I love Subarus. I've had 6 of them: a 1980 GL, 1984 DL, 1990 Loyale, 1993 Legacy, 1996 Outback and 2004 Forester. All of them wagons. I have literally put hundreds of thousands of miles on them. I drove one all the way around the United States hitting pretty much all four corners (and leaking oil most of the way, I recall). I've carried 12 or 13 kayaks on top (all at the same time) to move them across town. I've driven from San Diego all the way up to San Francisco with six people jammed inside (hey, it was college days!). I've climbed really muddy and rocky roads to mountain cabins. I've gone out in crazy blizzards when other car owners have been stuck at home. I've used and abused them in all sorts of ways. In so many ways, I'm a walking billboard for how great a car they can be... and I know I've sold others on how great a vehicle they are. I love 'em... and for over 20 years, the only car I have driven has been a Subaru.

But I won't be buying a 2005 Subaru. Nor, it seems, a 2006 Subaru. They've lost me. I won't be buying another one.

And it has everything to do with open standards... and iPods...


You see, when we moved back from Canada, the plan was to trade in the 96 Outback for a 2005 Outback and be done with it. We were then going to sell the 2004 Forester up in Canada (because it's a Canadian car and it's easier than importing it and converting it to a US car). We were thinking of either going with one car for a bit, and if necessary replacing the second car with perhaps a Subaru Outback Sport (what they used to call the Impreza, it seems).

However, when we went to look, I had a (to me) extremely simple requirement. I wanted to be able to either:

1. Connect my iPod directly to the radio; or
2. Swap out the radio for one of the zillion radios you can get now at Best Buy and similar stores that support iPod connections

My basic reason is that while my iTrip works okay, there's a fundamental problem that the FM spectrum is just way too jammed these days and so when you travel around, you keep running into areas where the interference is too great from stations on the same (or nearby) frequency that you are using. So you have to change frequency... and then change again when that signal gets trodden upon. If you're in the same general area a lot, it's usually okay. But if you are driving long distances, it's a pain. So I want a direct connection using either of the two above methods.

It turns out that you can't do either with a Subaru Outback or Legacy (the only models we're interested in).

Unlike some GM cars, there's no simple Line In jack that you can plug your iPod (or other MP3 player) into. In fact, it seems that none of the models have anything near support except for maybe the very high-cost L.L. Bean edition that has a radio that can play MP3s that you have burned to a CD.

Okay, I say... I've never really heard anyone praise a manufacturer radio for it's high audio quality... I'll just swap it out. Sorry, but no. It seems that some genius in Subaru's design made the decision that Subaru would drop support for the "open standard" of normal car radios and instead would build the electronics into the actual console unit. In other words, the radio is just a PC board fastened to the inside of the console... if you open it up, there's just air behind where the radio normally would be (or perhaps they put some other part of the car there). Now I can see the logic in someone's mind:

1. It is cheaper to manufacture because we don't have to put in any annoying support shelf and connectors for the car radio. Just manufacture it as a simple solid unit. And...
2. It locks buyers in to Subaru radios (and dealers). If you want an upgraded radio, you must buy from Subaru. No trips to Best Buy or Wal-Mart for you, boy... you must come back to us to get your new radio. And yep, we won't be charging you the Wal-Mart prices... you'll have to pay a pretty penny.

I think this latter point is what annoys me so much. It's not so much the iPod issue... it's the lack of choice and control. Connecting my iPod to my Subaru is just my concern today, but what about five years from now when the next hot gadget comes out? How quickly will Subaru innovate and support it in their manufactured car radios? (Their current status with lack of iPod support doesn't give me much hope!) Or if my radio should die, why should I be forced to only go back to a Subaru dealer?

It's funny... it's very much all the same open source arguments around operating systems. We (supporters of open source) have always used the "hood welded shut" analogy for comparing operating systems, saying "would you buy a car that was welded shut (or locked shut) that you couldn't just take to any mechanic? That you had to bring back to your dealer?" Instead we've suggested that you want the choice and control... that you might very well bring it back to the dealer... but you might also bring it to anyone else. Whoever can give you the best service/price/satisfaction/etc. You want the choice and control.

And yet here is Subaru taking away that very choice and control. And perhaps it seems like a minor thing... to get so worked up over being able to change the radio... and perhaps I am making too big of a deal of it. But perhaps not.

In all honesty, it greatly saddens me, because the reality is that as I said before for over 20 years, I have only ever driven Subarus. I had expected to continue to be driving them for many, many more years.

But now all our plans for vehicles have been thrown in disarray and now... after all this time... I'm actually visiting other dealerships... our current thinking is maybe a Toyota Matrix (or it's twin, the Pontiac Vibe) as they do now have an All-Wheel Drive model. (Other suggestions are welcome.)

Subaru is no longer the only game in town when it comes to AWD wagons... and so it looks like I will vote with my feet, wallet, and opinions...

I do hope, Subaru, that you will someday come to your senses and give us back that control. You've lost me... you'll probably lose others... it's too bad, because in so many ways you make a darn good car!

Tags: life, subaru
Current Mood: disappointed