Auto blog

Subaru BRZ tS makes its brief video debut

Ever since Subaru released the BRZ, fans have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the STI version. But despite the recent release of the tS package, the brand faithful will have to wait a little longer, because the tS stops short of the full STI treatment. But at least it looks the part.
Though the BRZ tS doesn't encompass any major engine mods to speak of, it does benefit from a number of enhancements: a new driveshaft, aero kit, Brembo brakes, Recaro buckets and more. Which may be more than enough for some, but to tip the scales of disappointment, Subaru will only make 500 such examples, and they'll only be available in Japan. So chances are you won't be getting your hands on one, but at least you can admire it from this brief video clip below. It's not much to go on, but that seems about par for the proverbial course.

Watch Higgins' mind-blowing Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man record lap in first-person

Have you gotten sick of Subaru and the Isle of Man? Good, we'd hope not, because of all the videos we've posted so far, today's is the crown jewel. In-car, around the notoriously treacherous race track, with commentary from David Higgins himself.
It gets better, though. Overlaid with the video is the same biometric data that we showed you last week. The result is a heart-pumping, 22-minute video of the record-breaking sprint around the entirety of the Isle of Man TT circuit at a truly wild pace. Higgins commentary, meanwhile, simply adds to the experience of hurtling across the landscape. Subaru has also put together a second video, highlighting the WRX STI that was used in the lap.
You can view both of those videos, as well as a short press release from Subaru, below. Scroll down and take a look.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study