Going greener: Subaru hybrid to debut at New York Auto Show

A hybrid will help Subaru compete with its main rivals in Japan and the United States, while giving buyers a new and different green choice.

It’s only natural that the Japanese carmaker is working on a hybrid. A Subaru official told the Detroit Bureau that the hybrid will debut soon, possibly at the New York Auto Show in March.

Kenichi Yamamoto, director of product management and coordination for Subaru of America, told the Detroit Bureau that parent company Fuji Heavy Industries feels Subaru needs a hybrid to compete in both its home market, where hybrid sales are on the rise, and the United States.

In the U.S., many Subarus qualify as partial zero emission vehicles (PZEV), thanks to the small four-cylinder boxer engines offered in most models, and continuously variable transmissions. However, with most mainstream carmakers offering both conventional and hybrid powertrains in their bestsellers, it’s easy to see why Subaru wants a hybrid of its own.

What will that hybrid look like, though? Subaru gave the world a clue back in 2011 at the Tokyo Motor Show. The Advanced Tourer concept featured a hybrid powertrain, consisting of a 1.6-liter direct-injected boxer engine, a single electric motor, and a lithium-ion battery pack.

A boxer engine will almost certainly provide the petrol power for a production Subaru hybrid. Whether it is the Advanced Tourer’s 1.6 or a bigger version from the Impreza, Legacy/Outback, or Forester remains to be seen.

Which Subaru will get the hybrid powertrain? Fuji Heavy Industries isn’t saying, but the Advanced Tourer was billed as a C-segment car, putting it in roughly the same size category as the Impreza and Forester.

The Advanced Tourer’s hybrid system was designed to work with Subaru’s trademark “Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive,” and it seems likely that the production hybrid will also have all-wheel drive.

That could be one of the Subaru’s biggest selling points. There are only a handful of all-wheel drive hybrids available, and they’re all SUVs.

We’ll get the full scoop on Subaru’s hybrid in late March, when the New York Auto Show opens.

-Courtest of Digital Trends

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Subaru Releases Teasers for Latest “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™” Commercials

Subaru of America, Inc. announces the return of its “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™” campaign. An all-new cast of canines will make their television debut during Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl IX. Fans of the venerable campaign will meet new cast member Grant Weber, a Subaru canine Sales Associate, who sells Subaru vehicles to dogs. 

The campaign is designed to resonate with Subaru owners and like-minded consumers. Subaru drivers are two times more likely than the average car owner to have a pet.

Subaru has once again partnered with MapMyFitness to continue the MapMyDOGWALK mobile application. MapMyDOGWALK provides dog owners with access to an innovative geo-mapping application that allows users to track and store their daily walking routes in an online database. Users also have access to a searchable database of millions of routes across the globe, fitness calculators, dog event listings, and a dynamic social network of healthy and active individuals and their four-legged friends.

Courtesy of Subaru

Subaru BRZ named Cars.com Best of 2013 Winner

 

Subaru of America, Inc. announced that the all-new 2013 BRZ sports car has earned the top spot on the Cars.com Best of 2013 list. The rear-wheel drive Subaru BRZ delivers pinpoint handling precision and an unmatched driving experience for sports car enthusiasts of all skill levels.

“As the first sports car to win our top honor, that says as much about the American car market as it does about our criteria. We look for value, quality and innovation,” said Patrick Olsen, Editor in Chief, Cars.com.

Subaru developed the rear-wheel drive BRZ with the fundamentals of sports car design in mind: low vehicle weight, an ultra-low center of gravity and precision steering. Utilizing Subaru’s new naturally aspirated 200 horsepower horizontally opposed (BOXER) engine design; the BRZ is a sports car that does not sacrifice everyday comfort and practicality. With 2+2 seating and a folding rear seat, there is sufficient cargo space to transport four race tires and tools to track days. Combined with the Subaru brand's renowned safety and quality, the BRZ is a sports car with practicality as well as performance. The BRZ went on sale in Spring 2012 to strong media reviews and contributed to Subaru’s fourth consecutive year of sales records.

According to Cars.com, “Subaru's low-profile, 2.0-liter horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine gives the cars an uncommonly low center of gravity, influencing their excellent body control and tractability. From the moment you hit the road in these cars, you know they're something special.”


