RIP Legacy (in NZ, at least)

"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi)
09/09/2020 at 18:20 • Filed to: legacy

Subaru NZ have announced they’re removing the Legacy from their lineup here from 2021, killed by the SUV-pocalypse. Apparently it’s now outsold 20:1 by the O utback.

It’s the end of an era - the Legacy was once an enormously popular car round here. In fact at one stage it was the country’s best selling car. N ot best selling * new* car, that was the Corolla for decades , but used JDM imports swamp new car sales here and the Legacy was the undisputed king of the imports in the 90s.

The Legacy’s relationsh ip to NZ also plays a big part in Subaru’s WRC history: Colin MacRae gave them their first ever WRC win here back in 1993 , driving a Legacy RS, which combined with the Le gacy winning the British Rally Championship in 1991, 92, and 93 and the NZ championship in 91, 93, and 94 con vinced them the PR benefits of dominating the rally scene would be worth the cost of goi ng in boots and all . Y ou’d think what happened in NZ wouldn’t matter to Japan, but at that stage Subaru had a market share here twice what they had anywhere else in the world and the attitu de at Head Office was “ lets figure out what’s worki ng in NZ and do it everywhere”. Possum Bourne eating up the back country spe cial stages in NZ was working, as it drove t he Legacy’s gro w ing rep here as the tool of choice to support an outdoor lifesty le ( a “sports ut ility vehicle”, even) . McRae convinced them they could replicate that at a global level, and the rest is blue and gold history.

Sad for me personally, too. My first job out of college was in the Subaru factory - it was econo mic for them to ha ve one here in the 80s due to high import taxes, even though it only made a few cars a week - so I’ve always had a soft spot for them, and even though I’ve never yet owned one, the Legacy’s my favourite and the one I’d be most likely to wind up with.

DISCUSSION (15)

Nauraushaun > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 18:40

Do you guys ever get Liberties over there?

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Nauraushaun
09/09/2020 at 18:48

Same car, isn’t it? Wiki reckons they just didn’t call it Legacy in Oz to avoid offending the veterans foundation of that name.

carcrasher88 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 19:06

Wow, that’s crazy. Especially when, in the SUV-crazy USA, Subaru has remained committed to the Legacy, as well as the Outback.

Though, that might be because either offering or having AWD standard is enough of a selling point to help keep a sedan afloat here.

Which is probably why Toyota, Nissan, and Kia have recently begun selling an AWD version of theirs here (Camry, Altima, and K5, respectively), and why BMW, Audi, and MB sedans still sell decently here, alongside the SUVs.

Boxer_4 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 19:27

It sounds like the Legacy is dead in Japan and Australia, too. Had I noticed these markets kept the 6th gen (BN) Legacy while the US moved on to the 7th gen (BW) Legacy, I would have guessed this outcome. The Legacy seemed to lose a lot of popularity in Japan with the 5th gen (BM) - it basically grew too big for the market in that generation when trying to satisfy the US market. This is also the reason that the Levorg exists, to replace the 4th gen (BP) Legacy wagon. The SUV craze didn’t help either. My assumption is that without sales continuing in Japan, it didn’t make sense for them to continue in New Zealand or Australia. This allows them to free up line space in Gunma for other vehicles - all US Legacys and Outbacks are built domestically in Lafayette, Indiana.

It will be sad to see the Legacy nameplate disappear in those markets, though I would argue that the Legacy is a lot different from what it once was.

dogisbadob > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 19:37

You don’t have that stupid 25-year shit, so you can still import the ones sold elsewhere :p

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Boxer_4
09/09/2020 at 20:03

Yes, gen3 was the last “real” Le gacy IMHO: part of the reason it’s unpopular here now is it’s seen as a “large” car nowadays (which it never used to be) , and that segment’s evaporated (see: Commodore, Falcon). If they’ve killed it in Japan that would explain NZ and Oz (and presumably the UK) - they won’t have en gineered the gen7 for RHD.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > dogisbadob
09/09/2020 at 20:07

Not if per Boxer_4's comment, they’re killing it in all the RHD markets. We don’t have a generic 25 year rule but we do have restrictions on bringing in wrong hand drive ones : they have to be 20 years old or a niche/collectible veh icle of some sort.

Boxer_4 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 20:26

It appears the UK doesn’t even get the Impreza sedan at this point.

The 2nd and 3rd gens are my favorite of the Legacys. Either one is on my list of cars I’d like to own at some point.

The global platform and the fact that the 7th gen Outback will almost certainly be sold in RHD markets would have made RHD trivial, though likely still not worth it.

Boxer_4 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 20:26

It appears the UK doesn’t even get the Impreza sedan at this point.

The 2nd and 3rd gens are my favorite of the Legacys. Either one is on my list of cars I’d like to own at some point.

The global platform and the fact that the 7th gen Outback will almost certainly be sold in RHD markets would have made RHD trivial, though likely still not worth it.

Nauraushaun > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 21:22

Yep, same car. Just wonder if people import them from Aus to NZ or if it’s all the Leggy

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Nauraushaun
09/09/2020 at 21:27

Why would you bring one in from Oz when you can get one from Japan for half the price? The only cars people bring over from Oz are the occasional classic Ford or Holden - and even then the traffic’s mostly in the other direction: they’re cheaper here if you can find them.

There’s probably the odd rebadged one around, just like you see Chev or Pontiac badged Commodores, but I’ve never noticed one.

Nauraushaun > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/09/2020 at 22:24

Good point. More choice in Japan too I imagine, GTs and the like. I guess that was sort of a dumb question. I don’t know much about the NZ car market haha. But I know there are some Commodores and Falcons there as well as a mix of imports from other countries, which makes it pretty unique as far as car markets go.

VaporishPuma > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/10/2020 at 00:20

RIP. I’m fortunate that I have a decent Legacy community where I am, though mostly 3rd and 4th gen.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
09/10/2020 at 04:48

leaving us here too

duurtlang > carcrasher88
09/10/2020 at 06:49

Meanwhile, on the Dutch market. That’s it, these three. All three sell next to nothing. We don’t have mountains, we don’t have much snow in winter, we do have expensive fuel and most don’t like the look, inside and out, of these cars. So, they don’t sell.

Kinja'd!!!

Apparently the German market has a larger line up. I never see Subarus here either though.

Kinja'd!!!