2005 2.5 Gt Turbo Limited Awd Sdn-leather, Sunroof, 5 Speed Manual No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Is Subaru close to ditching 6-cylinder engines?

Despite niche outliers like the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 and 7.0-liter V8 in the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, we live in an era where small-displacement, turbocharged engines are becoming the norm. In many model lineups, a boosted four-cylinder now holds the place that a six might have just a few short years ago. At least in some markets, Subaru could be the next automaker to follow this path by axing its 3.6-liter boxer six-cylinder. Granted, that's not as much of a leap for Subie as some other automakers because the Japanese brand is already closely associated with turbocharged four-cylinder engines. The company's six-pot boxer is currently only offered in the Legacy and Outback in the US. Australian website CarAdvice spoke with Subaru deputy general manager of engineering Yoichi Hori about the company's future powertrain plans at least for Down Under. "Our research said the six-cylinder model is decreasing in the world. So that's why probably the future, many companies take the smaller displacement with a turbocharger, or diesel, or hybrid," said Hori to CarAdvice. He was also specific about which engine he had in mind. "In terms of the body size, a 2.0-liter with a turbocharger is enough, I think," he said. Hori said that the automaker stuck with the boxer-six for so long because of the turbocharged four-cylinder's higher maintenance costs. Slotting Subaru's 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer four-cylinder into the Legacy and Outback seems easy to imagine. After all, the mill already does duty in different tunes in the Forester and WRX in the US. Keep in mind, though, that Hori's words are aimed at the Aussie market. A rumor from earlier this year speculated the company's midsize models might get a smaller displacement six and the turbo four for some trims. Featured Gallery 2015 Subaru Legacy: First Drive View 35 Photos News Source: CarAdviceImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Green Subaru Wagon Sedan turbocharging

Custom cabinetry gives this Subaru Outback camper cred

Where there's space, there's wood to make it more functional. At least, that seems to be the ethos at customization shop Solid Wood Worx. The Huntington Beach, Calif.-based company has turned vehicles such as the Ram ProMaster, Nissan XTerra, Toyota 4Runner, and Ford F-250 into small, livable mobile homes. The most recent project is a Subaru Outback, which uses a unique series of cabinets to meet a fairly complex checklist of asks.  Noticed by Motor1, the Outback belongs to an adventurer named Sean who is setting out on a six-month climbing trip. She reached out to Brian, a woodworker and former cabinet builder, at Solid Wood Worx with her vision of the Outback as a sleep-in camper. She wanted a flat place where she and her 80-pound dog could sleep, a slide-out kitchen with stove and fridge, storage for climbing gear, storage for clothes, and a designated space for a water supply. Possibly the biggest ask was an integrated solar panel with a battery and inverter for off-the-grid living. Brian made it all work.  With the solar panel and spare tire hitched to the Thule roof rack and out of the way, Brian built an interior platform that stretched from the rear hatch to the back of the front seats. Since this eliminated any use of the rear seats, they were taken out. The platform itself has built-in drawers, and the upper portion is split into two functional spaces. The right side has just enough room to fit a small mattress, but Sean looks small, so it should work perfectly. Beneath the bed is the sliding drawer that stows the camp stove. On the left side is a massive amount of storage that doubles as secondary kitchen prep space. On top of that is a small fridge that opens on top like a cooler.  With the kitchen area in its "out" position, a secondary panel opens up to the space where the spare tire used to be. Inside that, Brian's team fitted the wiring, fuses and equipment for the solar panel's battery storage. For this project, Brian used a 100 amp-hour battery and a 100-watt solar kit from Renogy. That power feeds an inverter, a few USB plugs, and the small fridge. Looking through the rear passenger door, there are even more storage spaces for things such as clothes, bedding, shoes, and a laptop. The water tank slides in behind the front seat.  In most of his builds, Brian uses three-quarter-inch nine-ply pine plywood that he gets from Home Depot. It costs roughly $35 for a 4x8 sheet, and each piece weighs about 60 pounds.

Porsche Taycan 4S, Ferrari Roma and a tuned Ford Ranger | Autoblog Podcast #624

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder to recap Earth Day 2020 coverage, including a first drive and range test of the 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, Tesla and the state of the EV industry, and what we think are the best green cars of all time. Then they shift gears to talk about the Ranger pickup getting a tuning package from Ford, as well as their own dives through the Ferrari Roma configurator. They discuss the cars they've been driving — the 2020 VW Jetta and our long-term 2019 Subaru Forester. Lastly, they reach into the mailbag to help a listener buy a used car. Autoblog Podcast #624 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Earth Day recap 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S Tesla and the EV industry The best green cars of all time Ranger gets a tuning package from Ford Configuring the Ferrari Roma Cars we're driving 2020 Volkswagen Jetta 2019 Subaru Forester long-term update Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: