Subaru is ramping up its ad spending with the hopes of boosting Legacy sales by 40 percent over the next 12-months.

Subaru has been steadily building sales in the United States over the last six years of so, but most of that added volume has come from models like the Forester, Impreza and Outback. Looking to generate a little more notoriety for its Legacy mid-size sedan, Subaru has revealed that it will increase its advertising spending by “150 percent more”.

“In the past we would come out with a new Legacy, but we did not have any advertising. Now we have the advertising dollars,” Bill Cyphers, head of Subaru marketing, told Automotive News.

Cyphers made no mention of a specific dollar amount, but Subaru spent $226 million on advertising last year.

Subaru’s goal is to increase Legacy sales by 40 percent over the next year. Although a significant jump, that goal should be within reach. Subaru sold 42,000 Legacy sedans last year, meaning the Japanese automaker is targeting about 60,000 deliveries over the next 12-month. In comparison, Toyota sells more than 400,000 units of its segment-leading Camry every year.

Part of the new marketing push will include three new TV commercials that are scheduled to run through September.

Photos by Drew Johnson.

General Motors is reportedly preparing to discontinue the Chevrolet Volt’s European cousin, the Opel Ampera.

Sales numbers have not been impressive in the US market under the bowtie brand, however the rebadged hybrid appears to have been met with an even colder reception across the pond.

The Ampera achieved more than 5,000 sales in 2012, when Opel claimed it to be the “No.1 EV passenger car” with a 21-percent market share in Europe. The celebration was short lived, with numbers down by 40 percent in 2013 despite a price reductions. Shipments have entirely collapsed this year, with just 332 units leaving showrooms through the end of May.

The dismal performance has driven GM to cut its losses and kill the Ampera after the Volt is redesigned for 2016, unnamed sources have told Automotive News.

Opel is not turning its back on the EV market, with plans to launch an all-electric entry-level hatchback that will be much smaller and more affordable than the Ampera. Full details have not been revealed, though 2017 is viewed as a likely launch window.

Though the Montero hasn’t been sold in the US since 2006, a fourth generation of the Mitsubishi SUV has been sold in Japan and elsewhere in the world since. This week, the triple diamond marque quietly launched a facelifted version.

The Mitsubishi Pajero — its original name in Japan and Asian markets (it was changed to Montero for sale in North America because “pajero” is Spanish slang for an onanist — has been undergoing minor changes throughout its protracted fourth generation. Traditionally, Pajero generations have lasted eight or nine years; since its 1982 introduction, there have been only four generations.

The latest facelift gives the Pajero a redesigned grille whose chrome vertical bars extend to the bottom of the bumper. The grille is flanked by new a new foglight design that attaches LED running lights. Improved sound insulation can be found throughout the cabin, including behind the instrument and door panels. New trim colors and textures, including piano black, can be found on the console and dashboard.

Two engine choices are carried over: a 3.0-liter, 24-valve V6 capable of 176hp and 193 lb-ft of torque, or a 3.2-liter intercooled turbodiesel inline-four good for 188hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. There are no plans to import the new Pajero to the US.

Aston Martin is abandoning plans for the Lagonda SUV in order to focus on their traditional GT and four-door platforms.

Speaking to Piston Heads about the ill-received SUV concept, Aston Martin’s director of design Marek Reichman said, “That was a different time. It was [former CEO of Aston Martin Ulrich Bez's] time. And now we’re in a very, very different time, with a different plan and with a different projection of what that brand should become.”

Reichman made no secret of the fact that the marque hopes to win over China’s enormous market. “China is historically a four-door market,” he said, “Our most successful model there is Rapide.”

However, the Lagonda name isn’t dead yet. “We still have plans for the brand,” Reichman stated. Without spilling the beans completely, he indicated that it’s beyond just a limited-edition model or Jaguar Land Rover’s new Special Operations division for building bespoke one-off commissions: “It’s more. It’s the reinvention of the marque, the brand, but done in a very, very limited way. It’s not something we believe that is a mass product.”

Lagonda was a British car company founded in 1906 and purchased by Aston Martin in 1947. From 1974 to 1990, Aston Martin built a high-end model called the Lagonda, which sold only 645 units. It was plagued with mechanical maladies and polarizing styling, but it was a four-door sedan much like the type Aston Martin now hopes to sell in China.

Nissan will be showcasing an important part of its racing heritage at the upcoming Monterey Historics this August.The No. 75 Nissan 300ZX that won the IMSA GTS class at the 1994 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be on display alongside the new NISMO 370Z and NISMO GT-R.

In honor of Nissan’s sweep of the LMP2 class at Le Mans this year, the automaker will revive the race car that won its class at the famed enduro 20 years ago. 2014 also marks the 25th anniversary of the fourth-generation Z-Car, which went on sale in July of 1989.

Though it resembles a streetable 1994 300ZX, No.75 is actually a chromoly tube-frame chassis with completely custom aluminum bodywork. It shares the same DOHC 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine found on the street legal version, albeit tuned to a monstrous 800hp and backed by a 5-speed transmission with Hewland race gears.

Not only did it win Le Mans, but an identical sister car also won that year’s 24 Hours of Daytona and the overall IMSA with driver Steve Millen behind the wheel. Thanks to those efforts, Nissan captured the overall IMSA GTS Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championship that year.