Courtesy of Subaru 

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Subaru and Nordica Kickoff Snowsports Season with the XV Crosstrek Run

Subaru of America, Inc. and Nordica USA will team up to kickoff snowsports  season with the XV Crosstrek Run. Two talented free skiers will journey from coast-to-coast hitting major mountain resorts and events along the way, while piloting the all-new Subaru 2013 XV Crosstrek. Digital content will give fans a look into the free skiers lives, their slope side skills, and the versatility and capability of the XV Crosstrek.

Fans can follow the journey on Subaru & Nordica social channels. The media site features the schedule of XV Crosstrek Run stops, background on the free skiers and photos/videos which can be easily embedded into any blog or website.
"The XV Crosstrek Run is a great collaborative effort and comes at the perfect time as we are celebrating our 10^th anniversary of the Subaru-Nordica Service Team," states Tim Tagye, promotions and sponsorship manager, Subaru of America, Inc. "Through the eyes of social media, we are able to capture how our relationship with Nordica and their loyal fans has grown over the past decade, and how the go-anywhere capability of the XV Crosstrek is an excellent fit for the skiing enthusiast."

Luke aka 'Lupe' Hagearty and Liam McKinley will set out on a journey hitting ski slopes and events throughout the United States. Twenty year old Luke Hagearty will be the featured skier throughout the XV Crosstrek Run. Luke is no stranger to Subaru, as his everyday driver is a 2002 Subaru Forester.  Filming Luke's incredible runs will be twenty-one year old Liam McKinley. The two free skiers were handpicked by Nordica as participants.
Over the past 10 years, Subaru and Nordica have partnered together bringing common philosophies to adventure enthusiasts.  Subaru and Nordica formed the Subaru-Nordica Service Team (SNST); technical reps that travel the country visiting hundreds of ski-related consumer facing events in Subaru Outback models.  The Subaru-Nordica Service Team is able to master snowy conditions on and off the hill thanks to Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive technology and Nordica's technology and unparalleled skiing history.
"Subaru and Nordica have worked together for a decade to help build their brands and grow consumer awareness of the incredible products each offers," said Andy Hare, director of product and promotions, Nordica USA. "When Subaru announced the unveiling of the all-new XV Crosstrek and explained the target audience, it was instantly clear we could help because it is one that we have been targeting for a few years now."
Students from Champlain College in Burlington, VT will receive footage from the free skiers and package them into short videos. These will then be sent to Subaru & Nordica for distribution on their social channels. Champlain College is a private, coeducational college located in Burlington, Vermont with enrollment of just over 3,000 students.
"A major component of our Champlain College curriculum has always been for our students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life work experience within their major fields," said Tom Myers, associate professor international business and management, Champlain College. "Nordica came to me last February with their new marketing vision for the younger generation.  Naturally, we assembled the most talented students-skiers we could find in international business, marketing, graphic design, and digital film to help drive this initiative."

Courtesy of The Sacramento Bee

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/14/5114406/subaru-and-nordica-kickoff-snowsports.html#storylink=cpy

Subaru to debut STARLINK at 2013 Consumer Electronics show

Subaru of America, Inc. announced that it will debut a new STARLINK in-car connectivity brand at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Subaru STARLINK cabin technology represents the automaker’s new infotainment strategy. For the first time ever, Subaru will have a stand-alone presence at CES, demonstrating its driver-friendly Aha integration and Eyesight® driver-assist system on the all-new 2014 Forester.

STARLINK is the product of a new, cross-functional infotainment team created by Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries. The global team of engineers, planners, and marketing strategists are working together to enhance connectivity & safety technology features in Subaru vehicles, while also simplifying and reducing overall cabin complexity.

“Subaru is proud to unveil STARLINK cabin technologies at the world’s largest consumer electronics tradeshow,” said Akio Takai, FHI Deputy General Manager, and leader of the infotainment cross-functional team (ICFT). “We understand that the driving experience is about much more than mobility, and we know that today’s car shopper is looking for technologies that are value-added but also safe, helping them accomplish their daily errands without adding to driver distraction.”

