2002 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sedan 5 Speed Manual Black Loaded 1 Owner Stock Clean on 2040-cars

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Vehicles awarded IIHS Top Safety Pick awards skyrockets for 2015 [w/video]

By practically every measure, passenger vehicles in the US are continuing to get safer. With the year rapidly coming to an end, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is releasing its annual list tallying of the scores for the latest vehicles to see how they compare to last year. Judging by the agency's evaluations, the numbers look quite positive. According to the institute, 71 vehicles earned either the Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating so far in its testing for 2015. Among the latest winners, there have been 33 TSP+ awards and 38 TSP medalists. That's a healthy increase over the 22 TSP+ and 17 TSP grades in 2014. The figures appear even more impressive when you consider that it keeps getting harder to earn the + designation. In the latest round of testing, a vehicle must offer some form of front crash prevention automatic braking to get the mark. Previously, just a warning to drivers was necessary. This list also illustrates the ways that automakers adapt to new testing procedures. In 2013 there were 117 TSP ratings and 13 TSP+ awards. Then, the IIHS mandated that to be a safety pick, a model had to score Good in the institute's four crash tests, plus a Good or Acceptable in the small overlap front test. That brought a plunge in 2014 to just 17 TSP grades. With the numbers climbing again, companies apparently have deciphered how to perform better. Some brands especially stood out on this year's list. The IIHS praised Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Acura for offering standard front crash prevention systems on some models. Subaru received at least one of the awards for all seven of its models. Toyota also had seven, and the Honda brand did too – though the institute counts the two- and four-door versions of the Civic and Accord separately. Check out the full announcement below and a video about this year's winners. The full list can be viewed, here. Safety gains ground: More vehicles earn top honors from IIHS The number of vehicles earning either of the Institute's two awards has jumped to 71 from 39 this time last year, giving consumers more choices for optimum protection in crashes. The number of winners in the top tier - TOP SAFETY PICK+ - has increased by 11 for 2015, despite a tougher standard for front crash prevention. "This is the third year in a row that we are giving automakers a tougher challenge to meet," says IIHS President Adrian Lund.

Drive-up bank robbery perpetrated with Cayenne and WRX

Thieves carried out what appears to be a movie-script-perfect robbery of a bank in Sydney, Australia early on Friday morning, using two stolen high-performance vehicles in the process.
At around 11:15 AM local time, in near mid-day light, reports say that two men in masks smashed into the side of a Westpac bank in a confirmed-stolen black Porsche Cayenne. The perpetrators were armed with sledgehammers according to witness reports, and took only about five minutes to take what they were after inside of the bank.
The rapid getaway was executed in a Subaru WRX, also confirmed as a stolen vehicle, while witnesses snapped camera phone images of the illicit goings on. One Twitter user posted a few of the images to his social media feed; you can take a look at them in our small gallery below. Follow on down for the full video report, from The Sydney Morning Herald.

2019 Subaru Forester: Refined by evolution

Here it is, the all-new 2019 Subaru Forester, a lot like it was before, and a lot different. Spy shots clued us in to evolutionary exterior on this fifth generation, which Subaru dubs "a more rugged style." Taking cues from the Ascent, instead of bodysides decorated with a couple of character lines, Subaru designers stressed the sculpture of the entire span. In front, A larger, black gloss-finish grille cuts deeper into the bumper from the top. The headlight housings carry over in shape, but now hold LED lamps standard on all trims. Along the sides, punched-out wheel arches frame an angled shoulder that cuts into the C-pillar and wraps around the side glass. Design tweaks and the move to Subaru's Global Platform bring a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase and 1.4 more inches of rear legroom. Occupants up front sit in new, more comfortable seats and enjoy more space in the center tunnel thanks to an electronic parking brake. In back, wider rear door openings and a steeper C-pillar allow easier ingress. The tailgate opening increases by 5.3 inches in width, onto a squarer cargo area with a flatter floor and a standard cargo tray. An interior LED illuminates the load bay when the tailgate's open, an exterior floodlight shines outside the rear of the crossover. Lower the rear seats and access 76.1 cubic feet of loading room, 1.9 cu. ft. more than before. The carmaker says you can put golf bags in the car sideways without needing to tilt them, an arcane, yet commendable, achievement. A trim shakeup adds a new variant, the lineup being Base, Premium, Limited, Touring, and a new Sport model. Base and Premium ride on 17-inch wheels, the others get 18-inchers. All Foresters are powered by an "enhanced" version of the present 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder with direct injection, higher compression, and active exhaust valve control. The engine now makes 182 horsepower, a 12-hp improvement, and 176 pound-feet of torque, a 2-lb-ft improvement. For you Forester experts, that means yes, the 250-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine vacates the premises. Every trim gets a Lineartronic CVT and stop/start. Touring and Sport models get a manual mode and paddle shifters, mimicking a seven-speed gearbox. The Subaru Intelligent Drive (SI-DRIVE) offers Intelligent and Sport drive modes (Sport Sharp on the Sport trim); Intelligent prioritizes fuel economy, Sport maximizes thrills. Fuel economy reaches as high as 33 miles per gallon on the highway, depending on trim.