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Subaru reveals coupe-like 2015 Legacy Concept ahead of LA show

Subaru has pulled the covers off its 2015 Legacy Concept before the car's debut at the LA Auto Show next week. The sedan trades in its relatively staid styling for a more aggressive, coupe-like design that almost makes us forget about the rear doors from some angles. Overall, the Legacy looks beefier than your average Subaru, similar to the Ford Taurus.
The concept's character line stretches all the way back to a small trunk, which helps the car achieve its coupe-like appearance. But the front end makes the biggest impression, with "hawk-eye" headlamps and a gaping hexagonal grille with three horizontal slats. The taillights have a shape similar to the headlamps to "enhance the solidity of the overall design," Subaru says.
Custom paint called Ocean Silver Metallic adorns the concept, which sports 21-inch wheels under bulging wheel arches that Subaru says hints at the standard all-wheel-drive system (the BRZ is the only two-wheel-drive Subie).

Subaru will cap sales, introduce US-only SUV and PHEV

With Subaru's meteoric growth over the past few years, it seems like the company would double down on the success and expand. However, the Japanese brand has announced that it will take the opposite approach. Rather than continually increasing global deliveries, the automaker will instead cap annual volume to between 1.03 million and 1.1 million units, according to Automotive News. While the strategy will keep Subaru's niche status, the brand's lineup certainly won't stagnate. After abundant rumors, a US-only, seven-seat crossover will eventually be assembled in Indiana, and Impreza production will reportedly move there in 2016. In addition, the company will launch a plug-in hybrid around 2018, but it'll only be sold where necessary to meet zero-emissions requirements. While the Japanese brand is widely known for crossovers and wagons, Subaru isn't forgetting its performance fans, either. Fuji Heavy Industries President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga confirmed yet again that a second-gen BRZ is under development. "We have already agreed with Toyota we will do a full model change. We have not decided when it will be introduced," he said to Automotive News. Subaru has been considering whether to grow for years, but the planning eventually favored maximizing the current factories. For example, Subaru decided not to build a plant in China but has chosen to boost capacity at the line in Lafayette, IN. Yoshinaga sees the strategy as a way to maintain the brand's soul. "Many companies try to be bigger or sell more vehicles. If Subaru does the same thing, we will lose our characteristics," he said to Automotive News. Related Video:

Catch the rally bug in one easy step at Wales Rally GB

You should go watch a rally. Yes, you. And by "a rally," I mean pretty much anything that could be considered a rally. Is there a grassroots rallycross event near you featuring some $500 beater Subarus mucking about in a field? Go to that. Or a full-blown WRC event. Set your coffeemaker to kick out some extra-potent brew, because you'll probably have to wake up early and drive for a bit to see something. But trust me, it'll be worth it. In Europe, with hundreds of events concentrated in a relatively small geographical area, in all sorts of environments (snow, forest, dirt, you name it), this is a lot easier. North America is huge. Your TV is closer, your couch is comfortable. That's the challenge for hooking new rally fans in America. So, why get off your tail? I travelled to Wales, the tiny windswept country on the western edge of Great Britain, to find out. First, we stopped by David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. This was a two-part trip. The first bit was a visit to David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. The second part was the main event: watching the headline rally event in the UK – WRC Wales Rally GB – in what amounted to a tropical storm at winter temperatures. Despite the challenges, it was one of those trips that left me smiling the whole time. At the Higgins Rally School, we had a very abbreviated experience, essentially the highlights of a multi-day course condensed into a few short hours. The first was learning how to do J-turns on mud, in an old UK-market Ford Escort ... with right-hand drive, and so, a left-hand manual shift, which made it much harder to nail the technique with the "wrong" hand. Then, it was off for a lap with an instructor in the passenger seat in a rear-drive-converted Subaru Impreza WRX – flying through gravel, mud, within spitting distance of piles of logs. That was exhilarating. Or at least, it was, until the ride-alongs with the pros. Jimmy McRae, a storied driver and father to the late and even more storied Colin McRae, was behind the wheel. The car was an early 1990s Prodrive-built Legacy, a real works car, and it made demonic noises as McRae flew through the woods, mostly sideways.