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2019 Subaru Ascent Deep Dive | 15 fast facts, 3 rows of seats and 8 golden retrievers

The 2019 Subaru Ascent three-row crossover is a big deal — both in literal size and metaphorical importance. The large Subaru plugs a gap in the company's crossover lineup that hasn't been filled since the company's previous attempt, the B9 Tribeca, fell flat on its weird-looking face. And by "plugs a gap," we don't mean in terms of market segments. Rather, it fills a gap among Subaru's band of fiercely loyal customers. Currently, Subaru's Crosstrek, Forester and Outback serve young singles, couples and parents with recently arrived children. They also have older empty nester types who effectively "come back to us." But for those customers in their "child-raising years," they've had no choice but to leave the brand in favor of one that sells a larger, three-row model. They don't need the biggest thing around, but something larger than an Outback would be nice. It is for these people that the 2019 Ascent was created, a "right sized" crossover, according to Subaru, designed to deliver the high functionality and ease-of-use expected of the brand. It was "sized to overwhelm the Outback," which it most definitely does when viewed side-by-side, while still looking very much like the Outback. Really, the Ascent is intended to keep Subaru buyers in the family, so to speak. Any conquest buyers would seem to be gravy. Here are some other takeaways from our first look at the 2019 Subaru Ascent during its unveil last night prior to the L.A. Auto Show. — The Premium and Limited trim levels will provide customers with a free-of-charge choice of second-row bench (eight-passenger) and second-row captain's chairs (seven-passenger) configurations. This is unique in the industry, giving customers the option to outfit their Ascent in a way that best suits their family. Subaru expects the captain's chairs to be a bit more popular. — We have our doubts about Subaru's official cargo capacity figures. The published maximum cargo volume, which represents both the second and third rows folded, is a meager 72.8 cubic feet. That's actually less than the Outback (73.3) and the Forester (74.7)! That's also considerably less than other three-row crossovers like the Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer and Honda Pilot. Having seen the Ascent in person, however, that's extremely hard to fathom. It doesn't look that small in the least. Far from it. It has a big, boxy interior with a third row that fit a pair of 6-footers behind a second pair of 6-footers in the second row.

Subaru puts China production on hold amidst slowing growth

Subaru's 2015 sales and production forecast estimates the Japanese brand to sell about 60,000 vehicles in China this year, a 10 percent rise. However, a recent decision not to build a factory there might make future growth more difficult. Given the changing state of the market, the automaker doesn't seem concerned by the potentially lost sales. According to Bloomberg, even if the Chinese government gave permission for Subaru to build its planned joint venture factory with Chery, the Japanese brand would not take advantage of it. "Since the profits are split with your partner, you would have to double the sales to maintain the profits you earn by exporting from Japan," said Akira Mabuchi, the company's executive in charge of China, according to Bloomberg. Subaru is in the odd position of being the only major Japanese automaker without a joint venture partner to build cars in China, but the massive year-over-year growth there seems to be slowing. Auto sales in China were up 6.9 percent in 2014, according to Bloomberg, compared to 14 percent in 2013. Also, Chinese consumers have been famously averse to buying Japanese vehicles with only half of the consumers there even willing to purchase one. Instead, the company is focusing on the US market, according to Bloomberg. The decision makes sense. While Subie's sales in China shrunk 2 percent in 2014 to about 55,000 vehicles, the company grew 21 percent in the US to 514,000 units. The automaker already has plans to add capacity to its factory in Indiana. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Jae C. Hong / AP Photo Plants/Manufacturing Subaru

CCTV footage shows Red Bull trophy heist going down

Any Formula One team knows the deal: you train, you prepare, you make the best car possible and put it in the hands of the best people you can get. But then out of nowhere another driver crashes into one of yours and your race is over. That's just the way it goes sometimes, but even that didn't prepare Red Bull Racing for the crash that happened at its headquarters last month. That's when some bandits drove a silver Subaru Legacy wagon backwards through the front door of the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK, and made off with a bunch of the trophies displayed in the lobby. Now video footage from a closed-circuit television camera has surfaced, showing the crime go down in a brief twelve-second clip. It was a senseless crime since most of the trophies don't have much intrinsic value, and it's not exactly like they could sell them to someone else. All it accomplished was to damage the team's facility and demoralize the men and women who worked so hard to win those trophies – many of which ended up dumped in a nearby lake. News Source: BBC via YouTube, World Car Fans Motorsports TV/Movies Subaru F1 security trophy heist