Future Cars: Crystal Ball Gazing the New 2014 Subaru WRX

Ladies and Gentlemen, what you see here could potentially be the all new Subaru WRX, but before I elaborate, allow me to take you for a short trip back to the past: Cast your minds back to the early Nineties, when Will Smith's stardom flourished from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the Ford Taurus was actually America's bestselling car (…and what a distant achievement that was).

It was 1992 when Subaru revealed its newest compact car - the Impreza; a vehicle that I initially described as being a soulless rolling bar of soap. Its dull lines and horrid half-grill (Japanese market) conjured up thoughts that the designers had fallen asleep at a Vanilla Ice Cream conference.

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Subaru WRX Driver Saves the Day in Japan After Hitting Black Ice

Black patches of ice on the road are a driver's worst enemy as there's really nothing you can do once it creeps under your tires. Not even ABS or an advanced four-wheel drive system can save you, though; these features will indeed help you lessen the risks of getting into deeper trouble than what you are already in.

A Japanese driver of what looks like a Subaru WRX/STi was confronted with a situation like this right after coming out of a curve on a mountain road, and to make matters worse, a small truck had just crashed into the side rails and was blocking the road in front.

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Auto Express Pits BMW M135i Against Subaru WRX STi 320R

Once upon a time, not too long ago, buyers rarely cross shopped between Subarus and BMWs, but now, with the way that the Bavarian brand has expanded its range into most segments of the market, many of its cars directly challenge the Japanese brand's models in terms of specs and surprisingly, pricing as well.

A prime example is the newly launched in Europe BMW M135i hatchback, which with 316bhp (320PS) and 450Nm (332 lb-ft) from its turbocharged 3.0-liter straight, the option of either RWD or AWD configurations, and a UK starting price of £30,555 for the six-speed manual 3d and £31,970 for the 8-speed auto 3d model, matches the Subaru WRX STi.

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Acura NSX Wedged Between a Toyota Minivan and a Subaru Impreza Outback Sport

Oh, the horror…Can you imagine being the owner of an Acura (Honda for the rest of the world) NSX sports car and waking up to see your beloved ride sandwiched between a Toyota Sienna and a Subaru Impreza Outback Sport?

All this and more went down yesterday morning in the town of Maynard in Massachusetts with Reddit forum member Cerberus73 capturing pictures of the bizarre scene from his office located across the road.

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New 2013 Subaru WRX and WRX STI Special Editions Limited to 300 Units

Subaru is using this week's 2012 SEMA Show to reveal a pair of special edition WRX and WRX STI models with bespoke color themes inside and out, but nothing much else.

Both Special Edition WRX and WRX STI sedans are finished in an “Orange and Black” custom paint scheme, with a Tangerine Orange color for the body, jet-black custom wheels, black front fender badging and exterior mirrors, plus black exterior graphics.

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Oh, SEMA…Subaru STI Looks Like the Perfect Snowplow

If it is tuning extremes you want to see, there's no better place in the world to be than the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas – period.

Over the next few days, we will bring you a taste of the heavily customized production and concept vehicles to grace the Las Vegas Convention Center's show floors and surrounding roads, the oddest, or if you prefer, the less mainstream of which, we will bundle under the "Oh, SEMA" tag line.

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Subaru UK Slashes Price of Base WRX STI by £6,000, Presents New 335hp Variant

Subaru's British arm is feeling generous these days as the company has just slashed the price of the base WRX STI model by a whopping £6,000 (€7,600 or US$9,500) to £26,995 (€34,200 or US$42,700).

At this price point, the 296bhp (300PS) 2.5-liter turbocharged WRX STI costs £2,000 more than the base trim-level BRZ SE and only £500 more than BRZ Lux edition with a manual gearbox.

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New 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Priced from $21,995* in the U.S.A.

The new Impreza-based Subaru XV Crosstrek will soon go on sale in the United States with a starting MSRP of $21,995 for the Premium and $24,495 for the better equipped Limited edition, excluding a destination fee (*) that will cost you an additional $795. Read more »

R&T Tires-up Scion FR-S and Pits it Against the Impreza WRX and Mazdaspeed3

By now, the “less is more” dictum that Toyota keeps repeating at every opportunity concerning its GT86 (that’s Scion FR-S in the US) rear-wheel drive coupe must be ingrained in every car fan’s head.

The 86/FR-S/BRZ trio ignores the horsepower and performance war and focuses on pure driver enjoyment like its famous ancestor, the Toyota AE86.

Well, a safe way to have a lot of fun is going to a track. However, here the 17-inch Michelin Primacy HP 87W GreenX tires with which the Scion FR-S is fitted with are below par. This comes as no surprise since they are the exact ones worn by the Prius hybrid and they are made for low resistance and fuel saving, not recording lap times.

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2013 Ford Focus ST Sessions Video Featuring the MazdaSpeed3, Subaru WRX and BMW M3

Ford has premiered the first of five episodes of its new web video series dedicated to the 2013 Focus ST hot hatch titled "ST Sessions".

Following the one-minute teaser released back in mid-July, the first session shows the 252-horsepower Focus ST measuring up against its natural rivals, the 263hp MazdaSpeed3 and 265hp Subaru Impreza WRX hatchbacks, as well as the more expensive and much faster 414hp BMW M3 Coupe.

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'Glorious' Subaru Impreza Helps 'Gutless' Ram Truck Towing a Motorhome get out of the Mud

We are sure Chrysler fans can come up with many excuses and plenty of things to blame for why this 'Guts. Glory. Ram.' pickup truck towing a motor-home managed to be stuck in the mud and could not move in any direction without the help of a second generation Subaru Impreza hatchback.

While many will hold true – such as that the Impreza had better traction where it was standing – you cannot but praise the small Subaru for its ability to free a full size truck towing an even larger and heavier load.

You can see how it did it in the video that follows right after the break.

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Ford Teases 2013 Focus ST Vs. Rivals Video with BMW M3, VW Golf GTI and More

The Blue Oval continues to heavily promote the new Focus ST ahead of its U.S. market launch in September.

After the crowd sourced video showing Top Gear host Tanner Foust and stunt driver Greg Tracy racing against each other in Focus STs on the streets of Florida's Key West, Ford has prepared another clip titled "Focus ST Sessions", which will come out on July 31.

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Audi-Faced, BMW-Tailed Subaru Impreza WRX is the Definition of Overkill

We understand that some Subaru owners love their cars for what they are and hate them for what they look like and will try anything to improve their styling, but the British owner of 1993 Impreza WRX may have taken things a bit too far.

The modified Japanese sports car's front end is borrowed from a mid-to-late 2000s Audi A4 (B7) while the rear was made out of bits and pieces from the previous generation, Bangle-styled BMW 5-Series (codenamed E60).

The blistered wheel arches, side skirts, black alloy wheels and the shaved doors are bonus parts.

The mix-and-match of German car components is certainly not to everyone's taste, but we are going to agree with the crew from GTSpirit that everything seems to have been crafted on prudently from a styling point of view.

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