Does it Matter Whether a Subaru is a Toyota?

A couple of weeks ago, they sent me a new Toyota Bz to test drive; in a few weeks, they’re going to send me a Subaru Trailseeker to test drive. It’ll be easy to write the Trailseeker review because I’ve already written the Bz review (it’s here, if you’re interested) and they’re both basically the same thing – other than their badges and some minor styling differences.

It begs some questions: What is a Subaru? What is a Toyota? Is it the badge – and the styling? Is it enough when everything else is the same? This sameness is inherent with EVs. The Bz and Trailseeker are literally the same – in terms of their electric drivetrains, which are identical – but sameness is the defining attribute of EVs because they all have basically the same battery packs and electric motors. Some are higher-capacity or more (or less) powerful but there’s not much difference in that.

Certainly not the sort of difference that once defined a Subaru vs. a Toyota.

The Trailseeker is the first Subaru that hasn’t got a boxer (or horizontally opposed) engine. The italics to emphasize the difference between a boxer engine and an inline or “v” engine. It’s not just the layout that’s different. You can hear the difference – and feel it. A boxer engine doesn’t sound the same as an inline four or a V6 (much less a V8). It is these differences that not only define the brand but also conjure affection. It is hard to feel much of anything about a battery pack – or electric motors – for basically the same reason that it is hard to feel much of anything about a cinder block. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Cinder blocks don’t have a sound, either. They are useful, of course – but one is pretty much like any other and they’re interchangeable and (ultimately) disposable.

Why do people like Subarus? Well, because they are Subarus – and a big part (arguably, the essential part) is the boxer engine they all have (until now) which is not the same as the engines that Toyotas have (which have their own, different attraction). When you could still get a Subaru boxer engine and a manual transmission, the differences were even greater. You can still get a manual in two Subarus – the WRX and the BRZ – but these are high-performance models rather than the mass-market models like the Impreza that you used to be able to get with a manual but can’t anymore. It is likely you won’t be able ot get a manual in the WRX and BRZ soon, either – not because people don’t like them but because the government doesn’t like them. These manual-equipped models don’t do as well on government fuel efficiency tests and the government punishes manufacturers that make models that don’t do well on government fuel efficiency tests via fines that are of course passed along to buyers in the form of higher sticker prices. Since higher sticker prices make a vehicle less attractive to buyers, the manufacturer is incentivized to stop offering models – and transmissions – that incur the fines.

That’s why all of not-just-Subaru’s mass-market vehicles are automatic only now. And it is also why Subaru and Toyota (and pretty much every other vehicle manufacturer) are shying away from engines and transmissions altogether. EVs have neither – and they do very well on government fuel efficiency tests.

Another question arises that’s related to the ones already asked: Can brands like Subaru – and Toyota – continue to make a case for themselves when they’re all selling basically the same thing? If the past is prologue, the answer is probably no. Do you remember Plymouth? How about Mercury? And Pontiac and Oldsmobile?

At one time, these brands had an identity because there were differences – meaningful ones – between an Oldsmobile and a Pontiac and a Ford and a Mercury. The same government pressure eliminated those meaningful differences by – effectively – forcing the parent company to turn the brands into marketing arms that resold the same things offered by other brands. At one time, an Oldsmobile had an Oldsmobile engine and a Pontiac had a Pontiac engine. Then things changed. Oldsmobiles and Pontiac got the same (Chevy) engines. There were some minor styling and branding differences, but these same-engined Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs were basically the same as the Chevys that they shared their mechanicals with.

Today, only Chevy remains. Plymouth is gone, too. And Mercury.

How long will Subaru – or Toyota – last once they, too, are selling the same thing, with only minor styling differences and a badge to set them apart?

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