At Subaru, body-building gets a redesign, too

FORT BRAGG, Calif. — The redesigned 2020 Subaru Outback crossover keeps the exterior similar to the model it replaces. But underneath the skin is a new approach to the vehicle's structure.

The redesign put Subaru's best-selling U.S. model onto the automaker's global platform, following the Impreza, Crosstrek, Ascent, Forester, Crosstrek Hybrid and Legacy. The change introduced the use of a full inner-frame construction, an approach Subaru has also used on the Legacy.

As a result, "The body is much stronger and quieter," Yoichi Hori, Outback project general manager, told Automotive News during the model's media introduction here. "That affects everything: crash performance, handling performance and [noise, vibration and harshness]. The biggest changing point is the body structure."

Taking the new direction in construction required Subaru to change the manufacturing process for the Outback and Legacy at their assembly plant in Lafayette, Ind. The automaker said the outer panels are now welded to the structure after the entire body framework is assembled. In the past, the upper and under bodies were assembled separately and then joined.

The new architecture relies on 108 feet of structural adhesive for the Outback compared with 22 feet of adhesive for the compact Impreza.

"We're not replacing welds with adhesives," Peter Tenn, Outback car line manager, said of the construction. "It's actually more welds and more adhesives. We're doing both."

Hori said the company is attempting to introduce the new body-building approach to other models now.