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2013 Subaru Legacy, Outback will offer high-tech safety system
If you want advanced safety systems on your next set of wheels but can't afford an expensive luxury ride, you may want to take a trip down to your local Subaru showroom. Later this year, Subaru will roll out the 2013 Legacy and Outback, which will offer a host of safety features like pre-collision braking, lane-departure alerts, and adaptive cruise control.
Those features arrive courtesy of Subaru's new EyeSight driver assistance system, shown in the photo at left. The two protrusions you see on either side of the rear-view mirror contain cameras that keep track of obstacles in the vehicle's path. That's an improvement over radar-based systems that reside in vehicle bumpers, which can get damaged in fender-benders.
Like its namesake -- i.e. human eyesight -- EyeSight merges its two camera images into one stereo image to judge position and distance. Subaru has put this system to use in at least four major ways:
Pre-collision braking
EyeSight can identify vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, and other obstacles in front of the vehicle. If one of those obstacles gets too close and the Subaru driver fails to take evasive action, EyeSight can work with the braking system to slow the car and even bring it to a full stop if the vehicle is traveling below 19 mph. Above that speed, EyeSight applies the brakes to minimize collision damage.
Lane-departure warning
EyeSight doesn't just keep tabs on obstacles: it also tracks lane markers. If a driver veers across one without using the turn signal -- or if she swerves too much within the lane itself -- EyeSight will issue an alert. (NB: This may force freeway travelers to use their signal lights more regularly. Awesome.)
Adaptive cruise control
There's nothing as frustrating as finding the perfect speed, hitting the cruise control button, and then having one inattentive driver ruin it all by puttering along too slowly. Once a Subaru driver sets her preferred speed, EyeSight will monitor surrounding traffic, accelerating and braking as necessary, but always returning to cruising velocity. That doesn't give drivers license to start checking Facebook and Twitter, but maybe Google will come along and fix that soon.
Stop light nudge
Every day, it seems like we're stuck at a traffic light -- late for work or a meeting or happy hour or a post-work happy hour meeting -- and when the light finally turns green, the yahoo in front of us doesn't budge because he's engrossed in a phone call or Words With Friends. EyeSight prevents you from being that guy by sounding an alert when the vehicle ahead of you has moved on.
EyeSight will debut at the upcoming 2012 New York Auto Show. It will first be available on 2013 models of the Legacy and Outback, with others to follow.
Pricing for the system hasn't been announced, but Subaru says that it will be "one of the most affordable of such technologies available in the United States market". Stay tuned for details.
Courtesy of Subaru
Monday, March 19, 2012
Livermore Subaru’s CAR TIP OF THE WEEK: Fix small windshield chips
Thursday, March 15, 2012
2013 Subaru BRZ is Available to Order, On Sale in May
Enthusiasts, get your checkbooks ready: pre-ordering for the 2013 Subaru BRZ has officially begin.
With the 2013 Subaru BRZ slated to hit dealerships in just a few months, enthusiasts better start racing to their local Subaru dealerships – the automaker has officially started pre-orders for its new sports car.
On its consumer website, Subaru tells us that the 2013 BRZ will be produced in “extremely limited quantities,” although we don’t know just how limited the car will be in the U.S. yet. All we know is that “If you want to be one of those drivers you’ll need to move quickly.” When we spoke to Subaru PR, they would not confirm an exact number of units slated for the U.S., but they wouldn’t deny the rumored 6000 cars-per-year figure that’s currently floating around the Internet.
Despite opening the order books, Subaru has yet to officially announce pricing for the BRZ. However, we have previously reported that it will come in just under the $26,345 base price with destination for a 2012 Subaru WRX sedan, at $24,000 for a 2013 BRZ Premium. Even with that low price, the U.S.-spec BRZ will come standard with goodies like 17-inch alloy wheels; a leather-wrapped steering wheel, shift knob, and handbrake lever; an eight-speaker sound system; a navigation system; and a Torsen limited-slip differential. An additional $3000 will bump buyers up to the BRZ Limited trim level that comes with leather and Alcantara-covered seats, fog lights, a rear lip spoiler, and other goodies.
All 2013 Subaru BRZs will be powered by the same 2.0-liter flat-four that is rated at 200 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque; unlike other cars wearing the Pleiades badge, the BRZ’s power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission, although a six-speed automatic is optional. As we found out during our first drive of the BRZ, the car is a blast to drive because of its handling prowess.
If you can’t manage to reserve your own 2013 BRZ in real life, fret not – Subaru’s website also lets you pick from the seven different exterior color options. Our favorite? WR Blue Pearl, the same shade found on Subaru’s rally cars. For those lucky buyers who do manage to snatch up a 2013 BRZ, deliveries will begin starting this May.
Source: Subaru
