(first posted 11/6/2018) Are you aware of just how successful Subaru has been in the US? As in, by far the fastest and most consistent growing mainstream brand in the past couple of decades, with an unbroken string of 83 consecutive year-over-year monthly gains. Only Tesla can challenge that record in the past couple of years. Once a genuine outsider, it’s now the seventh largest brand in the land.
In 2018, Subaru will sell about 640k cars, and in the process likely tie Hyundai, beat Kia, tie Dodge and Chrysler together, beat VW by a 2:1 margin, and tie Mercedes and BMW combined. That’s a truly remarkable track record for what was once an little bit player out on the margins of the market. And it started in earnest in the mid-late 70s, with the GL, like this wagon shot and posted at the Cohort by William Oliver.
Of course it really started exactly 50 years ago, when Malcolm Bricklin started importing the tiny Subaru 360, and not to great effect. Even the ultimate salesman had trouble convincing Americans this was worth $1297.
But he hung in there, and then in 1970 convinced Subaru to let him bring over over Subaru’s quite brilliant FF-1, a development of the 1000 from 1966. It was sold as the Star in the US. This was a quantum leap from the two-stroke rear engine 360, and was as leading edge as anything coming out of Europe at the time.
The 1000 was quite radical for Japan at the time, and featured a beautifully-engineered boxer four driving the front wheels.
One of the recurring internet myths is that this engine was simply a copy of the Lloyd Arabella engine. Not so; although Subaru did very closely look at it and a few other European boxer engines before designing theirs, using what they saw as the best features of each of them. No shame in that. It was a very smooth-running engine, and quickly developed a rep as being a quite durable one too.
The Star evolved into 1200 and 1300, and in 1972, the new GL coupe was added to the US lineup. The GL was the first generation of the Leone, as it was called in the US. Its boxer now sported 1400cc.
Subaru continued to make steady if not spectacular inroads in the US market.
The 1974 energy crisis was a boon for the small Japanese cars like Subaru. As to truth in advertising, you can be the judge of that. If you’re wondering about Subaru’s styling at the time, blame Nissan, which then had a 20% ownership share and was quite involved with the styling of this generation. The similarities to Nissan’s own FWD Cherry/F-10 are not just coincidental.
Up to this time, Subaru was just another of so many Japanese brands invading America. But that all changed when Subaru decided to bring over their 4WD wagon. That started when Tohoku Electric Power Company asked Subaru to build them some four wheel drive versions of the 1000 wagon in 1970, to replace their elderly Jeeps.
The 4WD Subaru wagon instantly clicked with a certain segment of the population, as an anti-Jeep/Blazer/Bronco in snowy and mountainous parts of the country like Vermont, Colorado, California’s Sierras and the Pacific Northwest. It developed a cult following, and it’s really what allowed Subaru to survive in the face of ever more intense competition in the mainstream Japanese car segment. My tribute to that very significant milestone car is here.
But for some time yet, Subaru’s FWD cars were still the primary sellers. By the time this FWD GL was built, it had grown from 1.0L to 1.4 or 1.6L. Unlike the head gasket issues of the more recent generation of SOHC 2.5 L engines, these ohv fours became legendary for their durability.
Despite steadily growing sales of the 4WD versions, the mainstream FWD Subarus fell on hard times, especially with the introduction the larger, lower, longer and wider Legacy in 1989. Subaru’s decision to compete directly against the top-selling Camry and Accord did not go over successfully, and in 1991, Subaru seriously considered pulling out of the US market.
Subaru’s fortunes changed dramatically after it decided to sell only AWD cars in the US and introduced the brilliant Outback. The rest is history; really good history.
These narrow-body Subarus have become quite scarce, even here in Curbsidelandia. But this one in Ontario looks to be in most excellent condition, given the winters there. I’m not actually sure this is a ’77; it can get hard to tell these apart. Close, in any case.
If someone had told me back in the 70s that Subaru would someday be the seventh best selling brand in the US, I’d have thought they were nuts. The brand that was once derided for its Birkenstock-wearing, organic food-eating, yoga-doing owners has gone very mainstream. As have Birkenstocks, organic food and yoga. So who’s winning the culture wars automotive industry wars?
Wow. I had forgotten just how much Subaru has continued to grow and grow, and all this despite having a relatively small lineup. As a former Subaru owner, I have a great deal of respect for the brand. And I especially understand why the Outback is a big seller – that’s one kind of crossover I can get behind.
Hadn’t seen one of these bodies in like forever, then this lovely 4WD moved in around the corner. This series was not uncommon here in Melbourne back in the day, but I have always assumed they were all 4WD until I met the very well-informed owner of this one.
I have seen that car too. Welcome Sam!
Subaru has followed a similar arc in Australia, including the switch to awd only. The Brat made more of an impact here as the Brumby though. A family friend had one that was the same model as this car (at least as far as I can remember) and our small country town had a Subaru dealership most likely because of their popularity with farmers.
