chicagotribune.com's view

When the Good Lord gave out brains, the folks from Subaru obviously were playing hooky.

Why else would a Japanese automaker with U.S. headquarters in New Jersey and a car-assembly plant in Indiana launch a new car in the Chicagoland marketwith a TV commercial that brings back memories of the ’69 Cubs-Mets debacle?

Rubbing sodium into the wound, the young woman in the ad chides that the reason the Mets won the pennant in ’69 is that the “Cubs choked.”

Nice way to peddle a car and win over a sympathetic audience.

If Subaru wants to captivate the public and keep the choke theory going while earning instant recognition for its new car line, we have an idea. Why not film a spot for Boston consumers showing Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner letting that ground ball slip between his legs in the World Series. Orperhaps it might want to gain the affection of Dallas car buyers by replaying Cowboys tight end Jackie Smith dropping that pass in the end zone during the Super Bowl, ensuring that Dallas blew the big game.

A Subaru spokesman said the “Cubs choked” ad is supposed to be taken as a joke. Yet not since Nissan unveiled a set of commercials for its new Infiniti line in which babbling brooks sent viewers to the bathroom rather than the showroom has an automaker missed its target so badly in trying to win over buyers.

But we digress.

For the 1993 model year Subaru brings out a new sedan and wagon named Impreza, a name that perhaps was chosen by the same folks who gave us the “Cubs choked” ad campaign.

When Subaru officials showed the news media a sample of their TV ads recently, the actors weren’t sure themselves how to say the car’s name, calling it “Impreza” or “Impressa.” Not a good sign that the public will easily catch on to the moniker.

Impreza will replace Subaru’s Loyale lineup. The Loyale sedan has gone out of production, and the wagon will follow after more stocks of the Impreza are in dealer hands.

Subaru provided us with an Impreza station wagon to test-drive. For those of you old enough to recall when American Motors roamed this earth, the Impreza wagon’s styling may bring back memories of the ill-fated AMC Pacer station wagon. Those who think the Impreza wagon is “cute” probably like cats,too. Impreza is no design gem.

While the rest of the civilized world is focusing on mini-vans, utility vehicles, pickup trucks, performance sedans and sport coupes, Subaru thinks itwill make its mark by selling station wagons. Subaru’s advertising folks must have been the same ones who conducted market research into consumer buying habits and opted for station wagons.

Impreza is offered in base, L and LS trim in front- or all-wheel drive, with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission teamed with the one and only 1.8-liter, 110-horsepower, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine.

We drove the L wagon with all-wheel drive and the five-speed.

All-wheel drive affords the driver the added assurance of being able to take to the roadway regardless of the weather. Subaru was one of the early pioneers of front drive and all-wheel drive.

Consumers have grown to appreciate front drive’s ability to pull the vehicle away from the light when standing in snow and all-wheel drive’s ability to keep the vehicle moving through mounds of the white stuff all alongthe roadway. It’s just that in recent years consumers have appreciated all-wheel drive more in mini-vans, utility vehicles and trucks than in stationwagons-the leisure suits of the ’90s.

The engine isn’t all that peppy when moving from the stop sign or light. It’s not until you’re up to about 30 to 40 m.p.h. that the engine seems to catch its breath (stop choking-take it as a joke, Subaru) and compete with other vehicles for open space in the road ahead.

The mileage rating is 24 m.p.g. city/29 highway with manual.

The five-speed manual was a sh ort-throw, relatively smooth unit that a couple times developed amnesia in moving from second to third and wasn’t quitesure just where it wanted to go. The automatic transmission is an $800 option.

In addition to all-wheel drive, the L wagon offers a standard driver-side air bag. Anti-lock brakes, however, are only offered on the top-of-the-line LSwagon, in which they are standard.

On the plus side, Impreza’s interior room is good; cargo-carrying capacity is abundant; the rear hatch lid is easy to open or close, and access in back is a snap; the rear seats fold to afford added cargo space; and noise levels are very low for a small, subcompact car. With power steering and four-wheel independent suspension with anti-squat, anti-dive geometry to keep it level during hard acceleration and braking, the wagon offered decent ride and handling.

The base price of the all-wheel-drive Impreza L wagon is $14,899, and that includes a host of standard equipment such as air conditioning, power brakes and steering, AM/FM stereo with digital clock, dual power mirrors, power door locks, power windows with driver-side express down, split and fold-down rear seats, rear-window washer/wiper, rear-window defroster, 14-inch all-season tires (15-inch tires would probably offer better cornering) and dual cupholders that slide out from the dash.

Our test vehicle added floor mats for $60. With a $445 delivery charge, thesticker came to $15,404.