Pierre Loing, vice president of product planning at Nissan USA said, “It’s also fitting that it will be sharing the paddock space with our new 600-horsepower Nissan GT-R NISMO – which might just give the No. 75 a run for the money today.” All vehicles will be on display at the 2014 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California August 14 through 17.

Volkswagen’s Czech Republic-based Škoda division has published a teaser sketch that previews the next generation of its Fabia city car. Offered as both a five-door hatchback and a station wagon, the new Fabia will greet the public for the first time at the Paris Motor Show that will open its doors to the public next October.

The teaser sketch hints the next Fabia will lose the current model’s cute look in favor of a more chiseled design inspired by recent Škodas such as the Passat-sized Octavia sedan and the VisionC concept. The hatchback’s front end will feature an angular radiator grille with vertical slats and sharp headlights, while the rear end will gain C-shaped headlights and a more sculpted hatch.

Australian website Motoring reports the Fabia will be offered with a wide array of three- and four-cylinder engines borrowed from the recently-updated Volkswagen Polo. The performance-focused RS model will not be renewed due to disappointing sales, but the Czech firm will gun for premium city cars like the Fiat 500 with a trendy, highly-customizable model tentatively dubbed Fabia Monte Carlo.

The next Fabia will eschew Volkswagen’s modular MQB platform and ride on an evolution of the current model’s chassis.

Full details about the 2015 Škoda Fabia will emerge in the weeks leading up to its debut in the French capital. The hatchback is scheduled to go on sale across Europe in select global markets early next year.

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz has confirmed the company is putting the final touches on a plug-in hybrid variant of the new 2015 C-Class.

Official technical details have not been published yet but sources indicate the plug-in hybrid C-Class will primarily be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 211 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. of torque. The four-banger will work in conjunction with a 68-horsepower electric motor that will draw electricity from a compact lithium-ion battery pack.

With the two power sources up and running, the plug-in hybrid C could return up to 117 mpg in a mixed cycle. The sedan will be able to travel on electricity alone for up to 18 miles, though Chinese-spec models will likely boast an emissions-free range of over 30 miles in order to qualify for the miscellaneous tax breaks and cash incentives given by the nation’s government to consumers who buy a clean car.

Drivetrain aside, the plug-in C will be nearly identical to its gasoline-burning counterpart inside and out save for minor components like a model-specific instrument cluster.

The plug-in hybrid C-Class could be presented at next year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show and go on sale across Europe and in China next summer. Mercedes has not revealed whether or not the fuel-sipping drivetrain will be offered in the United States.

What’s Next?
Mercedes already offers a diesel-electric version of the C-Class in Europe (pictured). Before introducing the plug-in hybrid version, the Stuttgart-based automaker will launch a plug-in variant of the S-Class flagship at the Paris Motor Show next October. Details are being kept under wraps until the car’s debut, but Mercedes has hinted in the past its first-ever regular-production plug-in hybrid will be added to its lineup in North America.

Photos by Ronan Glon.

Future Jaguar and Land Rover models could share a platform with a Tata, makers of the world’s cheapest car and owner of the British marques.

Tata recently revealed the Nexon concept (pictured) at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo this February, a compact SUV with futuristic proportions and Mazda RX-8-like pillarless suicide doors. A production version is slated for launch in 2017.

This week, managing director of Tata’s Australian distributor, Darren Bowler, revealed to Drive that the Nexon’s real story was that it was the first vehicle built on a common platform engineered to underpin a compact Jaguar and the next Range Rover Evoque.

Tata, known mostly for producing the sub-$3,000 Nano for the Indian market, is in need of expanding their portfolio, while JLR is seeking to move downmarket with more affordable, entry-level luxury offerings. However, while Tata and JLR cars would share platforms and possibly engines, Bowler said that there would be a strict demarcation between brands and that this is not rebadging.

It was also suggested that JLR’s new Ingenium family of 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinders, developed for the Jaguar XE and a future Land Rover, could find homes in Tatas as well. Bowler added, “You’re going to see in the future a lot of sharing of technologies and platforms over time, but you won’t see a JLR with a Tata badge on it or a Tata with a Jaguar badge on it or a Land Rover badge on it.”

To coincide with the launch of the 2015 Juke and Nissan Motor Corporation’s 80th anniversary, the automaker is offering a palette of heritage colors based on the iconic Z-Car and Skyline GT-R.

The colors available include Sunflare Orange and Deep Maroon of the iconic 1969 Fairlady Z, known in the US as the Datsun 240Z. From the Skyline color book comes Aurora Flare Blue Pearl, a color inspired by the Bayside Blue of the R34 Skyline GT-R.

A fourth color, Brilliant White Pearl, is also available based on the Japanese flag and racing colors. All 80th Anniversary Edition Jukes will also come with bronze wheel covers, side view mirrors and chrome-plated door handles.

It’s all part of a new personalization program with the 2015 Juke, unveiled in Geneva, which allow buyers to choose a variety of colors for their side mirrors, door handles, wheels, as well as head- and foglight bezels. Inside, upholstery highlights, the center console, shift knob, and door armrest are all subject to customization as well.

The 80th Anniversary Edition Jukes will be available only on versions equipped with a 1.5-liter inline-four. This will likely remain an Asia-only option when the 2015 Juke arrives stateside. A revised version of the existing turbo 1.6-liter inline-four is available as well, on both front- and all-wheel drive models, and puts out 187hp in Japan market tune.