Let's see, the new Outback (as is necessary for any car sold in the US) is fully & exhaustively compliant with all applicable regulations. Per govt. regulation the new design is classified as a light truck. Per govt. regulation an auto manufacturer must meet fuel efficiency standards that weight & average the various classifications of models in their fleet. Even if this reclassification was a deliberate design goal on the part of Subaru they have done absolutely nothing wrong.
If people are so upset about this they need to take it up with the government regulators who wrote those rules- not a company designing a product that is fully compliant with all of them.
I do find it ironic that eco-zealots traditionally allegiant to Subaru for their practical alternatives to larger SUVs have suddenly turned against the company- even before full specs are published & certainly before any cars have hit American showrooms. I also agree with the actual commentary from the posted link that its risky for Subaru to think they need to "re-niche" themselves.
Speaking of automotive loopholes, this reminds me of that tax provision intended to help small business owners with the purchase of heavy machinery- as it happens, this includes vehicles classified as trucks exceeding a certain gross weight rating.
Basically, people are able to purchase SUVs like Porsche Cayennes, Mercedes-Benz G-class & Cadillac Escalades & write off the *entire* purchase in one tax year.
read more here
Plenty of people ***** about it, but their ire is appropriately directed at the government for writing tax code that allows it- not at those who (totally legally) benefit from it. Hey, if I had the cash & wanted a Cayenne turbo, I'd do it too!