The redesigned 2012 Subaru Impreza is a little bit of a surprise because typically Subaru does a redesign every 5 years, meaning the new body style Impreza would not be due for release until 2013. But Subaru has announced that they will indeed be releasing the new Impreza for the 2012 model year.

The overall theme of the 2012 Subaru Impreza seems to be a cleaner and more sophisticated look than previous years while still maintaining the sportiness that consumers have become accustomed to.

Although nothing is concrete yet the engine choices are expected to be the new 2.0 liter flat-4 that’s being introduced in the Subaru Forester this year, and the return of the 2.5 liter. The turbo charged 2.5 liter engine is expected for the WRX and WRX STI models.

Transmission choices are expected to be a new CVT for the base Impreza and the traditional manual transmission offerings.  As always with Subaru the AWD system will be the standard drivetrain for all models. See Subaru’s auto brochure for exact features and specifications.

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My sweet husband decided to spend Easter Sunday building a new raised-bed veggie plot in our garden so the girls can plant all the veggie seeds the Easter bunny delivered in their Easter baskets. (Don’t worry; he also put a hearty dose of chocolate in there.) However, 8-foot-long lumber wouldn’t fit in the back of Hubby’s little Mercedes CLK, so he had to rent a Home Depot truck to safely deliver the lumber and our youngest daughter, Grace, back home. Lucky for us all, the Home Depot rental truck had a manual switch to disable the front passenger airbag.
I’m surprised and impressed that the rental truck even had airbags (starting in 1999 all light-duty trucks were required to have airbags). I was even more impressed that it had a manual switch for the passenger-side airbag so a child can safely ride in the truck cab without the danger of an airbag deploying in her face. A trip to the home-improvement store with Dad on the weekend to grab some lumber and a bratwurst is a treat for many kids. 

The safest place for kids in a car is the backseat. Of course, this isn’t always possible as my family experienced. If your child must ride in the front passenger seat, there are a few things you can do to make sure they stay safe:

• Position the front passenger seat as far away from the dash as possible.
• Use the child’s car seat. Only forward-facing car seats – booster, convertible or combinations seats – can be used in the front passenger seat.
• Make sure the front airbag is turned off. Some cars have a manual switch and others have sensors that turn off the airbag off automatically.

I guess Home Depot is more progressive than my stereotype would have me believe. As a parent, I appreciate the company’s investment in automotive safety.
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Wagons have come a long way. Gone is the faux-wood paneling (thank goodness). It’s been replaced by sleek lines and powerful engines in a package that still offers room for the kids and all their gear.  New for 2011 is the Acura TSX Sport Wagon, which we recently put through our Car Seat Check. The TSX Sport Wagon can carry five passengers.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.

Here’s how the 2011 TSX Sport Wagon did in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check:

Latch system: There are two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. The anchors are behind large, vertical slits in the leather seats. It’s easy to use these anchors because there’s lots of room around them.

The wagon has three tether anchors. The outboard anchors are about two-thirds down the seatback. The middle seat’s tether anchor is in the ceiling. We’re not fans of this placement because when in use, the child-safety seat’s tether strap will obscure the driver’s rear view. All of the tether anchors have plenty of clearance around them, making them easy to use.

Booster seat: The wagon’s aggressive outboard seat bolsters pushed our booster seat so far inboard that it ended up nearly sitting on top of the seat belt buckle. The buckles are recessed into the seat cushion, which worsens the problem. We removed the head restraint because it pushed the back of the booster seat forward.

Convertible seat: We also had to remove the head restraint when installing the forward-facing convertible. After doing so, the convertible fit well in the TSX Sport Wagon. The rear-facing convertible also fit well.

Infant-safety seat: We installed this rear-facing car seat without moving the front passenger seat forward.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

Editor’s note: For three car seats—infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats—to fit in a car, our criteria is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
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Detroit — Kia Motors Corp. is recalling more than 58,000 Spectra compact cars registered in cold-weather states because the gas tanks could drop to the ground and cause a fire.
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Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, boosted quarterly profit 46 percent as it won sales from Japanese rivals, outpacing Honda Motor Co., whose production was cut by last month’s record earthquake in Japan.
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One reason the ML 63 AMG surprises people is no one would expect a 6.3-liter V-8 under its nicely creased hood. The engine produces 503 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, which means this SUV produces NASA-thrust kind of numbers. It blasts off.
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Washington — The gas gauge on your General Motors vehicle may say you have fuel but, then again, maybe you don’t. Federal regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into 865,000 GM SUVs over concerns that gas gauges are inaccurate and could strand motorists.
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Analysts worry that first-quarter momentum in U.S. car and light truck sales is tapering off — a sign the industry’s recovery could be a rougher ride than they’d anticipated.
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The sliding doors found on minivans are one of the greatest automotive inventions of all time for parents. They’re also the one feature that screams mommy mobile louder than a toddler tantrum. While I don’t consider my long-term test car, the Mazda5, a minivan, the mere fact that the side doors slide makes people think it’s one. It’s not a minivan, people. It’s way cooler! I’m starting to get a little defensive.
The sliding side doors are an absolute godsend; I no longer have any anxiety when the kids open the doors in our tight garage; I was always worried with other cars’ traditional doors because they might swing out too far and ding my favorite automotive child, my Black Sapphire Volvo C30 2.5T R-Design. However, sliding doors have their own challenges.

While dropping my daughter off at her dad’s house the other day, I pulled into his driveway, which happens to be on a slight incline like many other driveways. Cade popped open the sliding door and it nearly slid off its hinges (with the help of the driveway’s angle and gravity). She jumped out and tried to slide the door back up the incline to close it; she moaned, groaned and grunted dramatically for added effect (I need to remember to sign her up for theater classes this summer) as she struggled to close the sliding door.  The show toggled from amusing to just plain annoying and I finally jumped out of my seat to help.

For the bliss of power sliding doors on the Mazda5, I’d easily pay an extra $2,000. I wish the budget-conscious Mazda5 offered a few more high-end ease-of-use features for a little extra dough.  What price would you put on an easier life in the car? Tell us in the comment section below.
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The 2011 Toyota RAV4 is in desperate need of an update, according to MotherProof.com reviewer Sara Lacey. While its looks are dated, the RAV4 proved itself easily up to the task of getting Sara to the airport and back during a blizzard. The compact SUV’s all-wheel drive and V-6 engine made the arduous task a little easier. Sara wasn’t won over by the RAV4’s swing-gate, though. Find out if that was her only complaint in her RAV4 review.

2011 Toyota RAV4 Review
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