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Subaru broke its own Isle of Man record with a 550-hp WRX STI

Well, they did it. Subaru of America, Prodrive, and driver Mark Higgins set out to break their own record on the Isle of Man's Snaefell Mountain Course, and the attempt was a success. Higgins covered the 37-mile course in the 2016 WRX STI Time Attack car in 17 minutes, 35 seconds. That's an average speed of 128.73 mph. Average. In a car. Higgins set the previous record, 19:26 at 116.47 mph, in a more-stock STI. He and Subaru of America have been bringing cars to the site of the motorcycle race for years now, setting automotive records as all along, but this one is going to be pretty tough to top. Subaru Prodrive Isle of Man View 4 Photos It comes pretty close to the overall lap record for the course, which was set over the weekend by Michael Dunlop. The rider set a 16-minute, 58.254-second lap in the RST Superbike TT, averaging about 133 mph. The fact the Subaru comes so close to the best bike time is pretty amazing. This year's Isle of Man TT weekend was marked by the deaths of two riders. Fatalities are a regular occurrence at the historic race around the island, but it continues to be held year after year with hundreds of participants. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Subaru WRX STI Time Attack Isle of Man View 22 Photos Motorsports Subaru

Acura may go all AWD in bid to mimic Subaru's success

Acura's struggles have been well publicized. The Honda-owned luxury brand doesn't seem sure of where it's going or what it's trying to accomplish, with its cars and marketing lacking a coherent theme. Now, a new report from Automotive News claims that the brand could follow the success of Subaru and (to a lesser extent) Audi, and adopt all-wheel-drive as standard across its model range.
"I think that's the way we should go," Acura boss Koichi Fukuo told Automotive News.
Acura already offers some form of all-wheel drive on every vehicle in its line aside from the lamentable ILX sedan. That could change as Acura begins rolling out next-generation versions of its still relatively new stable of sedans and crossovers.

Subaru puts China production on hold amidst slowing growth

Subaru's 2015 sales and production forecast estimates the Japanese brand to sell about 60,000 vehicles in China this year, a 10 percent rise. However, a recent decision not to build a factory there might make future growth more difficult. Given the changing state of the market, the automaker doesn't seem concerned by the potentially lost sales. According to Bloomberg, even if the Chinese government gave permission for Subaru to build its planned joint venture factory with Chery, the Japanese brand would not take advantage of it. "Since the profits are split with your partner, you would have to double the sales to maintain the profits you earn by exporting from Japan," said Akira Mabuchi, the company's executive in charge of China, according to Bloomberg. Subaru is in the odd position of being the only major Japanese automaker without a joint venture partner to build cars in China, but the massive year-over-year growth there seems to be slowing. Auto sales in China were up 6.9 percent in 2014, according to Bloomberg, compared to 14 percent in 2013. Also, Chinese consumers have been famously averse to buying Japanese vehicles with only half of the consumers there even willing to purchase one. Instead, the company is focusing on the US market, according to Bloomberg. The decision makes sense. While Subie's sales in China shrunk 2 percent in 2014 to about 55,000 vehicles, the company grew 21 percent in the US to 514,000 units. The automaker already has plans to add capacity to its factory in Indiana. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Jae C. Hong / AP Photo Plants/Manufacturing Subaru