In the News: Subaru from Gymkhana to Market Success-Again

Early this month, Subaru Motorsports and Hoonigan released a press release announcing the newest installment of the successful Gymkhana film series. This release of the exciting franchise will feature the Subaru Brataroo 9500 Turbo with extreme pilot-driver Travis Pastrana at the controls. This is Pastrana's third fully bespoke Gymkhana Subaru, and per the organization's PR campaign, is a "high-flying, active-aero equipped, 9,500-plus RPM screamer" that proves to be their "newest four-wheeled hero" as it was proudly exhibited at the recent SEMA event which took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on November 3rd through 6th. The new "internet-breaking Gymkhana film", as lauded by the Subaru team, takes place across the Australian landscape and incorporates a host of iconic appearances and features a number of storied landmarks which will raise the blood pressure of these most rabid motorsports enthusiast. 

Subaru Motorsports and Hoonigan promise a plethora of thrills and chills according to their announcement proclaiming, "expect new levels of the signature tire destruction, close calls, and massive jumps the Gymkhana franchise is known for." Pastrana's rocket will now be a 1978 Subaru BRAT which has been highly engineered to, as they proudly explain, "take the viral series to new heights, both literally and figuratively." The press release states, "The Subaru Brataroo 9500 Turbo features the most advanced active aerodynamics on a Gymkhana car to date." Pastrana was quoted in the announcement to say, "This BRAT’s completely unhinged - in the best way possible. It’s got the soul of a vintage Subaru with the tech to do things no Gymkhana car has ever done. Every part of it is designed to take abuse, fly big, and come back for more. It’s hands down the craziest Gymkhana car we’ve ever built.” All involved in this media launch confirmed in the release with enormous fervor that this will be "a torrent of content for both the new viewer and the diehard automotive fan". 

The new Gymkhana film titled "Aussie Shred" will have its public release in early December on the Hoonigan YouTube Channel.

Throughout the year it seems that both the Subaru marketing and public relations teams have been quite busy processing an array of good news as a constant flow of positivity for the brand has propelled some great press items for the dedicated to ingest on a regular basis. The month of November has been no different as the popular brand announced through the most recent press release some exciting upgrades for the popular Subaru Outback platform which will obviously have our community of dedicated overland and daily drivers buzzing until the entrance of the new year. In their latest press release, Subaru of America, Inc. proudly announced an impressive list of technology enhancements for the 2026 Outback that they promise will bring this vehicle to another level of convenience, safety, and functionality. Per their press release, these enhancements include their new and "exclusive" 12.1-inch high-resolution Multimedia System, their upgraded DriverFocus® system, and Subaru's new advanced EyeSight® technology for driver assistance.

The announcement proclaimed, "Together, the system enhancements make the 2026 Subaru Outback the most connected and capable Subaru yet." Regarding their newly designed multimedia offering, Subaru stated that this "next-generation infotainment package" includes a higher resolution display with "improved brightness, and anti-glare enhancements for clear visibility in all lighting conditions, reducing external light reflection by approximately 80% compared to the previous generation’s 11.6-inch center display." Fueled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon® 8 Automotive processor, Subaru has incorporated some impressive computing power to support and boost these enhancements which bring power and efficiency, smoother graphics, and both Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2 compatibility to ensure that the most demanding driver can access everything from Google Services, Apple CarPlay®, Android Auto™, to SiriusXM®, TomTom® hybrid cloud navigation, or any other compatible, available tech they may need while piloting this vehicle.

Remaining one of the safest and most capable brands on the market, Subaru has yet again pushed themselves beyond performance, design, and innovation with their command of future thinking. Subaru also delivers a wide array of safety features and driver-assist functions through EyeSight® and DriverFocus® and as confirmed in their press announcement, "The all-new Outback adds acceleration override assist, front and side alert assist with braking, which actively positions the vehicle to reduce collision risk." As Subaru added about just one of these upgrades in the release, "For the first time in any Subaru vehicle, Emergency Stop Assist with Safe Lane Selection is making its debut on the 2026 Subaru Outback." Many other driver assist features including Highway Active Lane Change, Automatic Resume, Highway Hands-Free, Pre-Curve Speed Control, and Emergency Stop Assist with Safe Lane Selection are upgrades within a suite of enhancements that embed the new Outback as an agent of change in the industry for 2026. 

As enthusiasts and fans of the iconic Subaru brand, it should never be a surprise when new announcements emerge about their continued success in the marketplace, the showrooms, and sales outlets around the country. In a recent press announcement, the automaker proclaimed yet another victory through an impressive sales ranking confirmed by analysts at J.D. Power. Subaru was proud to announce that their brand has continued to maintain its popularity in the mass market as shown by the numbers reflected by the U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) StudySM which highlights the manufacturers ongoing focus to be both a champion of value and a giant of the customer service experience. The press release pointed out that Subaru has been "ranked second among Mass Market Brands" in the SSI data.

The J.D. Power study, conducted from July through September 2025, outlines data collected from detailed analysis regarding new-vehicle purchase experiences from the customer's point of view reflecting primarily on dealership performance measurements aggregated during the sales process which includes the consumer's shopping journey, how they feel the product has been presented and marketed, navigating purchase price negotiation, all the way through financing, acquiring proper insurance, and taking final delivery of the vehicle. This study has existed for four decades and its ranking proves to be a clear mark of both performance and integrity on the brand it has carefully analyzed. Its finding has placed Subaru in a very positive position amongst a sea of car makers who play in a very competitive market considering these challenging and uncertain economic times.

In the announcement, Subaru of America, Inc. President and COO Jeff Walters stated confidently, "This ranking reflects the strong connection we have with our retailers, and the dedication behind initiatives like the Subaru Love-Encore™ vehicle delivery program and Love Promise University®, which help instill our core values across locations nationwide." Walters went on to say, "As a testament to our collaborative culture, we are united by a shared commitment to our customers, delivering extraordinary service and being More Than a Car Company® and More Than a Car Dealer every day.” The focus of this study and how the data is obtained is the most important factor to consider since, as the announcement confirmed, the data "reflects feedback from 32,616 buyers who purchased or leased a new vehicle between March and May 2025."