2013 Subaru Legacy Quietly Drops 2.5GT Model

Yup, Subaru screwed the pooch on the 5th gen Legacy GT. I could see it coming and got a new 2008 model four years ago that looks half-decent and has the automatic. The lack of an auto since 2010, which accounted for perhaps 80% of the older model sales, was only a North American market phenomenon for the newer GT. Everywhere else, the auto was available, so my assumption is that it would have hurt CAFE numbers too much. Also, a visit to Legacy GT.com will show that there are perhaps 19 2012 GTs left anywhere in the US, total production being only in the hundreds for the year. And not much fun to drive, what with the Subaru split case tranny. Hello rubber, cable and grating shift linkage - yuck. The new FB engine seems okay in the Forester, but it's louder than the old EJ probably due to the chain drive to the cams, and offers no particular advantage I can see other than easier assembly at the factory. The new 84 mm bore size of the 2 liter allows for a very easy copy of the combustion chamber design from the BRZ type FA motor with its 86 mm bore, which Toyota came up with anyway. So direct injection will no doubt feature soon to bump the unit up a few hp. The 2.0 liter is undersquare, the 2.5 is still oversquare (94 x 90 mm) and probably different enough than the FA for Subaru to screw up the DI heads all by themselves - hint: hire the Toyota engine lab again, guys. The open deck design of the cylinders of the old SOHC EJ unit is no different from everyone else's open deck design. If you want to make a die-cast alloy block, then it's the only easy way to go. Everyone does it. The head gasket design itself was the problem, well that and piston scuffing and stuck rings in 1999 through 2004 engines. Not a pretty sight to visit a Subie shop in that time period, with engines lying around all over the place in various stages of disassembly. The stuck rings signaled their distress by turning the engines into oil drinkers before calling it quits. The DOHC turbo EJ engines are semi-closed block, which means they have a bit of metal here and there stabilizing the cylinder bores by connecting to the outer block. That and the better head gasket on the turbos seem to have avoided any particular problems. However, people who boosted their engines beyond belief can run into cracked pistons at the first ring-land, the only surprise being that a lot of engines have survived "tunes" from incompetents anyway. If you're chasing knock, well goodbye pistons. Now that Subaru has had its eyes opened by Toyota in regards to cylinder head and piston crown design, there also appears to be waffling as to whether the new FB engine (Subie's own) or the FA from the BRZ/Toyota 86 will become the turbo engine in the next WRX. It'll likely only be 1.6 liter anyway and have a short stroke. If they do make a 2 liter version, then maybe a hot Legacy will appear in a couple of years, but not in the US due to CAFE. Oh well, only the 2005 to 2009 GTs were decent anyway in North America, while hot Legacies have been around for over 15 years elsewhere. The latest Legacies are big ugly marshmallow puffs to me. They tower over my car, and the 2013 update shows the usual Subaru progression of naff styling piled on over already great-horned toad-like features. When I drove (pedaled the CVT) my pal's 2011, I was totally underwhelmed by the interior as well. Good lord, what were they thinking? Here's the final nightmare -- if Subaru had styled the new BRZ, can you imagine what it could have looked like? I can and in my imagination a 1967 Saab Sonnett would look like a Ferrari by comparison. Hey Subaru, wake up! Unfortunately, I think it's too late. Here's the way I tell -- look at sales of Subaru in the UK over the last three years. They have died, whereas before, they were sort of cheap surrogate Land Rovers for the country set. Only 2634 sales for all of 2011, compared to 3900 the year before. No appeal at all even with the diesel available. They'll die here next unless someone wakes up.

Wow, and people think that TTAC hates GM with a passion? GM has some actual fanboys here, for whom the company can do no wrong. Subaru seems to have none, just a few owners who drive them despite their limitations.