Convertible BRZ?

The BRZ was a combined effort between Subaru and Toyota but Subaru is the one with the final say since they actually manufacture the vehicles in their facilities. Toyota has been showing a concept car of the BRZ model as a convertible and it’s started to draw quite some attention. However much we might want a convertible, Subaru won’t be making one using the existing BRZ design. Why?

Subaru brand chief Yasuyuki Yoshinaga told reporters at the Tokyo Motor Show "Our engineering department told me that losing the entire roof requires a complete redesign of the structure. It would need a big change." Yoshinaga went on to say that “the biggest challenge is meeting our internal safety standards.” A convertible BRZ isn’t in the works anytime soon, since it would require a complete re-haul of the entire vehicle to meet Subaru’s safety standards. 

Before you start lamenting the demise of yet another concept car, remember what this shows about Subaru’s practices—just because there is demand for an unsafe car doesn’t mean that Subaru is going to build it. Instead, Subaru focuses on meeting their own stringent standards for safety to keep everyone safe around their vehicles, including occupants and pedestrians.   

Subaru has a long history of safety as a top priority. Instead of going with the times and the conventional ideas of what was best at the sacrifice of safety, Subaru has again and again stood away from the crowd. It leads Subaru down a path of unique styling that makes a Subaru so easy to spot on the street.

Why is that a good thing in a car manufacturer? Subaru is not looking to make cars that aren’t safe but might be popular and that means you can trust Subaru’s vehicles more than any other manufacturer. Subaru believes that drivers wants safe cars—you only have to look at the success of the Subaru lineup to see why Subaru’s cars like the Forester are so popular and come with the best crash test ratings.