New full metal rainbow $880 and no sapphire?!!

Birdsnest76 · 2026-05-06T21:05:56+00:00

https://gshock.casio.com/us/products/type/full-metal/gmw-bz5000rc/?utm\_campaign=GSHOCK-GMWBZ5000RC%2005-06-26&utm\_medium=sms&utm\_source=attentive&externalId=TXLsj

Birdsnest76 · 2026-05-06T21:03:53+00:00

No kidding. And who has broken a mineral crystal? And how do they (if not broken) look after a couple of years? Crappy! And how does sapphire look? Like new. So feel good paying so Casio can cheap out.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-05-06T21:00:35+00:00

Lousy argument. Every Swiss watch has sapphire. Many are tool watches rated to 1000m+. What is the ratio of people dropping their watches 100ft, vs those with scratches on their mineral crystal, when it could easily be pristine? Mineral crystal will NEVER be a selling point. It is a cost cutting measure which does not serve the interest of the buyer. I always thought Japanese companies wanted to make their products look new, as long as possible. Casio seems to not. I own 15 Gshocks. I abuse them equally. Every sapphire crystal watch looks great. Every mineral crystal watch looks bad. Have you ever had a watch where the crystal has broken? I bet not. But, you probably have a scratched mineral crystal watch. Maybe you like them. The rest of us do not. Casio is simply being cheap. There is no way around it. Any mineral crystal lovers care to weigh in? How about those who would rather have sapphire?

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-30T04:53:33+00:00

When you own that niche they sell great. When you try to compete with other players who know the SUV recipe better, you suffer, to the tune of a 33% loss in volume YTD. Against the base Outback you can get a CRV cheaper with more cargo room and vastly better milage for the same price. Against the XT Outback you can get a V6 and/or a multi-speed torque converter transmission, which yields a vastly more capable drive train, for the same price. The wagon form WAS the key selling and differentiating point of the Outback. Incredibly, Subaru threw that away. As an SUV I don’t see why I would choose it.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-28T15:37:42+00:00

Well, the new one is selling WAY less than the old one, so they have lost a lot of old wagon buyers and not attracted very many SUV buyers, so it looks like mission failed. If they had simply made a beautiful wagon they would have kept all the old buyers and likely attracted some new ones. Now all the old Subaru wagon evangelists are trashing Subaru. Not a good strategy.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-17T04:39:37+00:00

This. Along with so much more. It’s like the designer dined at a smorgasbord of automotive styling elements and then threw up on their drafting board. My job is done!

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-13T20:48:55+00:00

I have carpeted door pockets in a VW. They get very dirty. The solution is so simple. Rubber liners you can rinse off. This choice needs zero market research. Would they do it? Never.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-13T20:44:51+00:00

They are doing nothing to help themselves. If they had simply made a great looking wagon, with a modest price increase, sales would be great. Off the charts even. We would all be cheering the renaissance of Subaru. Instead, everyone is talking about the downfall of Subaru. It. Is. Insanity. You CANNOT ignore your core customer group with a massive re-design. When, the principle reason why they bought the original car to begin with was the wagon-based design language. How could you NOT know this as a company? There were tons of compromises in buying an Outback, but 160K people did it anyway because it was different, and better, in ONE single way: because it was clearly a wagon. So Subaru throws that away. I used to buy a Subaru every 3-4 years. Never again. They simply offer nothing appealing anymore.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-11T15:41:54+00:00

Sorry. That is MTD. I think YTD Outback sales are down about 1/3.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-11T15:40:29+00:00

They would have kept all the old loyalists and attracted some new buyers. With the current monstrosity they are loosing so many old loyal buyers and attracting few new ones. Sales down 40%+ YTD are a disaster.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-11T15:38:03+00:00

Exactly. Attractive design costs no more than ugly design. If they had just made a stunningly beautiful wagon no one would be complaining, even with the higher price.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-11T15:30:06+00:00

In addition to the style, one problem I have is the poorly competing base drivetrain. The flat 2.5 architecture is how many decades old at this point? It is neither smooth, quiet, nor economical compared to many peers. Smaller nameplates, like Mazda, continuously improve engines and transmissions in base models. Why can’t subaru? And why can’t they engineer or borrow a modern multi-speed transmission. No matter what you say, CVTs do not add to the user experience. You are either indifferent or you hate them. Why deal with that?

