The EPA has finished its work on the new 2010 Subaru Legacy and, in spite of growing in size, the mid-sized sedan now sports better fuel economy numbers. In its efforts to capture a unique niche of the car market, Subaru still makes all-wheel-drive standard on all its U.S.-market cars. Nonetheless, the Legacy, equipped with a 2.5-liter flat-4 engine and Subaru's new continuously variable transmission, scores 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The best numbers for the 2009 model were 20/27 mpg for the sedan with a 5-speed manual transmission. The top end 6-cylinder Legacy also improved from 17/24 mpg to 18/25 mpg in spite of the engine growing from 3.0-liter to 3.6-liters. The mid-level turbocharged Legacy GT is unchanged at 18/25 mpg, while the base four cylinder with a 6-speed manual gearbox actually dropped 1 mpg from 20 to 19 mpg in the city. The highway mileage for the base manual car stayed at 27 mpg.


[Source: Subaru]

In spite of Tesla's claims that the Model S will be the "world's first mass produced EV", the Subara Stella EV is going on sale to retail customers in Japan this summer. Subaru started production of 170 Stella EVs recently, within days of Mitsubishi launching the iMiEV.

None of us here at ABG have had the chance yet to try Subaru's new EV, but Inside Line sampled it this week. Unfortunately, the tiny Stella has a similar price tag to the iMiEV at $47,900, but that drops down to $29,000 after a wide array of subsidies.

The Subaru has a smaller battery at 9.2 kWh which yields a nominal range of just 55 miles. The Stella's interior is snug but the torquey electric motor means that it accelerates off the line quickly, getting to 40 mph in just four seconds. The top speed is limited to 60 mph to keep the batteries from overheating. The car can be quick charged to 80 percent in 15 minutes at special high power charging stations. Edmunds concludes that cost and range remain big issues, but the age of the EV is most certainly beginning.


[Source: Inside Line]

Mitsubishi made history this past week by being the first major automaker to begin series production of an electric car, the i MiEV. Subaru didn't want its rival to get all the media love, and it immediately announced that it, too, had begun making the Stella EV. While the production numbers for the Stella are not as high as for the i MiEV - Subaru will only make 170 - it's safe to say that the electric car race has now been joined. Deliveries for the Stella EV will start in Japan next month.

The Stella EV uses a 47 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that can charge in five hours from a 220-volt plug (or from 110V). A quick-charge system can fill the battery 80 percent in just 15 minutes. The car can go about 55 miles on a charge and has a top speed of 62 mph. Not great for the highway, but just about perfect for city use. Interested? The Stella will cost more than the i MiEV, ¥4,700,000 ($47,600 U.S.) to ¥4,380,000 ($45,500). Buyers of both cars can get up to ¥1.38 million back from the Japanese government.


[Source: Green Car Advisor]

The Japanese market has never been particularly fond of diesel cars, but Subaru is getting ready to try anyway. Subaru launched its first diesel boxer engine in Europe in 2008 and so far has sold over 30,000 examples. The diesel accounts for 54.1 percent of Legacy sales in Europe right now. With new emissions regulations set to take effect in Japan in 2010, Subaru is working on improving its diesel before offering it in the home market. At theNew York Auto Show we spoke to Subaru spokesman Dominic Infante who re-affirmed that Subaru still has plans to offer its diesel in the U.S. sometime in the next decade.

Subaru also plans to start leasing of its electric Stella mini car this summer in Japan for commercial fleet customers. At some point in the coming decade, Subaru also plans to offer hybrid vehicles based on Toyota technology.

[Source: Nikkei via Green Car Congress]

Subaru's been hyping its future green technology for years, but despite promises of diesels and hybrids, those of us in the States have yet to sample any alt-fuel, boxer-powered Imprezas, Legacys or Foresters. But according to Subie's president Ikuo Mori, in addition to bringing a new diesel powerplant to the U.S. in 2011 or 2012, Subaru, "hopes to introduce a hybrid around the same time."

