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Seeing the sights with Subaru EyeSight's Touring Assist | Autoblog in Japan

Autoblog recently went to Japan to drive cars, ride trains, and talk to carmakers about automotive history and the future of mobility. This video is part of a larger series of special reports from Japan. TOKYO — The interesting thing about Subaru's EyeSight technology is that — like its name suggests — it relies mostly on the stereoscopic color cameras located behind the rear-view mirror that scan the road ahead of the car. We've had EyeSight available here in the U.S. for years now, controlling features like pre-collision braking and throttle control, and adaptive cruise control. The cameras can detect vehicles, pedestrians and lane markings, and judge their distance. It uses color images to recognize brake lights, which add another piece of important input when making critical life-or-death decisions. New for Japan, though, is an EyeSight upgrade called Touring Assist. Touring Assist builds upon the capabilities of EyeSight with more robust lane tracing, adaptive cruise control and steering assist. Before expending to other markets or other models, Touring Assist is only available on the Subaru Levorg and WRX in Japan. The capabilities of lane tracing have been expanded for use at any speed, rather than just over 37 miles per hour. Additionally, Touring Assist adds automated steering to help keep you in your lane. This uses the cameras not just to read and adhere to the lane markings but, at speeds of up to 37 mph, to also follow the car in front of you. Touring Assist doesn't allow for fully autonomous driving, but its driver assistance features automate certain functions in specific conditions, theoretically making driving safer and easier. It's a step toward fully autonomous driving, a technological foundation upon which self-driving systems can expand. We arrived in Japan in spring, expecting to see streets lined with cherry blossoms. Instead, we were met with a frigid downpour that later turned to snow on our first full day in Tokyo. While not ideal conditions for our first time driving in Tokyo traffic — or driving on the left side of the road in a right-hand-drive car — it allowed us to test out Touring Assist in less-than-perfect conditions. Check out the video above to see how that went. In all, we were pretty impressed with Touring Assist. What would have been a fraught drive in a foreign country on the wrong side of the road in crappy weather and heavy congestion was actually pretty relaxed and enjoyable.

2016 Subaru BRZ and STI get Hyper Blue for new limited special editions

Blue fits as well on a fast Subaru as red does on a Ferrari or silver on a Mercedes-Benz. The color just clicks somehow with the Japanese automaker's performance models, and apparently the company knows it. This fall for the 2016 model year, the BRZ and WRX STI are getting new Series HyperBlue limited editions with an exclusive cerulean shade as the major selling point. Pricing is being held until closer to launch. Limited to 500 units, the 2016 Series HyperBlue BRZ is a follow-up to 2015's Series Blue edition. Hyper Blue looks to be a much lighter shade than Subaru's famous WR Blue, but the new color is still fairly attractive. The tone covers the entire exterior but is contrasted with black for the 17-inch wheels, badges, and mirror covers. The exclusive hue is carried inside too for the seat bolsters, headrests, stitching, door trim, and a mix of blue and black leather on the steering wheel. So if you're in, you're all-in. All BRZs get some other tiny tweaks for the new model year, too. A rearview camera is now standard, and Subaru's upgraded 6.2-inch Starlink infotainment system is available. More power is rumored as part of a more thorough refresh for the 2017 update. With production limited to 700 units, a few more Series HyperBlue editions of the 2016 STI are going to be on the street. Although, there aren't as many tweaks for them. Of course, the new color covers the outside, and it's also offset with black on the 18-inch BBS wheels, badges and mirror caps. Blue stitching brings the color into the interior, and Subaru's seven-inch navigation system with a nine-speaker stereo is standard for this version. Related Video: SUBARU TO OFFER LIMITED EDITION SERIES.HYPERBLUE BRZ AND WRX STI MODELS Limited to 700 WRX STI & 500 BRZ BRZ receives upgraded SUBARU STARLINK® Multimedia Rear Vision Camera now standard on BRZ Exclusive Hyper Blue exterior paint and interior trims Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. has announced the 2016 Series.HyperBlue limited edition available exclusively on BRZ and WRX STI models. As a follow up to the 2015 Series.Blue BRZ, the 2016 Series.HyperBlue cars feature exterior paint in Subaru's exclusive Hyper Blue with matching interior trim. Production will be limited to 700 WRX STI and 500 BRZ cars for the United States. Vehicles will go on sale this Fall.

Subaru BRZ has higher manual take-rate than 86, and other Subaru manual facts

Automakers are continuing to give us a peek at the popularity, or lack thereof, of the manual transmission. Our latest information comes from Subaru, which kindly shared its manual transmission take-rate numbers for 2018. One of the most interesting tidbits was that 78% of Subaru BRZs sold had a manual. What makes that so curious is its stark contrast to its twin, the Toyota 86, where only 33% of those sold in 2018 had a manual. On top of that, the BRZ has a stronger manual take-rate than the enthusiast darling Mazda Miata; the soft top had 76% of buyers going for a stick, and the RF had 52%. If we had to speculate, it seems the Subaru BRZ is attracting the hardcore sports car fans. Although the BRZ manual sales are strong, it isn't the model that sells the most. The Subaru WRX tops it with 90% of buyers picking the manual over the CVT option. We of course suspect that plenty of regular WRX buyers are opting for the manual, though the number is likely partly boosted by the fact the STI version is only available with a manual. Things aren't quite as rosy with Subaru's more mainstream offerings, but that's to be expected. The Impreza follows the BRZ with 8% of Imprezas selling with a manual. The Crosstrek comes in second-to-last at 6%, and the Forester comes in last at 3%. And the Forester has now dropped the manual transmission. One final interesting note to Subaru's manual take rate. Subaru told us it sold over 47,000 manual-equipped cars. That's roughly 2,000 more than Honda sold in the same year. And with Subaru's total sales numbers being less than Honda, that means the percentage of total sales that were manual is larger at 7% versus 2.6% for Honda.