2002 Subaru Forester 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru recalls more cars, slashes guidance as cheating issue widens

By Naomi Tajitsu TOKYO — Subaru Corp said it would recall more vehicles sold in the Japan domestic market on new cases of inspection cheating, and cautioned that rising recall costs would lop off about a quarter from its annual profit forecast. Shares in Subaru, already reeling from a series of recalls for issues ranging from faulty components to inspection do-overs, fell 5 percent to a four-year low on Monday after news of the fresh recalls and the bleak outlook. The company, the smallest among Japan's major automakers, said it would recall around 100,000 vehicles, including its popular Impreza sedan, after discovering that final tests for components including brakes were not conducted properly. Vehicles sold overseas will not be affected. "It's unforgivable that these inspection-related issues are continuing," CEO Tomomi Nakamura said at a briefing, while repeatedly adding that the latest recall would be the last related to testing misconduct. The automaker expects to incur 6.5 billion yen ($57 million) in costs related to the latest recall. This, along with other quality-linked issues, is expected to push down Subaru's operating profit to 220 billion yen in the year to March 2019. It had previously forecast a 300 billion yen profit. Subaru posted a surprise operating loss of 25 billion yen for the three months ended September, its first time in the red for a quarter since 2009 and missing a mean forecast for a 68.46 billion yen profit from 10 analysts polled by Refinitiv. Recall-related costs were the main driver of the loss, while global sales fell 6 percent over the quarter due to weak demand in the United States — its biggest market, where overall demand has cooled since record-high sales in 2016. (Click here for an interactive version of this chart) Engine recall Last month, Subaru nearly halved its first-half operating profit view, citing higher quality-related costs. It later announced a global recall of around 400,000 vehicles, including its Forester SUV and Impreza sedan, to fix a design flaw in the engines' valve springs. That came on the heels of another series of recalls stemming from revelations last year that uncertified workers had been submitting final inspection reports for vehicles sold in Japan. That had also led to a recall of about 400,000 cars. Recalls are common in the auto industry, and automakers regularly put funds aside to pay for them.

Prodrive builds new Isle of Man Subaru for record attempt

Prodrive have released photos of their new weapon for the Isle of Man TT Course. The three-time British Rally Champion Mark Higgins has set a number of records driving a Subaru on the famed Manx course throughout the years, and this time Subaru Technica International and Higgins are teaming up with Prodrive. Prodrive are famous for building Subaru's rally cars in the past, from 1990 to 2008, so the joining of forces gives the Isle of Man TT car an extra helping of motorsport magic. These days, Prodrive is also known for rally-prepared Minis and for building Aston Martin racing cars. They've had their share in giving UK-specification customer cars more power as well, along with creating a one-off, Subaru-based P2 sportscar to showcase their engineering skills and close ties with the Japanese manufacturer. This year's motorcycle event takes place on the treacherous 37-mile circuit in the end of May and early June. Past years' record drives have been especially memorable, and Higgins has been at it since 2011, first dipping under 20 minutes with a 19-minute, 56.7-second run five years ago – besting Tony Pond's 1990 laptime by over two minutes. The latest time for Higgins is 19 minutes and 15 seconds, so it will be interesting to see if the new car does it in less than 19 minutes. Related Video: Featured Gallery Subaru Prodrive Isle of Man Motorsports Subaru Racing Vehicles isle of man tt mark higgins road racing

2019 Subaru Forester Long-Term Update | Road trip to New Orleans

Our 2019 Subaru Forester long-term tester is rounding second base in its stay at Autoblog’s Michigan HQ, yet the blue-painted, gold-wheeled crossover hadnÂ’t left the Midwest throughout its first six months here, so I sought to change that by taking it down to New Orleans. The goal: Determine if the Forester is a good road trip car. Of course, my girlfriend and I also wanted to go to Mardi Gras, but either way, we were in for some long days of driving. There are a few umbrella categories a vehicle should excel in to make a vacation and road trip better for all involved. For me, those include comfort, utility and its driver assistance systems. Comfort I was fairly certain this category would be a boon for the Forester going in. It sops up Michigan potholes well, and it did an excellent job on the various road surfaces I encountered on the way to New Orleans, too. SubaruÂ’s passive dampers on the Forester are tuned to make rough roads more livable as opposed to whipping around a highway clover leaf. That makes for soft and rolling eight-plus-hour days behind the wheel. The cabin at highway speeds was loud, though. A lot of that has to do with the Michelin X-Ice winter tires current fixed, but there's also a noticeable amount of wind noise that follows that. Plus, if you ever need to get going in a hurry, the thrashy boxer-four makes its presence known above all other noises as the CVT pegs the needle near the 6,000 rpm redline. Our Forester has the high-end Harman Kardon audio system equipped, but we still had to jack the volume way up to hear podcasts and quieter music. The cabin noise was never overwhelming, but it did become tiresome after a few hours with this many sounds competing with each other. Since we were driving due south or due north, those crosswinds werenÂ’t just audibly annoying. Gusts were plenty capable of blowing the Forester around in its lane due to its tall, upright stance. ItÂ’s not like a big panel van, but it was still disconcerting at times. There were only two of us on this road trip, so the front seats were the only ones in use. I was plenty comfortable for the trip's entirety. The driver seat's electric lumbar adjustability left my back in good shape, and the upright seating position is a bit like sitting in a chair at a kitchen table. The seatÂ’s cushioning was supportive enough to keep me from complaining, but never too stiff so as to be uncomfortable.