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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.

2015 Subaru Forester tS Quick Spin

When Subaru invited me to Japan and the famed Suzuka racing circuit to drive its BRZ tS, there was more on the menu than sporting coupes. The STI buffet also included the Subaru Forester tS. If you caught my BRZ tS review, the Forester follows the same idea: modified for better, more precise handling but without any increase in power. As I shared in the first tS review, and with Subaru's news at the New York Auto Show, the company plans to increase the awareness of Subaru Tecnica International – STI – over the next five years. In the case of the BRZ tS, a similarly-conceived car is coming to the US in the next few years. Such is not the story with the Forester tS. The JDM-only product was on hand to drive as further proof of what STI can do, but not as a preview to an upcoming model for sale in America. Subaru execs wouldn't go so far as to rule the idea out completely, but there was plenty of wink-nudging admitting the limited market for something like the Forester tS over here. Firmly ensconced in the "forbidden fruit" category, then, I still thought it'd be fun to report on the hot-ish, wagon-ish Forester. This one's for the other car nerds like me. Driving Notes So, what's new on this tS? Basically STI made the Forester stickier and less prone to roll under high cornering load. The same type of flexible tower brace previously found under the hood of the WRX is used here, and "flexible draw stiffeners" connect the body to the front and rear subframes for added body stiffness. The braces incorporate a very strong coil spring, and add lateral stiffness with enough give to allow the tires to stay in perfect contact with the road surface. The tires in question are 245-section Bridgestones, riding on attractive 19-inch STI wheels, both increases from the 225-section tires and 18-inch wheels that come standard in the US on the Forester 2.0XT model. The tS also has a more-powerful Brembo braking package; handy when hauling a 3,600-pound vehicle down from straightaway speeds. Subaru benchmarked the tS versus other 'sporty' SUVs and CUVs, including out and out performance variants. (Japanese professional modesty prevented Subaru reps from naming specific names, but suffice it to say that the Germans were involved.) In terms of roll rates, yaw response, slalom time, g-force and more, the Subaru's tS package shows massive improvements versus the standard Forester, and holds up to the competitive targets too.

Subaru ending Tribeca production in January?

The writing has been on the wall for some time, but it seems that Subaru is finally pulling the lever on the guillotine to put the midsize Tribeca crossover out of its misery. Jalopnik has what appears to be a communication from Subaru to its dealers announcing that the final Tribeca will roll off the Lafayette, IN assembly line in January, with the last dealer delivery expected to occur the following month.
The last report we heard regarding the Tribeca said that Subaru could be planning a fullsize, three-row crossover, possibly to compete against the Nissan Pathfinder and Ford Explorer. Dropping the Tribeca would leave the automaker without a three-row crossover for the foreseeable future, but according to the memo, Subaru has sold just 78,000 Tribecas since 2005 making it one of the worst-selling vehicles in the US in 2011 and 2012 - for comparison, the automaker has already found 84,372 customers for its new Forester this year (through September) alone.
We have reached out to Subaru for comment on the Tribeca's passing, but have yet to hear back as of this writing. Stay tuned for an update, when and if we get word.