Subaru leads yet another satisfaction survey

Auto Express conducted its ‘Driver Power 2007′ reliability and satisfaction survey and the 2001-2002 Impreza has been voted number one by owners of the Subaru car. The entire Subaru range comes in sixth place with 93.1% of owners saying they’d buy another Subaru. The survey had 30000 respondents.

“This is excellent news especially as it comes hard on the heels of Subaru being voted the ‘Best Franchise Opportunity’ by the Institute Of Transport Management,” said Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Lawrence Good.

Source: The Fermanagh Herald

Three years ago, Dana Stokes came across an old 1973 Porsche abandoned in the middle of a field. “Sure enough, this poor little 914 had been sitting out in the middle of nowhere since 1982, and I knew that I had to save it,” he thought. With a lot of hard work, he swapped the engine with a 2004 Subaru WRX boxer engine and managed to turn the old car into an astounding beast.

Picture from turbo914.

The project involved a lot of modifications to the original car. First, he had to stiffen up the chassis. Next, he sewed the entire interior. Then, before performing the engine swap, he had to upgrade the car’s suspension, replacing it by a Bilstein 911 Carrera suspension. Working at Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas, a shop that specializes in engine swap in various models of Porsche, it made it easier to perform the swap. He was ready to replace the Porsche’s stock 72 hp flat-four boxer engine by the 227 hp Subaru boxer engine.

Picture from turbo914.

The engine swap was a success. The power of a 227 hp Subaru engine is pretty impressive in a 3000 pounds Subaru Impreza WRX car: imagine what it can do to a 1973 Porsche 914 that weights only 2200 pounds. Plus, the car is a rear-wheel drive: remove all the drivetrain power loss of Subaru’s AWD system, the Porsche is a little demon on the road. From 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.

The Porsche with the Subaru engine is Dana Strokes’ daily driver. He’s not done with the mods yet, in fact he’s just getting started. He wants to turn the Porsche into a full-on track car. For pictures and videos of the car, visit turbo914.

Here’s the list of modifications Dana has made to the old Porsche 914:

Engine / Transmission

• 2004 Subaru EJ20
• Custom up-pipe
• Custom exhaust 2.5-inch
• Custom auger style muffler
• Custom intercooler mount
• Custom Renegade Hybrids radiator
• Custom stage 2 pressure plate
• Custom 9-inch Kevlar clutch disk
• Custom billet aluminum adapter plate

Suspension

• Renegade Hybrids high power axles
• 911 Carrera front suspension
• Bilstein adjustable rear struts, 200-pound springs

Wheels

• 2002 Porsche 911 rims 17 x 7-inch front 17 x 9-inch rear
• Kumho 712 tires 205/50/17zr front, 255/40/17zr rear
• Steel 914GT fender flares

Interior

• Custom roll cage
• Custom interior
• Custom tachometer with integrated boost gauge

Audio

• Pioneer DEH-P9600MP head unit
• Alpine 6.5-inch type S front speakers
• Alpine 6 x 9-inch type S rear speakers
• Arc audio 8-inch sub
• Helix B4 600 watt amp

Source: Subie speed, Porsche style

For those of us lucky ones who had a lot of snow this winter and thus have enjoyed a lot of “snowbaru” fun, CarJunky reminds us of some basic driving safety tips for the coming of the warmer spring season, to which I added one my own.

1. Do basic windshield maintenance. Cleaning your windshield and applying a special coating such as Rain-X will help your visibility tremendously.

2. Replace wiper blades. Winter can be pretty hard on wiper blades with all the ice and snow. If your wiper blades are not as effective as they were, they might be due for a replacement.

3. Replace worn tires. It can be upsetting having to spend money on tires since replacing four 16″ or 17″ tires can be pretty expensive, but it’s what keeps your car on the road, and as Subaru WRX drivers we should be concerned about getting the most out of those sharp corners.

4. Beware of water. The melting of the snow and the spring showers often leaves huge ponds of water in the streets, which can cause vehicles to hydroplane and even flood engines. Also, water lifts oils and other fluids which can create a slick layer on the road.

5. Check your lights. Make sure your taillights, headlights, turn signals, etc. are in order.

And to these, I would add:

6. Beware of potholes. If you live up north, warmer weather and the freezing and thawing of the streets also create a lot of potholes. But then, if you live up there you probably already know.

This is all pretty basic information but it is always good to be reminded.

According to Winding Road, an artist by the name of Benedict Radcliffe made a wire outline of a Subaru WRX car and set it on display in London, England on Albemarle Street.

Modern Japanese Classic by Benedict Radcliffe. Picture from Winding Road.

While the frame may appear to be computer generated, I can tell you this is just the way these pieces of art end up looking on photographs. Apparently, the car, parked on the sideway, was even issued a few parking tickets!

Benedict Radcliffe entitled the piece “Modern Japanese Classic”.

Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is proud to announce that the Subaru Legacy, Forester and B9 Tribeca have each been named a 2007 ‘Top Safety Pick’ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The award recognizes vehicles that provide the best protection for drivers and occupants in front, side and rear crash tests conducted by the Institute.

The Impreza lineup has become more appealing with its price and packaging as well. The base model 2007 Impreza 2.5i sedan has a starting price $800 lower than its predecessor, despite being identically equipped. A 2.5i Special Edition will hit showrooms in October carrying $2,800 worth of additional equipment including a moonroof and 6-CD changer, although the price is just $1,500 more than the base model. All WRX sedans and sport wagons include a standard moonroof at no extra charge. The 2.5i Sedan starts at $22,695, with the range topping out as the WRX STI Sedan, priced at $48,995. The WRX sport wagon and sedan are priced at $35,495.

Better known for its outstanding performance and roadholding, Subaru’s iconic Impreza has won two class categories in The Caravan Club’s ‘Towcar Of The Year 2007’ awards.

Facelifted for 2006 – and with a new 2.5 litre turbocharged engine – the Impreza WRX Sports Wagon beat off all challengers in both the ‘£20,000 to £25,000 Class’ and ‘AWD Under 1,800 kg Class’.

Subaru is about to unveil an entry-level Impreza with a new 1.5-litre flat-four engine. This engine develops a modest 105bhp and 105lb-ft of torque, and is good for 109mph, 0-60mph in 13.5 seconds and 35.8mpg; it returns 184g/km of carbon dioxide.

The as-yet-unnamed car would be built on the same platform as the SX4 compact all-wheel-drive hatchback, have a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine tuned for around 150kW of power, and could be here within the next four years.

An article published in The Vancouver Sun suggests a guide for picking up a color for your new ride, and they list the Subaru WRX:

SUBARU WRX

Colour to avoid: Every colour except World Rally Blue.

Colour to get: World Rally Blue, a hue synonymous with Subaru and off-road rally championships. Add the optional gold rims and the WRX is a thing of beauty.

I agree with them that the World Rally Blue car looks pretty nice. However, I think it’s far too common. According to what I’ve seen on the road, at least 2/3 of every Subaru WRX is blue and has gold rims.

For this reason, I tend to prefer the black WRX with silver mags over the blue one. I find it much more aggressive. The white WRX is a close second - especially with a carbon fiber hood. The world rally blue model comes third, simply because it’s far too common. Silver models are last because as silver is one of the most popular car color, the WRX blends too much with other cars.

It’s true that the world rally blue has higher resale value since it’s the color that’s most in demand, but the difference is minimal. Pick the color your really want for your new car. And who knows, maybe Subaru will introduce new colors to go with the redesigned 2008 WRX!