2013 Subaru Brz Stock# 33040 on 2040-cars

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Subaru, Mazda profits dip; both blame exchange rates

While some larger automakers took a beating on Q4 earnings, some of Japan's smaller operations managed to keep their heads just above water despite currency issues and slumping sales industry-wide. Subaru, which capped off its 11th consecutive year of U.S. sales increases, reported a 42-percent drop in operating profit in the final quarter of 2019; Mazda, which operates on an even smaller scale, saw a 76-percent drop.  Per Automotive News, both companies faced challenges apart from navigating currency exchanges.  Subaru Subaru's 2019 was marred by warranty costs stemming from repairs on high-volume models, including the Impreza and Crosstrek. Despite the drop in profit, company revenues only slid 2.3 percent. The company also says that it has managed to curtail incentive spending, largely thanks to replacement models that needed less help moving out of showrooms.  America remained a bright spot, with 2019 sales volumes increasing by nearly 3 percent over 2018. Subaru is hoping that figure will increase to 4.0 percent in 2020. Subaru's wholesale deliveries also increased in western Europe, but dropped precipitously (28 percent) in the company's home market.  Mazda The smaller Mazda faced similar challenges, but its 2019 lacked some of Subaru's more dramatic bright spots. Worldwide shipments of new vehicles dropped by 8 percent, aiding a revenue decline of 5 percent. Mazda's vehicles remained profitable on a per-unit basis, but only just.  Mazda has been undergoing aggressive cost-cutting measures, but even those were no match for reduced volumes and unattractive currency exchange rates.  Despite these challenges, both companies are keeping their earnings outlooks unchanged. The fourth quarter of 2019 represented the third quarter in both companies' fiscal years, which will end in March.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 | POV Drive

2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 Prototype First Drive Review | The best is just for us

We're about 70 miles southwest of Tokyo on the grounds of Fuji International Speedway. Yoshihide Yano puts his hand on the camouflaged carbon fiber roof of the 2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 prototype we're about to drive and smiles. "This will never make a business case," says the assistant manager of Subaru's North America Business Planning Department. "We don't want to make more than 250. The more we make, the more money we lose." From the wince of his co-workers, Yano is clearly off the script, but his statement isn't a huge surprise. Building the STI S209 is complicated and time-consuming, with most of its extensive engine, suspension and aerodynamic modifications being installed by hand at STI's small off-site headquarters just outside Toyko. Founded in 1988, Subaru Technica International is the automaker's motorsports division and employs only 120 people. It can produce just two cars a day. Subaru STI Car Show View 30 Photos And why not show off your fastest street car ever on Fuji's world-class 2.8-mile road course? Especially today, while the track is packed for its annual STI Motorsports Day, a yearly pilgrimage for the brand's faithful. The place is flooded with WRXs, BRZs, and models we don't get in America like the Levorg STI Sport, a hot rod version of its mid-size wagon. Although STI's new Super GT and Nurburgring race cars are making hot laps on the main circuit, our drive of the inexplicably camouflaged S209 (which was fully revealed at the Detroit Auto Show) is on a small half-mile road course tucked away in a remote corner of Fuji's massive acreage. And we get just three laps. 2018 Subaru WRX STI S208 View 15 Photos STI's S-Line of cars have been the brand's most capable machines since the S201 launched in 2000, but the S209 will be the first S-Line model sold in the United States – and exclusively in the United States, for that matter. It will also be the first S-Line WRX that won't be powered by a modified version of the brand's venerable 2.0-liter EJ20 engine family, which Subaru introduced in 1989. The company says the EJ20 cannot meet emissions and make more than 300 horsepower on our low-octane fuel. The fix for this is a version of the turbocharged EJ25 series, which has powered every U.S.-spec WRX STI since we got it in 2003. To create the S209, STI's engineers started by mixing together certain parts from both the S208 and the 310-hp WRX STI RA Subaru sold in America last year.

Subaru to showcase five customized Levorg concepts at Tokyo Auto Salon

Last month, Subaru unveiled the Levorg concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, previewing what could be the next Legacy wagon. But that's not the end of the story for the concept car.
With the Tokyo Auto Salon - Japan's equivalent to SEMA - approaching next month, Fuji Heavy has announced five customized versions of the Levorg. One is being prepared by Subaru itself with a focus on luxury (including new alloy wheels and a burgundy interior), one by Subaru Tecnica International (with strut brace and aero kit) and one each by aftermarket Subaru tuners Corazon, Syms and Prova.
Subaru will also display a pair of racecars based on the BRZ: the Super GT300 version we've already seen and a new STI NBR Challenge racer aimed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Details in the press release below.