2013 Subaru Tribeca 3.6r Limited on 2040-cars

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2015 Subaru WRX: Road trip to Maine [w/video]

After driving one of the best sport compacts on the market to one of the best-driving-roads states in the Union, who'd have thought that one of my big takeaways would be... great fuel economy? And yet, after putting more than 2,200 miles on our long-term 2015 Subaru WRX, driving from Ann Arbor, MI, to The Great State of Maine and back, my overall fuel consumption figures were almost as baffling as the premium-gasoline prices throughout Canada. In the early part of the now-past autumn, my wife Molly and I were happy to make use of the long-term WRX for our annual road trip from Michigan to Maine. Our goal, as ever, was to fit as much hiking, boating and lobster eating as we could into a one-week span. And, with the sporting Scoobie as our ride this time, I also hoped to spend time bombing down some of my favorite roads through the White Mountains. Anyone that pays attention to the industry knows that New England is a hot spot for Subaru sales, but it turns out that the WRX is just about tailor made for enjoying the best of Maine, too. First up, though – as it was the most surprising to me – is the fuel economy story. I knew going into the trip that I'd log more than two grand on the odometer, but I never expected the returns to be quite so positive as they ended up netting out. My total observed economy over 2,226 miles was 28.38 miles per gallon, or just a fraction better than the EPA estimated highway number of 28 mpg. How'd I do that? My total observed economy over 2,226 miles was 28.38 miles per gallon. Well, for starters, the stretch of Canadian highway between Michigan and Vermont is exceptionally long, flat, straight and dull. Excepting the inevitable traffic around Toronto, the trip is mostly of the "set it and forget it" variety, typically at a cruise of about 72 miles per hour (so as not to attract the Mounties). Doing that haul, I had one tank of premium (15.9 gallon capacity) last for 466 miles, running a trip-best 31.9 mpg. Considering that the Canadian petrol was running me roughly five American bucks per gallon, I appreciated the Subie's newfound frugality. One small issue, tangentially related to fuel, did crop up on the road. The WRX's gas door stopped popping open when I pulled the lever after my second fill up. As it turned out, there is a technical service bulletin out for this very issue, which was looked after as soon as we got back to the States.

Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru expand global Takata recalls by 715k [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Subaru of America spokesperson Michael McHale tells Autoblog that the company is recalling 78,000 Imprezas from the 2004 and 2005 model years in the US. This is a national expansion of the company's previous regional recall for the Impreza. The Takata airbag inflator recall just keeps growing. The latest expansion encompasses 715,000 vehicles from Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru. Many of the affected models are in Japan. The largest expansion from these three automakers comes from Mitsubishi. According to Reuters, the company is adding 100,000 vehicles in Japan and 412,000 outside of the country without identifying any specific regions. Mazda is issuing safety campaigns for 112,000 vehicles in Japan, and some of these include models that the company produces there for Mitsubishi and Nissan, according to Reuters. In statement to Autoblog (embedded below), Mazda said that it is still evaluating the situation in terms of a possible effect on the US. Finally, Subaru is calling in 91,000 Imprezas in Japan. At this time, it isn't clear whether Mitsubishi's or Subaru's expansions affect the United States, but Autoblog has reached out to them for more information. According to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, exposure to moisture can cause the propellant in these inflators to ignite too quickly and cause these dangerous ruptures. Takata has also been investigating the problem. Related Video: Mazda statement "We are aware of the NHTSA/Takata announcement, and are evaluating the effects of it on Mazda. As soon as we have had a chance to fully evaluate the situation – number of vehicles affected, age of those vehicles, where they're located, etc. – we will be able to share those details."

Buy a Toyota GT86 and your wife will hate you

Marketing can be a very strange business. Convincing a man or woman (or child, really) that they absolutely cannot live without the latest, greatest new bit of technology oftentimes takes a unique approach. In the "online film promoting the Toyota GT86" you'll see below, created by agency Happiness Brussels, men are reverse-psychologied into thinking a new sports coupe will make them more masculine by getting their loved ones to hate them. Or something like that. We think.
In any case, we suggest you watch the video below to see how much fun men can have with a GT86 - or Scion FR-S or Subaru BRZ, presumably - at the expense of their significant others. Fair warning: There's a potential Not Safe For Work moment in the ad: beware of a brief male butt shot about 44 seconds in.
Marketing. Gotta love it. Unless you're married to a man. Or something like that. We think. Whatever, just watch.