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Subaru mulling expanding Indiana plant for Forester, Impreza

Thanks to currency fluctuations and their impact on the bottom line, a growing number of Japanese automakers are starting to increase vehicle production in the US, and it appears Subaru could be the next to do so. According to Bloomberg, Subaru is looking into expanding production capacity at its Lafayette, Indiana assembly plant, which currently builds the Outback, Legacy and Tribeca as well as the Toyota Camry.
Subaru's Indiana plant currently has an annual maximum capacity of 310,000 units, but the automaker is expecting to far exceed that figure this year, with year-to-date sales of 299,788 units through November (not including Camry) - an increase of almost 30 percent over 2011. The report indicates that Subaru could expand the plant to add as many 50,000 additional units to the plant, likely in the form of either the Forester or Impreza.

2019 Subaru Forester Buyer's Guide | What you need to know about this crossover

The 2019 Subaru Forester is its fifth generation. The popular crossover is Subaru's second-best-selling model in 2017 after the Outback, and it received subtle updates, a more rugged appearance and some new technology for the new model year. It's built on Subaru's new Global Platform, with a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase for a smoother ride and 1.4 more inches of rear legroom. There are new, more comfortable seats in front, a wider tailgate opening, more cargo room and standard EyeSight driver-assist technology and Starlink infotainment package, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Five trim levels are offered: Base, Premium, Limited, Touring and a new Sport model. All models share a CVT as the only transmission option, and the latter two are offered with a manual mode and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether to buy the 2019 Subaru Forester. We'll include safety and reliability ratings, engine specs and horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing. We'll also summarize what Autoblog's professional reviewers think of the Forester. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had yet to rate the 2019 Forester as of this publication, but it gave the 2018 version an overall five-star rating, its highest possible. It gave it four stars for frontal crash protection, five stars for side crashes and four stars in its rollover crash tests. Likewise, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't evaluated the 2019 model, but it has named the Forester a Top Safety Pick for 12 consecutive years going back to 2007. That's despite the 2018 Forester earning a "marginal" rating for passenger-side small front overlap crash protection, which replicates a crash impacting a vehicle's front corner at 40 miles per hour. It earned "good" ratings in every other crash-test metric, and a "superior" rating for front crash prevention, when equipped with the EyeSight driver assist technology. The latter comes standard on the 2019 model. We'll update this once ratings are updated, but we encourage you to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester reliable? Subarus are generally known for their reliability and longevity, and indeed, the company cites IHS Markit data that shows 97 percent of all Foresters sold in the past 10 years are still on the road.

Hotter Subaru WRX STI teased for Detroit, probably the S209

We reported yesterday about Subaru filing an application to trademark the name "S209" for the U.S. Today, Subaru released a teaser video for what we think is that exact car: the WRX STI S209. In a video titled "From Japan with Love," Subaru is seen lapping Virginia International Raceway in a slightly-hotter-than-normal, camouflaged STI. At first glance, it's easy to see it as the STI Type RA from earlier this year. However, looking closer at the aero package reveals a little bit more. A side-by-side comparison between this car and the Type RA reveals prominent canards in front of the wheels, exclusive to what we'll call the S209. No such pieces exist on the Type RA. To make those canards flow into the bodywork, it looks like Subaru tacked on some fender flares surrounding the front and rear wheels. It's noticeably different from other STI variations, so we'll see if Subie keeps them for the production car. Beyond that, it's hardly any different than the Type RA in appearance. The gigantic wing is accounted for, as are the gorgeous gold wheels. Another reason we think this is the S209 is Subaru's video description. It reads, "Something special from Subaru Tecnica International is coming to America for the first time ever." The S20(X) series that started in 2000 with the S201 has been never come stateside before. This series has traditionally produced STIs that have more power, suspension and aero than your regular STI. Most recently, the S208 used a 2.0-liter turbo flat-four that put out 329 horsepower and 319 pound-feet of torque. Of course, the U.S. is still dealing with Subaru's Byzantine-era EJ25 2.5-liter flat-four. More power can be had past that engine's 305 horses it makes here now, so we'll see if that's the route Subaru plans to take. Subaru ended by saying it'll be revealing the car at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The wait won't be long for what we imagine will be the new king of Subarus in the U.S. Related video: