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TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to buy an 8.7 percent stake in rival Japanese automaker Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, from General Motors Corp. for about $315 million, officials from the companies said Wednesday.

GM, the world's biggest automaker, also plans to sell its remaining 11.4 percent Fuji stake and dissolve its alliance with Fuji, the companies said. GM said "there were not enough collaborative projects" to sustain the alliance and that it planned to find other partners and markets in the Asia Pacific region for its resources.

Once GM's sales are completed, Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, will be the top shareholder in Fuji.

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Originally posted by wmquan


And Toyota just gets richer and more dominant. Pretty soon they'll offer a zillion SUV's and crossovers.

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Originally posted by socalJD
A future RAV-4 powered by a WRX STI turbo powerplant would be very tempting to me as a 2nd/commuter car . . .

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Originally posted by socalJD
A future RAV-4 powered by a WRX STI turbo powerplant would be very tempting to me as a 2nd/commuter car . . .

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Originally posted by anjan
I'll pick a Toyota engine over Subaru any day. The 2006 RAV4 with a 260hp 3.5 V6 is a much better choice.

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Actually, this reminds me of the time when Benz was taking over Chrysler and Chrysler lovers said cars like Intrepid and Neon will have Mercedes engines and it'll outsell all competition. Right, suuuuure! :2:

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Originally posted by wmquan


More at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051005...ge/japan_toyota

Funny how GM ends up selling one of its more innovative and relatively well-selling holdings. While it's saddled with its own weak divisions, both domestic and money-losing Saab.

I guess this kills off the Saab version of the Tribeca.

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Top among the list of "synergies" GM had planned was to co-develop vehicles for the Subaru and Saab brands, including a crossover SUV called the 9-6X set for debut in 2007. Simonetti confirmed those plans have been canceled.

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Originally posted by dvilla
This is what Toyota is after at from Fuji/Subaru:

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=103034

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Fuji Heavy Industries has developed its next generation electric car utilizing high efficiency lithium-ion batteries. The cost to drive run one will be minizmized to one-eighth of that of a gasoline powered "K" car.

Within this year FHI will commence practical use tests on public roads, and aims at 2009 for commercialization of the electric car.

Though Fuji Heavy Industries lagged behind in the development of technologies using both engine and motor, such as hybrid and fuel cell cars, it plots a rally with its next generation electric car.

The electric car FHI has developed is a "K" car - the "Subaru R1" - combining it with a high efficiency lithium-ion battery and driving motor developed by a joint investment company held with NEC - NEC Lamilion Energy.

Since the electric car does not use gasoline, its CO2 emissions are less than half of a gasoline powered car. Set in nighttime electric power mode, it is said that running costs of the electric car will be one-eighth of a gasoline powered car and one-fifth of a hybrid car.

Up to now, electric vehicles have had a negative image associated with limited driving range on one charge, high maintenance costs, and the necessity to replace the battery once every two years. The new FHI electric car has a maximum driving range of 200 km on one charge, the battery does not need replacement for ten years, and maintenance costs are inexpensive.

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Subaru Announces Development of Turbo Parallel Hybrid and Lithium-Ion
Capacitor Technologies
-- Company continues “green” efforts to help safeguard the environment --

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Sept. 7, 2005 – Subaru of America, Inc. today announced that its parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (FHI) is developing new technology for future more environmentally friendly vehicles: the Turbo Parallel Hybrid (TPH) and Lithium-ion capacitor (Li-ion). Subaru is striving to create practical applications for these environmental technologies in its future products.

In addition to these new developing technologies, Subaru continues to manufacture and market PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicles) at the Subaru plant in Lafayette, Ind., that was the first auto assembly plant to ever achieve zero landfill status and that is actually recognized as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

“Subaru always has been and will continue to be committed to safeguarding the natural environment that so many of our customers avidly enjoy,” said Kunio Ishigami, chairman, president and CEO, Subaru of America, Inc. “We will continue to make these technologies a priority in our product development, manufacturing and business processes.”

New Technology
The Turbo Parallel Hybrid (TPH) is a revolutionary powertrain system to be applied to hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) that the company plans to test launch in the Japanese market in 2007. The TPH is a strategically important technology for the power source of clean-energy vehicles and will be incorporated with the Subaru core technologies including the horizontally-opposed Subaru Boxer Engine and Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive System. FHI has been developing the TPH in view of its future mass production.

