1999 Subaru Forester Base Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru teases the 2019 Forester ahead of New York reveal

Following Toyota's romantic RAV4 silhouette teaser shot yesterday, Subaru is officially joining in the compact crossover titillating game with a glimpse of the 2019 Forester. Subaru has toyed with pincer-shaped taillights for a few years on its Viziv concepts. The Ascent concept wore another version of the design, but the production Ascent got fitted with a set of highly unoffensive lamps. Looks like the Forester earns the retail nod for the conceptual units, and with it, a wider cargo opening. The taillights on the present Forester impose a scalloped shutline on the tailgate. The split units in this teaser let designers push the tailgate edge just a few inches from the edge of the car. The Ascent could make its presence felt elsewhere, though. We've made out a couple of the flowing character lines underneath camouflage on Forester prototypes that match the Ascent's flanks. Up front, the 2019 Forester gets a much more upright schnozz reminiscsent of the Ascent. The two vehicles differ in grille treatment — the Forester carries over its general design from the current car, but replaces the thick geometric bars with thin strakes similar to the Ascent's. Although larger than the current Forester, we don't expect huge growth anywhere. Migrating to Subaru's Global Platform will make the most of the incremental gains; the much smaller Impreza added three additional cubic feet of cargo room after its switch to the SGP. We don't know if engines will be included in the under-the-skin overhaul, but a welcome swap would be adding the Ascsent's 2.4-liter turbo to the lineup. That lump produces 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, trumping the 250 hp and 258 lb-ft in the current top-tier Forester 2.0XT Premium. Spy photographers caught the Forester testing alongside a new Honda CR-V and a Volkswagen Tiguan, which means we could be in for a new level of feature and dynamic polish. What we can rely on is a selection of four-cylinder boxer engines and CVTs, plus updated EyeSight driver assistance tech. The debut happens in exactly two weeks at the New York Auto Show, the showroom appearance late this year. Related Video: Image Credit: Subaru New York Auto Show Subaru Crossover Wagon Future Vehicles

Subaru teasing new WRX S4 model ahead of Japanese debut

The Subaru WRX range is growing just a little bit larger, at least in Japan, with the automaker's teasing announcement of a new version called the S4. Unfortunately, the company is keeping details about its latest all-wheel drive sport sedan a closely guarded secret for the moment.
From what we can glean, it appears that the S4 might be a more luxurious take on the WRX. According to the release, the name stands for the four qualities that Subaru wants the sedan to have: "'Sports performance', 'Safety performance', 'Smart driving' and 'Sophisticated feel.'" As part of this focus, the car comes with the company's EyeSight camera system. Thankfully, we don't have too long to wait to find out what all of the buzz words actually mean because Subaru is unveiling the S4 on August 25 in Japan.
The automaker also launched a teaser website for the S4 that you can cheek out, here, but at the moment it doesn't provide any more details about the new sport sedan. The site just has countdown until the August reveal. There's also no indication yet whether this potentially more premium WRX could make it US shores. Scroll down to read the Subaru's rather concise teaser for the upcoming S4.

Recharge Wrap-up: Mazda, Subaru and Toyota PHEV, Nomadic Power grant

The next generation of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid looks to be important for Mazda and Subaru as well. Toyota will likely need to sell more of the new plug-in hybrid to meet stricter ZEV standards in California. That means it will get more extra electric range, as customers have been asking for. Subaru and Mazda will also have to adhere to the California standards beginning in 2018. Those two smaller automakers will likely license a plug-in hybrid powertrain from Toyota in order to fulfill compliance. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla is partnering with Dalhousie University to improve battery technology. Tesla signed a five-year research agreement with Dalhousie's Jeff Dahn, a lithium-ion battery researcher. Dahn and the 25 researchers in his lab will work with Tesla's Director of Battery Technology, Kurt Kelty, to increase capacity through improved materials. The collaboration could be important both for Tesla's automotive and stationary batteries. "Our research group's goal is to increase the energy density and lifetime of Li-ion batteries, so we can drive down costs in automotive and grid energy storage applications," says Dahn. Read more from Dalhousie University. Nomadic Power is receiving a European Commission grant worth ˆ2 million (about $2.26 million) for trailer-mounted mobile batteries. Nomadic Power's mobile batteries, called Nomads, have incorporated photovoltaic systems and can be used to extend the electric driving range of a plug-in vehicle, or to provide backup power to a home. The Nomads use an intelligent energy management system to learn and predict user behavior and manage the solar system based on weather forecasts. "We see a strong future in electric-powered mobility and an increasing use of renewable energy, photovoltaic power in particular," says Nomadic Power CEO Dr. Manfred Baumgaertner. "Our mobile batteries have great potential in these markets that recently got a significant shot in the arm by Tesla's announcements." Read more from Nomadic Power, and at Green Car Congress. Related Gallery 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: First Drive View 24 Photos News Source: Green Car Reports, Dalhousie University, Green Car Congress, Nomadic PowerImage Credit: Nomadic Power Government/Legal Green Mazda Subaru Tesla Toyota Technology Electric recharge wrapup