2011 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti Hatchback 6 Speed Manual on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Subaru Legacy teased with luxurious interior before Chicago Auto Show reveal

The 2020 Subaru Legacy will be revealed at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, and today we get a couple teasers for what to expect of the completely redesigned sedan. Both shots give us good looks at the exterior and interior, the latter indicates a move slightly upmarket. Plus we have spy photos from a little while back. Nothing about the Legacy's exterior comes as a surprise here. It's still a normally proportioned sedan with generic sedan styling. Spy shots from last year further indicate an evolution of the previous model's design language. Of course, with the proliferation of crossovers, simply being a sedan is becoming unique. New LED DRLs are striking as they surround nearly the entire headlight. Beyond that, we'll have to wait for the shadows to melt away to make any true judgements on styling changes. The interior has a bit more going on, specifically the vertical center screen that looks larger and fancier than any Subaru infotainment system we've seen yet. It reminds us of Ram's wonderful 12-inch vertical screen and its vertical banks of buttons. Each refreshed or new Subaru demonstrates marked improvement in the infotainment department, like the Forester and Ascent, but this appears to be on another level. The design and materials are nicer, too, with the brown stitched leather covering the dash leading to an elegant center console and gear shift area. In the darkened teaser photo, this looks like a luxury car interior. We'll be on the show floor ready to test out Subie's new infotainment after the official reveal next Thursday, and to see if the Legacy feels as luxurious as it looks right now. Related video:

2020 Toyota Highlander vs other 3-row crossovers: There can only be one!

We've done quite a few spec comparison posts involving three-row family crossovers, and when included, the Toyota Highlander has always been the runt of the group. While the rest increasingly seemed to be benchmarking each other toward greater girth, the Highlander was the outlier.  That changes a bit for the 2020 Toyota Highlander, but only a bit. It's now larger and more competitive, specifically in regards to the amount of cargo space aft of the third-row seat. As you can see below, this aligns the Highlander most closely to its long-time competitor the 2020 Honda Pilot. However, let's see how it stacks up to others in the segment, which is heavily populated now, so for the sake of space, we've selected the newest entries: Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, Subaru Ascent and Ford Explorer. The order in which they are presented is random.  Performance and fuel economy The 2020 Highlander is more than 200 pounds lighter than its predecessor, but has the same 295-horsepower V6 engine that was already one of the strongest in the segment. We'd say that would give it a leg up, but the Pilot and Explorer have proven to be sprinters, delivering 0-60 times in the low-6 range by some publications' stopwatches (or VBoxes, whatever). We don't expect the Highlander to beat them, but it may dip into the 6's. The heavy, less-powerful Subaru Ascent is most likely to take up the rear. It's fuel economy of 23 mpg combined also matches the Highlander and Explorer for segment-best. Remember, however, that the Explorer's turbocharged inline-four engine is likely more susceptible to differences in driving style (read: a heavy foot).  Of course, if you're really interested in fuel economy, the Highlander and Explorer are the only vehicles in the segment to offer hybrid versions. The Ford Explorer Hybrid puts a greater emphasis on performance, however, resulting in lower estimates of 25 mpg combined (AWD) and 28 mpg combined (FWD). By contrast, the new 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid is estimated to return 36 mpg combined.  Passenger and cargo space According to Highlander chief engineer Yoshikazu Saeki, he had a choice of two directions with the new Highlander. He could have indeed made it bigger, matching these very competitors, especially in terms of third-row and cargo space. Or, he could have maintained a smaller-than-average size. He obviously chose the latter. First, it was the size customers had come to expect. Would they be put off by something bigger?

Honda, Subaru airlifting parts to bypass port labor diputes

It should be abundantly obvious that a vital element in building cars is actually having the components on hand to assemble them. A labor dispute on the West Coast between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and management is not making that quite so easy for some Japanese automakers. Work slowdowns at the ports have pushed Honda and Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries into flying some parts into the country. The two automakers began shipping by airplane late last month to avoid production delays, according to Bloomberg, but it has been an expensive solution. Subaru's chief financial officer said the decision cost around $60 million more per month than sending components by cargo ship. They aren't the only companies dealing with the problem, either. Toyota reportedly stopped overtime assembly at some of its factories here because of the delays in getting parts, according to Bloomberg. The dockworkers have been negotiating on a new contract since May 2014, and the current offer on the table to them has offered a 3 percent raise, according to Bloomberg. Although, the union is reportedly considering another slowdown at 29 ports along the West Coast in the coming days. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Nick Ut / AP Photo Auto News UAW/Unions Honda Subaru Toyota shipping port labor dispute