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Subaru funds Center For Pet Safety crash testing for dogs [w/video]

Crash-testing new vehicles to evaluate their ability to keep humans safe in accidents is nothing new, but thus far there has been little in the way of crash testing for dogs. Subaru, a company that portrays itself as pet friendly, hopes to raise awareness on the issue of pet safety by funding initial crash testing by the nonprofit Center for Pet Safety, Automotive News reports.
Real dogs were not used in the crash tests; three dummy dogs representing a 25-pound terrier, a 45-pound border collie and a 75-pound golden retriever were used. There are a variety of devices for sale that are supposed to restrain dogs from entering the front-seat area and distracting the driver - tethers, cages, nets and crates - but their effectiveness in a crash is unknown.
In Subaru's crash test, performed at a Virginia laboratory that tests child seats on a device that speeds down a track and stops abruptly, the results show that devices such as dog tethers are prone to break in a crash, sending the dog rocketing into whatever is in front of it. Rather alarmingly, the organization reports a 100-percent failure rate. In other words, "None of the harnesses were deemed safe enough to protect both the dog and the humans in the event of an accident." Yikes.

Cosworth teases upgrades for Subaru BRZ

Subaru may or may not produce an STI version of the BRZ. Things seem to go back and forth on the subject. But Subaru Tecnica International isn't the only company with a history of tuning Subies. So does Cosworth, and now the British racing firm appears to be turning its attention to the BRZ and its Toyota- and Scion-badged siblings.
For those unacquainted, Cosworth is more than your average tuning company. It's a racing firm first and foremost, having made F1 engines under its own name as well as Ford's (chief among them the all-conquering DFV 3.0-liter V8 of 1960s and 70s fame), not to mention engines for Indy, rally and even high-performance, road-going versions of the Ford Sierra, Chevy Vega and Mercedes 190E. The list goes on and on, but you get the point.
Now withdrawing from Formula One, Cosworth is focusing its attention on tuning road cars again with the launch of the Cosworth Power Package line, the first of which will focus on the Toyota GT86 (aka Scion FR-S) and Subaru BRZ. We don't know just yet what will be included in the packaged dubbed FA-20, but from the video teaser below, it seems there'll be upgrades to the exhaust, suspension, aero and - if we're lucky - maybe a super- or turbocharger for the 2.0-liter flat-four engine. We'll have to wait and see, but we get the feeling that with Cosworth on the job, it'll be worth the wait. Check out the minute-long video below in the meantime.

Subaru BRZ with 362-hp, 2.4-liter V8 is the best thing you'll hear today

Whenever the Subaru BRZ and its Toyota twin are talked about, the conversation inevitably turns to whether they would be even better sports coupes with more power. Since their introduction, rumors have popped up suggesting possibilities like more displacement, turbocharging or even a hybrid setup to increase horsepower, but nothing has come to pass. Japanese tuner Jun Auto has decided on a completely different way to boost performance by chucking the 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder entirely in place of a beautiful 2.4-liter V8. According to the YouTube description for this clip, the engine is based on two of the 1.2-liter inline four-cylinder units from a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R motorcycle. The result is a mill that makes a claimed 362 horsepower and revs to over 11,000 rpm. It also sounds like automotive nirvana. Finished in an eye-catching contrast of bright yellow paint with white wheels and a black wing at the back, the V8 BRZ certainly doesn't hide its performance, either. This video's text is in Japanese, but knowledge of the language isn't necessary to understand what's going on.