The 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI sedan and wagon land in showrooms in late summer, the turbocharged model has been updated with a new body style: sedan. Subaru is reviving a large rear spoiler of its own on the new 2011 Impreza WRX STI four-door, which debuted at the New York auto show. The sedan joins the five-door wagon in Subaru’s flagship performance lineup and marks the first time the STI has been offered in two body styles. The STI sedan adopts the wide-body design found on the wagon, with heavily flared front fenders and rear quarter panels. In addition, the bumpers feature a more aggressive look with blacked-out fog lights, a new grille with black inset and the aforementioned oversized rear wing.

Helping to raise the handling prowess in both wagon and sedan versions, Subaru reworked the suspension tuning, which was previewed on the 2010 Impreza WRX STI Special Edition. Ride height is lowered, spring rates increase, antiroll bars are thicker, and front pillow-ball bushings and rear subframe bushings are stiffened. The standard 18-inch wheels are also new and weigh 17.6 pounds less than the previous wheels. All of this results in reduced body roll, more neutral handling response and better lateral grip capability.

Subaru’s plans for the 2010 Geneva motor show include the new Impreza XV model – a crossover model which, for now,  will be offered exclusively in Europe.

Subaru says it sports a new grille, unique two-tone paint job, flared wheel arches, a roof rack, and a rear spoiler. Power will come from your choice of either a 2.0-liter gasoline or turbo-diesel flat-four.

It may sound similar to the Subaru Outback, and in fact will borrow some key design traits. Regardless, it’s likely a niche Subaru wants filled in Europe as soon as possible, seeing as Mitsubishi is launching its new RVR/ASX/Outlander Sport in the market this year. Subaru has yet to release any official images or details of the Impreza XV yet, and it is unknown whether this new Impreza crossover will reach stateside in the coming years. It will officially debut at the motor show, which runs in Geneva for the 80th consecutive year on March 4-14. Should be interesting to see what Subaru’s come up with.

Subaru of America, Inc. sold 216,652 vehicles for 2009 – a 15-percent jump over calendar year 2008. They have announced new versions of its top-selling Forester compact crossover SUV at the North American International Auto Show, which runs January 11-24 at Cobo Center. The Forester was Subaru’s top-selling model in 2009, with 77,781 sold — a 28-percent increase over 2008.

The new option packages will be available in February and further demonstrate the market agility that allows Subaru to respond quickly to customer trends.  The Forester has a NHTSA 5-Star Ratings and IIHS Top Safety Pick. The Forester 2.5X with Special Edition Package adds 16-inch alloy wheels and roof rails for a discounted package price of $400 over this model’s $20,295 MSRP.

The Forester 2.5X Limited, already luxuriously equipped with leather appointed interior, 10-way power driver’s seat, automatic transmission, panoramic power moonroof and other amenities, offers a new Navigation System and Convenience Package for $2,300. At $500 more than the regular Navigation System, the new option also includes the Forester line’s first-ever HID headlights, plus a tilt/telescopic steering wheel, one-touch folding rear seats and a cargo area cover.

In addition to the new option packages, the Forester also features other enhancements for 2010, including a standard 10-way power driver’s seat for the 2.5X Premium and Bluetooth wireless capability for the available navigation system in Limited trim lines. Forester is offered in five trim lines for 2010. The Forester 2.5X, powered by a 170-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder Subaru Boxer engine, is one of the best values in the crossover SUV segment. The 2.5X Premium adds a 10-way power driver’s seat, large panoramic power moonroof and interior enhancements and offers an available All-Weather Package (heated front seats, heated side mirrors and windshield wiper de-icer). The Forester 2.5X Limited includes the All-Weather Package and offers more luxury and an available navigation system. For powerful, sporty performance, the 2.5XT Premium and 2.5XT Limited are powered by a 224-hp turbocharged/intercooled Boxer engine.

Subaru of America will roll out a 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition model at $32,995 plus $695 D&D. The new model is priced $2,000 lower than the base price of the 2010 WRX STI and will be limited in production. The vehicle features an upgraded performance suspension from the Japanese domestic market WRX STI spec C and spec C wheels.

The 2010 WRX STI Special Edition is aimed at the driving enthusiast who is willing to trade a few amenities to gain an extra measure of handling performance over the already extraordinary WRX STI. Suspension for the new version of this high-performance machine is adopted from the Japanese domestic market WRX STI spec C model, which adds a 1-millimeter thicker rear stabilizer bar, stiffer rear sub-frame bushings plus upgraded springs. The front springs are 16-percent stiffer, while the rear springs have been stiffened by 29-percent.

Available in early spring, only 125 units of the 2010 WRX STI Special Edition will be painted in exclusive Aspen White. The WRX STI Special Edition will also be available in Obsidian Black Pearl, WR Blue Mica and Dark Gray Metallic colors. All models will be set off by the charcoal-colored 18 x 8.5 in. 14-spoke alloy wheels from the JDM WRX STI spec C.

Compared with the standard 2010 WRX STI, the WRX STI Special Edition features halogen rather than HID headlights; a single-disc CD player / 4-speaker audio system instead of the 6-CD / 10-speaker system; manual air conditioning in place of automatic climate control, and side mirrors without integrated signals.

Subaru, along with Ford and Volkswagen are the new leaders in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) top safety picks for 2009. The IIHS awarded its “top safety pick” this week to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for the 2010 model year. The institute substantially reduced the number of awards compared with 2009, because of tougher requirements for roof strength. The awards given to Subaru only provide more proof that the automaker leads the insurance list in safest new vehicles.

Subaru recorded winners with the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Impreza cars and Tribeca and Forester SUVs. Subaru was the only automaker with an IIHS winner in all four vehicle classes in which it competes. The automaker, which has bucked the brutal U.S. sales market with a 13 percent increase during the first 10 months of 2009, attributed its safety success to a unique engine design that sits low in the vehicle chassis and moves down and under occupants in a frontal collision. Tom Doll, executive vice president and COO of Subaru of America, said the awards were a “tribute to the engineering that goes into Subaru products.”

The awards are based on the best front, side and rear crash tests based on Institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award. Earlier this year, the Institute said vehicles would need to receive its highest score in its roof strength evaluation to qualify the safety pick designation.

The Subaru Forester XTI is not just any Forester. It may be at a concept at the moment, but it offers a combination of Forester utility with WRX STI performance. Although the latest model of Forester is larger and loks more SUV-ish than ever, this Forester takes style to a whole other level, wearing the STI’s optional silver 18-inch wheels, STI’s dash and center console, as well as the STI’s Alcantara-covered Recaro sport seats. Subaru claims that the Forester XTI “combines the versatility of the Forester 2.5XT with the all-out street performance of the rally-bred Impreza WRX STI. The automaker’s Subaru Performance Tuning team literally combined the two cars as an experiment to see how many STI parts would fit.

SPT started by taking one Forester and one STI, stripping each to the metal, and adding STI pieces to the Forester bit by bit. Since the two cars share a platform, the engine, six-speed manual transmission, and STI drivetrain weren’t too difficult to swap over. The new exhaust system freed up another 10 hp and 10 lb-ft of torque compared with the stock STI, so the XTI is good for 315 hp and 300 lb-ft.

Subaru estimates that the XTI can hit 60 mph in five seconds or less.  With the chassis and drive settings in their most aggressive positions—the SI-Drive system in Sport Sharp and the Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) set for maximum rear torque bias—the XTI can keep up with stock WRX STI. Although the Forester XTI may never go into production, it is one exciting SUV.