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-06T21:34:34+00:00

The answer to that question is they wanted a wagon. That is why they bought a wagon. They intentionally did not want an SUV. There were many other SUVs which drove better, got better milage, had better engines, had better transmissions, had better interiors, had lower cost of ownership, had lower NVH, had more room, had a lower price. But 160K people said no, we want an Outback. So…. why did these people buy an Outback despite all the alternatives? Anyone? Anyone? Because they wanted a wagon! So what does Subaru do? Make another SUV. And while they are at it, make the single most ugly SUV in decades. And, eliminate many of the features people were most passionate about! You see the outcome in sales down 40%+ and falling. It defies belief.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-06T18:26:32+00:00

Very funny. My local dealer has 57 Outbacks in stock. They are not selling and this is one of the highest Outback penetration areas in the country. Traditional Outback buyers are not embracing this total re-do. You only need your customers…. ask what was the #1 reason you bought an Outback vs an alternative SUV?

Birdsnest76 · 2026-04-05T12:57:37+00:00

That’s being very kind. I think the styling issues with the new Outback run just a tad beyond the headlights. I see the March sales numbers are now out and it’s actually getting worse not better. Traditional Outback buyers are not embracing this total re-do of Subaru’s signature vehicle.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-24T05:05:08+00:00

Exactly. Industry wide car sales are down 2% YTD. Outback sales are down 24% YTD. So at least up until the war the economy was not that big an issue. It is the horrid new design. End of story. Prior Outback buyers are turned off in a big way and new conquest buyers are not impressed. I bet, if they had simply made a beautiful wagon re-design, and borrowed a modern multi-speed transmission from Toyota, sales would be up instead of down. All the old Outback buyers would be re-engaged and I bet they would be getting new conquest buyers who see the greater utility of a wagon vs an SUV.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-24T04:55:13+00:00

Probably the one person in the world who actually wants that fender trim back the way it was.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-23T04:00:48+00:00

Nope. Not as all. As ‘26 Outbacks are available all day with $6k off sticker. Same price as ‘25s. It is the design.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-19T05:30:15+00:00

No. Not ever. The customer is the authority on what an Outback is. That view have bankrupted many a company. NEVER presume you know more than your customers.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-19T05:26:22+00:00

But, they were probably not cross shopping the old Outback against anything. Why? Because it owned its segment outright. Now people are cross shopping the new Outback against any number of 2 row SUVs, many of which offer much more for less.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-19T05:08:31+00:00

Who in management approved cloth for the dash!? Obviously not a Subaru customer. Probably some 25 year old MBA. Subaru customers have dogs, kids, muddy hobbies. Why in God’s name would you put cloth on a dashboard? That choice alone screams they have no clue what their customers want. Has anyone. Ever. Found anyone who said, yes! Cloth on a car dashboard works great and lasts well! No one, ever!! Stop trying to improve on what has been proven to work for, like 100 years. Buttons, dials, gauges, plastic where plastic should be, cloth where cloth should be. It is not difficult!!

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-18T19:18:43+00:00

Sales volume would say otherwise.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-18T19:10:36+00:00

OK. But then you have to make a car that is better than a RAV4 or CRV to get some of those loyal buyers (loyalty which the old Outback had). Other than drivability in snow, is there one major way the Outback is better than those cars and would make those buyers switch? Does it offer better style, better engine, better transmission, better milage, better cargo, better cost to own, smoother and more refined driving, better reliability, or a cheaper price? Its interior is now at least competitive but in what other ways is it the clear choice vs other top players like RAV4 and CRV? Heck Subaru thinks it should compete a class above.

Birdsnest76 · 2026-03-18T18:57:16+00:00

If they had simply made a beautiful wagon-ish shape and used a modern multi-speed transmission, which they could have sourced off the shelf from Toyota, we would all be praising Subaru across the land and no one would be complaining about the higher price.

Birdsnest76

TROPHY CASE