2013 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Colorado bear locks itself inside of, destroys Subaru

A Colorado woman got a rude awakening this week when she discovered a black bear locked inside her car. According to 9NEWS, on the morning of July 12, Jefferson County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a bear trapped in a car on Cold Springs Gulch Road. When they arrived on the scene, deputies Tillman and McLaughlin discovered a medium-sized black bear locked inside a white, 2005 Subaru Outback. There was no damage apparent to the car's exterior, but the bear had absolutely destroyed the interior. "He looked like a dog inside the car just jumping back and forth from front to back," said Deputy Tillman. "He just demolished it." The car's owner, Annie Bruecker, told the deputies that she'd left the car parked in her driveway Monday night with the doors unlocked. On Tuesday morning, she woke up to her mother yelling about a bear in her car. "She screamed from downstairs," said Breucker. "She said, 'Annie, there's a bear in your car.' and I thought that she meant that it broke a window, and I was like, 'okay, that's life.' But, no, she actually meant that it was in my car." Deputies Tillman and McLaughlin deliberated for a while, trying to figure out how to extract the agitated bear from the Subaru. Eventually, they settled on manually opening the rear hatch. Deputy McLaughlin carefully opened the hatch while Deputy Tillman stood by with a shotgun ready, just in case. Thankfully, the bear had had enough of civilization and promptly bolted back into the forest. After they released the bear, the deputies warned campers at a nearby campground that the bear might be lurking about and that they should be cautious. "Bears are unpredictable," said Deputy Tillman. "And they're starting to realize how to do a lot of human activity." Recent Video: News Source: 9NEWS Humor Weird Car News Subaru colorado bear outback

Will more efficient tech mean higher prices for Subaru?

If the latest ruling by the California Air Resources Board holds, then Subaru at least must build a plug-in hybrid in the coming years to comply with the Golden State's regulations. Fuel economy looks to improve across the board for the brand, though, thanks to $780 million going into the development of cleaner powertrains for this fiscal year alone. However, buyers might have to pay more for a Subie in the future after this boost in green spending. "Related costs are going up more than expected, bringing the profit margin downward," Fuji Heavy Industries President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said to the Nihon Keizai newspaper in Japan, according to Automotive News. "We are a small company. We do not benefit as much from economy of scale as bigger companies, so we will have to make up for the increased costs by raising our brand value." At the moment, Subaru's electrified lineup in the US comprises just the XV Crosstrek Hybrid, but the company is reportedly planning to add more. Plus, Subie also wants to make its internal combustion engines more efficient. According to Automotive News, all of the brand's mills are getting direct injection by 2016, and cylinder deactivation and lean combustion cycles are on track for 2020. Earlier rumors also suggested that the automaker might bring the turbocharged four-cylinder boxer to more products, as well. While these more efficient models might cost more, Subaru must carefully maintain the balancing act of introducing the technology and keeping sales growing. As of May 2015, the brand had 42 straight months of year-over-year growth in the US and had record sales in the country last year. The company has already decided to significantly boost production capacity at its Indiana factory in hopes of keeping the good times rolling.

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."