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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.    

Subaru forecasts 540k US sales in 2015, 940k worldwide

In the past few years, growth for Subaru in the US has only been rocketing upward. The company went from selling 336,441 cars in 2012 to 513,693 in 2014, easily beating its own forecast. In fact with a 21 percent gain, the region was the automaker's largest expanding major market worldwide. The brand sees no reason for the strong inertia to stop in 2015 and thinks it can do even better. It actually looks like North America is going to play an even more important role in Subaru's future. According to the company's 2015 forecast, Japanese sales are expected to fall eight percent this year to an estimated 156,000 units. Meanwhile, growth in the US is estimated to climb to the tune of about five percent to a total of 540,000 vehicles. Canada should help things with a seven percent boost to 45,000 cars. The numbers mean that of the automaker's record 940,000 forecasted sales in 2015, roughly 62 percent could come from North America. To cope with the growing demand, Subaru intends to boost worldwide production and build 920,000 vehicles in 2015, an all-time record of it happens. Further out, the company's SIA factory in Indiana is getting an 18,000-unit expansion "during the first half period of FYE2017" to keep up with Legacy and Outback orders. Clearly, Subaru intends to gain even more ground in the coming years. Read below for its full forecasts. FHI Announces Production and Retail Sales Plans for CY2015 Automobiles Jan 16,2015 Tokyo, January 16, 2015 - Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, today announced its annual production and retail sales plans for calendar year 2015. 1.Production (Units in Thousands) 2014 Result '14 vs '13 2015 Plan '15 vs '14 Japan Production 696 +9% 700 +1% Overseas Production *1 193 +14% 220 +14% Global Production 889 +10% 920 +4% < Japan Production > In prospect of strong sales of the new Legacy and Outback being launched worldwide, Japan production is projected to be 700,000 units, which will be an all-time record for the 3rd consecutive year. < Overseas Production > With expected high demand for the new Legacy and Outback, overseas production is projected to be 220,000 units, which will be an all-time record for the 2nd consecutive year. < Global Production > Global production is projected to be 920,000 units which will be an all-time record for the 4th consecutive year. 2.

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.