I went scooby shopping with my wife today to 3 dealerships in Northern Illinois. I asked all the dealers to talk to the PM's [product managers] or higher because I prefer dealing with those guys than the sales reps... All 3 dealers told me something I've >NEVER< had dealers tell me: they told me don't buy a 2000 Subaru right now. They all told me they had sales people Georgia this week getting info on next year's and the following year's lines, and that they'll have some prices and ideas next week.
Also, 2 of the 3 dealers told me that they heard from this Georgia dealers' convention that they will be getting pricing and ordering information for the 2002 Impreza Turbo in March of 2001, and they'll be shipping them in April if not in March already. Both dealers said that they heard 208HP and a readily available upgrade to 220HP [???]. Also, they said that they were very sure that the pricing would be reasonable and not excessive. They said the price of the GT Limited 2K1 would only be $300 more than the 2K model. They also said that they were expecting to see the turbo in the 2003 lineup of Legacy GT's and Foresters.
Now I took it with a grain of salt all 3 times, but to hear 2 dealership PM's mention the same "Georgia convention" and both to mention the same time frame, horsepower figures, and all that, was kind of odd.
What was MOST odd is that my wife and I are ready to trade our two cars and buy Subarus today. I was willing to go with a 2K1 RS because I thought the turbo would be over a year away. And she wanted to drive off in a new car tonight. But 2 of the 3 dealers told me that waiting a week at least would be smarter, and that they would be happier selling me a newer car than an older MY00 car. The third dealer said something SIMILIAR, but he mentioned that he had some decent prices on some MY00 demos but they were high mileage. Why would the dealers turn away a buyer? Is anyone friendly with dealers in their neighborhood to try to see if they know of any convention for sales people in Georgia this week?