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Subaru gives Aussies BRZ Sports Pack

Well, it might not be exactly the Subaru BRZ STI that we've all been waiting for, but Australian market shoppers are now going to have the option of adding some STI flavor to their coupe, with this new BRZ S.
Critically, the Sports Pack upgrades included in the S specification do not involve forced induction of any kind for the BRZ's 2.0-liter flat-four mill. Instead, the BRZ S will offer a novel flexible strut tower brace and a coilover suspension to aid its already impressive handling prowess. Visually, the car gets a new aero kit with lowered skirts and a new front and rear splitter, as well as some mean-looking, 17-inch black wheels. Inside, a new gearlever and a STI-branded starter button will call out the S model.
The S package can be ordered on a new BRZ and fitted at the dealer, or added to an existing customer car. When ordered new, the BRZ S adds $7,995 Australian - about $7,275 US including installation - to the price of the six-speed manual car, or $7,195 Australian ($6,547 US) for the six-speed automatic transmission model. That's a pretty fat wedge of cash, but it's worth bearing in mind that Australians generally pay significantly more for new cars than we do here in the States. For instance, the BRZ starts at $37,150 Australian, nearly $34k US. Even accounting for regional equipment differences, that's a lot more than the BRZ's $26,265 as-delivered base MSRP here in America.

Subaru plans biggest-ever global recall over brake lights

TOKYO — Subaru Corp plans to recall around 2.3 million vehicles globally over a brake light problem, in what would be the automaker's biggest-ever recall as it grapples with a series of quality-related issues following rapid expansion. Japan's sixth-largest automaker told Reuters on Friday that it was recalling nearly 2 million of its popular Impreza and Forester models in the United States, its biggest market, and other countries, along with around 300,000 units in Japan to fix a fault with the brake light switch which can lead to ignition problems. Vehicles affected were produced from 2008 through 2017. If all of the identified vehicles are recalled, it would be the automaker's biggest in terms of affected units, excluding the ongoing Takata airbag recall. Since late 2017, Subaru has been reeling from a host of problems ranging from faulty components to inspection re-dos which, coupled with weakening sales in the United States, has forced the automaker to slash its full-year profit outlook to its weakest in six years. Quality-related issues have cast a pall on the automaker which enjoyed years of rapid growth in the United States, where it won over affluent and liberal-minded consumers with advertisements featuring slogans championing love and inclusion. Such branding boosted the image of the relatively tiny automaker, prompting it to ramp up production in the United States, which accounts for around 60 percent of its global sales volume. But in January, Subaru halted production at its sole car factory in Japan for nearly two weeks, holding up roughly 60 percent of its global output after it found a defect in a power steering component. Late last year, it announced a global recall of its signature boxer engines over an issue with its valve springs, while it has launched a series of domestic recalls for re-inspections after it admitted to cheating on testing processes. Related Video:

Toyota GT86 engineers explored shooting brake and sedan variants, are they still in the cards?

According to the Toyota UK blog, engineers for the automaker were so excited developing the GT86 coupe that they investigated producing a whole family of models based on the rear-wheel drive sports car. And at least one engineer - product chief Tetsuya Tada - still hopes it can happen, even if not everyone at Toyota is onboard. Tada: "Actually we tried to do this secretly but the executives found us out. They said: 'What are you doing? Will you please focus on the coupe.'"
Those mooted variants included both a four-door sedan and a shooting brake. Why? Aside from the pure excellence of a lightweight, brilliantly handling hatchback, Toyota was keenly aware of the fact that it may need to spread the cost of development out across several models. Tada says that's part of the reason why it was so easy to create the convertible. The company knew from the outset that a softtop version was in the cards, and built the machine's structure to accommodate having the roof sliced off.
Tada also made mention of the already-announced collaboration between Toyota and BMW. The engineer said that the GT86 was particularly helpful because it demonstrated just how successful a product conceived and designed by two different companies can be. While he didn't say exactly what Toyota and BMW are up to, it's clear the two are looking into a number of possibilities. It's an interesting read with a lot of