2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca Limited Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l In Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

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Subaru ups US sales projections to 500k units

Subaru is going absolutely gangbusters so far in 2014, with growing year-over-year sales every month this year adding to the streak of 33 consecutive months. The prognosis is so positive that the Japanese brand is revising its 2014 forecast to 500,000 vehicles or more, from a previous estimated 460,000. If it reaches the goal, it would be the first time that the automaker hit the half-million mark here.
Subaru has been growing steadily in the US for a while now. Annual sales have increased for the past five consecutive years with 2014 not indicating for that to change. For August alone, the company moved 50,246 vehicles, up 22.37 percent year-over-year, and the business proclaimed it as the best month in its history.
According to Subaru, it believes that the growth for the last two years has been fueled by the latest Forester and XV Crosstrek last year and the new Legacy and Outback this year. "The market is telling us that we are delivering products that consumers want at the right prices," said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer at Subaru of America. Scroll down to read the company's full announcement.

Scion rules out roadster, turbo versions of FR-S

Ever since Toyota and Subaru released the sports car alternatively known as the GT86, 86, BRZ and Scion FR-S a couple of years ago, rumors have circulated that even more exciting variants could be in store. But at least as far as Scion is concerned, those rumors are apparently nothing more than wishful thinking. Speaking with WardsAuto at the LA Auto Show last week, Scion chief Doug Murtha said that the prospect of an FR-S roadster has been taken off the table entirely. Apparently Scion lobbied parent company Toyota to produce just such a model, but after failing to find other markets interested enough in the model to put it into production, corporate HQ said no. "I think we were pretty aggressive on our (submitted plan), but we looked at what we would have conceivably lost on the product and said, 'We're not going to even push it further,'" Murtha said, going on to note, "Nobody was more disappointed than we were." Murtha further shot down the idea of a turbo version of the FR-S, dismissing it as a prospect the blogosphere (that's us) wanted to happen but "that's not something that's coming." Either variant might have helped Scion and Toyota boost sales of the model (which are predictably dropping after their first two years on the market), but the investment also might not have paid off their development, tooling and marketing costs. Of course, Murtha can only speak for Toyota, but we'd be surprised to see Subaru go it alone on either model, as costs would be that much more prohibitive without a partner. Bummer.

Subaru debuts tougher-looking Outback for Australia [w/poll]

If you're going to name a car after a specific location or region, you'd better make sure it's taken seriously in the place it's named for. You're not likely to see a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Monaco, and the Alfa Romeo Montreal was never even officially offered in North America, but the Subaru Outback is another story.
Subaru apparently takes the Australian market, whose wilderness its jacked-up Legacy wagon is named for, very seriously. So it is apparently rolling out a revised version of the current Outback in Australia itself. The updated Outback, which arrives less than a year before the all-new model is expected to bow, answers Aussie customer feedback with a more rugged look. It's got new roof rails, body cladding, wheel arches, mud flaps, underbody protection plates and blacked-out headlight surrounds and grille trim.
The Motor Report reports that the AUD $2,500 worth of extra equipment - around $2,300 USD - comes with just an AUD $500 ($468) price hike. As far as we can tell, though, there are no plans to bring this latest look to our shores - Subaru has already detailed North America's Outback for the 2014 model year, and these changes aren't mentioned. Should this look be offered in our market? Vote in the poll below and then have your say in Comments.