cars are ZERO emission! In fact air motors generally release cleaner air than they intake due to the air filter. Cars that are actually purifying the air? What a concept. And unlike fuel cells or electric cars they don't have batteries, which means they are more easily recyclable.

      

[proposed models of the Air Car under-development]

The only catch is they are tiny! They actually make the smart car seem large. So don't count on seeing them any time in the United States because I doubt they would pass safety requirements. They actually sort of remind me of those Fisher Price Power Wheels for kids.

They go into production this year in India.

More information can be found on MDI's website: http://www.mdi.lu/

h3 scratch off

My Subaru newsletter popped up in my gmail inbox this morning and I was for once delight to come across a really interesting story. (normally it's just accessories and gas saving advice)

Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom a husband and wife duo who've always dreamt of owning a Hummer H3 have created their own "special edition H3" out of $35,000 worth of losing lottery tickets. The project is called "Ghost of a Dream" and represents the dream of buying an expensive car upon winning the lottery. A dream that rarely comes true.

What I love about this project is they've taken what many would seem as a negative into a positive and a one of a kind piece of art!

For specifics....the body of a car is made from a plastic mold and is lined with lottery tickets. There are coins decorating the rims to represent the principal tool used to scratch the tickets and the rest is all tickets. Here are some detail views:

wow a lot of work went into this!

check out the original article:

http://subaruowingsmills.mileone.com/E-Newsletter.aspx

nissan xterra

I recently went to a lecture about coordination between mechanical engineers and architects and the lecturer used the story of the xterra as an example of poor coordination. This was the first I had ever heard anything regarding the xterra and design flaws, so I was immediately interested. (far more so then the actual topic of the lecture to be honest)

Apparently there was some miscommunication between the design engineers and the result was that odd bump on top, which they covered with a roof rack at the last minute. Don't you love it! Just put something on top and no one will figure it out!!

Anyway they fixed everything for the 2nd Generation Xterra. BUT I keep seeing the 1st Generations driving around. They're everywhere...now that you know you'll start seeing them too. So I can't help but wonder if these poor saps who bought the 1st generation knew about the problem OR if they loved the xterra with the flaw? Or maybe no one really cares?

All I know is I'll never see an Xterra in the same way again.