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The Subaru Baja (pronounced ba-ha) was a light-utility, all-wheel-drive, four passenger, four-door vehicle manufactured from 2003-2006 by Subaru. The Baja combined the handling and passenger carrying characteristics of a car with the open-bed versatility, and to a lesser degree, load capacity of a pickup truck. The unibody design borrowed heavily from existing mechanicals, platform and sheetmetal of the Legacy and Outback wagons.[1] Production began on July 18, 2002[2] as a 2003 model at the Lafayette, Indiana, factory (Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., aka SIA) once shared with Isuzu. The Baja's concept recalls many similar car-based, open-bed vehicles:
The Baja is named after Mexico's Baja California peninsula – home to the Baja 1000 off-road race.
[edit] Design, marketing and sales In a package 6 in (152 mm) longer than an Outback,[1] the Baja featured a four-door passenger compartment along with a 41 in (1041 mm) open bed and drop-down tailgate. A system marketed as the "Switchback"[5] allowed the rear passenger seat to fold down and a small thru-hatch to fold inward, allowing an extended length of 75 inches (1900 mm) to the end of the open tailgate. A light in the instrument cluster signaled an "open" status for the Switchback. Competing against the larger Chevy Avalanche and Ford Explorer Sport Trac, the Baja received a cool market reception. Limited advertising, late arrival of the turbo-charged model, heavily styled lower-body plastic cladding and a yellow-and-silver introductory color scheme may have discouraged broad appeal. James Healey, writing for USAtoday at the time of the Baja's introduction called it a "controversial fashion statement with limited utility".[4] The Baja received the 2003 and 2004 J.D. Powers's APEAL (for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study) Award – measuring owner delight with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles – for "Most Appealing Compact Pickup" and the Consumer Reports 2006 highest score for reliability in the pickup truck category.[6] Production of the Baja came to end in April 2006 just as fuel prices increased dramatically and fuel economy became a higher priority in the marketplace. With Subaru projecting to sell 24,000 per year,[5][7] only 30,000 were sold over four and a half years. Subaru discontinued Baja production in April 2006. [edit] Features
[edit] Conception: rally-race truck inspired  Working with technical support from Subaru Japan, a special team led by Peter Tenn [4], Subaru senior designer, penned the Baja in the United States. According to an August, 2002 interview[4] with Tenn,
The Baja followed closely Subaru's ST-X (Sport Truck X-perimental) concept vehicle presented at the 2000 North American International Auto Show [8], and also designed by a special Subaru America design team. In a 2001 interview [7], Peter Tenn said
The ST-X offered a greater complement of features than the production Baja (power rear window, under floor storage compartment, tailgate cupholders), but nevertheless set the production groundwork for an Outback-based, four-door, car-truck hybrid. [edit] HistoryThe history of the Baja rested heavily on the economics of three Japanese companies, their various levels of market success in the US, and their respective success at sharing production facilities on US soil. Subaru and Isuzu had formed a joint venture, Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc., on March 17, 1987 to share production facilities at a new plant in Lafayette, Indiana. After Isuzu suffered severely dwindling sales by 2002, Subaru dissolved their joint agreement with Isuzu[9], renamed the facility Subaru of Indiana, Inc., and continued to produce the Isuzu Axiom, Isuzu Rodeo and Honda Passport through July 2004 -- in addition to their Subaru production. From 2004 through 2006, Subaru assembled only their own products, the plant capital costs amortized over fewer vehicles. Subaru conceived the Baja and later, the Tribeca, that could potentially maximize use of their assembly lines. Despite reaching fewer than half its projected sales, the Baja required little special accommodation at the under-utilized plant — as it largely shared the Outback-Legacy platform. Toyota and Subaru announced in March 2006 a collaborative agreement. Toyota would invest over $200 million, the plant would remain Subaru-owned and retain the SIA moniker, and Subaru would manufacture up to 100,000 Camrys per year under contract to Toyota, absorbing the unused capacity at SIA. Subaru consolidated its own production onto fewer assembly lines, partly by squeezing the Baja out of the lineup. The first Toyota Camry rolled off the Lafayette assembly line on April 20, 2007 -- one year after the last Baja was manufactured. [edit] Production notes
[edit] Variations by model year
[edit] Paint colors by model year
Silverstone Metallic (monochrome)
Mystic Blue Pearl (monochrome)
Atlantic Blue Pearl (monochrome)
Atlantic Blue Pearl [edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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