Subaru has surprised us all!

They’re going to launch their new Subaru Impreza WRC rally car at the Acropolis rally in Greece next week.

That’s a whole two events earlier than we thought. The first pictures have just been released and here’s one of them, don’t say I don’t tell you anything.

Its based on the hatchback Impreza and has the same 2.0 litre engine as the last rally car. There will be more details on the 28th May, but we know the traditional yellow lettering has gone and instead we have the silver and white lettering from the corporate logo. It has a massive 300 bhp, the same as the UK WRX Sti 2.5 litre engine but its 275kg lighter.

A Subaru Impreza WRC has beaten six times winners by 50.9 seconds to claim first place in the Manx National Rally this weekend. In the end, it was a Subaru 1 – 2 – 3. Just goes to show how great Subaru really is in the performance stakes!

The defending champions were driving a Hyundai, which got stuck in the mud in the final stage. That cost them a valuable four minutes and they came in tenth in the end.

Cody Crocker drove his Subaru Impreza WRX Sti to another comfortable win last Sunday. He won the Canberra stage of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship for the fifth time in a row, with a comfortable lead of over three minutes.

This was his fourth straight win in Canberra. He was 55 seconds faster in the stages of Day Two than he was on the previous day. Crocker didn’t slip up even once, the Subaru Impreza made it look easy.

VFacts released figures this week showing that Subaru has shown record sales of 3158 vehicles in April. Their previous record was 3015 vehicles, set in April 2005. This new record also puts Subaru sales 16.5% ahead of April 2007.

My favourite, the Subaru Impreza, sold 952 vehicles, 36.8% more than last April and up 29% in the year to date. Get in!

In case you have any interest in any other Subaru model (although let’s be honest, why would you?), here’s the stats compared to last April:

Forest sold 1107 – up 22.7%

Tribeca sold 201 – up 86.1%

Liberty sold 478 and Outback 420 (percentage increases not available)

Nick Senior, the Managing Director of Subaru, said:

“New generation Forester and Impreza, together with our revised Tribeca, are kicking huge goals for Subaru.”

The Subaru 2.5 litre turbo engine has been named as International Engine of the Year 2008 in the 2.0 – 2.5 litre category after impressing the 65 judges of the L’Automobile Magazine award.

“This is a testament to the unique design qualities of our Boxer engine,” said Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Subaru of America, Inc. “Subaru has been producing Boxer engines for over 40 years and we are delighted to once again be recognized by the International Engine of the Year Awards committee.”

Doesn’t it make you feel proud to be a Subaru lover?

Drivers Eamonn Boland and Damien Morrissey won the Ordnance Survey Ireland International rally last weekend at Killarney.

Their Subaru Impreza won by an impressive three minutes, although the initial lead was ten seconds and their two main rivals crashed out.

This gives the guys a clear lead in the championship (Global Group Irish Tarmac Championship), so let’s hope the Subaru Impreza wins through!

You can read full details of the race at the Irish Independent website

A Subaru dealer in Carlisle is promoting the new Boxer Diesel engine with a see-through Subaru car! The Subaru bonnet is made of glass and all the detail is replicated on vinyl. The showroom has seen a massive upturn in visitors.

The side of the care shows the engine and it also shows the famous symmetricl all-wheel drive system. It even shows the exhaust silencer.

Ian Armstrong, the Dealer Principal of the Subaru dealership in question, namely Stan Palmer Sales, has said:

“Being the world’s first boxer diesel engine, we though we should come up with something equally revolutionary to get the car noticed.
continue reading "See-Through Subaru!"

The new Subaru Impreza WRC20008 car was test driven by the former World Champion Petter Solberg in Sardinia last week, for the first time!

continue reading "Subaru Impreza Cars: New WRC 2008 Car…."

Subaru’s latest advertising campaign for their 2009 models declares emphatically that love is all you need. Love and all-wheel drive, low-emission engines, an environmentally correct plant and a safety pedal system.

Subaru has employed Carmichael Lynch as their new creative agency and the new campaign tries to give emotional reasons for getting a Subaru. The brand has taken a far more rational approach for many years but now, along with the old theme “It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru” there will be a new word in front of them, “Love.”
continue reading "Subaru Owners Keep Their Cars Longer"

20 year old Justin Pickering of Melbourne, Australia was a P-plate driver. He was clocked doing 255 kmph on the highway in his Subaru Impreza last year and has now been jailed for nine months. He did also speed
continue reading "Subaru Impreza Cars: Joys of Subaru Impreza Land Driver In Jail"