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Subaru of Indiana produces its 4 millionth Subaru, but that's not all

Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA), the only Subaru plant outside Japan, just celebrated building its 4 millionth Subaru. On Monday, April 22, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a silver 2019 Outback rolled off the line to mark the milestone. The facility was the product of a joint venture between Subaru and Isuzu, producing about 67,000 cars per year. Devoted solely to Subarus since 2016, yearly output by the more than 5,700 factory associates hovers around 370,000 cars. Those with a head for arcane minutiae might recall that in 2013 Subaru announced having produced the 4 millionth vehicle at the plant. An Outback also celebrated that milestone, that time a 2014 model in Dark Indigo Blue. Subaru answered our question about the previous highlight by explaining, "in the past, the plant produced Isuzu vehicles (and at one point, even the Honda Passport and Toyota Camry)." The 2013 vehicle tally counted everything rolling out the doors. This week's marker counts just the Subarus. The facility also builds the Ascent, Impreza, and Legacy for the North American market. Things are going so well for the Japanese carmaker that we were also told, "While this week we're celebrating our 4 millionth Subaru vehicle (since beginning production in 1989), in early September we expect to produce our 6 millionth overall vehicle." Seems those seven sisters of the Pleiades, Subaru's constellation logo, are shining at full strength.

Subaru Legacy pitted against Roadkill project cars

There's an evergreen debate among auto enthusiasts about whether they would prefer to have the latest and greatest car of today or a certified classic from yesteryear. What if you had to further define that, though, and the choice was between a brand new 2015 Subaru Legacy or a turbocharged Datsun 240Z with a hatch that wouldn't close? Roadkill aimed to find out that and more in one of its best videos to date.
According to the hosts, Subaru came to them, handed over some money and challenged Roadkill's project cars against its latest Legacy. The result is every bit as good (or better) than any automotive-themed show you could find on television.
Things start simple with a figure-eight race in a rodeo arena with the Subaru taking on Roadkill's 1968 Ford Ranchero, originally built for ice racing. From there the Legacy races a 1968 Dodge Charger with no windows around and off-road rally stage. Finally, the Subie goes head-to-head against the Rotsun, the aforementioned turbocharged 240Z, through an abandoned neighborhood. Plus, there's a bonus drag race challenging them all.

Subaru executive casts doubt on manual transmission future

Some disconcerting news for Subaru fans has come out from the Geneva Motor Show. Subaru's U.K. managing director told Auto Express that he doesn't see the manual transmission as having a future at the automaker. He explained that the company is really focusing on safety, and in turn Subaru's Eyesight technology. As a refresher, that system uses stereo cameras to enable features such as automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. The feature isn't currently available on manual-equipped Subarus, and the executive said he wasn't sure if the system was compatible. And with Subaru's push for safety and Eyesight, he said that continuing to offer manual cars without the system could undermine that push. This sounds dire at first, but we shouldn't panic yet. First, this is just an executive for Subaru's U.K. branch, not for the global company or the U.S., and car companies don't have the same offerings everywhere. For example, the Crosstrek is only offered with a CVT in Europe, but here in America – land of the free, home of the clutch – Subaru offers a six-speed manual. So, while it is possible that certain regions will have reduced or no manual options, that doesn't mean it would be across the board. View 22 Photos And even if Subaru decided it would phase out manual transmissions on most of its mainline cars, as it did with the Legacy, we can't imagine the company abandoning the transmission for its performance cars. WRX and STI fans would riot in the streets, possibly on their way to buy a next-generation Focus RS or Golf R, and the BRZ, a car built around the idea of driver engagement, wouldn't survive in a market with the Miata. Subaru may want to improve safety, but they're still a for-profit company, and sales of its performance cars would surely tank without a manual option. One more reason not to fret is that, while Subaru doesn't currently have a manual-compatible suite of semi-autonomous safety features, that doesn't mean it's impossible. As it so happens, Mazda offers low-speed automatic emergency braking as a standard feature on all its models in every trim. Mazda also has higher-speed emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control as options, and they are compatible with manual transmission cars. You can order up a top trim Mazda3 Grand Touring with a manual transmission right now. Keeping all this in mind, we think it's highly unlikely that Subaru will abandon the manual transmission.