2005 Subaru Outback 3.0r H6 Ll Bean. Only 46k Miles. Leather. Sunroof. Low Miles on 2040-cars

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Should Subaru have a premium brand?

A lot of people love Subarus, and that audience is only getting bigger. Subaru sold 647,956 vehicles in the U.S. in 2017, up from 615,132 units in 2016; 513,693 in 2012; and 187,699 in 2008. You get the idea. It's a relatively small brand, but a growing one. It's also one of the top brands in terms of customer loyalty, and in terms of conquest sales. From Q2 2015 to Q2 2016, Subaru gained 3.5 customers from other brands for every customer it lost. Recently, Riley, a listener to the Autoblog Podcast, wrote in and asked why Subaru doesn't have a luxury brand. Reading the email, neurons began firing immediately, and a whole bunch of new thoughts rushed in at once, mingling with old data in my brain. Indeed, why doesn't Subaru have its own luxury brand? My initial conclusion was that it just didn't make sense for the brand. It's too small of a company to warrant another brand. The higher-end offerings — namely top-trim Ascents — are probably the ceiling at the moment. If those can sell consistently, then maybe it would be time to toy with luxury-leaning models the way Hyundai did before spinning off Genesis (and perhaps adopt a wait-and-see attitude with regard to that potential competitor.) A luxury brand might dilute the value of Subaru's mainstream offerings, giving it the look of a budget brand, but luxury models within the brand could do the opposite. ... Unless ... What if Subaru's luxury brand was all electrified? Subaru is a company that is genuinely concerned with sustainability and environmental issues. Famously, its factories are zero-landfill facilities, and the company takes part in a multitude of environmental initiatives both on its own and with various partners. This mirrors the values of a large part of Subaru's customer base, who have earned a reputation as outdoor adventurers who love nature — and dogs. It's no surprise to see Subaru overrepresented on the roads of Denver, Portland, Ore., and Burlington, Vt. Subaru doesn't offer any plug-in models yet, but they're in the works. As of now, we can expect them to be based on current nameplates. What if Subaru gave its upcoming Crosstrek PHEV the luxury treatment and a new brand name ("Pleiades" would be the easy grab). Sure, Subaru retains customers really well already, but what happens when people outgrow Subaru? At least they have the option of the Ascent, but I'm interested to see how many Subaru owners move on to luxury brands (I'm in the process of finding those answers).

Best-selling vehicles by state

America loves trucks. According to Edmunds, which has tracked the best-selling vehicles by state based on new vehicle registrations, 40 out of 50 U.S. states’ best-selling vehicle is a pickup. Most often, thatÂ’s the Ford F-Series, but occasional Chevy, Ram and even Toyota top the lists. Here, weÂ’ve compiled the best-selling vehicles by state, including the four runners-up for each state. Interestingly enough, only one EV shows up in a stateÂ’s top five (Tesla Model 3 in California). Read on below to see whatÂ’s most popular in your state.

Subaru debuts tougher-looking Outback for Australia [w/poll]

If you're going to name a car after a specific location or region, you'd better make sure it's taken seriously in the place it's named for. You're not likely to see a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Monaco, and the Alfa Romeo Montreal was never even officially offered in North America, but the Subaru Outback is another story.
Subaru apparently takes the Australian market, whose wilderness its jacked-up Legacy wagon is named for, very seriously. So it is apparently rolling out a revised version of the current Outback in Australia itself. The updated Outback, which arrives less than a year before the all-new model is expected to bow, answers Aussie customer feedback with a more rugged look. It's got new roof rails, body cladding, wheel arches, mud flaps, underbody protection plates and blacked-out headlight surrounds and grille trim.
The Motor Report reports that the AUD $2,500 worth of extra equipment - around $2,300 USD - comes with just an AUD $500 ($468) price hike. As far as we can tell, though, there are no plans to bring this latest look to our shores - Subaru has already detailed North America's Outback for the 2014 model year, and these changes aren't mentioned. Should this look be offered in our market? Vote in the poll below and then have your say in Comments.