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All 2012 model-year Subaru vehicles received the 2012 Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Subaru is the only manufacturer with the distinction of earning awards for every model it builds.
Find more about the awards on the IIHS website.
See Drive magazine's article about the IIHS here.
-- Ric Hawthorne
Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) has been busy on TV with its participation in the SPEED TV show Battle Cross. In it, drivers David Higgins and Dave Mirra drove against each other for speed and for style. Here's what the team's press release said about the event:
"The concept for the high-energy, action-packed Battle Cross series revolves around pitting two professional drivers on a unique and challenging course where they battle each other for both fastest time and most stylish run. The pilot episode pits 2011 Rally America Champion David Higgins against his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate, X Games star Dave Mirra, in spectacular contests of speed and style. Higgins and Mirra each pilot their Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru WRX STI competition rally cars in the episode, the same cars they pilot in the Rally America National Championship.
"The pilot episode features a challenging gravel and tarmac course that runs literally through a working steel mill facility. The contest features two rounds of competition between the two rally stars. Round One is a lap of the Battle Cross course scored by time, with each driver given two attempts to clock their fastest time around the difficult course. Round Two is a two-minute freestyle session scored for difficulty, creativity, precision and style by two expert judges: drifting champion Samuel Hubinette, and rally driver Stephan Verdier.
"Fellow rally driver Andrew Comrie-Picard ('ACP') hosts the show along with celebrity co-host Stacy Keibler of WWE and Dancing with the Stars fame. The show is produced by Hollywood director Rob Cohen, the creator of The Fast and the Furious franchise.
"Check out the teaser clip on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/SUXez3B4anI"
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In addition, David Higgins/Craig Drew and SRT USA finished 2nd overall in the 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ontario. Read about it here.
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Subaru Global has announced that Subaru Tecnica International (STi) will be fielding a racing version of the BRZ in the GT300 class of Japan's 2012 Super GT.
The racing version of the BRZ is on display this week at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Also, the car is featured in a YouTube video.
-- Ric Hawthorne
This year, Subaru of Las Vegas held its annual post-SEMA Show event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Surrounded by numerous vendors and Subaru- and performance-related companies and organizations, owners who drove to the speedway from the Las Vegas area and surrounding states gathered for a meet. The Subaru fans received a number of handouts and participated in a raffle at the end of the day.
The Zenkai Motorsports WRX STI was there, a little worse for wear from a collision with a guard rail during the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in July. We'll keep an eye on this car, because Zenkai has plans for it. Click here for more about Zenkai Motorsports and a video about the Pikes Peak event.
Subaru of America brought many of its SEMA Show concept cars to Subie Jam. Among them were the SPT 2011 WRX STI Sedan, 2012 Impreza 5-Door with accessories, and 2011 Kicker(R) WRX STI 5-Door. (See the Editor's Track Journal entries from the week of November 1-4 for more about these Subaru vehicles.)
A 2012 Impreza Sedan accessorized by Bushwacker was also on display.
The vendors on site included:
-- Ric Hawthorne
