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Subaru executive casts doubt on manual transmission future

Some disconcerting news for Subaru fans has come out from the Geneva Motor Show. Subaru's U.K. managing director told Auto Express that he doesn't see the manual transmission as having a future at the automaker. He explained that the company is really focusing on safety, and in turn Subaru's Eyesight technology. As a refresher, that system uses stereo cameras to enable features such as automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. The feature isn't currently available on manual-equipped Subarus, and the executive said he wasn't sure if the system was compatible. And with Subaru's push for safety and Eyesight, he said that continuing to offer manual cars without the system could undermine that push. This sounds dire at first, but we shouldn't panic yet. First, this is just an executive for Subaru's U.K. branch, not for the global company or the U.S., and car companies don't have the same offerings everywhere. For example, the Crosstrek is only offered with a CVT in Europe, but here in America – land of the free, home of the clutch – Subaru offers a six-speed manual. So, while it is possible that certain regions will have reduced or no manual options, that doesn't mean it would be across the board. View 22 Photos And even if Subaru decided it would phase out manual transmissions on most of its mainline cars, as it did with the Legacy, we can't imagine the company abandoning the transmission for its performance cars. WRX and STI fans would riot in the streets, possibly on their way to buy a next-generation Focus RS or Golf R, and the BRZ, a car built around the idea of driver engagement, wouldn't survive in a market with the Miata. Subaru may want to improve safety, but they're still a for-profit company, and sales of its performance cars would surely tank without a manual option. One more reason not to fret is that, while Subaru doesn't currently have a manual-compatible suite of semi-autonomous safety features, that doesn't mean it's impossible. As it so happens, Mazda offers low-speed automatic emergency braking as a standard feature on all its models in every trim. Mazda also has higher-speed emergency braking, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control as options, and they are compatible with manual transmission cars. You can order up a top trim Mazda3 Grand Touring with a manual transmission right now. Keeping all this in mind, we think it's highly unlikely that Subaru will abandon the manual transmission.

2015 Subaru WRX STI headed for Detroit, more WRX details leaked

The debuts of the 2015 Subaru WRX and the Legacy Concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week are kind of hogging the Subaru spotlight, making it easy to forget that there is a more potent, more aggressive version of the small sedan waiting in the wings. And based on a rumor from Australia, we'll see the sportier WRX STI at the Detroit Auto Show in January.
The report comes from Motoring in Australia, which claims that a more potent version of the WRX will make its debut in the Motor City, and that it will do so with an even 300 horsepower (five fewer than the current STI) and 290 pound-feet of torque (identical to the current car). Aside from the more potent 2.5-liter turbocharged flat four, the STI should boast the regular spread of aesthetic upgrades and suspension, brake, chassis and transmission tweaks.
The standard all-wheel-drive WRX will sprint to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.

Subaru WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition a Japan-only goodbye

Just before Subaru stopped selling the WRX STI in the UK and Continental Europe, the automaker released 150 examples of a WRX STI Final Edition for the UK. Now that the Japanese-market WRX STI is about to give up its 2.0-liter EJ20 flat-four engine, the company's repeated the gesture. Subaru will produce 555 of the WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition for buyers in Japan, celebrating the motor that's served for 30 years in turbo and non-turbo forms in a bag of Subie models ever since it found a home in the 1989 JDM Legacy sedan. We'll guess the production figure recalls Subaru's blue and yellow World Rally Championship livery when State Express cigarette brand 555 sponsored the multiple-championship-winning team from 1993 to 2004.  This take on the turbocharged EJ20 rocks 304 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. Those aren't output numbers to make a statement, seeing as they're less than the 325 horses and 318 lb-ft in the special edition WRX STI S208 from two years ago, and the 320 hp and 320 lb-ft in the S207 from four years ago, both with the same EJ20 engine. The Final Edition does get engine tweaks like mass-balanced pistons, upgraded clutch and flywheel, and a plaque reading "EJ20 Final Edition." Power's sent through a six-speed manual to four 19-inch, gold BBS wheels held back by Brembo brakes. As the automaker did with the S208, the EJ20 Final Edition will only be available through via a lottery application on a local Subaru site between Oct. 24 and Nov. 11, priced at JPY4,521,000 ($41,620 U.S.). After that, orders for other versions of the WRX and STI with the 2.0-liter will only be taken until Dec. 23, 2019. As the WRX STI endgame continues, we're left to wonder what's headed this way in the next-generation model. The EJ25 2.5-liter boxer-four specific to our market will bow out, but competing narratives suspect larger and smaller engines could replace it. At least one report thinks the Levorg wagon's 1.8-liter turbo might power the next WRX — our WRX currently uses the FA20 2.0-liter with 268 horses, and a report from August predicts the next WRX STI to get a more powerful FA20 with 315 horsepower. The new-gen sedan is expected to bow next year before launch in 2021.