2009 Subaru Forester gets IIHS Top Safety Pick
The redesigned 2009 Subaru Forester has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award, earning the highest rating of ‘good’ in the Institute’s front, side, and rear tests. The tough criteria of the tests of the IIHS safety rating has been designed with the intention carmakers will continue to improve safety of their vehicles, and it appears to be working. Last year there were just 13 vehicles that qualified for the award, while this year there have already...

2010 Subaru Legacy (Liberty) details
Subaru will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Legacy Liberty sedan and wagon next year with the unveiling of the all-new fifth-generation model. Subaru is renowned for its love-or-loathe approach to designing cars, as seen in the frequent revisions to its Impreza line over the years, but the styling of the new Legacy aren’t expected to be as controversial. The new car will build upon the lines of the current model pictured but will feature a more prominent grille, sharper and more angular...

Perrin-powered Subaru Impreza WRX
With cars like the new GT-R and IS-F getting all the attention, Japan’s other performance thoroughbreds, the Impreza WRX and Evo X, have quickly fallen out of the limelight. However, American tuner Perrin Performance hasn’t forgotten about the potential of one of the world’s most popular modified engines, Subaru’s turbo boxer, and has developed an exclusive new kit for the top end WRX STI. The goal of engineers was to develop an entire range of performance and handling mods, from the...

Spy Shots: Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C
Updated with new images. We first heard about the latest edition Spec C back in April when reports emerged claiming Subaru was working on building a lighter and more hardcore version of the new Impreza WRX STI. Prototypes of the new car have since been spotted testing at the Nurburgring, identified by their bigger brakes and new rear diffuser. The final production version is expected to sport a slightly revised bodykit including a rally-inspired roof scoop and gold alloy wheels. To shed up to 70kg...

Subaru announces EV partnership with N.Y. Power Authority
Subaru used the backdrop of the New York Auto Show to announce a formal partnership between it and the New York Power Authority for the start of a new testing program of R1e electric vehicles in the U.S. Based on the R1 petrol minicar, Subaru’s new R1e has been in testing in Japan since 2006 and now two of the cars will be used to rack-up some miles in North America. The R1e is described as an electrical vehicle aimed at city dwellers looking for an environmentally friendly and fun to drive...

Subaru Legacy STI S402 released in Japan
The new Subaru STI has only been on sale for a few months or less in most parts of the world, but already the company has a special-edition STI version of the Legacy due to hit Japanese streets in just over a month. Carrying on a long tradition of special-edition Legacy models, the STI S402 takes the car to new heights. Featuring the same 2.5L twin-scroll turbocharged four-cylinder as found in the WRX STI, the Legacy STI S402 is unfortunately likely to be a Japanese market-only vehicle, and only a...

Subaru releases teaser site for new Exiga MPV
Subaru has revealed official teasers for the production version of its new seven-seat Exiga MPV, which was first revealed in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show in October last year. The production version sports an almost identical look to the original concept and is due to be unveiled officially on the 17th of next month. As previewed by the concept, the new Exiga will sit on a 2,750mm wheelbase and feature a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder boxer engine mated to a five-speed auto and Subaru’s...

Subaru worried about Toyota joint-venture
For many the appeal of Subaru has been its niche status and AWD image but with its latest project – a jointly developed RWD sports car with Toyota – the carmaker is now faced with losing part of that appeal. The new joint-venture, which was announced earlier this month, will see Subaru and Toyota sell rebadged versions of a jointly developed sports car with Subaru responsible for the engineering work and Toyota the styling. Careful marketing will be the key to success when the car debuts in late...

Toyota and Subaru expand ties, confirm RWD sports car
Toyota confirmed today it is increasing its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Subaru’s parent company from current 8.7% levels to 16.5%. The auto-giant also announced plans to expand ties with Subaru and co-develop more models including a new RWD sports car. Currently, Toyota uses idle capacity at Subaru’s U.S. plant to build its Camry sedan but the future will see the two carmakers work on everything together, from swapping engineers to sharing hybrid technology. Speaking at the announcement today...

Toyota planning to increase stake in Subaru
Toyota’s grip around Subaru is set to get tighter with news coming out of Japan claiming the auto giant is planning to increase its 8.7% stake in Subaru to around 17%. The final decision will depend on whether or not the move gets approval from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. The transaction involves Toyota buying another 64.25 million shares in Subaru, which will cost about ¥30 billion $294.4 million, reports the Nikkei. The source also claims both carmakers are working to collaborate across...