2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited on 2040-cars

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Toyota to boost its Subaru stake to more than 20%

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp plans to raise its stake in Subaru Corp to more than 20% from around 17% now, a deal that would also see the smaller firm invest in Japan's top automaker, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The deal is due to be approved at a Toyota board meeting on Friday, the people said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. The investment would come a month after Toyota and another smaller Japanese automaker, Suzuki, said they would take small equity stakes in each other. Such tie-ups highlight how automakers are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development. Traditional car makers, especially smaller ones like Subaru and Suzuki, are struggling to meet the fast pace of change in an industry being transformed by the rise of electric vehicles, ride hailing and autonomous driving. Toyota's investment is likely to cost more than 70 billion yen ($650 million) based on Subaru's stock market value, said the Nikkei business daily, which first reported the news. Subaru is likely to reciprocate with a stake in Toyota that would roughly equal the value of Toyota's additional investment, one of the people told Reuters. The companies have long worked together on projects such as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins. At one time, Subaru built Toyota Camrys in its Indiana plant. Representatives for both Toyota and Subaru said the news was not something that had been announced by their companies. "The plan appears to be to ultimately make Subaru a fully owned subsidiary, to help create a 'mega Toyota.' This is the first step towards that," said Takeshi Miyao, managing director of Carnorama, a consultancy. "It's all about building scale." Subaru is particularly strong in sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and all-wheel-drive technology. The two automakers in June said they planned to jointly develop an electric sport-utility vehicle on a platform produced together, to split costs. Car markers around the world have been joining forces to slash development and manufacturing costs of new technology. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG have said they will spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles. Toyota seems to be particularly keen to build scale now by investing in smaller, domestic automakers, rather than forging cross-border tie-ups like some of its rivals.

Subaru WRX STI S209 confirmed for Detroit Auto Show

Subaru teased us a week ago with the possibility that the STI S209 might come to America, and now the automaker has confirmed its debut at the Detroit Auto Show this January. Check out the S209 grille badge in the teaser photo above. The red trim around the edge is a nice accent to go along with the "S." Unfortunately, we don't have any further details on the new variant right now, so we'll have to wait a few more weeks to see what the STI folks have been up to. We hope the S209 will offer even more performance than the limited-edition Type RA. In the past, S20(X) series models packed more power, upgraded suspension and improved aero compared to the standard WRX STI. In the U.S., the current car's EJ25 turbo flat-four engine has been making roughly the same amount of power for a long time now, but in Japan, the S208 from last year made do with a newer 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making more power than our 2.5-liter. It's hard to believe that Subaru will try and certify a new engine for U.S. use, so a further refined STI engine is probably coming our way. We'll find out what Subaru has in store for us on January 14 in Detroit. Until then, feel free to speculate to your heart's content. Related video:

Some 2019 Subaru Outbacks and Legacys recalled, owners could get new cars

Update: Subaru provided us with some updated details pertaining to this recall. Here's what the company had to say: "The cars in question can be and will be repaired; they will not be junked or scrapped. We are offering a replacement vehicle as to not inconvenience the owners. We expect the number of affected cars actually in owners hands to be between 12-20. We are checking the entire population, but the defect rate is low and we estimate just 200 cars are affected." Subaru is recalling a total of 2,107 brand-new vehicles due to faulty welds located on the duct below the cowl panel that could compromise the vehicle’s body strength, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. The 2019 Outback and 2019 Legacy are the two models involved with the recall. However, there are only 142 Legacys impacted, whereas 1,965 Outbacks are being called back. Subaru says customers will have a few options if they have one of the affected vehicles. YouÂ’ll be able to exchange the vehicle, let Subaru buy it back, or return the car for some intensive repairs. Perhaps this recall reminds you of the situation the Ascent was in last year. The large Subaru SUV was recalled due to it missing a series of spot welds on the B-pillar, weakening the structure. Subaru said it planned to destroy all 293 Ascents that were thought to be affected at the time. These new faulty welds are described differently than the ones we saw previously. HereÂ’s SubaruÂ’s explanation for what went wrong: “During the manufacturing process at the supplierÂ’s factory, the spot-welder tip is cleaned and re-shaped by a dresser (grinding machine). During production of potentially affected parts, the grinding machine may have been blocked by excess metal chips/powder, thus reducing the effectiveness of the welder.” Subaru reportedly told Consumer Reports that most of the vehicles being recalled havenÂ’t even reached the dealerships yet, with fewer than 20 of the vehicles in customer hands. That makes sense, as Subaru says the affected vehicles were built between May 31 and June 6, 2019. Subaru said a bodyshop employee initially noticed the defect on June 6, which prompted an internal investigation, leading to the recall. We asked Subaru if it could provide any more detail about the recall beyond what the official documents show — the latest information can be found at the top of the post. If you have a 2019 Outback or Legacy affected by this issue, expect to receive a letter in the mail soon.