William Maley

Congrats on the move BV. I wish you the best here in Michigan.

Earlier this month, we reported in the rumorpile that Subaru was possibly reconsidering bringing back the WRX hatchback. “We have received strong interest from the US, where the hatchback was 50 per cent (of previous-generation WRX sales), so we're now considering,” said Masuo Takatsu, Subaru's general manager for the WRX. “The main target for WRX is the US, Japan is number two, Australia number three. Basically, we target these three markets." However, the dream of the WRX hatchback has been brought to an end. Motor Trend learned from a source at Subaru that the American office was surprised by the comments made by Takatsu and decided to contact the home office to find out what's going on. Long story short, Subaru isn't doing a WRX hatchback because it would be expensive to develop both. Sigh... Back to the wishing well then. Source: Motor Trend View full article

Scion has been hamstrung for the past couple of years with an aging lineup. While new models such as the FR-S and updated tC have helped somewhat, Scion's sales have been declining. But the brand is planning to overhaul their lineup starting next year. Speaking on the sidelines of the New York Auto Show with Automotive News, Scion vice president Doug Murtha said the brand is planning to replace three of its five models starting next year. The first new model will be shown at the LA Auto Show. Murtha didn't give any details about what segment the new model would be in, but did hint at a possible direction. “From a segment context, Scion has always been about entry compact and subcompact, and that will remain our center of gravity,” Murtha said. “Would we be interested in other body styles? The answer is always yes. We may mix things up a bit as we find a new direction for the brand.” The mostly likely candidates for replacement for the xB and xD models. The two models are currently into their seventh year of their lifecycle. The other candidate for replacement is the iQ city car. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article