The ‘Build and Price Your Forester‘ option on Subaru America’s official site lets you choose from 6 (yes, that reads SIX) separate trim levels and pricing. Everything from base to a fully loaded 2.5XT Touring, with 24 MPG rating and $29,895 MSRP.

After picking color and interior shades (upgrade to leather, you won’t regret it), it’s time for transmission and extra options. Most Forester models are only available in 4-speed automatic. However, the base 2.5X model allows you to drive it in a 5-speed manual. As for extras, Subaru offers more than we can count on both hands and feet!

Starting with separate allow wheel sizing, the list goes on alphabetically: Bike Racks, iPhone connectivity, rear roof spoiler and STI shifters. The only limit to adding all is how much you’d like to spend.

Subaru’s website updates a total of extra charges live as you add and subtract them. Final price will be a close estimate to what a fully loaded (or bare bones) 2012 Subaru Forester will cost. We highly recommend utilizing this tool before heading to dealerships for a test drive.

A brake issue, thanks to a problem with the master cylinder, has caused the recall of 3000 2012 models already sold, and forces a halt on sales going forward until this problem is resolved. Subaru says brakes will still work, and so far no injuries have been reported.

“Some customers said the brakes didn’t feel right,” according to Subaru spokesperson Michael McHale. “The pedal travels farther than it should. There were no failure issues, no accidents.”

The faulty master cylinder comes from the production batch of an unnamed supplier, and most of these vehicles are constructed at Subaru’s facility in Indiana. If you have any of the 2012 models issued above, head to your local Subaru dealer. The repair/replacement process takes roughly one hour.

Source | Photo: LeftLaneNews

Subaru keeps teasing us with images of the new BRZ sports car concept – but when can we see it all? The auto maker is being very secretive about their vehicle, with only glimpses of a production model being released. However, at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, digital concept drawings of their Subaru BRZ STI Concept were shown off. The Japanese auto maker claims they will unveil the car at this month’s Tokyo Auto Show:

These images give us a look at what direction Subaru design is taking with this rear-wheel-drive sports car. It’s unclear if the regular, non-STI production model will mimic this look, but some key features (like the 2.0 liter boxer engine) will likely remain. Though STI will receive a turbocharged variant. Each will supposedly be attached to a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

The hexagonal front grille and fin-shaped fog lamps add to that Rally Car look, along with the “WR Blue Pearl II” – “a new generation of the iconic World Rally Blue paint scheme.”

The body is aero-tuned with lower front spoiler and unique rear wing for optimal down-force. BRZ also includes a carbon fiber roof to lower its center of gravity. Supported by a STI-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes, and 18-inch wheels, it seems like Subaru will hit the ball out o the park with BRZ – if they actually decide to release it.

Source | Photos: MA

At the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Subaru unleashed their much anticipated 2012 Subaru XV concept. Part Outback, part Impreza, this crossover / wagon will be the next edition to the Japanese auto maker’s line up.

Not one, not two, but three different boxer engine options will be available starting next year for the vehicle. Choices are rumored to include a 1.6 liter and 2.0 liter gasoline engine, along with additional 2.0 liter diesel powerplant, even in North America!

Each features fuel sipping start/stop technology, matted to the Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. All aluminum wheels and new suspension help boost XV up to an 8.6 inch clearance underneath.

Subaru says the interior on XV is “luxurious” and “perfectly balances the different tactile and emotional qualities of leather, metal, and cloth.”

Images: WCF

This image may be a new version of the WRX STI by Subaru, which will be separated from its Impreza base. In the past, the WRX was an enhanced version Impreza. By 2014, Subaru will sell the vehicle as a completely different model. According to sources:

“The first thing you must understand about our all-new WRX is that we have developed it from the ground up to win in motorsports events. That’s why we have focused so heavily on weight issues, not to mention a shorter wheelbase that permits faster, more precise turn-in. Marry that to our proven AWD system, and we think we have a winner.”

2014 WRX will feature a STI variant, which a future World Rally Car will be based upon. Subaru’s standard 2014 WRX will likely feature a 1.6 liter turbocharged boxer unit, with 270 266 bhp. Subaru is also working on a twin-supercharger system.

The WRX STI variant will contain the same powerplant, hitting up to around a 300 bhp mark for a true WRC-linked vehicle.

Source: WCF

We already know the Subaru Forester comes with award winning safety and performance. But how about we kick that up a notch with the Forester 2.5X Premium Edition? This car is equipped with just as good fuel economy ratings, but even more horsepower. You can check the car out at any of the North American Subaru Dealers from Hartford, CT to New York, NY.

Exactly what separates 2.5X Premium from other Subaru Foresters? The boxer engine, for starters. This 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder boxer comes with dual overhead cams. These produce 170 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque. The EPA estimates are 21 mpg city, 27 on the highway.

A turbo version is available, knocking it up to 224 horsepower and 226 pound-feet of torque. You lose only 2-mpg at the pump as well. A 5-speed manual gearbox is standard, the automatic is a $1,000 option. Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system comes standard as well, as on all models.

All variants can be taken for a test drive at your Hartford Subaru dealer, or any of the quality lots across the nation! Entry-level 2.5X has a price of $20,495. The base price on the Forester 2.5 Premium is $23,495. Finally, the top of the line 2.4X Turbo Touring starts at $29,995.

Source: The Auto Channel

Activists in Saudi Arabia are calling on Subaru to halt auto sales in the country. The protest is to lift a ban on female drivers.

Saudi Women for Driving defied the law and organized females drivers in the Middle East country on June 17.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her support last week, saying that she was “moved” by the protest, “and I support them.” The group also has backing from the European Union, with their High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, saying, “The Saudi women who are taking to the road are exercising their right to demand that equality. The EU supports people who stand up for their right to equal treatment, wherever they are.”

A Subaru spokesman told Bloomberg the automaker has not “received any information of any campaigns.” From Tokyo, and “we only have dealers in Saudi Arabia, and no factories. Our annual sales in the country are limited to only 300 to 400 units.”

Source: WCF

Subaru’s Rally Racing Team, which uses the enhanced Impreza WRX STI, just set a new lap time at the Isle of Man course. Wearing Ohio license plates, the vehicle broke a previous record at the course, coming in at 19 minutes and 56.7 seconds. Rally Champion Mark Higgins piloted the car to a top speed of 162 miles per hour on the track.

Higgins topped the previous record by over 2 minutes, set over 20 years ago. Production specs of the winning WRX STI include a turbocharged 2.5 liter engine with 296 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque.

Source: WCF

It’s one of the oldest races on the schedule for 2011′s season, Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) began in 1977. This course is also the fastest rally in North America.

Drivers travel at speeds reaching 100 MPH over gravel and woodland through densely wooded roads in Wellsboro, PA. Two national parks border this town, which leaves huge sections of thick woodland to be covered by drivers.

“Conditions at Susquehannock are nothing short of a racer’s dream. Slick, fast roads ensure that all of the drivers need to bring their A-game if they want a chance at a place on the podium. STPR is always a crowd pleaser and not a rally to be missed!”

It will make for one spectacular event, in which all of us at Subarupedia are pulling for Team Subaru to dominate!

Source: Rally America