2019 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited on 2040-cars

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Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Day 2: We made it to Patagonia | Subarus in South America

We made it. After Monday's layover in Buenos Aires on Tuesday afternoon, Chris McGraw and I landed in El Calafate, Argentina – right smack in the middle of Patagonia. The Andes mountains were to our west, open plains and lakes cut by glaciers to our east. McGraw and I settled inside a Subaru Outback, and with big smiles on our faces, high-fived as I said the words, "Dude... We're in f*cking Patagonia." Our official adventure starts today, where we're driving a number of Subaru crossovers on all sorts of terrain, visiting glaciers that are larger than most American cities, and taking in some of the most scenic landscape I've ever laid eyes on. Crosstreks, Foresters, and Outbacks will get us to our next destination, and we'll have a full recap of the day's activities for you tomorrow morning. Be sure to follow along with us on social media – Autoblog's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will provide more insights into our journey. Of course, both Chris and I will be posting individual impressions from the journey, so follow us, too (@stevenewing and @thequikdraw). In the meantime, get an idea of our epic surroundings in the video above.

Subaru recalling over 8,000 cars for Takata airbag inflators

We have one more automaker to chalk up recalling Takata airbag inflators. Subaru is now throwing its hat in the ring by repairing 8,557 vehicles nationwide for faulty front passenger inflators. According to the Defect Notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the problem affects 3,151 examples of the Legacy, Outback and Baja from the 2003 and 2004 model years and 5,406 units of the Impreza, including the WRX and STI (pictured above), from the 2004 model year.
As we all know by now, it's possible for the inflators to explode during airbag deployment possibly affecting not only the bag's inflation but also potentially spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. All of the affected vehicles will receive new passenger side inflators at no charge to the owner.
Seven automakers in the US announced recalls for the problem in late June affecting an estimated 2.1 million vehicles. Unlike some of the companies, Subaru is repairing all of the affected models in the US, rather just in certain warm-weather states. According to company spokesperson Michael McHale to Autoblog the reason is that "it was simpler to get everybody in there and make sure it was done." The replacement inflators should be in by the end of July, he said. Scroll down to read the recall report from NHTSA or download the full defect notice as a PDF, here.