2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i on 2040-cars

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Reveling in the reveals: BRZ, Civic, Wrangler, QX55

It’s almost like there should have been an auto show this week. If youÂ’re an enthusiast, you know the week before Thanksgiving is when the Los Angeles Auto Show kicks off. This year, thereÂ’s no L.A. show, at least until next May. But Subaru, Honda, Jeep and Infiniti rolled out significant new products this week, making us almost nostalgic for auto shows. Serendipity, or more likely previously allocated marketing budgets, gave us a familiar feel of new products, even though we couldnÂ’t feel or touch them under the bright lights of the Los Angeles Convention Center. LetÂ’s break them down: 2022 Subaru BRZ 2022 Subaru BRZ View 62 Photos Subaru stuck to basic formula here: The 2022 BRZ remains a rear-wheel drive sports coupe thatÂ’s supremely lightweight, adequately powered and attractive. Subaru debuts its new boxer four-cylinder in the BRZ. ItÂ’s rated at 223 hp and you need to rev all the way to 7,000 rpm to achieve that output. I'd prefer a bit more than the 184 lb-ft of torque the powerplant offers (reasonably low in the band at 3,700 rpm), for some more off-the-line grunt. Say 200 lb-ft, though itÂ’s almost a cliche to argue the BRZ is underpowered.  The outgoing BRZ is one of the purest cars IÂ’ve driven, so rather than harp on the power, which will ultimately be fine, give Subaru props for focusing on chassis improvements to improve rigidity by 60 percent and aid turn-in. Admirably, the curb weight is less than 2,900 pounds, and the manual in Premium trim checks in at the lowest, just 2,815 pounds.  Aesthetically, I like it. ItÂ’s busier than before, and thereÂ’s a lot more going on with the front fascia, wheel arches and fenders. ThereÂ’s a bit of a Porsche vibe up front, which is good, and a bit of a Honda Civic vibe in back (think 2010) thatÂ’s not.  ItÂ’s impressive that Subaru resisted the urge to gratuitously power up the BRZ and remained focused on the essence of its goodness and appeal to enthusiasts. 2021 Jeep Wrangler 392 2021 Jeep? Wrangler Rubicon 392 View 75 Photos What effect will the 2021 Ford Bronco have on the Jeep Wrangler? One school of thought is that it will actually make the Jeep better, and the 2021 Wrangler 392 is proof positive that will be the case. With the Bronco attracting spectacular levels of attention, Jeep could not sit idly by and remain focused on incremental changes. It needed to make a splash.

J.D. Power dependability survey is out, but you shouldn't depend on it

J.D. Power has just released its latest automotive dependability survey, which of course has usual suspects Buick and Lexus ranking high. Those are safe and solid findings, surely. But when you look a little closer, there are curiosities. Our Consumer Editor, Jeremy Korzeniewski, offered an explanation a couple of years back for why this survey should be viewed with a degree of skepticism, and his take is worth a re-read. What jumped out at Jeremy were the relatively low spots assigned to Mazda, Subaru and Scion among the ranking of makes. Back in 2016 when he wrote his piece, they were ranked 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively. In this year's survey, Mazda ranks 15th and Subaru 26th, both below the industry average of 142 reported problems per 100 vehicles. (And Scion, of course, is in car-brand heaven.) Now, part of what is going on here is surely the fact that all automotive brands are producing dependable vehicles compared with years gone by, so the degree of variance between the best and worst on the list is not as great as it once was. "For the most part, automotive manufacturers continue to meet consumers' vehicle dependability expectations," Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a statement. "A 9 percent improvement is extremely impressive, and vehicle dependability is, without question, at its best level ever." That said, when a brand like Subaru, regarded by many as mechanically bulletproof, ranks 26th, it leaves people who know cars scratching their heads. Something there does not compute. The problem, as Jeremy pointed out, is one of methodology: When he wrote his piece, there was no weighting assigned to the problems reported in the survey. And that still appears to be the case. Therefore, a problem with an infotainment system or a loose piece of trim is deemed as serious as a blown engine or leaky transmission. (And yes, infotainment is still the biggest problem across the board.) Jeremy's point: If the categories of problems were weighted, you'd see a different picture. When you look at the Consumer Reports brand rankings (subscription required), you get a very different picture. in CR's rankings, Subaru is No. 6 among brands, which, well, sounds a lot more like it. CR singles out the redesigned 2017 Impreza as a car with some new-model problems. (The BRZ had the fewest.) The two surveys jibe a little more closely when it comes to Mazda, which CR ranks 12th, a drop of six places from previous-year rankings.

The art of WRX-ing in the rain

There it is again, the quiver of the STi's blue rear spoiler. I noticed it yesterday on the Autobahn north of Frankfurt. Although the speed limit was 120 kilometers per hour, I was cruising in sixth gear around 200 kph when the STi's signature rear appendage began to dance in my rear view mirror. Now I'm redlining fifth gear on the front straight of the legendary Nurburgring's north loop and it's back. Only this time the quivering blade is in a deluge of water coming off the Subaru's 18-inch Dunlops. It's a rooster tail worthy of Miss Budweiser and it's a constant and sobering reminder that I'm lapping the 13-mile long Nordschleife in a freezing and unrelenting rain. I'm driving a 2017 German-spec Subaru WRX STi, not the updated 2018 version that'll get revised front end styling, tweaked suspension tuning, larger Brembo brakes and 19-inch wheels and tires. At 240 kph, close to the 2.5-liter boxer four's 6,700 rpm redline, I shift up to sixth gear and change lanes to avoid the standing water on the left side of the track. It's my third lap. I'm getting over-confident. The all-wheel drive WRX STI is dealing well with the tricky conditions and the Ringmeisters of the past that tamed this track since it was first built in 1929 - Ascari, Fangio, Clark, Caracciola, Nuvolari, Rosemeyer, Chiron, and Ickx - are talking to me inside my head. And they're egging me on. Pushing me to go faster. I'm sticking to wet line and staying off the tall curbing that marks most apexes. Bounce the Subi off a curb and I'm sure to star in the next Nurburgring crash video to hit YouTube. I'm also desperately trying to stay off of the new pavement, which dots the circuit and has a coefficient of friction in the wet similar to snot. Then I make a huge mistake on the entrance to Bergwerk, a tight right hand corner that comes up quickly after a long, fast section and the left hand kink that Nicki Lauda got so wrong in the 1976 Grand Prix. The Nordschleife has 160 corners. Most are blind. Many are off camber. All are lined with walls and Armco barriers. Even the straights are kinked and crowned. And there are two very fast downhill compressions and three jumps that max out a car's suspension travel. There's no runoff room. No margin for error. And remembering the course in this weather in just a few laps is impossible, I don't care how much Gran Turismo you've played.