The 2014 Subaru Forester, 2014 Legacy and 2014 Outback all Receive IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Accolade

Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist System

Since Sept. 2013 the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) began using more rigorous standards for their Top Safety Pick+ accolade. Last year the TSP+ was created for vehicles that passed the new small overlap crash test, this year it includes crash prevention technology. The IIHS has recently published new models that have achieved the highest honor, which includes the 2014 Subaru Forester, 2014 Legacy and 2014 Outback; these three are part of a group of just 22 vehicles that made the cut.

The three Subaru models that have been awarded the TSP+ honor are all fully equipped with Subaru's EyeSight Driver Assist System, part of the IIHS' requirement for crash prevention technology for the TSP+ honorees. To achieve the TSP+ accolade, a vehicle must receive a Basic score in crash prevention, but all three Subaru vehicles earned a perfect score, granting them the Superior rating!

Read more about Subaru's EyeSight system and the IIHS testing on our "Safety Drives Subaru Design" page here!


All information via Autoblog, image via Subaru Drive Magazine

Share the Love with the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

In honor of Subaru's annual Share the Love Event and in honor of our partnership with the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf (CEFS) this year, we'd like to share a little bit more of what CEFS is all about! They're not just a food shelf; they offer much more to help Vermonters who are in need in one way or another. If you haven't already, check out our Share the Love page for more info on the event, and catch up below on all of the other programs that CEFS has to offer!

Food Shelf
The main program at CEFS, where they provide a monthly five-day supply of groceries to families in need, and also offer fresh produce and bread five days per week.

Soup Kitchen
Open to the entire community, the soup kitchen serves a hot meal every day, Monday through Friday from 6:30-9:30 a.m., Sunday morning from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and Sunday evening from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Community Kitchen Academy
This is a Vermont Foodbank culinary job training program that's operated at CEFS. There are 14-week sessions containing 10-12 students that are aimed at helping to prepare them with the culinary skills necessary to secure jobs in the food industry. 

Homebound Grocery Delivery
This program is to address hunger relief for populations with mobility issues, whether that be senior citizens or those with disabilities. Staff and volunteers deliver a five-day supply of grocieries each month, and are currently serving 150 households through the program.

Brown Bag Lunch
This is an annual summertime program that's aimed at children coming from low-income families. The children receive free lunches and other various school-based food assistance throughout the school year. CEFS uses fresh fruits and vegetables to insure that children are given a balanced lunch, which is particularly needed during school breaks when families cannot depend on school food assistance.

Project Angel Food
This program rescues food from local grocery stores and delivers it to a variety of local programs.

Anne's Clothing Corner
Located at CEFS, Anne's Clothing Corner is a volunteer-run clothing corner that's filled with clothes that are collected from the community by a volunteer and given to their guests for free.

To read more about the programs that CEFS has to offer, head to their programs page here!


All information including specific wording of some programs via the CEFS website

Share the Love Donation Update

As of Tuesday, we've raised $16,250 for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf! We wanted to first thank our customers who have purchased new Subaru vehicles and chosen CEFS as their charity of choice to receive $250 from Subaru, and second to thank those who have stopped in to help fill our Subaru Outback with non-perishables for the Food Shelf!

We are exactly halfway through the Share the Love Event, which started on Nov. 21 and ends on Jan. 2. Our goal is to reach $31,000.

Let's take a look at the impact these donations can have on Vermonters who are in need.

With $16,250 CEFS can:

Provide 48,750 meals
Offer 65 families of four a two & a half week supply of groceries
Buy 8,125lbs of food

If we reach our goal! CEFS can:

Provide 93,000 meals
Offer 124 families of four a two & a half week supply of groceries
Buy 15,500lbs of food

It's amazing to see these numbers on paper, and to see how a little amount of money goes such a long way at CEFS. We hope to be able to donate more than a little, so it goes an even longer way! To read up on the annual event, head to our Share the Love page here.

