They did it again… The roumours about Toybaru or “Celica/Supra” return were pretty hot. Some hints were released from time to time. I was eagerly anticipating what happens in this project. They had it all figured out pretty nice. Cooperation with Subaru, oldfashioned 2.0l boxer engine, RWD, coupe looks of FT-86 concept. Promising!
And we waited… Personally I was REALLY hoping that their motoring feel will somehow turn, and they will get more interesting and make use of the technological potential they have. But no… They did it again. Read more…
Here’s a new Ad from 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX. Yes… You CAN find many similar unofficial commercials. As the idea of showing the various reactions of a casual person during some extreme driving is getting pretty popular.
It’s been a while without any post. It’s just that, there actually were not many interesting news to write about recently (?) World went crazy for EVs, which aren’t quite my point of interest. Reading about another huge hybrid from BMW, Mercedes or Lexus are pretty boring. Hot hatches segment seems to be old-fashioned somehow… Too cheap to be hybrids… Too expensive during the “global crisis”…
But there is a light of hope. More news on Toybaru have just arrived… and they are promising. Read more…
Some more news on the topic have just appeared. Toyota has just released the first official photos of the FT-86 model. As You probably know by now, I’m not Toyota’s biggest fan. So I find this car as a first step to change my opinion about this automaker. As You could read on Carsoblog some time ago – this near-production coupe will be co-developed by Toyota and Subaru. Also it will be sold under these two badges separately. And what is the best news and worth waiting for – it’s planned to make its world debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. Read more…
Last Sunday guys from Top Gear team invited (or were invited by) Ken Block to make a piece of car video together.
As Ken Block gets millions of views on the internet, they decided to show him the old fashioned way (on TV) during last Sunday’s episode of Top Gear. Well this way they widened his audience for sure and added even more for themselves (win-win). The footage is as cool as Ken Block’s previous Gymkhana.
I decided to write a comparison between these two versions of the Impreza. Both of them have totally different turbocharged engines: 2.5 l gasoline vs 2.0l diesel. They have their unique characteristics, pros and cons. Of course this won’t be a comparison of performance – the winner would be pretty obvious here (WRX). It’s about a real life average Joe’s choice: whether to buy an icon – fun and performance car or a reasonable and economical diesel version, that not necessarily lacks the fun factor… And it turns out the choice is not so obvious.
Today I would like to introduce a post from friend blogger – http://nohybrids.blogspot.com/. You can check out some interesting facts about real car ecology there. He writes also about “greenwashing” the cars by producers and the media, instead doing a really good job for the environment.
Did You hear any mentioning of Subaru in this hybrid – eco war between other car makers? No? Good. Now check the following post, what Subaru actually DOES for the environment (not only SAY they do, like my favourite Toyota and their Prius toy – Sorry I just don’t “buy” this car).
“Road & Track” site just reported: that we have a awaited for some time confirmation of the project “Toybaru” Sports Coupe car. Apart from information posted here at CarsoBlog.com few days ago, they suspect that the engine will be 2.0 litre boxer (not 1.5 as I wrote).
There is some controversy about Subaru, if they should abandon their “4wd image”. But in my opinion as the car will be done with Toyota, they can’t give them too much of their technology:) As Toyota will be responsible for styling (as they don’t have the skills to do a good sports car by themselves recently) Subaru will kick in there with rear wheel drive. Maybe to keep the car cheaper?
Also the good news is that they claim that the car will be sold with both Subaru and Toyota badges, as a very similar models.
Ken Block may not be the most titled driver in the world. But for sure is becoming more and more known and recognized. You can’t deny that he knows how to “sell” himself to the audience. First version of Gymkhana practice, was a big online success (You can watch the video at the end of the post).
Now he went further, and just released the second part. It is more of a show than actual “practice” drive, but still there is a lot to cheer the eyes! Great shots with the slow motion camera!
I don’t really like the paint gun idea (it doesn’t make much sense, it’s copied from Top Gear… but it’s just bugging from my side ). On the whole the slow motion stunts are very effective. The scene with fire in slowmo… amazing.
As usual, the only car choice possible: Subaru Impreza STI You can check out Crawford Performance at work building the car in next movie…
It seems like the cooperation of Toyota and Subaru still leaves a lot of question marks around the web. When they officially announced the concept of building a sports car together (around 2006-2007) – internet users immediately gave the project a name: Toybaru.
I spent few hours searching for info about this project, and found nothing but rumours and not confirmed information. There are no official prototype or sketches to see (if google doesn’t have them – they don’t exist! )
Enjoy!
You can check out Crawford Performance at work building the car in next movie…