The TPH system places a thin, 10-kW motor generator between a vehicle’s engine and its automatic transmission. The combination of the motor generator and the turbo-charged Subaru Boxer engine, which adopts the Miller cycle, creates a system that not only provides power in the mid-speed ranges when the turbocharger is active, as with conventional turbo models, but it also delivers excellent acceleration and fuel economy for practical use. This superb, all-range performance has been enabled by motor assist, a feature that is designed to boost engine torque at low revolutions.

Compared to the SSHEV (Sequential Series Hybrid) system that FHI had previously developed, the TPH excels in cost performance as it uses a more compact motor and a smaller battery. In order to bring out even better driving performance from the TPH, Subaru is planning to equip the system with high-performance manganese lithium-ion batteries, which are currently under development at NEC Lamillion Energy, Ltd. That company was jointly established by NEC and FHI in 2002 for the development of secondary batteries.

The Lithium-ion capacitor (Li-ion) is anticipated to broaden the possibilities for batteries in future automobiles. The Li-ion capacitor drastically enhances energy density, while retaining the inherently superior capability of instantaneous charge/discharge and the high durability of regular capacitors. The Li-ion capacitor’s negative electrode uses newly developed Li-ion occlusive carbon material, while its electrolyte is also made of Li-ion. The technique called pre-doping enables occlusion of large amount of Li-ion on the negative electrode in this new capacitor, which helps boost the capacity of the negative electrode, and increases the electrical potential difference, thereby making achievement of high voltage possible without deterioration in positive electrode performance. Furthermore, the principle of the Li-ion capacitor holds the potential for greater versatility and increased performance of capacitor occlusion. Many new materials to be used for high-energy accumulation in capacitors have been tested, and some progress has been made in that area of research. The application of certain new materials to the positive electrode, combined with the pre-doping technique of the Li-ion capacitor, will theoretically double the estimated accumulation capacity of capacitors available in today’s market.

FHI is currently conducting performance tests on prototype cells of the new Li-ion capacitor. The eventual successful commercialization of Li-ion capacitors for compact cars would open up many other business opportunities, including helping to meet the increased demand for new hybrid buses, trucks, and passenger vehicles. This new capacitor also has the potential to be an alternative to conventional lead batteries in the future.

Subaru is committed to the development of power storage technologies as the key to further promote the use of hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and electric vehicles. Consequently, FHI has been concentrating specifically on the development of power storage systems and the application of NEC Lamillion Energy – made high-capacity manganese Li-ion batteries on prototype hybrid vehicles, including the Subaru R1e (sold in Japan), for further testing and evaluation. This approach has allowed the company to efficiently acquire added technical value with minimum investment and to solve issues concerning the practical application and mass production of high-capacity manganese Li-ion batteries.

The TPH and Li-ion capacitor development projects are the latest in the company’s power storage technologies, and the practical advances they represent illustrate the dedication of Subaru to enhance its environmental technology development.

PZEV Vehicles
Subaru currently manufactures PZEV vehicles in its U.S. plant. PZEV vehicles meet California’s SULEV (Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle) exhaust emission standard for 15years/150,000 miles. Additionally, they meet the zero-evaporative emission standard and have a 15 year/150,000 mile emission defects and performance warranty. The SULEV standard is 90 percent cleaner than the average 2003 model year vehicle.

According to the Air Resources Board of the California Environmental Protection Agency, gasoline vehicles meeting PZEV emissions standards sometimes even have lower emissions than some hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. These vehicles with PZEV emissions rating have such tight pollution controls, and the burning of fuel is so complete, that in very smoggy urban areas, exhaust out of the tailpipe can actually be cleaner than the air outside. In fact, 28 percent of all 2005 model year Subaru vehicles sold in the state of California met the PZEV requirements.

What separates the Subaru PZEV vehicles from other competitors is that no sacrifice in performance was made to achieve the emissions rating. In fact, Subaru makes the most powerful PZEV engine available in the U.S. today.

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Originally posted by donsev


It already exists in the Forester XT!

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Originally posted by socalJD


I mean take the build quality and nicely appointed interior of Toyota (w/ GPS Navi & maybe rear DVD) mated to the powertrain of the Turbo STi and you get the best of both worlds. IMO the current Forrester lacks the interior refinement and quality or else it would give the MDX a serious run for the $$$ . . .

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Originally posted by socalJD
mini van) . . .

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