Just watching this on japanese news...

Subaru was bought out by toyota...

I dont have any links as this was on NHK, but im sure more details will come up as this progresses...

 

Gm sold part of its shares that it owns of subaru to toyota.

GM still has more shares to sell, but to who is anyones guess.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/051005/japan_toyota.html?.v=11

 

Toyota bought 8.x% of Fuji Heavy Industries, which is the parent company of Subaru. GM used to own 20% of Fuji Heavy (and GM did not "own" Subaru). GM sold some of its stake to Toyota (the 8.x%, can't remember the exact number), and will sell the rest on the open market.

Owning less than 9% of the parent company does not make Toyota the owner of Subaru. They will probably do some technology sharing and stuff like that. GM had a similar arrangement w/ Subie. GM sold it off because the benefits were not really all that great and, significantly right now, they could use the extra revenue more than any small gains in tech sharing or whatever.

Just clarifying. There is a whole thread devoted to this topic in the 5th Gen/Future Vehicles/Automotive News Forum.

 

haha whoops! lol thanks for the clarification guys

 

oh yeah i can see a boxster powered 4wd corolla now...

 

I think gm should have kept it in the long run I believe it would have worked out better for them.

 

Or at least use what they make on the sale to invest heavily in r&d for their small cars and interiors.

 

this is Subaru, not Porsche. I think you mean boxer.

 

already was a 4wd corolla.. came out in the early 90's. called the corolla "all trac" was a wagon.... used the same 4wd system as the celica all trac of the day =)

 

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...8&page=1&pp=25

Nick

 

There was also a 4x4 Tercel wagon as early as 1985 or so. Beastly little cars...

 

Yep. There was a 4wd craze in the 80s (sounds familiar doesn't it?).

Everything from Toyota Corollas to Ford Tempos had it at least as an option.

 

Yeah, GM couldn't have made a Cobalt SS AWD, Impala SS AWD, Malibu Maxx AWD, Saab 9-3 AWD, and blown the Focus and Neon off the map

GM has the resources right in front of them yet fails to make use of them

 

It reminds me, I work with a guy who modded his RWD 80s Corolla into a 10sec. sleeper!