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Subaru Forester named Motor Trend Sport Utility of the Year

Motor Trend has gone back to the basics by picking the newly redesigned Subaru Forester as its 2008 SUV of the Year. Right off the bat, editor Arthur St. Antoine claims that the choice wasn't a reaction to high fuel prices, with the Forester posting the highest fuel efficiency in a group of contenders that includes the BMW X6, Ford Flex, Kia Borrego, Infiniti EX and FX, Nissan Murano, Toyota Sequoia, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda Pilot, Chevy Traverse, Dodge Journey and Lexus LX570. In fact, their choice may seem somewhat surprising considering that the Forester's 2.5L flat-four engine (turbocharged in the Forester 2.5XT and naturally aspirated in the 2.5X) is borrowed straight from the Impreza and makes do with only a 5-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. There's surely lots more innovation in this field of SUV contenders, but MT gave the Forester credit for being a Swiss Army Knife in a drawer of specialized cutlery. The rest of the field each does its own particular thing well, but according to MT, the Forester often equals or betters the field in some surprising areas like space efficiency and ground clearance. It lacks a lot of whiz-bang gadgets, but was appreciated by MT editors for keeping it simple and doing many things well. By virtue of this last quality the most, they deemed it the winner seemingly because it stretches the family dollar in more ways than just good-for-an-SUV fuel economy.
posted : 10/16/2008 @6:16:56 PM
Note to Subaru: whoops, your agency doesn't know your product

It's a fact that the English language is currently being sliced to ribbons. Spelling and grammar have gone out the window, and elocution is such a lost art that we're amazed when a speaker can manage a paragraph. It's interesting to see where these shortcomings manifest themselves. One would assume that an advertising agency, being in the business of communicating, would double- and triple-check a message before sending it out for the world to see. Imagine our surprise, then, when across our digital desks slid a memo from Carmichael Lynch trumpeting the Minneapolis, MN agency's relationship with Subaru of America. It didn't start well. The subject header of the email read: "Subaru 360 Goes Airbourn (sic) To Find Home on 10th Floor." Interesting capitalization, and a very creative spelling of airborne. Bush league for an agency that handles Harley Davidson, Jack Link's, Cargill, and Toys 'R' Us, to name a few. Intrigued by the mention of a 360, Subaru's diminutive first stab at automobiles, we read on. Carmichael Lynch, upon landing the Subaru of America account in 2007, located a 360 and had it spiffed up for display in the company's 10th floor lobby. While small, the only way to get the little Subie ten stories up was a crane, which hoisted the car through a window last Saturday. Delightful little story, and we were inclined to give the wacky subject line a pass until we read the last sentence, which started: "Today's Subaru Forrester..." Whoa. If we were SoA, we'd be incensed. Spelling bee time: Forester. F-o-r-e-s-t-e-r, Forester. Forest is a chronically misspelled word, but it's still intolerable when it's the very firm being paid to represent the actual product.
posted : 10/3/2008 @7:48:29 PM
Paris Preview: Subaru debuts boxer diesel Forester and Impreza

Subaru debuted its new 2.0L diesel boxer engine earlier this year in the Legacy and Outback, and soon it will also be offered in the Forester and Impreza, though only in Europe. These two latest models to feature the unique horizontally opposed oil-burning engines will debut at the Paris Motor Show next month. The Forester 2.0D will offer 147 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque while returning 44.8 combined mpg in the European cycle, which is class-leading for a small CUV over there, while the Impreza 2.0D offers 148 hp and 258 lb-ft (fuel economy for the Impreza 2.0D was not released for some reason). The diesel Forester will hit showrooms later this month while Euro shoppers will have to wait until January for the diesel Impreza. While we certainly hope Subaru is tweaking its 2.0L diesel boxer engine to meet emissions standards in all 50 U.S. states, we haven't heard one word about it.
posted : 9/22/2008 @9:57:01 PM
VIDEO: New Subaru ad does sexy Japan-style

Subaru of Canada has shown its twisted sense of humor with this new commercial for the Subaru Forester that plays off the whole "sexy babes washing a car" motif. Instead of busty blondes, however, the Japanese automaker supplants sumo wrestlers who thrown sponges at each other, squirt each other with the hose and get caught in slow-motion replays while flipping their hair back. If you're eating lunch right now, put the fork down and make sure you've swallowed your food before watching the commercial after the jump.
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posted : 5/14/2008 @10:05:30 PM

Subaru issues "stop sale" on all models equipped with turbo'd 2.5-liter

JL sent us over an email from Subaru of America that's instructed dealers to immediate cease sales of all Subaru models equipped with the turbocharged, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. The directive effects some 2008 and 2009 models built in January and February, including the Forester, Legacy 2.5GT, LTD, 2.5GTB and Impreza sedan and wagon.

The issue involves reports of an "engine knocking noise" that's been affecting vehicles outside the U.S. market, and an initial investigation has found that there is some kind of internal wear that may be causing the noise.

Currently, no U.S. vehicles have been affected, and a Subaru spokesperson told us that the stop sale has been issued as a temporary measure to nip it in the proverbial bud and that once the issue is addressed sales will begin again. You can read the full directive and see the exact production dates of the affected models after the jump.

posted : 4/10/2008 @11:37:30 AM

Subaru cuts price of 2009 Forester to $19,995

Subaru has released pricing on the all-new 2009 Subaru Forester introduced last mont in Detroit and it's a whopping $1,200 less than the price of the outgoing model. This means you can put a brand-new completely redesigned Forester 2.5X with standard all-wheel drive, curtain airbags and stability control in your driveway for $19,995 (plus destination and delivery, of course). At the other end of the spectrum, a 2.5XT Limited model starts at $28,195.

You have to salute Subaru's move. The new Forester is a very competent package in a competitive crossover SUV segment. Anyone shopping this category has good reason to take it for a spin, and the price drop is just icing on the cake. Check out Subaru's press release after the jump for a full breakdown of pricing by trim level.

posted : 2/27/2008 @8:46:25 PM
Detroit 2008: 09 Subaru Forester shows its US face in Detroit

Today in Detroit we finally got to see the long-anticipated (by some of us at least) 2009 Subaru Forester that was revealed on Christmas Day. We've covered the JDM version and the US model pretty extensively, but now we have a few live shots of this fun and funky CUV for those who like that sort of thing. As we've already revealed, US customers will have their choice of naturally-aspirated and turbocharged versions of the same 2.5L boxer four-cylinder engine that has been offered in the past, although they've been reworked for more low-end torque.
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posted : 1/15/2008 @4:06:36 PM
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