As previously reported, Subaru will license and adapt Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system to its current drivetrains, which has proved difficult and, apparently, time consuming (Autoblog first reported on Subaru's hybrid plans back in 2005). However, with this week's new CAFE announcement that requires automakers' products to average 35.5 mpg by 2016 – with Japan and Europe likely to follow suit – Subaru seems to finally be ready to make good on its promise – seven years later.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company and maker of Subaru automobiles, is ready to begin testing prototype versions of the Stella electric vehicle in Japan. The EV is based on the production version of the gas-powered Stella, which is a small kei-sized hatchback that's not available in the U.S. market. The Ministry of the Environment of Japan will get a total of 15 Stella plug-in EVs to test ahead of the model's expected sale date later this summer in Japan.

According to Subaru, it's actually managed to improve on the initial Stella EV prototype by boosting power from 40kW to 47kW. Plus, the automaker has reduced the weight of the vehicle's structure, reduced the dimensions of its battery pack and completely revised the interior. When the Stella EV finally does go on sale, it will use these updated specifications. Full press release after the break.


[Source: Subaru]

Note to Subaru UK: a set of racing stripes does not a sporty car make. In any case, here we are with a new Subaru Justy 1.0 Twin Cam Special Edition that features what the Japanese automaker charitably refers to as "viper stripes." Right. Also included in the package are a new set of dual exhaust tips, a roof-mounted rear spoiler, a leather-wrapped alloy shift knob and rear privacy glass. The good news to buyers interested in efficiency is that none of these changes alter the standard Justy's excellent fuel mileage or emissions rating. In the UK, the Justy 1.0 is rated at 64.2 miles per gallon on the Extra Urban cycle, which equates to a meaningless 53 mpg in U.S. gallons, and CO₂ emissions of just 118 grams per kilometer. Want one? Better contact your local dealer soon and be willing to shell out an extra £690. Subaru only plans to build 100 of the SEs, 50 in black and 50 in red.

[Source: Subaru]

Apparently, Ireland will be getting a diesel version of the Subaru Impreza. We're were a little surprised to see the press release, which is pasted after the break, considering that it was just last week that we heard the model was being indefinitely delayed in the UK. Of course, only a fifth or so of Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but we find it odd nonetheless. No matter, the oil-burner was slated to go on sale starting yesterday for a base price of €21,495 excluding dealer charges.

Standard equipment includes a 6-speed manual transmission, which is, as always, hooked up to the Impreza's standard all-wheel drive system. Three trim lines will be offered, starting with the base model, to which up-level S and loaded RS levels are added. Fuel consumption stands at 6.8 L/100 km (42 mpg imperial or 35 mpg US) and carbon emissions come in at 152 g/km in the combined cycle.


[Source: Subaru of Ireland]

The Japanese yen is currently causing lots of problems for Japanese automakers. When the yen is weak, profits go up for Japanese companies that make most of their money by exporting vehicles to other countries. Conversely, when the yen is strong - as it is right now, having hit its highest valuation in 13 years - profits diminish. Subaru is just one of the automakers that's finding it tough to make a buck (or a yen) these days, and it has responded by indefinitely delaying the launch of its oil-burning engine option in the Impreza for the UK market. This news likely comes as a major blow to European dealers, considering that diesel engines handily outsell their gasoline siblings when they do manage to go head-to-head. Still, it's just as well that it'll be delayed as it would be priced out of the market if launched on schedule. Japanese officials have already called on the government to intervene by lowering the value of the yen, and if that happens, Europeans will finally get their diesel Subarus.

[Source: Autocar]

Future fuel economy and emissions regulations are going to make sweeping changes to the way our cars are designed. While many of the best innovations will be made to the powertrain - whether its electric, diesel, gasoline-powered or a combination thereof - there are plenty more ways to increase overall vehicle efficiency than just modifying what goes under the hood. To that end, Subaru looks to be investing heavily in technologies to reduce the overall weight of its vehicles.

New materials like high-tensile strength steel and new types of plastic will be used where standard stamped sheet steel had been specified in the past. The goal? By 2012, Subaru hopes to have shed an average of 10-percent of weight from its line, with another 5-percent coming by the 2015 model year. When combined with Subaru's newest engine technology, the Japanese automaker plans to decrease the fuel consumption of its cars by 40-percent before 2014.


[Source: NASIOC]