STARLINK Infotainment
The STARLINK connectivity suite offerings begin with the trend-setting Aha service by long-time Subaru partner HARMAN International. With Aha, Subaru drivers can safely access tens of thousands of stations of Web-based content such as: NPR® podcasts and 900 NPR member radio stations available via streaming; on demand music services such as Slacker® MOG® and Rhapsody®; news, talk radio, and podcasts from around the world; CBS RADIO’s Radio.com; free audio books; personalized hotel recommendations from TripAdvisor; customized weather, surf and local park information; Facebook® and Twitter® newsfeeds in audio; and personalized restaurant and café recommendations from Yelp®. The channels from Aha are constantly changing and growing, allowing customers to always be able to access their favorite content from the web.

“Subaru STARLINK is about enhancing the driver’s experience,” said David Sullivan, Cross-Car Planning Manager for Subaru of America. “Aha gives drivers an easy, inexpensive and safe way to interact with information from their smartphone device without touching it while driving - the simple to use interface is transferred to your vehicle navigation screen automatically. We research, talk, and interact with consumers regularly – and many are looking for a safe way to utilize their apps in-car. We think the Aha app integration is a great way to kickoff our STARLINK efforts, and has much of the content our customers are looking for.”

STARLINK will continue to grow, adding content partners and connectivity capabilities over time. It will debut in the all-new 2014MY Subaru Forester in all navigation-equipped vehicles, and will also be introduced as a running change in 2013MY Subaru Legacy & Outback models equipped with factory navigation. 2014MY Subaru Impreza, BRZ, and XV Crosstrek models will all be adding STARLINK integration this summer as well.

EyeSight
Combining safety and convenience features, the Subaru EyeSight driver-assist system is one of the most affordable technologies of its type available in the United States market. EyeSight integrates adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, pre-collision throttle management, and vehicle lane departure and sway warning. Under certain circumstances, EyeSight is able to bring the car to a complete stop, thus avoiding a collision.

EyeSight uses two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras developed by Subaru, and supplied by Hitachi. EyeSight is mounted inside the car on the upper edge of the windshield, thus reducing the potential for damage that could occur in bumper-mounted systems, such as radar. The EyeSight system processes stereo images to identify the vehicles traveling in front, as well as obstacles, traffic lanes and other items. The video information is relayed to the EyeSight module, which is also networked with the car's braking system and electronic throttle control, among others. Below closing speeds of approximately 19mph, EyeSight is capable of detecting pedestrians in the vehicle's path and can activate in order to mitigate or even avoid a collision.

“Our STARLINK connectivity strategy builds on the Subaru heritage of fun-to-drive vehicles that are recognized for best-in-class safety and durability,” said Takai. “As technology evolves, so will our STARLINK offerings. We look forward to satisfying our customers more in the future with this new direction at Subaru.”

 

 

Courtesy of Subaru

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County animal shelter staff excited about donated Subaru

 

Animal Care Attendant Isha Willits shows the new Subaru Outback parked at the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control shelter in Baldwin Park.

Nothing gets Isha Willits' ears perked up like the sight of the new Subaru Outback parked in the corner of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control shelter in Baldwin Park.

The car was donated this month by Subaru and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to help the pound transport dogs, cats, rabbits and other creatures to adoption events.

The shelter serves cities all over the eastern part of the county.

"We had nothing before this," said Willits, an animal care attendant who helps coordinate adoption outreach. "We were so excited when we got it, we were all rushing to sit in it."

The shelter staff and volunteers like to take animals to shopping centers and other crowded places.

Until the Subaru came, the shelter had to use its dog-catcher type trucks, which have room for just a few humans and get only about 8 mpg.

Now the staff can pile in the 26 mpg Subaru, put some crated cats in the back and make for the shopping center or strip mall with ease.

"It gives us a more human feel, not something so institutional, like our trucks," Willits said.

The gift topped off a banner year for charity at the pound, said Sgt. Ezekiel Morales.

"In my 23 years, this is the best year for receiving gifts from the public," he said. "Despite this economy, people are coming through with things like collars, food, leashes. Believe me, we use all of it."

 

Courtesy of SGV Tribune