Back in April, Toyota announced that it would be gobbling up a larger percentage of Fuji Heavy Industries, makers of the Subaru brand of vehicles. Today, that deal has been made official as Fuji announced the sale that increases Toyota's voting rights in the automaker to 16.16 percent from 9.50 percent. This deal had been made possible by a newly revised Japanese law that went into effect last year. Toyota had initially purchased about nine-percent share of the company from General Motors, which no longer owns any part of Fuji Heavy.
According to reports, Toyota paid about a ten-percent premium for the increased share, as well. Its total outlay of cash for the new shares is 31.11 billion yen ($291.1 million), for which it receives 61 million additional treasury stocks. Here's hoping that this new deal ushers in the upcoming new AE86 all the more quickly.
When we showed you Subaru's new MPV last week your response was pretty much unanimous: man that is fugly. The car's reception on the other side of the Pacific has been a lot warmer though, particularly for the headlights' signature blue flash; the only criticism is that it's taken Subaru way too long to get this car to market.
The Legacy is the best selling station wagon in Japan, and has been since its inception, but that hasn't stopped its sales figures plummeting as Japanese family men abandoned the old two box format for MPVs, minivans and crossovers largely because they're larger, or more specifically, because they safely seat six, seven, or at a stretch, eight.
While Japan's birth rate may be one of the lowest in the world, multi-generational homes are still common, so when granddad, grandma, dad, mom and the kids head to the ancestral home in the boonies, five seatbelts just won't cut it. Subaru worked on a minivan for a few years, but the prototypes handled like, well, vans and the powers that be decided that they were not Subaru-rashii; they didn't have that thing that makes a Subaru a Subaru.
Plan B was obvious: take a Legacy, stretch the wheelbase a bit, chuck a couple of seats in the trunk but keep the center of gravity nice and low. And on roads clogged with boxy MPVs ( Toyota alone make 10 different models) the result doesn't look half bad. Most importantly it drives more like a car than any of its competitors. The only Japanese seven-seater that comes close to matching the Exiga's handling and performance is the unimaginatively named Mazda MPV, but only when bought in 2.3-liter turbo guise.
If you want a seven-passenger vehicle in the States, your choices are few. Those of you shopping for just such a vehicle can longingly gaze at the Subaru Exiga. It goes on sale today in Japan, but in the latest press release from Subaru, there are no plans for U.S. export mentioned.
The Exiga's naturally-aspirated 2.0L engine outputs 146 hp, while the sportier GT model with intercooler and turbocharger makes 221 hp. Passengers are treated to a huge panoramic roof that rivals even the new Jetta Sportwagen.
Around the Autoblog office complex, there are several wagon fans who love to get their hands on one of these. But for now, we have no reason to believe Subaru will bring the Exiga over here.
For the last eight years, Subaru and L.L. Bean have partnered on high-end versions of Subaru's line of all-wheel-drive vehicles. No longer. According to Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante, the duo have decided that it's in the best interests of both brands to call it quits. Infante notes that the Subaru brand has done rather well for itself in areas where snow and winter outdoor activities are common but has lacked appeal in more sun-rich states where the L.L. Bean brand isn't very common. It shouldn't be too difficult for Subaru to shed its rugged but staid image. With awesome models like the STi, Subaru seems entirely capable of making vehicles with which to scorch asphalt as opposed to the ski slopes.
In lieu of using the L.L. Bean nomenclature, Subaru will instead endow its higher-end models with the 'Limited' badge. With the last of the L.L. Bean models currently sitting on dealer lots, those outdoorsy individuals aching for one had better act fast.
Subaru's Australian outpost is set to deliver a localized special edition Liberty GT (Liberty = Legacy) that's been upgraded with a laundry list of components from the STI catalog. The Liberty GT tuned by STI makes 260 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and will be made available with either a 6-speed stick or a 5-speed sportshift automatic. Brembos, Bilstein shocks, STI springs, a new muffler, lightweight Enkeis, and leather-and-Alcantara sport seats are but a few the features included in the 250-car limited edition, which is now on sale in Australia. Hey Subaru of America, where's the love like this for U.S. customers?
