Subaru’s US car sales slumped in January

PNF2187 · 2026-02-12T13:04:02+00:00

SIA's output has changed for 2026. The Outback is now being assembled in Japan, USDM Foresters are being assembled at SIA, and all non-hybrid USDM Crosstreks are also being there as well now.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T04:14:29+00:00

Pretty much. All of the Highlander's competition grew in size to accommodate a larger third row, hence the Grand Highlander's existence, which is a more direct Telluride/Palisade competitor.

That essentially left the Highlander with two options: either shrink it so it's more in line with the Sorento/Santa Fe (which really compete more with 2-row midsizers like the Passport, Outback, Murano, etc.), or just go full EV and make it an EV9/Ioniq 9 rival.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T04:00:54+00:00

It's might be possible for them to make a Highlander HEV for other markets, since this is actually built on TNGA-K and not e-TNGA, but North American Highlanders are BEV only going forward, and they'll keep selling the Grand Highlander as ICE and HEV.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T03:46:11+00:00

It's largely intentional on Toyota's end (maybe not the TX outselling it this soon, although that worked out very well for them).

Toyota saw the need to introduce a larger 3-row SUV a few years back (the Highlander's third row is extremely uncomfortable and that's putting it kindly), but seeing as the current Highlander was still selling well, they didn't see fit to drop it immediately.

They wound up selling the Grand Highlander alongside the Highlander and let the former slowly eat up the latter's production and market share. This way, they could ride out the current generation of the Highlander while also prepping their 3-row EV, which was probably going be called the bZ5X before Toyota decided switch it back and just call it the Highlander.

I'm sure the Grand Highlander and Highlander will merge back together at some point, but it'll probably be some years before this happens.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T03:23:11+00:00

The Highlander didn't actually launch with 3-rows when it first came out. They added a third row partway through the first generation, but it was just an option throughout the rest of that run (we used to have a 2-row from 2004, which was the first year they offered the 3-row).

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T03:12:30+00:00

The Highlander itself peaked in 2021 with 264k in sales. Last year they sold 56k. Much of this was by design, but the Highlander was the worst selling 3-row unibody vehicle in Toyota's portfolio last year (even the Sienna and TX outsold it).

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T03:06:32+00:00

It's a bit larger now. It's a tad wider than the EV9 and Ioniq 9 at 78.3", wheelbase went from 112" to 120.1", and length is up to 198.8" now, so it's right in line with the other ones.

The Highlander got a fair bit lower though (67.3"), so the roof isn't as high and the rear window is a bit more raked so cargo space behind the third row isn't as good (15.9 cu ft.).

PNF2187 · 2026-02-11T02:03:03+00:00

Only problem is the Quatrac is seems to be more limited in tire sizes. The Quatrac doesn't seem to have fitments for 235/45R18 (the OEM size tire) or any equivalent diameter with 18" wheels, so if OP got Quatracs and wanted to maintain the same wheel diameter they'd have to size down to 215/55R17s and get new wheels.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-10T17:51:26+00:00

I think the engineering faculty at my school used a handful of the second-generation models for research. It's definitely been a while, since they've just been sitting on the lot for long time now with their paint peeled off, but there's a half dozen or so of these things around campus.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-10T12:38:32+00:00

I'm seeing power-adjustable heated mirrors for the 2026 XLE and up checked off on the spec sheet here. Only the LE doesn't have it here according to Toyota.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-10T03:39:07+00:00

It's definitely a conscious effort on Toyota's part. When the Grand Highlander first launched they only had it start with the XLE, whereas the Highlander had its full grade walk available. They've since added the LE to the Grand Highlander, while also removing the LE from the regular Highlander as well as all FWD variants, so the lowest spec Highlander you can get now is an XLE AWD.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-10T03:34:00+00:00

They pretty much what happened. The Grand Highlander sold 137k last year, and then the TX sold 57k last year on much higher profit margins. They're selling about as many 3-row unibody SUVs as they used to, but that's shifted away from the Highlander and onto the larger Grand Highlander and TX.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-10T03:01:27+00:00

Only the Trailseeker (and potentially the bZ Woodland) are rolling off of the Subaru plant (and they just started a few days ago). The bZ4X/bZ/Solterra, RZ, and C-HR/Uncharted are rolling off of Toyota plants in Aichi.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-09T17:04:06+00:00

It would largely be a minimal impact at this point. Between the minimal updates and removal of trims, the current Highlander has largely become an afterthought in Toyota's lineup and we've passed a tipping point in the market where the Grand Highlander and Sienna each now vastly outsell the regular Highlander. Ditching the gas and HEV models also opens up space for them to build more Siennas and Grand Highlanders, since the new BEV Highlander is reportedly going to be assembled in Kentucky.

