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Man posts dashcam video of epic crash over cliff

YouTube user TurboFoz uploaded dashboard camera footage Monday of a terrifying crash that occurred last year as he was driving the popular Angeles Crest Highway in California. Last January, TurboFoz was zipping through the San Gabriel Mountains in his 2004 Subaru Forester XT. The engine sound was so alluring, TurboFoz opened up his Forester in the tunnels that dot the scenic highway for the full effect. "As an auto enthusiast, when you have a nice relatively fast car with a loud exhaust you tend to like tunnels," he wrote. "They make your exhaust sound that much better, sort of like singing in the shower." What he didn't know was that the road curved sharply just outside of one of these tunnels. A bystander tried to wave him down, but TurboFoz wasn't sure why the man was signaling to him. It was only when he saw the angle of the road up ahead that he realized the man was trying to tell him to slow down. He applied the brakes, but it was too late. The Subaru slid across the road and tumbled off the cliff. He rolled several times before coming to rest on a large drainage pipe jutting from the steep mountainside. If it wasn't for that small ledge on the sheer cliff the accident could have been much worse. "It was the only horizontally level piece on an extremely steep sloped hill," he wrote. "Had I spun off a few feet before or after, I'd be dead. TurboFoz says driving too fast on an unfamiliar road cost him his beloved Subaru and almost his life. Luckily TurboFoz was unhurt, but unluckily his beloved Forester was a total loss. TurboFoz hopes he can save other enthusiasts from the same, or worse, fate. "This is a reminder to be safe, pay attention and KNOW THE ROAD before you try to have "fun" on it," he said. "I failed on all 3 of those accounts and it nearly cost me my life. I've more than learned my lesson and would hope some others do by my example." News Source: YouTube Subaru Driving Ownership Safety Autoblog Minute Videos

The next Subaru three-row will be the biggest Subaru ever

Subaru's trying to fix what hobbled the too-small, too-odd Tribeca, the company's last attempt at a three-row SUV, with a truly American-sized vehicle that will resemble the Viziv-7 Concept the company showed off at the LA Auto Show. We caught up with Dominick Infante, National Manager of Product Communications, to get the story about what that future SUV will be like. While he couldn't talk about engines ("[W]e'll have big news on that coming up," he said), Infante told us that the production SUV would be based on the new global architecture, a version of which underpins the new Impreza. That car, and its architecture, were "designed to meet crash testing out to 2025, so it's very overbuilt which is why we can go to something as large as this," Infante said. It's also coming soon. Infante told us that the production version be on the road in 2018, which we assume means it'll be a 2019 model year vehicle. Don't expect it to diverge from the company's general styling themes, either. Infante mentioned that the Tribeca, "was a very stylized vehicle ... [it] kind of didn't fit with the brand." We'd say that's an accurate assessment of a vehicle that always stood apart from the rest of the lineup. Subaru will play it safe to avoid that problem, making sure the production version of the Viziv-7 will be immediately identifiable as a Subaru. As Infante put it, "It's not going to be overly fancy or pretty; it'll be rough and tumble. We're going to stick with our Subaru DNA." And it'll also fix the Tribeca's other problem, which was size, particularly in the third row. Infante promised us that adults would fit in the Viziv-7's rear seats, although a quick glance in the Concept didn't confirm this because there wasn't an interior at all. So we'll have to wait and see, and note that there was no discussion of the size of those adults. Infante also promised configurable seating and cargo arrangements that would go beyond anything Subaru's done before – and since Subaru's only done one proper three-row, that means the Tribeca. Since it's debuting in 2018, it's a safe bet we'll see a concept that's much closer to production form next year. Stay tuned.Related Video:

Subaru WRX hatchback mule spotted

Despite on-again, off-again rumors, this latest set of spy shots seems to indicate that yes, a five-door Subaru WRX is indeed in the works. Subtlety is key with this test mule, but there are clear bits of evidence that indicate a hotter hatchback is what's being developed here.
First, notice the WRX-spec front fascia grafted onto this ordinary-looking Impreza hatch. From there, we can clearly see the tiny bit of added width - most obvious on the roof and at the rear, near the fuel door and taillamps. And of course, let's not forget about that bulge in the hood, consisting of a metal panel that covers the hood scoop and can apparently be removed thanks to a series of screws, according to our spies. The WRX's more robust exhaust and larger wheel/tire package have not been added to this mule, though we're told that this is commonplace for Subaru prototypes - those bits should be added on as the car's development progresses.
We fully expect a WRX hatchback to be, well, just that - mechanically, it should be identical to the sedan brethren, though our spies indicate that Subaru could be testing an updated version of the WRX-spec boxer engine. Of course, there's always a chance that this could be something else entirely, given the on-and-off reports of the five-door 'Rex's existence in the first place...