1. About 5 or 6 years ago there were articles that Subaru was considering introducing a hybrid.
2. Some time after that, Subaru had rejected the idea in favor of diesel, deciding that in the worldwide market, diesel was a better investment for a company their size.
3. In 2008, Subaru introduced their diesel option in Europe.
4. After doing their market research, Subaru decided that diesel was not a viable option for the US & they decided to revisit the hybrid option. Although they had originally planned to get their hybrid technology through a partnership with Toyota back in 2004-05, they have now decided to develop their own hybrid system. It will be on the market in the 2012 model year.
5. Just recently Subaru announced that they have decided to bring the diesel to the US later this year!
I find this development extremely interesting. It seems to reflect the extreme volatility in the auto market & that car companies realize that they are going to have to battle for every sale in a reduced market place. Subaru has apparently decided to put all options on the market in the US & see what happens.
This gives me hope that smart will do the same thing. I'm hoping that both diesel & mhd options will follow the ED to the states.
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