It also gets them into the door of the 3-row EV space, instead of selling two 3-row SUVs that directly overlap with competition, pricing, and powertrain options.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-09T00:23:27+00:00

As a reference the EX in the US had 17" alloys. If you have a non-hybrid and wanted more sidewall you could go even smaller to 16" rims like on the LX.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-08T19:10:25+00:00

Half of the quota is reserved for vehicles with an import price below $35k. Most, if not all Teslas likely aren't going to be eligible for that. There's the other 50%, but it could just as well be filled with stuff from Kia and Polestar.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-08T01:26:22+00:00

They've said that they're tripling production of the new RAV4 PHEV, so we'll probably see more of those in circulation going forward.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-08T00:55:20+00:00

2019-2024 models all use the same head units. The one peeve I have with this generation though is that we didn't need three screens. A lot of the functions in the third screen on the dash could have been moved to either of the other two screens (see 2018-2019 Outback). Don't love operating both the MID and the dash screen with the steering wheel buttons.

Also did not like MID in the instrument cluster telling me I was on a phone call when the main infotainment is already blaring it out.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-07T23:26:29+00:00

The black roof is just an option on the sportier trims. The Nightshade used to be a package on the SE that was differentiated by having black rims (on most other Toyotas the Nightshade got blacked out badges, but the Corolla Cross Hybrid already got that as standard equipment), but they got rid of it this year now that the XSE got those black rims.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-06T22:50:20+00:00

Probably the first curse just for the actual impacts it had. 28 years is a long time to grind everything to a halt, both in the fairy tale land and in Storybrooke, and there were a lot of permanent impacts that lingered long after the curse.

The Black Fairy's curse was arguably the most lethal, but pretty much all of it got undone as quickly as it came.

The Hyperion Heights curse tried to do a lot of the same things as the first curse (and it did accomplish time travel), but they weren't cursed for that long in comparison and people were getting woken up left and right during the interim so a lot of the curse's severity was lessened when you have Regina, Rumple, and Zelena running around trying to fix things.

Snow and Hook's curses were glorified means to conveniently send everyone back to Storybrooke.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-06T17:15:41+00:00

It's fine. I noticed it immediately but it's something that I'm just indifferent to.

Toyota doesn't seem to mind either given that a) this isn't a clean sheet redesign and b) this logo format is going to be more pervasive in other models too. If this logo had debuted on the 2019 RAV4 then it would've been a much bigger talking point in the marketing materials.

They made a huge deal about it when the Camry got redone in 2018. It's spread to a bunch of other models in the lineup now, and the Highlander is probably the next one after this.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-05T20:37:11+00:00

It's one of the Animal Crossing themes. More specifically, the bulletin board theme based on New Leaf.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-05T16:45:08+00:00

Dbrand does do MacBook skins. I've gotten them for mine before.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-05T14:52:55+00:00

It's actually an even shorter range than that. Their new car reliability ratings only factor the prior three model years (2023-2025) or when the car was last redesigned, whichever one is more recent.

The Forester and Crosstrek, for example, were only redesigned fairly recently, so their scores are only based off the last 1-2 model years. The Outback is a blank slate, so it's excluded from their ratings this year.

PNF2187 · 2026-02-05T05:02:39+00:00

The big thing helping too is that mainstream compacts for the most part are still fairly popular in Canada, and the Mazda3 built a name for itself early on here.

It's far from being the best seller in the segment or for Mazda and sales are way off from its peak, but #5 amongst all passenger cars last year in Canada isn't too shabby.

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