Due to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulation set by the U.S. Senate, automakers’ line-ups must average 35.5 MPG by the year 2016. There is no single solution for a fuel efficient line-up, so different car companies are taking different approaches. The Japanese luxury car maker Lexus plans on offering hybrid versions of all their future vehicles, even Nissan is considering a hybrid 370Z. German automakers like BMW and Volkswagen have decided to use less thirsty 3 cylinder engines in their smaller vehicles.

The automotive arm of Fuji Heavy Industries is planning a two step approach. According to the President of Subaru, Ikuo Mori, his car company is working on a diesel model that should debut sometime between 2011 and 2012. The Japanese automaker is also developing a hybrid power train to be released around the same time.

Subaru has already dropped out of World Rally Championship competition due to the current economic conditions, and if all goes well with their diesel/hybrid models, we might just see a turbo diesel hybrid powered STi winning world championships once again.

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