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Subaru says Japan car output halted due to defective part

TOKYO — Subaru Corp said its sole car factory in Japan accounting for roughly 60 percent of global production had halted output a week ago after it discovered a defect in a component procured from a supplier. The Asahi newspaper first reported the suspension at the Gunma plant on Wednesday, saying the defect was found in the power steering component. A spokesman for Subaru says the problem affecting Crosstreks and Foresters was discovered early. None of the affected vehicles had reached consumers, and won't until they've been repaired. Perhaps 10,000 cars, maybe fewer, were intended for the U.S. market. Subaru, which exports the majority of its domestically made cars, could not say when production would resume. Production at Subaru's plant in Indiana was unaffected.Related Video: Plants/Manufacturing Subaru

2019 Subaru Forester Long-Term Update | Road trip to New Orleans

Our 2019 Subaru Forester long-term tester is rounding second base in its stay at Autoblog’s Michigan HQ, yet the blue-painted, gold-wheeled crossover hadnÂ’t left the Midwest throughout its first six months here, so I sought to change that by taking it down to New Orleans. The goal: Determine if the Forester is a good road trip car. Of course, my girlfriend and I also wanted to go to Mardi Gras, but either way, we were in for some long days of driving. There are a few umbrella categories a vehicle should excel in to make a vacation and road trip better for all involved. For me, those include comfort, utility and its driver assistance systems. Comfort I was fairly certain this category would be a boon for the Forester going in. It sops up Michigan potholes well, and it did an excellent job on the various road surfaces I encountered on the way to New Orleans, too. SubaruÂ’s passive dampers on the Forester are tuned to make rough roads more livable as opposed to whipping around a highway clover leaf. That makes for soft and rolling eight-plus-hour days behind the wheel. The cabin at highway speeds was loud, though. A lot of that has to do with the Michelin X-Ice winter tires current fixed, but there's also a noticeable amount of wind noise that follows that. Plus, if you ever need to get going in a hurry, the thrashy boxer-four makes its presence known above all other noises as the CVT pegs the needle near the 6,000 rpm redline. Our Forester has the high-end Harman Kardon audio system equipped, but we still had to jack the volume way up to hear podcasts and quieter music. The cabin noise was never overwhelming, but it did become tiresome after a few hours with this many sounds competing with each other. Since we were driving due south or due north, those crosswinds werenÂ’t just audibly annoying. Gusts were plenty capable of blowing the Forester around in its lane due to its tall, upright stance. ItÂ’s not like a big panel van, but it was still disconcerting at times. There were only two of us on this road trip, so the front seats were the only ones in use. I was plenty comfortable for the trip's entirety. The driver seat's electric lumbar adjustability left my back in good shape, and the upright seating position is a bit like sitting in a chair at a kitchen table. The seatÂ’s cushioning was supportive enough to keep me from complaining, but never too stiff so as to be uncomfortable.

Subaru lifts leg at Super Bowl, goes with Puppy Bowl ads instead

There will be many automakers spending millions upon millions of dollars advertising in the Super Bowl next weekend, but Subaru will not be one of them. Instead, the automaker will be catering toward animal - specifically dog - lovers with a set of commercials for the 2014 Subaru Forester that will appear during Puppy Bowl IX on Animal Planet.
The ads all build on Subaru's reputation of being a dog-friendly brand, and its latest "Dog Tested. Dog Approved" campaign will feature four 20-second spots. Of the four, "Tailgate" and "On The Lot" are definitely the most entertaining, while "Let's Talk Financing" and, especially, "Lint Roller" are snoozers.
Scroll down to watch all four spots, and there's also a press release listing other initiatives Subaru is planning to attract dog lovers. If you like dog commercials, you should check out the newest spot from Volkswagen, too.