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2020 Subaru Impreza gets EyeSight safety tech, $100 price increase

We recently saw the Japanese version of the 2020 Subaru Impreza after a subtle mid-cycle update, and now come details of the American version, which follows the same script in appearance but has a few new tricks up its sleeve. Subaru adds $100 to the starting price for the four-door model, which starts at $19.595, including destination, while the five-door hatchback is priced from $20,095. The big news is the addition of EyeSight, Subaru’s suite of driver-assist safety technologies, as standard on all Imprezas equipped with the continuously variable transmission, which is available on all four trim levels (Standard, Premium, Sport and Limited). That gets you automatic pre-collision braking and throttle management, lane-keep assist, lane-departure and sway warning, and lead vehicle start alert, which is essentially a heads-up to hit the gas when the vehicle in front of you has started moving from a stop. New for 2020 is the option of adding a reminder to check the rear seat occupants before leaving the car. Unlike in its native country, Americans buyers can still get an Impreza with a five-speed manual. ItÂ’s available on the Standard trim for the sedan and on the Standard and Sport models in the hatchback. The trade-off for driving stick, Subaru tells us, is that you give up the option of EyeSight. Steering-wheel paddle shifters are now available on CVT-equipped Premium models and above to pair with a seven-speed manual-mode function, and drivers can now select between Intelligent and Sport modes of throttle management as a standard feature. Also new are automatic power door locks with a collision-detection unlock function, which are standard on all trims, new 18-inch alloy wheels and active torque vectoring Visually, the car looks pretty much the same as the Japanese version, with a revised grille and front bumper cover, a wide air dam stretching across the entire face of the bumper and L-shaped chrome bracket trim book-ending it. Five-door models only get a new design on the combination lights. ThereÂ’s also a new color option called Ocean Blue Pearl. The engine remains the same as before, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer making 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy tops out at 36 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city, with a range of 450 miles. Other standard features include the Starlink 6.5-inch multimedia touchscreen and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. The 2020 Impreza arrives in showrooms later this month.

2015 Subaru WRX looks to set a new benchmark in LA

Subaru has just taken the wraps off of the new, 2015 WRX at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. The totally redesigned sedan - the five-door option won't be offered - is more powerful, more fuel efficient (with the right transmission), better looking and more intelligently designed than the car it's replacing.
A new 2.0-liter, direct-injected, turbocharged flat-four sits thumping away under the hood, its top-mount intercooler getting force-fed air by a rather prominent hood scoop. Power output sits at 268 ponies and 258 pound-feet of torque, accessible between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm. While the new car only has a three-horsepower advantage on the current Impreza WRX, it delivers 14 more pound-feet of torque and delivers peak output across a much wider swath of the rev range (the old car netted 244 lb-ft at 4,400 rpm). All this extra grunt comes at a negligible weight penalty - a 2015 WRX with the six-speed manual is just 59 pounds heavier than a 2014 model.
As we said, a six-speed manual is will be available, and as a bonus, it packs one additional cog over the current, 2014 WRX's five-speed DIY transmission. So equipped, the WRX will scamper to 60 in just 5.4 seconds. As for the previously-confirmed continuously variable transmission, it will come with both six- and eight-speed manual shift modes, but will take half a second longer to get to the magical 60-mile-per-hour mark.

California adapts ZEV mandate with PHEVs for smaller automakers

California is the nation's largest market for zero-emissions vehicles with over 100,000 of them estimated to be on the roads there. The state's goal is to keep that number growing every year. To that end, the California Air Resources Board is now tweaking its rules in a way that might not boost ZEVs but could mean more plug-in hybrids for the Golden State. Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Volvo asked for an exemption to the state's zero-emissions vehicle mandate last year due to their relatively small development budgets compared to larger automakers. CARB denied their request but did craft a compromise, according to Automotive News. Rather than being required to offer a ZEV in the state, companies with an annual global revenue of less than $40 billion, like those in this group, may instead sell plug-in hybrids to earn ZEV credits. The companies aren't completely off the hook, though. If these plug-in hybrids don't earn enough credits, the corporations must buy them on the market to make up the difference. Automakers with popular electric models like Nissan and Tesla have made a big business through this trading system by selling their surplus to rivals. Tesla alone pocketed $51 million in the first quarter from this part of its business, according to Automotive News. The changes to the regulations also aren't set in stone, yet. CARB is meeting in 2016 and could adjust things further at that time. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Government/Legal Green Jaguar Land Rover Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Volvo Emissions Electric Hybrid California zev credits zero emissions vehicle