2011 Subaru Impreza Premium Pkg, Moonroof, Heated Seats, One Owner on 2040-cars

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Toyota, Lexus dominate KBB's Best Resale Value Awards

Toyota and Lexus stormed the 2014 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards, winning a combined 18 categories including best brand and best luxury brand. This marks the third year in a row that both automakers have won the Brand and Luxury Brand resale value awards. In all, Toyota won 11 categories and Lexus won seven.
Honda made a good showing, as well, winning two segments (Accord Plug-In Hybrid and Civic Si) and putting one car on the top-10 Best Resale Value list (CR-V). Chevrolet did even better, winning two segments (with the V6 Camaro and the Corvette) and placing three cars on the top-10-overall list (again, the Camaro and Corvette, plus the Silverado 1500).
The other winners came from Jeep, Dodge, Infiniti, Subaru and Audi. To give you a clearer picture of the Toyota and Lexus domination, their 18 mentions represents more than half of the 34 awards (including the top-10-overall list).

Scion rules out roadster, turbo versions of FR-S

Ever since Toyota and Subaru released the sports car alternatively known as the GT86, 86, BRZ and Scion FR-S a couple of years ago, rumors have circulated that even more exciting variants could be in store. But at least as far as Scion is concerned, those rumors are apparently nothing more than wishful thinking. Speaking with WardsAuto at the LA Auto Show last week, Scion chief Doug Murtha said that the prospect of an FR-S roadster has been taken off the table entirely. Apparently Scion lobbied parent company Toyota to produce just such a model, but after failing to find other markets interested enough in the model to put it into production, corporate HQ said no. "I think we were pretty aggressive on our (submitted plan), but we looked at what we would have conceivably lost on the product and said, 'We're not going to even push it further,'" Murtha said, going on to note, "Nobody was more disappointed than we were." Murtha further shot down the idea of a turbo version of the FR-S, dismissing it as a prospect the blogosphere (that's us) wanted to happen but "that's not something that's coming." Either variant might have helped Scion and Toyota boost sales of the model (which are predictably dropping after their first two years on the market), but the investment also might not have paid off their development, tooling and marketing costs. Of course, Murtha can only speak for Toyota, but we'd be surprised to see Subaru go it alone on either model, as costs would be that much more prohibitive without a partner. Bummer.

2019 Subaru WRX starts at $28,080, STI finally gets a bump in power

The Subaru WRX and STI were refreshed for 2018 with updated styling and some new options. America also got the limited-edition WRX STI Type RA, a tribute to the car that made a Nurburgring lap record attempt. Not much has changed for 2019, though we get a new special edition and a new and much needed infotainment system. Also, the STI finally gets a boost in power! The tried and true EJ now cranks out 310 horses. Rejoice? Pricing has gone up a bit for 2019, though it's still competitive with the rest of the segment. A base manual-equipped WRX now starts at $28,080, up $225 over the 2018 model. For comparison, a new 2018 Volkswagen GTI starts at $27,265. Stepping up to a WRX Premium will set you back $30,380 or $32,280 if you want a WRX with a CVT. A WRX Limited starts at $32,680 or $34,580 with the CVT. Premium and Limited models with the CVT get standard Subaru EyeSight, though that doesn't actually include a whole lot. The only features are auto vehicle hold, an electronic parking brake and an EyeSight status indicator. There is a new WRX Premium Series.Gray model. The special edition is limited to just 750 units and starts at $32,585. It comes standard with the Performance Package, Ultrasuede-trimmed Recaro seats, a power driver's seat, Jurid front brake pads, a moonroof delete, LED headlights, LED fog lights and keyless entry with push-button start. The updated WRX STI starts at $37,480 and is only available with a manual transmission. Updates include a retuned ECU, stronger pistons and a shorter third gear ratio, helping improve acceleration. Torque vectoring and a controllable center differential are still standard. The WRX STI Limited will run you $42,280 and offers a low-profile spoiler option for those that don't want the iconic rear wing. There's also a WRX STI Series.Gray model. For $39,965, you get a base STI with Recaro seats, a power driver's seat and keyless entry with push-button start. Individual options include the $2,050 Performance Package (red Brembo calipers, Recaro seats and a moonroof delete) and the $2,100 navigation system with blind-spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert. Related Video: News Source: Subaru Subaru Performance Sedan subaru sti