2000 Subaru Forester L Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Sunday Drive: Subaru Ascends up to the hottest market segment in America

Utility vehicles – in other words, crossovers and SUVs – are so hot right now. Two of our top stories from last week revolve around the utilitarian vehicle, but besides their jacked-up, five-door bodystyles, they couldn't be more different. The 2019 Subaru Ascent is headed into an extremely crowded and competitive segment, where it'll have to go up against industry stalwarts like the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot, not to mention upstart contenders like the Volkswagen Atlas. The Mercedes-AMG G63, on the other hand, has very little competition – there simply aren't very many ultra-luxurious, off-road-ready SUVs in the world vying to attract the dollars of the wellest-to-do customers across these United States. Moving on from crossovers and SUVs, our readers remain attracted to classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sportscars. The Toyota Supra's upcoming rebirth earns two places on our list of stories worth highlighting from the week that was; one with leaked information from a Japanese magazine, and another with rumors indicating that maybe we shouldn't be quite so excited. And finally, there's the strange case of the long-lost 2009 Chevy Corvette Z06 that one lucky individual happened to find squirreled away in a storage container with just 720 original miles. A high-horsepower head scratcher if we've ever seen one. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2019 Subaru Ascent vs Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: How they compare on paper 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 set to bare its 577-horsepower heart in Geneva Toyota Supra leaks in Japanese magazine ahead of Geneva debut Toyota Supra to be little more than a rebodied BMW Z4? Forgotten 720-mile 2009 Corvette Z06 emerges from storage Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz Subaru Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance barn find sunday drive subaru ascent mercedes-amg g63

2019 Subaru Crosstrek PHEV will be company's first plug-in hybrid

Subaru just announced its first-ever plug-in hybrid, and it comes in the form of its third-best-selling car, the Crosstrek. This is actually fitting in a couple of ways. First off, it's a quick-selling vehicle, but also because the Crosstrek was the model used for Subaru's first conventional hybrid, introduced for the 2014 model year. Sadly, the company has yet to reveal photos of the new hybrid, hence our inclusion of photos of the old model. The Crosstrek PHEV will also have a similarity to the Subaru BRZ in the sense that it benefits from Toyota technology. The company said that the hybrid system comes from Toyota. But don't fear, Subaru fans, it's still mated to a flat-four. The crossover will, like many other PHEVs, be capable of driving in full-EV mode and in conventional hybrid mode. The company hasn't announced how much range it will have. Subaru did reveal that the new PHEV is coming soon, with an on-sale date at the end of 2018. As such we should see photos and more details in the near future. While there aren't many plug-in hybrid compact crossovers, there are a few, and they're fairly compelling. The closest competition will be the Kia Niro PHEV, which has a claimed range of 26 miles and a solid 46 mpg when running with the gas engine. It starts at $28,840. Another potential competitor is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which provides 22 miles of electric-only range and a less impressive 25 mpg with the gas engine. The Outlander does boast more cargo space thanks to its bigger body, but also has a higher base price of $35,915. Related Video:

Subaru offers 50th-anniversary edition versions of all its cars

Subaru is celebrating its 50th year in the U.S., and like so many automakers, its doing so by rolling out some special edition models. What's a bit unique about Subaru's approach is that the anniversary editions are available on every single model in the lineup. That includes Impreza, Crosstrek, Forester, Outback, Legacy, WRX, WRX STI and BRZ. The only exception is the Ascent, which isn't yet on sale in any form. What distinguishes the 50th anniversary edition Subarus are really just cosmetic things. They're all painted in an exclusive "Heritage Blue" and accented with satin chrome trim. Naturally they have "50th Anniversary" badges, too. Inside, they're all equipped with black leather featuring embroidered "50th Anniversary" logos and contrast silver stitching. The seatbelts are also silver. These special Subarus are limited production vehicles. The company will build 1,050 each of the Impreza, Crosstrek, Forester, Outback and Legacy. The WRX, WRX STI, and BRZ will comprise 1,050 cars with 600 WRXs, 250 BRZs and 200 STIs. Every example is also the highest trim level, and models that offer more than one engine will be split such that there will be fewer of the high-horsepower versions. All of the anniversary edition cars are now on sale. View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Subaru 50th Anniversary Editions View 9 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2018 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Chicago Auto Show Subaru Coupe Crossover Hatchback SUV Sedan 2018 Chicago Auto Show