Subaru Baja
| Subaru Baja | |
|---|---|
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc. |
| Production | July 2002 – April 2006 |
| Model years | 2003–2006 |
| Assembly | United States: Lafayette, Indiana |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact utility/pickup truck |
| Body style | 4-door utility |
| Layout | Front-engine, four-wheel-drive |
| Related | Subaru Legacy/Outback |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Transmission | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,649 mm (104.3 in) |
| Length | 4,905 mm (193.1 in) |
| Width | 1,781 mm (70.1 in) |
| Height |
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The Subaru Baja (pronounced ba-ha) is an all-wheel-drive, four passenger, four-door, open-bed pickup truck manufactured from 2002 to 2006 by Subaru and marketed for model years 2003 to 2006. The Baja combines the handling and passenger carrying characteristics of a traditional passenger car with the open-bed versatility, and to a lesser degree, load capacity of a pickup truck. The Baja nameplate derives from Mexico's noted peninsula of the same name — home to the Baja 1000 off-road race.
The unibody design borrowed heavily from the existing mechanicals, platform and sheet metal of the Subaru Legacy/Outback wagon. Production began on July 18, 2002 as a 2003 model at the Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. factory in Lafayette, Indiana.
Working with technical support from Subaru Japan, a team led by Peter Tenn, Subaru senior designer, penned the Baja in the United States. According to an August, 2002 interview with Tenn, "the Baja's jarring look is homage to rally-race trucks. It's supposed to look funky, look different. It doesn't fit any category, and we knew that going in. It's not like anything else on the road. And that's important to a lot of people."
The Baja followed closely Subaru's ST-X (Sport Truck X-perimental) concept vehicle presented at the 2000 Los Angeles International Auto Show and also designed by a special Subaru America design team. The ST-X offered a greater complement of features than the production Baja (power rear window, under floor storage compartment, tailgate cup holders), but nevertheless set the production groundwork for an Outback-based, four-door, car-truck hybrid.
In a package 150 mm (6 in) longer than an Outback, the Baja featured a four-door passenger compartment along with a 1,040 mm (41 in) open bed and drop-down tailgate. A system marketed as the "Switchback" allowed the rear passenger seat to fold down and a small hatch from the open bed to fold inward, allowing an extended length of 1,900 mm (75 in) to the end of the open tailgate. A light in the instrument cluster signaled an "open" status for the Switchback. The design featured two stainless steel exposed buttresses behind the passenger compartment, marketed as Sports Bars, providing structural reinforcement for the open bed.
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Wikipedia