Subaru History: the Subaru 360 Minicar

The Subaru 360 minicar was released on March 3, 1958. At the time, Japanese automakers had been progressing towards developing smaller "people's cars" as advocated by the government in Japan.

Since Subaru was an experienced aircraft manufacturing company, it took to the challenge of building a small, affordable vehicle that would still maintain good performance. The Subaru 360 was born from this challenge as a four-passenger, four-wheel minicar that ended up becoming a milestone in Japan's automobile history.

The Subaru 360 was given the nickname "Ladybird" because of its unique shape, and was extremely popular for over a decade before its production came to a close in 1970.

Subaru has certainly continued progressing since the Subaru 360 minicar, with a full model line of IIHS Top Safety Picks due to Subaru's advanced safety design, as well as several other distinguishing awards and accolades. Check out our new Subaru inventory here!


All information and images via Subaru Global

Subaru Share the Love Update: History of the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

In honor of our ongoing Share the Love Event, we wanted to share the history of the amazing work that the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf does. As of today, we've raised $12,5000 for the Food Shelf! Share the Love runs through the end of the month so be sure to check out our Share the Love page for more info!

The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf (CEFS) was the result of community churches and synagogues working together to address the issue of hunger throughout Chittenden County in 1974. At the time, the Food Shelf was located in a small roof that was run by a single person who was assisted by volunteers -- they provided a three-day supply of groceries to local families each month as a Grocery Distribution Program.

In 1978, the Food Shelf became a program of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), whose mission is “the elimination of poverty in the midst of plenty.” In 1982, the Food Shelf also became a member agency of the United Way. That year CEFS moved to a larger location to accommodate greater demand; their new location had access to a kitchen and began serving a hot breakfast every morning Monday-Friday.

Since then, CEFS has relocated to larger sites twice, which includes its latest move in 1994 to its current location, which was built through the RELIEF Capital Campaign. In response to even higher demand for hunger relief services, the Food Shelf began the Homebound Delivery Program in 1998, which is alternative food resources to assist those who are homebound seniors or disabled adults.

Today, in addition to direct hunger relief services, the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf also houses a comprehensive culinary job training program called Community Kitchen, to provide a long-term solution to the cycle of hunger and poverty.

All information and image of the Food Shelf via CEFS

The Subaru Forester Past and Present: 1998-2014

The Subaru Forester is another Subaru vehicle that has come a long way since its introduction. The Forester was first introduced in 1995 at the Tokyo Motor Show, it was later released in Japan in February 1997, and in the USA in 1998 as one of the first emerging crossover SUV vehicles. Now, the 2014 Subaru Forester is Motor Trend's 2014 Sport/Utility of the Year, and an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ honoree.

Read more about the 1998 Subaru Forester and 2014 Forester below, and be sure to take a look at our 2014 Forester page here!

1998 Subaru Forester Features:

L Trim:

• Anti-lock Braking System
• Air Conditioning
• Power Windows/Locks
• Cruise Control
• Digital Temperature Gauge
• Halogen Headlights
• Fog Lights
• Roof Rack
• Rear Window Defogger
• Trailer Harness Connector
• AM/FM Radio & Cassette Player

S Trim Added:

• Alloy Wheels
• Upgraded Upholstery
• Heated Front Seats
• Heated Mirrors
• Keyless Entry

Available 2014 Subaru Forester Features (varies by model choice):

• Steering Wheel-Mounted Audio Controls (Standard)
• Subaru BOXER Engine (Standard)
• Multifunction Display (Standard)
• Panoramic Sunroof
• Leather Upholstery
• Voice-Activiated GPS Navigation
• Roof Rack
• Heated Seats
• Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
• Rear-Vision Camera
• Keyless Access & Start
• Automatic Climate Control
• Sirius XM Satellite Radio
• Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist
• Remote Engine Starter

Stay tuned for the next feature:
The Subaru Legacy: 1989-2014!


Information via Subaru Global and Subaru Wiki, image 1 & 2 via trialx, image 3 via Autoblog, image 4 via Truck Trend