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Subaru axes WRX and STI in UK

Auto Express reports Subaru will stop selling the Impreza, WRX and WRX STI in the UK starting next year. A spokesperson with the company said Subaru has been evaluating the Impreza and its performance in the UK for the past year and has finally decided to pull the plug. That means all of the model's performance iterations will also drop off of dealer lots, including the WRX and the STI. The unnamed spokesperson said Subaru UK currently has no plans to to bring more stock of either model once the current supply sells out. That means buyers in the UK have until around early summer 2013 to get their hands on an STI.
The move comes in response to slow demand, which has trickled off in the face of competition that best the machine in terms of refinement, performance and emissions. Moving forward, the automaker says it will focus its sales efforts on models like the XV Crosstrek, Forester and Outback, as well as the company's new BRZ sports coupe.

Toyota GT86 engineers explored shooting brake and sedan variants, are they still in the cards?

According to the Toyota UK blog, engineers for the automaker were so excited developing the GT86 coupe that they investigated producing a whole family of models based on the rear-wheel drive sports car. And at least one engineer - product chief Tetsuya Tada - still hopes it can happen, even if not everyone at Toyota is onboard. Tada: "Actually we tried to do this secretly but the executives found us out. They said: 'What are you doing? Will you please focus on the coupe.'"
Those mooted variants included both a four-door sedan and a shooting brake. Why? Aside from the pure excellence of a lightweight, brilliantly handling hatchback, Toyota was keenly aware of the fact that it may need to spread the cost of development out across several models. Tada says that's part of the reason why it was so easy to create the convertible. The company knew from the outset that a softtop version was in the cards, and built the machine's structure to accommodate having the roof sliced off.
Tada also made mention of the already-announced collaboration between Toyota and BMW. The engineer said that the GT86 was particularly helpful because it demonstrated just how successful a product conceived and designed by two different companies can be. While he didn't say exactly what Toyota and BMW are up to, it's clear the two are looking into a number of possibilities. It's an interesting read with a lot of

Travis Pastrana puts on blue and gold Subaru jacket again

Travis Pastrana partnered with Subaru for eleven years, the relationship going especially well from 2006 to 2010 when Pastrana won four consecutive Rally America National Championships. They broke up in 2010 to give Pastrana space for his NASCAR fling and a couple of years in Global Rallycross with Dodge.
Giving up on his NASCAR dream last November has made possible a reconciliation with his former automotive love: Subaru has just announced that Pastrana will return to its Rally Team USA for the 2014 Rally America Championship, partnering with veteran team driver and current Rally America champion David Higgins.
Although the season begins later this month in Atlanta, Michigan, Pastrana won't return until the second round in February, the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri. He'll also be at the start of the Global Rallycross round of the X-Games in June, but in a WRX STI this year instead of his erstwhile Dodge Dart. You'll find a press release below with a few more bits of information, and there's always this trip down memory lane...