2023 Subaru Xv Crosstrek Limited on 2040-cars

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2015 Subaru BRZ tS First Drive [w/video]

The Subaru BRZ is a brilliant driver's car: lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, tactile, nimble and fluid at speed. In terms of qualities that allow for dazzling point-to-point performance, it lacks only power and intense mechanical grip. In the US, options for tuning the BRZ to amplify its strengths or diminish its weaknesses are mostly found in the aftermarket. In Japan, meanwhile, driving enthusiasts can start with the factory-tuned model you see above: the BRZ tS. Designed and built with the engineering prowess of Subaru Tecnica International, the limited-edition tS is tuned for track competence over and above that of the base model. The intent of the tS wasn't lost on me as I stared over the front fender towards Turn 1 at Japan's Suzuka Circuit. Not just a proper place to test STI's claims of increased handling brilliance for its BRZ tune, but a perfect one. Suzuka is challenging – fast and technical in equal measure – and a playground for sorting out the margin of improvement from the standard that BRZ I know so well. Wait, Why Am I Here? Of course, Subaru didn't invite me and a half-dozen other motoring journalists to Japan for an academic exercise in JDM hotness. We were there at the behest of STI, as a first step in what will undoubtedly be a deliciously drawn-out expansion of the performance brand in North America. STI started life as the motorsports division for Subaru-parent Fuji Heavy Industries. But chances are good that you, like me, first encountered the three-letter-logo as a Cherry Blossom Red punctuation mark at the end of a WRX road or rally car. The world came to know STI through Subaru's 1990s WRC dominance and prominence in the Gran Turismo franchise. But outside of Japan the significance of the initials was known more as the designation of the top-dog Impreza, rather than a motorsport and performance engineering unit. The company is set on changing that and building STI into a performance brand that's as easily recognizable in America as M and AMG are today. That message was delivered a body in the STI Concept car at the New York Auto Show earlier this week, but as I mentioned then, we don't expect Subaru to turn up with a production-ready BRZ STI next year. First STI will deploy its parts catalog to the US, removing the half-hearted Subaru Performance Tuning parts business in the process. Next, according to a vague timeline presented in Japan, Subaru will offer a car like the tS to US customers in approximately 18 months.

2015 Subaru Outback

"We like producing cars that are different." That's the company line trumpeted by several Subaru executives during the launch of the 2015 Outback - one of Fuji Heavy's most successful vehicles to date. Managing Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski accurately noted that while Subaru has never really found salvation with its mainstream sedans, it's the higher-riding, butcher offerings like the Outback and the Impreza-based XV Crosstrek that have been sales stars for the Japanese company. In 2013, for example, Subaru sold nearly three Outbacks for every Legacy it moved. And in 2014, the XV is on pace to outsell the Impreza upon which its based.
But Subarus have always been different, catering to unique customers that desire something a bit more special than your run-of-the-mill sedan or crossover. It's clearly worked, with Subaru having posted 30 months of year-over-year sales increases as of this writing. And even as the automaker's portfolio goes more mainstream, smoothing out its serially awkward styling and gunning for a larger market share here in the United States, that intrinsic Subaru differentiation is still baked in to each and every product.
It's that new Outback we're here to talk about today, a vehicle that's been comprehensively redesigned for the 2015 model year while not shaking up the formula that's made it successful since its inception in the mid-1990s, back when it (arguably) launched what we now know as the crossover utility vehicle segment. It's still plenty different - and plenty good, too.

Subaru recalls 200k vehicles in snowy states to reapply anti-corrosion wax

This past summer, Subaru issued a recall for some 660,000 of its vehicles over a problem stemming from salt from the road corroding brake lines. It was the second such recall the company had issued, and now it's issuing another. Under this latest recall, Subaru is bringing in 198,900 vehicles that were already covered under the previous recall to fix the same issue. This time around, the notice is issued for the 2008-11 Impreza, 2008-14 WRX and STI, and the 2009-13 Forester – specifically those registered (currently or formerly) in 20 states that use salt on their roads: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin, plus the District of Columbia. The remedy is the same as last time, coming down to applying a special anti-corrosion wax to prevent corrosion, but needs to be carried out again due to "incomplete repair instructions provided to dealers" last time around, according to the statement below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. RECALL Subject : Brake Line Corrosion at Four-Way Connector Report Receipt Date: DEC 31, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V830000 Component(s): SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Potential Number of Units Affected: 198,900 Manufacturer: Subaru of America, Inc. SUMMARY: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Impreza, 2008-2014 WRX and STI, and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia that were remedied under recall 14V-311 prior to December 23, 2014. The brake lines may experience brake line corrosion due to salt water splashing on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector. CONSEQUENCE: Brake fluid may leak due to the brake line corrosion and may result in longer distances being required to slow or stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. REMEDY: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will apply an anti-corrosion wax to the four-way joint connector area of the brake line system, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on January 26, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.