1997 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru, like Nissan, admits improper checks on Japan cars, expects recalls

TOKYO — Subaru on Friday said it had failed to follow proper inspection procedures for vehicles for the domestic market, an issue likely to result in a product recall and adding to a list of compliance problems at Japanese companies. The automaker said for more than 30 years, final inspections of new vehicles at its main Gunma complex north of Tokyo were sometimes conducted by inspectors who were not listed as certified technicians, violating transport ministry requirements. The automaker said it was therefore considering recalling about 255,000 vehicles including its Legacy, Forester and Impreza models produced at the complex and sold at home, at a cost of around 5 billion yen ($43.86 million). Chief Executive Officer Yasuyuki Yoshinaga at a news conference said inspectors in training for certification to sign off final checks had been approving the checks under the names of their trainers, a process the automaker followed for over 30 years without realizing it did not meet ministry requirements. "The final inspection process is very important and we acknowledge that we did not meet requirements," Yoshinaga said. "It's always been my goal to make this company good. This issue shows that we're not there yet." Subaru said it would report details of an internal investigation to the ministry on Monday, and that it needed to better communicate requirements to workers. "It's always been my goal to make this company good. This issue shows that we're not there yet." The revelation followed a similar oversight at Nissan, while Kobe Steel has been grappling with a data fabrication scandal, tarnishing Japan's reputation for quality control. Yoshinaga said the issue was discovered during an internal inspection ordered by the ministry after Nissan late last month revealed similar violations on inspections governing vehicles sold in Japan at its domestic factories. The ministry requires certified technicians to sign off on paperwork for final inspections for vehicles produced in Japan for the domestic market. The extra step does not affect product quality and is not needed for vehicles exported overseas. Toyota, Honda and other Japanese automakers on Friday said they have reported to the ministry that they found no issues with their respective inspections. Subaru shares closed down 2.6 percent on Friday after falling more than 3 percent following media reports of the improper inspections. The broader market rose 1.2 percent.

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid PHEV electric range, according to CARB

Subaru's first plug-in vehicle is coming, and it's coming soon. The end of 2018 is upon us already, and the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is almost ready for primetime. This time around, it has a plug, a feature that is notably absent from the car's nomenclature, a la the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It will also borrow its PHEV technology from Toyota and now, we have California Air Resources Board ( CARB) documents that suggest the Crosstrek Hybrid's all-electric range. According to the document (which can be seen in PDF form here), CARB rates the Crosstrek Hybrid's Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule electric range at 25.650 miles. For what it's worth, the Toyota Prius Prime with which this Subaru shares powertrain tech, has an EPA-estimated all-electric range of 25 miles and a highway electric range of 21.9 miles. The document also lists an "equivalent" all-electric urban range of 26.273 miles and "equivalent" all-electric highway range of 27.381 miles. ("Equivalent" range calculations come into play when PHEVs use a mix of electric and gas power at the same time.) The Crosstrek, which will use Subaru's own 2.0-liter gasoline engine, doesn't appear to suffer a reduction in electric range compared to the Prius Prime despite its size, elevated ride height or all-wheel-drive system, which raises a lot of questions. The reasons are still unclear, as we don't have a lot of details about the underpinnings of the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and we can't help but be skeptical about those figures. Will it have a bigger battery than the Prime's 8.8-kWh pack? Will the electric motor drive all four wheels, or will it only power one axle under all-electric power? What other mitigating factors could add efficiency and, in effect, range to this Subaru? Are these calculations, in fact, indicative of the yet-to-be-announced official figures? Of course, we'll have to see how the EPA's final estimated driving range shakes out before we draw our official comparisons. We'll know a lot more when the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid gets its official debut before the end of this year, plug and all. Related Video: News Source: California Air Resources BoardImage Credit: Subaru Green Subaru Fuel Efficiency Crossover Electric Hybrid PHEV

Autoblog Podcast #399

Episode #398 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Brandon Turkus, and Rob Sass of Hagerty Classic Cars Magazine talk about Cadillac's move to Manhattan and new naming convention, preview the Paris Motor Show, and finish up with the 3 Guys, 3 Grand Classic Car challenge. Also included is an interview with Tom Tjaarda, prolific designer of vehicles including the DeTomaso Pantera. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #399: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Cadillac relocates to NYC and changes its model names Paris Motor Show preview Tom Tjaarda interview $3,000 classic cars In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid Jensen Interceptor Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:47:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Cadillac Move - 24:02 Paris Motor Show - 39:22 Tom Tjaarda - 52:12 Hagerty $3000 Classics - 01:15:43 Q&A - 01:27:45 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Paris Motor Show BMW Cadillac Subaru Classics cadillac ct6 rob sass cadillac lts