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Subaru's STI motorsport arm celebrates 30 years of going fast

The letters W, R and X are often featured on the trunklid of a fast, blue Subaru, but the other important letters for a Subaru are STI – standing for Subaru Tecnica International. The STI motorsport brand brings to mind '90s World Rally Championship victories and Impreza legends such as the wide-bodied 1998 22B, but the division is actually a bit older: STI is celebrating its 30 th anniversary this week. Founded on April 2, 1988, Subaru's STI started out with tuned Legacy sedans. Its first car was a turbocharged Legacy, the RS RA from 1989, available only in a limited 100-unit run of Ceramic White cars, not the 555 Sonic Blue Mica or World Rally Blue that later became almost synonymous with hot Subarus. The RS RA produced 220 horsepower, which was very good for 1989. In January of the same year, three STI-modified Legacy Turbos were used to first break the 50,000 km, then the 100,000 km FIA World Speed Endurance records, with the cars run for 20 consecutive days at Arizona Test Center. The average speed was 138.78 mph, for 447 hours, 44 minutes and 9.887 seconds. That's quite a bit of driving, even in two-hour shifts. The first STI-branded Subaru vehicle was the Japanese-market Legacy STI in 1992, and the Impreza WRX STI followed it two years later. For some time, STI vehicles were the stuff of Gran Turismo gaming for most Subaru enthusiasts, until STI arrived in the United States in 2004. The first U.S.-bound model was the 300-horsepower WRX STI, a Peter Stevens-designed "Blob Eye" facelift of the second-generation Impreza. So far, STI's respectable tally stands at three WRC championships, 47 WRC wins, four Nurburgring endurance wins and a Nordschleife production sedan lap record set last year. Regarding STI's 30th anniversary year's production cars, there will be a limited-edition WRX STI Type RA and a STI-tuned BRZ tS for 2018. View 51 Photos Related Video:

Subaru brings back the Barkley dogs in new TV spots

Who let the dogs out? Subaru did. And they're bringing them back. The company announced it's bringing back the Barkley family of Labradors and Golden Retrievers for a new series of TV spots called "Dog Tested. Dog Approved." Subaru aired the four 30-second ads during the 24th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, which it has sponsored for 14 years. They'll repeat on network and cable broadcasts and feature in targeted digital and social media promotions. Subaru used the Barkleys most recently to unveil its new Ascent three-row SUV during its "Welcome to SubaruVille" event at the L.A. Auto Show late last year. The stunt was widely deemed adorable. The family of dogs have appeared in the automaker's ads as far back as 2009. "With more than half of Subaru drivers having pets, we believe it is important to celebrate the love of pets shared by our owners," Alan Bethke, senior vice president of marketing at Subaru of America, said in a statement. "Pets are considered members of our Subaru family and utilizing the Barkleys in our campaigns allows us to connect with our customers in an authentic, fun and entertaining way." The new ads are "Car Wash," embedded atop this post; "Drop Off," about the first day of obedience school; "Driving Lesson," in which a parallel parking lesson is complicated by passing geese; and "Drive Away," about a teenage dog being picked up by his father at the Dog Bowl. Subaru said it will also sponsor this year's "Puppy Bowl XIV," which airs February 4 on Animal Planet on the same day as the Super Bowl, and it plans to partner with BuzzFeed and Funny or Die on custom content branded with the hash tag #MakeADogsDay later on in the campaign. Subaru partners with animal welfare organizations like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as part of its Subaru Loves Pets campaign.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Subaru Auto News Marketing/Advertising Subaru Crossover SUV dogs subaru ascent

Ford Bronco, Bronco Sport, sub-Ranger pickup and GM EVs | Autoblog Podcast #618

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. Top of the list this week are the leaked photos of the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport. Then they talk about the possibility of a small Ford pickup based on the Focus, as well as all the electric vehicles Snyder saw in person at GM's "EV Day." The editors have been driving the Ram Power Wagon and Hyundai Sonata, and Palmer took Autoblog's long-term Subaru Forester to New Orleans. Finally, they help a listener choose a small luxury crossover in this week's "Spend My Money" segment. then, just as they're about to wrap up the show, they learn that the 2020 New York Auto Show has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Good times. Autoblog Podcast #618 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport leaked photos (and, just as we predicted, more photos) Ford shows its dealers the sub-Ranger pickup More details about everything we saw at GM's "EV Day" Driving the 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Driving the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Driving our long-term 2019 Subaru Outback to New Orleans Spend My Money: Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 or Range Rover Evoque? 2020 New York International Auto Show postponed Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: