quote:

Subaru has released two pictures and some preliminary details of the all-new 2014 Forester that will make its public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

The new Forester arrives with either a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder boxer engine that produces 170 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque or a 2.0-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder engine that will make 250 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The exterior adds some more refinement and the turbo model loses its iconic hood scoop – something some of us are glad to see go. Instead, the turbocharged Forester receives a unique front fascia, seen here in the image above. Subaru says that the Forester's fuel economy will improve, but final numbers have not been released. The Forester will debut a new six-speed manual transmission and a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. (The CVT includes either six- or eight-speed manual modes so you can swap through the 'gears'.)

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Sadly the Forester XT is still automatic-only, it seems (from the leaked Japanese brochures).

I'll miss you, hood scoop. It appears to be a top mounted intercooler still, just with an extra gap in the hood for feeding air.

bull3964 posted:

Nope. The 2.5 turbo in both the WRX and STI still use a timing belt.

Cream_Filling posted:

For real, the new Transit Connect 7-passenger version looks like it could be a pretty good cheap kid hauler in addition to commercial work:

Powershift posted:

I've seen a couple transit connects going through auction and they go loving CHEAP. like 7-8k with 90,000kms

bull3964 posted:

My nearly 12 year old WRX still somehow has a KBB value somewhere around $6.5k - $7k. That kind of blows my mind a bit.

animeliker posted:

gay automatic Sedans

Shin-chan posted:

I know, I want my RS6 so bad:

Tekne posted:

I'd take the Trailhawk Cherokee in granite metallic with the dark wheels. It really looks like a shark or ray in that color, but in a good way imo.

You can tell that Chrysler wants these to sell:

quote:

The bombshell had been that Pontiac was well on its way to moving to an entirely rear-drive platform. (Can you feel the air being sucked out of the room?) The next G6, said Lutz, was moving to a compact RWD architecture, shared with -- that's right -- the Cadillac ATS.

Pontiac was on its way to becoming a niche performance brand, a cut-rate BMW while looking like BMW. Then, the government stepped in.

Throatwarbler posted:

There's only one source for this so I would say it's unconfirmed but plausible.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/honda-reveals-new-civic-type-r-with-vtec-turbo-engine-photo-gallery-71288.html



I think it's unlikely that engine will make it into a North American Civic, but maybe a range topper ILX?

fknlo posted:

Yeah, the manual will probably only be available on the base model. Adding any options will make the CVT standard.

quote:

Folks, what we have here is an honest-to-goodness 2015 WRX in wagon duds.

This isn’t hyperbole, either. We’re not suggesting the Levorg is like a WRX—it straight up is a WRX, well, sort of. Subaru tells us the two cars share a lot, an idea that’s backed up by browsing the pair’s specifications. The Levorg’s dimensions mirror those of the WRX sedan (itself an adaptation of the lowly Impreza), but it is slightly narrower—it lacks the WRX’s flared fenders—and is 3.7 inches longer thanks to its cargo-swallowing butt. The front fascia, grille, headlights, and hood are identical to the WRX’s units, and the Levorg’s wraparound taillight design follows the WRX sedan’s look, as well. The story is the same inside, where the WRX’s upscale version of the humble Impreza’s interior looks to have been carried over untouched, flat-bottom steering wheel and all.

...

The up-level engine is the sweetheart, though: It is a direct-injection, turbocharged 2.0-liter boxer four that spits out 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That’s a significant 28 horsepower and 37 lb-ft more than the WRX, meaning we could be getting our first look at the upcoming WRX STI’s motor.

Franco Caution posted:

I remember people having similar conversations when the last gen came out.

Throatwarbler posted:

People who own gen x subarus just really hate gen x +1 subarus.

quote:

Ask around and the WRX is widely seen as a boy-racer car. Tarted up, lowered, and loudened, the entry-level Subaru sports sedan is often associated with reversed baseball caps, street racing, and reckless driving.

This, Subaru is quick to point out, is the second-hand WRX owner. The guy who picks one up at the dealer is altogether different. The boy who challenges you to a downtown drag race in the WRX is not the one who snagged it from the showroom. The original owner likes to keep his car much more low-key.

The average WRX buyer is in his mid 30s. He makes near $100,000 a year. He usually has a graduate degree. And he loves that his sporty little Japanese sedan is a sleeper. “No one knows what it’s capable of,” the average first-hand buyer might say.

Elwood P. Dowd posted:

Kind of holding out hope that the STi is a hatchback...

Linedance posted:

It is a Subaru WRX STi. You pretty much just described every WRX STi ever built.

Franco Caution posted:

Model year 2014 Evo X haha.

Franco Caution posted:

Has there been any pics or word on any interior changes on the STI?
I know Im setting myself up for disappointment thinking the seats are going to be any different from the WRX outside of red 'STI' sticking on the headrests.

Qwijib0 posted:

Previa_fun posted:

drat those Mazdas both look great.

Cream_Filling posted:

Character? Neither is particularly characterful beyond the hood scoop. They also have similarly shaped lights, similar grilles, and nearly the same character line and fender treatment (despite the difference in scale between the two). The only thing that really makes the Levorg unique is that it's a wagon and that it has a squared-off rear end end related to the Impreza hatch, which doesn't translate much to sedans since most sedans have squared rears.

The reason the Levorg is unusual is becuase it's a relatively squared off traditionally styled wagon in a time when wagons are rare and most of the surviving wagons have weird proportions to make them look less like wagons.

Powershift posted:

I'm ready.

Pr0kjayhawk posted:

I shouldn't be surprised but was hoping that with cars like the C7 being so impressive it would force other manufacturers to step up their game a bit.

Kraftwerk posted:

I don't think most car fans have the money for the cars they want their chosen company to make.

Cat Terrist posted:

Never understood why Mazda didnt drop a rotary into the MX5 and call it a day. ANY rotary powered MX5 is at the least a riot to drive and very quick. The lackish of torque doesnt matter due to car of light weight, you get the 40Kw the chassis screams for. Whats not to love?

HotCanadianChick posted:

If Mazda decides they need a new halo car, they'd be much better served by taking the NC MX-5 platform, making it a hardtop, stretching the wheelbase and widening it a bit, and dropping in a tweaked MZR turbo making around 275-285 HP (a bit more than what the MS6 was making), putting in a sweet upscale interior similar to the new Mazda3's insides, and call it the MX-7, priced at $33k base, with a fully optioned car going up to ~$38k or so. Keep it light and it should easily be one of the highest performance cars in that price segment.

PCOS Bill posted:

So you wanted a manual wagon/hatch type vehicle but ended up with a non-manual sedan.

VikingSkull posted:

A catch all work vehicle thread might be cool, because really huge dump trucks and cranes and poo poo own.

Snowdens Secret posted:

As a motorcyclist, meh