2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5gt Limited - Fully Loaded Nav/dvd/leather/camera/moonroof on 2040-cars

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J.D. Power dependability survey is out, but you shouldn't depend on it

J.D. Power has just released its latest automotive dependability survey, which of course has usual suspects Buick and Lexus ranking high. Those are safe and solid findings, surely. But when you look a little closer, there are curiosities. Our Consumer Editor, Jeremy Korzeniewski, offered an explanation a couple of years back for why this survey should be viewed with a degree of skepticism, and his take is worth a re-read. What jumped out at Jeremy were the relatively low spots assigned to Mazda, Subaru and Scion among the ranking of makes. Back in 2016 when he wrote his piece, they were ranked 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively. In this year's survey, Mazda ranks 15th and Subaru 26th, both below the industry average of 142 reported problems per 100 vehicles. (And Scion, of course, is in car-brand heaven.) Now, part of what is going on here is surely the fact that all automotive brands are producing dependable vehicles compared with years gone by, so the degree of variance between the best and worst on the list is not as great as it once was. "For the most part, automotive manufacturers continue to meet consumers' vehicle dependability expectations," Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a statement. "A 9 percent improvement is extremely impressive, and vehicle dependability is, without question, at its best level ever." That said, when a brand like Subaru, regarded by many as mechanically bulletproof, ranks 26th, it leaves people who know cars scratching their heads. Something there does not compute. The problem, as Jeremy pointed out, is one of methodology: When he wrote his piece, there was no weighting assigned to the problems reported in the survey. And that still appears to be the case. Therefore, a problem with an infotainment system or a loose piece of trim is deemed as serious as a blown engine or leaky transmission. (And yes, infotainment is still the biggest problem across the board.) Jeremy's point: If the categories of problems were weighted, you'd see a different picture. When you look at the Consumer Reports brand rankings (subscription required), you get a very different picture. in CR's rankings, Subaru is No. 6 among brands, which, well, sounds a lot more like it. CR singles out the redesigned 2017 Impreza as a car with some new-model problems. (The BRZ had the fewest.) The two surveys jibe a little more closely when it comes to Mazda, which CR ranks 12th, a drop of six places from previous-year rankings.

2020 Subaru Legacy teased with luxurious interior before Chicago Auto Show reveal

The 2020 Subaru Legacy will be revealed at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, and today we get a couple teasers for what to expect of the completely redesigned sedan. Both shots give us good looks at the exterior and interior, the latter indicates a move slightly upmarket. Plus we have spy photos from a little while back. Nothing about the Legacy's exterior comes as a surprise here. It's still a normally proportioned sedan with generic sedan styling. Spy shots from last year further indicate an evolution of the previous model's design language. Of course, with the proliferation of crossovers, simply being a sedan is becoming unique. New LED DRLs are striking as they surround nearly the entire headlight. Beyond that, we'll have to wait for the shadows to melt away to make any true judgements on styling changes. The interior has a bit more going on, specifically the vertical center screen that looks larger and fancier than any Subaru infotainment system we've seen yet. It reminds us of Ram's wonderful 12-inch vertical screen and its vertical banks of buttons. Each refreshed or new Subaru demonstrates marked improvement in the infotainment department, like the Forester and Ascent, but this appears to be on another level. The design and materials are nicer, too, with the brown stitched leather covering the dash leading to an elegant center console and gear shift area. In the darkened teaser photo, this looks like a luxury car interior. We'll be on the show floor ready to test out Subie's new infotainment after the official reveal next Thursday, and to see if the Legacy feels as luxurious as it looks right now. Related video:

A closer look at the 2015 Subaru WRX

For enthusiasts, the debut of the 2015 Subaru WRX was arguably one of the more important happenings at last week's LA Auto Show. After all, the 'Rex has been one of our perennial favorite all-weather sports cars, able to offer big thrills in any clime thanks to its turbocharged engine, manual gearbox and top-notch all-wheel-drive system.
For 2015, some big changes have been made to our favorite Subie, including the removal of the hatchback body style and availability of a continuously variable transmission. Of course, there's also the new, 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, not to mention the completely revised styling.
Lots of talking points, for sure, so West Coast Editor Michael Harley chatted with Dominick Infante, national manager of product communications for Subaru USA, who promises us that this car will be the "best-handling WRX ever." As for that CVT, Infante assures us that it was "designed for a sports car" and that the company aims to change the minds of people (like us, admittedly) who have a hard time warming up to the idea of this transmission in a package like the WRX.