The picture at right was taken a just a day after the rally legend was killed in a tragic helicopter crash near his home in Lanarkshire. Without prompting, rally fans from across the UK drove to Scotland to hold a memorial in the McRaes’ hometown, which quickly filled up with Subarus, most of them WR blue.

One year on, they’ve gotten organized. Next Saturday, August 30, Colin’s dad, Jimmy, will drive his son’s famous 555 Impreza out of Lanark and head for Prodrive’s factory in Banbury, southern England. By the time he reaches Birmingham he will have 700 Subarus in his mirrors forming an all-wheel-drive parade that’s expected to stretch over 10 miles. Then, on Sunday the 31st, another 600 scoobies are set to join the tailback as it heads to Prodrive’s test track in Warwickshire. Yep, that’s 1,300 cars in a 20 -plus-mile snake, powered by 5,200 horizontally opposed cylinders.

Although official entry to the event is now closed, organizers expect even more Subarus to show up on the day. Details of the route can be found at http://www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk/

[Source:Autoblog]

We reported last month that a senior exec over at Subaru was “looking into” the possibility of offering a diesel variant of the WRX. Today, Autocar is reporting a similar story, and as the saying goes, where there’s smoke… there must be a diesel.

Subaru has already unveiled the oil-burning version of its Legacy over in the UK, and Forester and Impreza versions are likely to hit sometime later this year in the same market. But Autocar‘s Subie sources are saying that a high-output version is being developed that should make around 200 hp and some pretty prodigious torque.

Thankfully, Subaru is also working on modifying the 2.0L diesel boxer mill so it can be sold here in the States, and some version is expected to hit our shores sometime in the next two or three years.

[Source: AutoBlog]

Subaru has gained itself quite a cult following with performance Imprezas. Based on its victories in the World Rally Championship, the WRX and STi versions of the Impreza have been a big hit with the gonzo street-racer crowd. With the introduction of the latest STi, Subaru left a gaping hole between the mighty fast 224-hp WRX ($24,350) and the super-fast 305-hp WRX STi ($34,995). Since more customers will want to upgrade from the WRX than can afford the $10k+ leap to the STi, Subaru is reportedly considering slotting a new model in between the two, which could come in a little under $30k and offer about 265 horses under hood.

The report comes from our friends down under at Drive.co.au, who were speaking with Nick Senior of Subaru Australia. According to Senior, parent company Fuji Heavy Industries “has a fair bit on its plate” at the moment, alluding to the reported upcoming Celica which Subaru is developing with partner Toyota, so we shouldn’t expect a mid-level WRX anytime soon, but it is on Subaru’s radar screen for the future. Senior also said we can expect Subaru to churn out some special-editions, like a stripped-out STi track car, so stay tuned.

[Source: AutoBlog]

The Nissan Altima narrowly beat out the Honda Accord for the coveted Consumer Reports Top-Ranked, Mid-priced Sedan, which is revealed in the February 2008 issue. The V6 Accord lost to the V6-powered Altima by a scant one-point, followed by the Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat.

Consumer Reports tested a number of family sedans for its February issue, ranging from the base four-cylinder models and up to the range-topping V6s. The selected vehicles, which also included the Ford Taurus, Dodge Avenger, Kia Amanti and Subaru Legacy, were broken down into three categories: “Affordable,” “Mid-priced” and “Large” family sedans.

The four-cylinder Altima took the top spot in the “Affordable” category, leading by six points over the Accord, with the Kia Optima EX and Passat 2.0T coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Consumer Reports is quick to point out that the Accord, which has won the publications Top Pick for five years, outperformed the majority of the players, but in the end, the Altima proved to be the best value overall.

[Source: AutoBlog]

From the front, it looks like the damage would almost buff out. Then you see the shot of the back. Significant restyling has taken place on this particular brandy-new STI, and we’re not talking about the new duds Fuji whipped up. At least now we know what the primo donor cars will look like at the pick-a-part. While it’s an upsetting thing for us internet pikers to gaze upon, we can only imagine the owner’s anguish. That said, since most of the damage is in the rear, we’re guessing that someone else is at fault for the total loss of this Subie. So, while this particular STI is likely headed for a dismemberment, the owner is likely tooling around in a replacement. So, what do you think the combined cost of this lovely hunk of low-miles (282km) scrap plus a shipping container would be?

Thanks for the tip, Marc!

[Source: AutoBlog]

We now have 22 unofficial images of the 2009 Subaru Forester in this gallery, which could be more pics than what Subaru plans to officially release on December 25th when the new CUV actually debuts. We found these on the Forester Owners Forum, page 104 of a long thread relating to 2009 Forester news and rumors. We don’t know who took them or where they were taken and we don’t want to know – we just want to look at them, as they are the clearest and largest images yet that have crossed our desks. The batch also includes a view of the new Forester’s interior, which, well, isn’t all that interesting or groundbreaking, kind of like the exterior. It may suit your needs just fine, though.

[Source: AutoBlog]

While the most exciting news coming from Subaru these days has to do with a certain all-wheel-drive turbocharged rally-car-for-the-street, the company also is making news headlines with a possible single cylinder motorcycle. If the rumors hold true, expect to see the bike with a 500cc engine from Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru’s parent company), a twin-spar aluminum frame, Showa USD forks and rear shock and Tokico radial mount brakes. Considering the expected output of 50 horsepower, the specifications otherwise seem rather high. The bike appears quite large despite being on the short end of the stick displacement-wise. The American market in particular has not been kind to machines in this size-class, but we’re still quite interested in knowing just how much truth there is to this one.

[Source: AutoBlog]