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Subaru of America sells its 9 millionth vehicle, a 2018 Crosstrek

Back in 1967, Malcolm Bricklin approached Subaru about bringing its cars to the United States. The first models made their way to customer hands sometime in 1968. After 50 years, Subaru of America announced that it has sold its 9 millionth vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek, to a doctor and repeat customer in Arkansas. This comes just weeks after the automaker sold its 2 millionth Outback and marks another achievement in Subaru's long and continuously successful US operation. Dr. Hershey Garner — the owner of a 2005 Subaru Baja — was greeted with a surprise celebration at Adventure Subaru in Fayetteville, Arkansas, after he took possession of his new car. Garner's new Crosstrek was of course a new 50th Anniversary Edition. Each model in Subaru of America's lineup got a 50th Anniversary Edition. Those cars are all painted Heritage Blue with satin chrome trim. The black leather interiors have 50th Anniversary logos in the headrests. Subaru sales have been going gangbusters. Crosstrek sales were up an astounding 88.7 percent in March 2018 compared to March 2017. As a whole, Subaru marked its 49th month of 40,000-plus sales. The automaker has broken sales records in the US nine years in a row. Things show no sign of stopping anytime soon. Related Video:

Toyota to boost its Subaru stake to more than 20%

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp plans to raise its stake in Subaru Corp to more than 20% from around 17% now, a deal that would also see the smaller firm invest in Japan's top automaker, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The deal is due to be approved at a Toyota board meeting on Friday, the people said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. The investment would come a month after Toyota and another smaller Japanese automaker, Suzuki, said they would take small equity stakes in each other. Such tie-ups highlight how automakers are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development. Traditional car makers, especially smaller ones like Subaru and Suzuki, are struggling to meet the fast pace of change in an industry being transformed by the rise of electric vehicles, ride hailing and autonomous driving. Toyota's investment is likely to cost more than 70 billion yen ($650 million) based on Subaru's stock market value, said the Nikkei business daily, which first reported the news. Subaru is likely to reciprocate with a stake in Toyota that would roughly equal the value of Toyota's additional investment, one of the people told Reuters. The companies have long worked together on projects such as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins. At one time, Subaru built Toyota Camrys in its Indiana plant. Representatives for both Toyota and Subaru said the news was not something that had been announced by their companies. "The plan appears to be to ultimately make Subaru a fully owned subsidiary, to help create a 'mega Toyota.' This is the first step towards that," said Takeshi Miyao, managing director of Carnorama, a consultancy. "It's all about building scale." Subaru is particularly strong in sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and all-wheel-drive technology. The two automakers in June said they planned to jointly develop an electric sport-utility vehicle on a platform produced together, to split costs. Car markers around the world have been joining forces to slash development and manufacturing costs of new technology. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG have said they will spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles. Toyota seems to be particularly keen to build scale now by investing in smaller, domestic automakers, rather than forging cross-border tie-ups like some of its rivals.

Subaru recalls new Forester over pedal entrapment fears

Pedal entrapment and unintended acceleration are hot-button topics these days, so automakers are always staying alert for potential problems. For Subaru and its newly introduced 2014 Forester, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall due to improperly manufactured floor mats that could become an obstruction for the gas, brake or clutch pedals. The good news, of course, is that even if drivers experience this problem, the 2014 Forester comes standard with brake override.
At issue with the floor mats on 10,137 Forester models built between January and March of this year is that the resin material used on the underside of the mats can curl when exposed to heat. If the leading edge of the driver's mat curls enough, it can come in contact with the pedals making acceleration, braking and shifting more difficult - possibly resulting in a crash. To fix the problem, Subaru is replacing the entire set of floor mats in all of the affected units. The official NHTSA recall notice is posted below.