As an incredibly happy owner of a 2003 Outback wagon, Subaru’s move to reclassify the Outback as a light truck to avoid fuel and air pollution standards disappoints me. I like the fact that it’s not a truck, sitting a bit lower to the ground (improving stability) and with an interior that feels less like a hose-it-down utility vehicle. I understand that there are legitimate business interests involved in car companies cramming themselves into the voids created by the differences in the standards passed down by the Transportation Department and the EPA, but it’s possible that Subaru is messing with perfection here.

Comments

i fully agree. also, the move to use a loophole to avoid pollution standards seems to undermine their efforts to represent themselves as friendly to environmentalists and other lefty types.

• Posted by: holly on Jan 15, 2004, 9:49 AM
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