[gordonwd]

OK, I live in the Detroit area, which has never been a hotbed of import brands, so we probably have <1% Subarus around here, or IOW much less than the national ~2.5% share that the brand has. But on our recent vacation trip to the northeastern states, we were so astounded by the number of Subarus that it became a running joke to see who could say "Subaru!" first when spotting one. Or, more often, "Subaru, Subaru, Subaru!".

First off, I think it's a Vermont state law that every household has to have at least one Subaru. But even along the coast of Maine they were everywhere. Of course, that area is also where we encountered a lot of people in our "tribe" -- outdoorsy adults who like to hike, bike, kayak, etc. -- but even so it was pretty amazing (I'm surprised they don't have Subaru-only parking at the LL Bean store). I'd swear that Subaru had 10-20% market share in the places we went.

I did do some web searches after getting back and discovered that, indeed, they have an 11% market share in Vermont, and that Vermont, Colorado, and 7 other states account for half their sales, with the southern states being the lowest at less than 1% share.

Anyway, it sure was different to not feel like I was driving as unique a car as it is around home.

 

[NickH]

The UP has a ton of Subarus. You need to visit the northern areas of your own state

Nick

 

[Kiltman]

Yeah, I see alot in the TC, Petoskey area too. I live in Detroit area and have seen more recently, especially the Gen4 OB like mine. That was rare when I had my '99OB.

 

[gomjabber]

There are indeed gobs of subaru's in the UP especially around Marquette.
Around metro milwaukee there are decent number of Subie's including outbacks.
I wouldn't say a lot but they aren't rare either.

 

[SJOutback]

There are a ton of Subaru's in the San Francisco Bay Area. I live in San Jose and I started playing "Punch Subie" with my wife (I'm a dork, I know). She hated the game and refused to play until i kept punching her, so now she plays too. I think I'm on the losing end becuase I don't hit her hard since its not nice to hit girls...she doesn't hold back though.

I went to the doctor's office today and there were two other gray 2010-2012 outbacks, exactly the same as mine in the parking lot (small lot, about 30 cars total).

 

[Nickshu]

Funny, there was just a front page article in our local paper today saying Subaru was the number one registered car in the county over the past year. Guess they sell a lot of 'em here:

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120917/NEWS01/309170037/Subarus-most-common-car-Larimer-County?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs&nclick_check=1

 

[gordonwd]

I guess the summation is that Subarus sell disproportionately in the northern climes for obvious reasons. Back when I owned an Audi A4, I remember the dealer telling me that in this area they stock nothing but cars with the Quattro AWD option, whereas dealers in the south only order FWD models (which actually cost about $2K less).

So while Subaru has made its reputation on an (almost) all-AWD lineup, they sacrifice their market in areas where people just don't think AWD is worth the tradeoffs (cost, mileage, complexity). OTOH, they are probably satisfied with their niche and are doing quite well at it. I for one wouldn't like it if they were too popular!

 

[subiesailor]

My Mother she's 65yrs old - replaced her tired Nissan Altima back in November 2009. She wanted another Altima she really liked her 2001. However it had a number of quality things you simply never see on Subaru's multiple wheel bearing failures- several serpentine belt tensioners etc.

The deal was she researched and test drove cars and when she found what she wanted I would do the purchase for her. At that point I had owned a 2001 Legacy since new and she had driven it and ridden in it over the years. That car was the family truck and never had any issues other than the Subaru replaced leaky HG which was never an issue again. She didn't like the flat low seating the legacy had and wasn't crazy about the interior etc. But she really liked how the legacy drove and couldn't believe the beating it had taken over the years with virtually zero issues.

Four months later she calls me and says I have my car picked out. The 2010 Altima's are not on the lots yet and for the options I want the old 09's are over $31,000 and they have things I do not want like Leather seats etc.

She says the Camry was nice but very expensive and that she looked at 8 of them before deciding that Toyota had simply not finished the coverings in the trunk ie the trunk had bare metal showing in a few places etc. LOL

So I say Mom get to the chase what car am I buying? She laughs and says 2010 Subaru Legacy it has everything I want - Nothing I don't want and the price can't be touched by any of the other vehicles sold in that size range.

$23K she has a Premium Legacy CVT with all the things she wanted. Her first AWD car and ironically that first winter was one of the worst winters for bad rain storms we had in a long time. At the time she had a 20 mile commute on a busy high speed highway.
After the first three months of a miserable wet winter she calls me and says "AWD is AWESOME!" That she freaking loves the legacy that it was glued to the pavement even in some of the horrid weather she was forced to drive in.

Since then I have seen neighbors replace Acura's Mercedes - older Subarus with new Legacy's. Which just a few years ago the Legacy wasn't even hardly ever even mentioned by Auto people let alone even considered a purchase option.

 

[Carlvr87]

I guess I'll tell a mini story here as well.

Back in 95 my dad bought his first hyundai, an Accent. He kept that for 8 and a half years. Anyway, between my parents, my brother, and I, we have owned 15 hyundai's because they have been such great cars. Family and friends also own many.

In Sept. 2010 I traded my 2008 Santa Fe for an 11 Sonata(which is a car I really wanted). It was great...for the first 3 weeks. I had so many quality issues with it, it wasn't comfortable, and then the snow came. It was horrible! I've always admired the OB and I needed something better in the snow because I have to be at work. I went to check one out and I was instantly sold, traded my Sonata(only lost $600), and bought a 2011 OB.

The Outback is by far my favorite car! It is super comfortable, gets very good gas mileage, and has everything one could want. I'm sold on Subaru's and I can see why once you buy one, you run it into the ground and buy a new one. I've always seen subaru's around here, but I see so many 2010+ OBs quite often. I notice more and more foresters as well.

I tried to convert my parents, but my dad wants to stick with hyundai's because he likes them and the warranty.

 

[rswanker]

Do you have a link? Would love to see the breakdown by state...

 

[mars]

That article regarding Subaru's market share in Larimer county. Is bet it's significantly higher here in boulder county, CO.