AutoExpress may have provided us with a rendering of what the new RWD Subaru coupe might look like, but Winding Road's hired spies have provided the real deal. Shot outside a test center in the UK (amidst white-out conditions), the camo-clad mule is sporting some body panels pilfered from the current Legacy, but with a Toyota emblem in front, a pair of Recaro buckets inside and a shrunken trunk, there's little doubt that this prototype is more than just your standard sedan.
There's still no confirmation about what kind of output the 2.0-liter flat-four will be producing, as estimates have ranged from 180- to 220-hp, but grunt is expected to be shoveled to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and pricing should start a few pennies shy of $20,000.
Subaru and Toyota's rear-wheel-drive lovechild is on its way, and AutoExpress has tapped Larson to render the new coupe to give us an idea of what we'll be saving up for come 2010.
As previously reported, both versions will be sporting separate sheet metal to differentiate the two coupes from one another. We'd suspect that the Toyota version will be fitted with a traditional trunk, while the Subaru version will get a hatch similar to that found on the WRX/STI. The image above takes all the right cues from the current Impreza, particularly the aggressive roofline and hunkered stance, and ratchets it up a notch with a new front bumper, swept back headlamps and bulging fender flares.
As we're already aware, both the Toyota version (which supposedly won't make it to U.S. shores) and the Subaru variant will be powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter boxer, sending around 180 hp to the rear wheels. AutoExpress claims that a 300-hp version equipped with the turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four is also destined for production, along with an all-wheel-drive version further down the road. For those of us that have been dreaming of an STI-powered GC8 coupe, this could spare us the considerable headache and expense when it goes on sale in 2012.
Sebastian Loeb and Citroen had a comfortable win at the Acropolis Rally in Greece this past weekend, but much of the attention was paid to the race debut of the Subaru WRC2008. With Petter Solberg behind the wheel, the new Subie took ten top-five stage times the first two days and captured second place overall. The result was Solberg's first points since February and his first podium finish since last year's Acropolis Rally. The problem-free weekend and the fast pace were encouraging for the Subaru team, who see the new race car as a turning point. "This is it, we're coming back!" Solberg declared after the race. The next rally in Turkey will determine whether the initial success of the car was a fluke or for real. For now, check out the gallery below of the WRC2008 sliding its way to a second place finish.
When another batch of spy photos of the upcoming Subaru Exiga surfaced yesterday, we didn't give it much thought. We pretty much know the styling direction and dimensions of Subaru's new people mover, but one portion of AutoExpress' article caught our attention. In addition to the Exiga joining a new Legacy sedan and Outback wagon in 2009, Subaru's future drivetrain plans include dropping the 3.0-liter boxer and reworking the 2.0- and 2.5-liter engines to increase efficiency and power. The naturally aspirated 2.0-liter will supposedly produce 200 hp, while the current turbocharged 2.5-liter will exceed 300 hp. While neither of which is huge news, AE also mentions that a Legacy STI is on the way with a turbo'd 3.7-liter producing close to 450 hp. Whether or not such a beast will actually come about is open to debate, but when it does, we hope that Subaru has the foresight to make it available in the U.S.
WRC teams are gearing up in Greece ahead of this week's Acropolis rally, and just before its world racing debut, Subaru has released the details on its all-new Impreza rally car. You can pore over the specs after the jump, but the highlights of the Impreza WRC2008 include a 1994cc turbocharged flat four, running an IHI turbo equipped with the WRC-mandated 34mm restrictor plate and Subaru's own anti-lag system to produce 300 hp at 5,500 rpm and... wait for it... 479 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm.
Power is sent to a six-speed electro-hydraulic transmission, through an electronically controlled center diff and down to the wheels through mechanical differentials, fore and aft. Bos shocks are being used in conjunction with the front and rear MacPherson setup, while AP Racing, 310mm discs are clamped by six-piston calipers both in front and in the rear. BBS wheels are fitted at all four corners, with 15-inchers used for gravel stages and 18-inch rollers for tarmac attacks. The rally racer's weight is set at the WRC minimum of 2,712 pounds. As always, you can follow the progress of the Impreza and the rest of the teams at the WRC website.
