Marion Subaru Blog - Exploring Southern Illinois

Subaru of America, Inc. today reported record sales for February 2015 totaling 41,358 vehicles, an 18.5 percent gain over February 2014. The company also reported year-to-date sales of 82,170, a 21% gain over the same period in 2014.

February marked the 12th consecutive month of 40,000+ vehicle sales for the company. Forester, WRX/STI, Legacy, Outback and XV Crosstrek sales were notably strong as each model line achieved its best February…

The first generation Subaru Forester made its debut 18 years ago in Japan this month. The 2015 Subaru Forester celebrates with record sales. Is Forester still relevant today?

The first generation Subaru Forester rolled off the assembly line in Gunma Japan 18 years ago. The compact crossover has been manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries and sold under the Subaru brand since 1997. The third generation Forester was crowned Motor Trend's 2009 SUV of the…

Subaru killed it again in 2014, with record U.S. sales of 513,693, a gaudy increase of 21 percent from 2013, and the first time Subaru sold more than 500,000 units in the United States.

That sounds like an outlier, or maybe a math error, since sales for the entire U.S. auto industry increased 5.9 percent, to 16.5 million in 2014, according to AutoData Corp., Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

But…

Beginning January 5th, the pace of production sped up at Lafayette, Indiana's Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. plant...the same day that Subaru of America announced record sales in 2014.  Subaru is trying to keep up with demand for the Legacy and Outback models made at the plant.

"We've installed some equipment and increased line speeds from 1.16 to 1.12 minutes, which allows us to produce a few more vehicles per…

Subaru placed six models at the top of their segments in the latest ALG Residual Value Awards.  In addition, Subaru was the third ranked highest brand behind Toyota and Honda.

The awards honor vehicles that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after three years of ownership.  Subaru vehicles at the top of their segments include the Subaru Outback, Subaru Legacy and Subaru WRX.

To read the full report, Click Here…

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, two Subaru models, the Legacy and the Outback, topped the list of vehicles with collision avoidance systems rated the best in the industry. The rankings follow crash tests conducted by the IIHS, measuring how quickly vehicles alert drivers about possible rear-end collisions and whether vehicles avoid a crash or reduce their speed by at least 5 mph.

"Front crash prevention systems can add a thousand dollars or…

The Subaru Forester compact sport utility vehicle beat the Honda CR-V and other rivals in testing by Consumer Reports, which ranked the model as its top pick in that segment.

The revamped 2014 model won praise from the non-profit magazine for "space-efficient design, large windows, and big square doors." Those and other features helped it outscore the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Mazda CX-5.

"If you're looking for a small SUV that's very…

Subaru said it will invest $400 million to expand capacity at its Indiana assembly plant by a third and add output of its Impreza compact.  Production of four- and five-door versions of the Impreza will begin in 2016. The plans call for expanding the second of two lines at the Indiana factory and hiring 900 workers.Overall Subaru capacity at the plant in Lafayette, Ind., will grow to 300,000 vehicles a year.

The factory…