1999 Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru axes WRX and STI in UK

Auto Express reports Subaru will stop selling the Impreza, WRX and WRX STI in the UK starting next year. A spokesperson with the company said Subaru has been evaluating the Impreza and its performance in the UK for the past year and has finally decided to pull the plug. That means all of the model's performance iterations will also drop off of dealer lots, including the WRX and the STI. The unnamed spokesperson said Subaru UK currently has no plans to to bring more stock of either model once the current supply sells out. That means buyers in the UK have until around early summer 2013 to get their hands on an STI.
The move comes in response to slow demand, which has trickled off in the face of competition that best the machine in terms of refinement, performance and emissions. Moving forward, the automaker says it will focus its sales efforts on models like the XV Crosstrek, Forester and Outback, as well as the company's new BRZ sports coupe.

4 automakers agree to $553M settlement of Takata airbag claims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four automakers agreed to a $553 million settlement to address class-action economic loss claims covering owners of nearly 16 million vehicles with potentially defective Takata airbag inflators, according to court documents filed on Thursday. Toyota's share of the settlement costs is $278.5 million, followed by BMW at $131 million, Mazda at $76 million and Subaru at $68 million. According to a press release from Plaintiffs' Committee for Takata Airbag Product Liability Litigation, the funds for the settlement are aimed at getting more cars with faulty airbags fixed. At the time of writing, Toyota had the greatest recall completion percentage of 31.89 percent followed by Subaru with 31.37 percent. Mazda has completed repairs on 18.16 percent of affected cars, and BMW brings up the rear with 16.48 percent completion. Some settlement funds will go to an outreach campaign to increase awareness, while other funds will be used to reimburse people for any costs accrued to get their cars fixed. These costs can include rental cars, child care, lost wages, or any other reasonable costs associated with bringing in a vehicle for repairs. Furthermore, a customer support program will be funded with settlement money to handle any additional repairs or adjustments that could become necessary in the 75,000 miles following the airbag replacement. Lawsuits against Honda, Ford and Nissan have not been settled, lawyers said. Takata inflators, which can explode with excessive force and unleash metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks, are blamed for at least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide. The safety defect has prompted recalls worldwide of about 100 million inflators by more than a dozen major automakers. Reporting by David Shepardson, additional details by Autoblog's Joel StocksdaleRelated Video: Government/Legal BMW Mazda Subaru Toyota

2020 Subaru Forester adds a rear seat reminder, new pricing announced

The 2020 Subaru Forester has officially arrived with a few changes. To start, every Forester will be equipped with Subaru’s rear seat reminder as standard, following the larger 2020 Ascent which got that update earlier this year. Subaru is on the path to get the tech in all its cars, just like many other manufacturers have been doing for awhile now. ThereÂ’s a small revision to the standard EyeSight driver assistance tech for 2020. Now, every trim of Forester will be equipped with a Lane Centering function and a new Lane Departure Prevention function as standard. Previously, the standard equipment just included lane departure warning and lane-keeping assist.  Beyond those few tech add-ons, most things remain the same. A small increase of $200 bumps the price of entry up to $25,505. The destination charge was also increased by $35 to $1,010. All five trims from before are still available, including Premium ($28,405), Sport ($30,005), Limited ($32,105) and Touring ($35,605). The biggest trim-specific price increase comes at the Limited trim level, which went up $700 compared to the 2019 Forester Limited. You can read what we thought of the 2019 Forester in our first drive review of the redesigned model here. The 2020 Forester will be hitting dealers this fall.