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2018 Crosstrek propels Subaru to best-ever April sales

April was a dismal month for most automakers, with sales declines that ranged from 4.7 percent for Ford to a whopping 28 percent for Nissan. So here comes mighty little Subaru, which claimed the month as the best April in its history. The gain is entirely attributable to the Crosstrek, which is all-new for 2018. Sales of the compact, raised crossover climbed almost 70 percent for the month to 12,266. Year to date, Subaru has sold 45,728 Crosstreks, an increase of 66.6 percent. That helped push Subaru's total U.S. sales to 53,170 in April and 202,873 for the first four months of 2018, increases of 1.5 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. It also marks 77 consecutive months of yearly month-over-month growth for Subaru. All other models saw declining sales for April, led by the Impreza, which was down 27.4 percent. "Our customers' interest in the Crosstrek continues to increase every month," Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales, said in a statement. "We're now looking forward to the start of production later this month of the all-new Subaru Ascent at our plant in Indiana." The 2018 version of the Crosstrek went on sale last August featuring a new 2.0-liter flat-four engine, stiff new chassis, more ground clearance and the EyeSight suite of safety technologies, among other changes. But the Crosstrek has been on a hot streak for a few years now, with sales up 15.1 percent in 2017 and 6.7 percent in 2016. The Crosstrek is Subaru's third top-selling model behind the Forester and Outback. Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante says the company did not see the sales trail-off last year that's typical of a vehicle at the end of its lifecycle with the Crosstrek. "It was essentially a straight line going up, and it was limited by production," he said. The difference, he said, is that Subaru is now able to make more of them. The company last year shifted production of the Impreza to its plant in Lafayette, Ind., to free up capacity to build more Crosstreks at its plant in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, which underwent a major retooling. The Indiana plant now builds the Impreza, Legacy and Outback after the expiration of a contract in 2016 with Toyota to build 100,000 Camry sedans annually. Production of the new three-row Ascent crossover will start in Indiana in May, following a $140 million expansion at the plant, according to Automotive News. The vehicle is due in showrooms in June, Infante said, with sales of 60,000 expected in the first year.

Subaru Ascent crossover's roofline revealed

Just recently, Subaru announced that the new Ascent three-row crossover would be revealed at the L.A. Auto Show. Along with the announcement came a teaser that didn't reveal much of anything. Now Subaru has released a second teaser, shown above, that is significantly more generous. The teaser gives us a solid look at the roofline and greenhouse of the Ascent. In general, it looks very much like a taller, more squared-off Outback roof, particularly at the back. But it doesn't quite look as upright as the Forester. The top of the front fender has a more pronounced shoulder over the wheel arches than either of those Subarus, too. Based on past spy shots, we're expecting the rest of the Ascent to continue the "big Outback" look. Expect a similar hexagonal grille and chiseled sheet metal as the Outback and the rest of the Subaru line. We'll get our complete look at the new crossover on November 28 at the L.A. Auto Show. Related Video:

Prototype Subaru Impreza 22B emerges from obscurity

Ask a gearhead what they think is the greatest Subaru built and the answer is probably something related to rally Imprezas – unless you're talking to a more quirky sort who'd throw out the SVX, XT or the bed-mounted jump seats of a Brat. But in any case, the 1990s rally Subarus are great, their road-going versions are brilliant and the rarest of all is the bulging 22B, which commands strong money due to its very limited availability. The Impreza 22B, reportedly named so for its 2.2-liter turbo boxer, but which also refers to the hexadecimal value of 555, Subaru's rally sponsor, was a widebody special with a bigger engine and more STI magic than other WRX variants. Officially it had 280 horsepower, but almost every Japanese performance car was advertised with that amount at the time – true figures take a dyno run or a dedicated mind to uncover. In addition to the modified body, the suspension was 22B-specific, as was the aero. The 2,800-pound 22B took just 5 seconds to hit 60 mph, a strong feat for 1998, and on the right road with the right kind of driver it is likely to be unparalleled for its era. As rare as any 22B is, there are also Subaru-built prototype cars that weren't part of the initial 400-car Japanese production run or the official 16-unit UK-bound batch, or the five Australian market cars. Some sources say there were 424 22Bs made, some mention a different number, and the prototypes are understandably the most coveted, least obtainable ones. Which brings us to this car currently for sale, which just so happens to be one of three known "000/400" series prototypes with just 55 kilometers (34 miles) on the digital odometer. Is this an actual wheeled unicorn? Contempo Concept, the Hong Kong-based dealer that also stocked the Miata Roadster Coupe we featured, has provided precious little information about this particular car, other than some very good sales photos that show the 22B in mint condition, complete with the 000/400 prototype plaque. There's no mention of the price – this Subaru is likely to have entered the "If you must ask, you cannot afford it" class of cars. It's not immediately obvious whether its prototype status would make it difficult, if impossible to register on the road, and/or if the low odometer reading is due to the car being more of a display item in the legal sense. 22B values have risen sharply during the past decades, and the prototypes will be the most expensive.