2012 Subaru Impreza Wrx Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru WRX vs. Volkswagen GTI | Under-$30K fun

If financing a new car purchase for 60 months, you'll spend roughly $200/month for those five years on every $10K you finance. Subaru's WRX and Volkswagen's GTI, each with a base price of around $25K (which equates to roughly $400/month with 20 percent down) can easily become $40K (in WRX STI and Golf R trim). That extra $15,000 will cost you almost $300/month over the life of a 60-month payment book. A $40K Subaru or Volkswagen is cheap in terms of enjoying the additional performance, but if your goal is only to get places in a fast hatch or sedan, you can keep your outlay far closer to the base price. Just mind the options. VW GTI: In the increasingly popular hot hatch segment, the GTI was arguably the first. Based on the revolutionary (for the mid-'70s) Golf hatchback, the GTI offered upgraded power, improved handling and just enough cosmetic enhancements to let others know you were driving something special. Consumer response was immediate, and imitators came out of the woodwork. Now in its seventh iteration (as of the 2015 model year), the GTI has consistently evolved. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged four makes 210 horsepower and — more important in day-to-day driving — 258 pound-feet of torque. Its footprint remains comfortably small, with easy access to front and rear seats and, if you need to carry something large, it has an expansive hatch and fold-down rear seat. Like most of the VW/Audi family, its interior design and appointment bat well above the $25,000 price point. Whether selecting the six-speed manual transmission or six-speed DSG automatic, know that a responsive, agile hatchback is just a throttle tip-in away. It's perfect for the in-town commute, weekend getaway or cross-country romp. And it appeals to a wide demographic, so resale value will remain high. Subaru WRX: This once was a performance derivative not shared with American consumers. But with its success globally, Subaru brought the WRX to the States, with the high-performance STI variant not long after. Having been offered in the U.S. as a sedan, wagon and hatchback, today's WRX is available only as a four-door sedan. As on every Subaru available in the U.S. (except the BRZ), all-wheel drive is standard. Power is supplied by a turbocharged flat four displacing 2.0 liters but upping the horsepower to 268, while available torque is numerically identical to the GTI's at 258 pound-feet.

Travis Pastrana puts on blue and gold Subaru jacket again

Travis Pastrana partnered with Subaru for eleven years, the relationship going especially well from 2006 to 2010 when Pastrana won four consecutive Rally America National Championships. They broke up in 2010 to give Pastrana space for his NASCAR fling and a couple of years in Global Rallycross with Dodge.
Giving up on his NASCAR dream last November has made possible a reconciliation with his former automotive love: Subaru has just announced that Pastrana will return to its Rally Team USA for the 2014 Rally America Championship, partnering with veteran team driver and current Rally America champion David Higgins.
Although the season begins later this month in Atlanta, Michigan, Pastrana won't return until the second round in February, the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri. He'll also be at the start of the Global Rallycross round of the X-Games in June, but in a WRX STI this year instead of his erstwhile Dodge Dart. You'll find a press release below with a few more bits of information, and there's always this trip down memory lane...

Subaru of Indiana produces its 4 millionth Subaru, but that's not all

Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA), the only Subaru plant outside Japan, just celebrated building its 4 millionth Subaru. On Monday, April 22, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a silver 2019 Outback rolled off the line to mark the milestone. The facility was the product of a joint venture between Subaru and Isuzu, producing about 67,000 cars per year. Devoted solely to Subarus since 2016, yearly output by the more than 5,700 factory associates hovers around 370,000 cars. Those with a head for arcane minutiae might recall that in 2013 Subaru announced having produced the 4 millionth vehicle at the plant. An Outback also celebrated that milestone, that time a 2014 model in Dark Indigo Blue. Subaru answered our question about the previous highlight by explaining, "in the past, the plant produced Isuzu vehicles (and at one point, even the Honda Passport and Toyota Camry)." The 2013 vehicle tally counted everything rolling out the doors. This week's marker counts just the Subarus. The facility also builds the Ascent, Impreza, and Legacy for the North American market. Things are going so well for the Japanese carmaker that we were also told, "While this week we're celebrating our 4 millionth Subaru vehicle (since beginning production in 1989), in early September we expect to produce our 6 millionth overall vehicle." Seems those seven sisters of the Pleiades, Subaru's constellation logo, are shining at full strength.