Cheers John, good to meet another Melbournian! I’ve always admired Subarus from a kid growing up in New Zealand. My folks didn’t want a big 4WD off-roader as we lived in the city, but we had a property in the bush that you have to drive over muddy fields to access. They’ve had various Subies from the early 80s onwards (including Leone, Justy, Legacy, and now Outback) and weren’t “enthusiasts”, just liked the practicality of a normal-sized car that had the extra grip when needed in mud, snow, or gravel roads. Dad loved getting the Subie places you wouldn’t expect a small car to go, and joked that the beauty of 4WD was that you could get further away before you got stuck. But since the cars were so light we could always get them out of sticky situations if it came to it. And the rugged reliability meant they could keep a car for years on end, they just kept going and going even when the mileage was high!
The Brumby wasn’t as iconic in NZ, possibly cos we got so many used imports from Japan giving us a wide selection of cheap 4WD wagons. In Oz people see my car and ask if it’s a “Brumby wagon or something” haha! There are a lot of similarities and thankfully some of the parts are compatible so I can still find the bits I need to keep it on the road (with a bit of searching). My gearbox was tired and I found a replacement single-range 4WD one from an early Brumby- only catch was I had to buy the whole ute to get it. Even though it was rusty as hell and had just been used for storing firewood and moving stuff around the farm, the old Brumby still started and drove just fine. I’ve kept the parts from it that might be useful, but alas it was too far gone to restore.
That was sadly the story of the first Gen 4WDs- bulletproof mechanicals but poor rust protection, which is why they are virtually extinct on the roads having become “paddock bombs” years ago.
Nice photo – if only it was easy to swap the rear half of the body in a modular system!
Totally different in Israel. In the 70s-80s Subaru was the best selling brand but when the bigger Japanese manufacturers started import it was quickly all over and it never recovered. Here in Austria they have their followers but are thought of as cars for eccentrics or those who live in more mountainous areas, and sales are minuscule.
So I must put this down to conditions in the US and downunder, and possibly better marketing over there. I also have the feeling Subaru prioritizes those markets, perhaps due to lack of resources. Always a mistake but time will tell.
Hey mate, was this at the go carts in baysy last week?,
As practical and reliable today as they were back in the ’70s. This one is my daily and makes me smile every time I drive it! The 4WD on-demand comes in handy too, great for getting to camping spots.
hmmm… needs a green one for a perfect pair
Yeah, it would look rather festive getting the red and green wagons together! Or “brilliant red” and “vibrant green” according to the names on the ’70s Subaru colour chart. Very Christmassy!
Very nice! I reckon these were all green when I was young, in this shade that somehow suited the cartoony styling.
I love this car. its my project car that I am working on. So nice to see another one!!
I have a facebook page of my work. see the link 🙂
Awesome, great to hear of another one being saved!! Where are you located? The link didn’t come through, but you can contact me on Facebook- search for Sam Knight in Melbourne, Australia 🙂
My image didn’t work either. Here’s the link
https://m.facebook.com/The76SubaruProject/
I’m in Adelaide. I’ve had this car for 18 years and I’ve never seen one other than mine on the road.
Would be awesome to see more pictures of your car
Heck, if someone told me in 2008 that Subaru would be where they are now I would have had them committed. It’s pretty surprising no one else has really tried to bring cheap all wheel drive to the masses like Subaru has, given their success.
Subaru isn’t cheaper than other 4WDs. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan each sell hundreds of thousands of similarly priced and sized CUVs. The difference is that it’s Subaru’s entire brand image.
My mother bought one of these in 1977. Dark green with white stripes along the rocker panels, four wheel drive, and manual everything. I was six years old. She was not smooth with a stick and I didn’t understand why I always got carsick in it. That wasn’t the car’s fault. My parents had divorced and my dad had a new Corvette, because he could afford it while not paying support. I saw my dad then most Sundays and he would let me sit on his lap and steer the Vette. It steered very direct and easy. We drove all over in it. I can’t imagine doing that on public roads with my kids in a glass car but that’s another issue. So anyway I nagged my mom about letting me steer her car the same way and that winter she did. There was a lot of snow and something had left big tracks across Calumet Park on Chicago’s east side. She let me on her lap and then just started to go quickly across the park and I had to follow the tracks to not get stuck. I was not prepared for manual steering as it required a lot more effort and I wasn’t doing very well, not knowing why it didn’t steer like the Corvette. It sounds like it would have been fun if I’d had more experience and my mom was probably trying to be cool, but I definitely preferred the Corvette. I thought the Subaru was kind of cool looking but not very pretty. Even at six I thought the Vette was a little impractical looking. Talk about two completely opposite cars to compare! Her Subaru ended up being kind of lemony, never running right and always at the dealer. That is where I saw a couple of 360s in the back in various states of disassembly. I didn’t realize they were real cars, and thought they were some kind of carnival ride car. The dealership building is still there in Hammond and has been many different businesses over the decades. But I still remember it as that place with the odd little cars in front and the even odder and littler cars in the back. (I thought about editing out all the passiv-aggressive stuff about my parents but decided it is impossible to discuss those days without it. It is too interwoven to separate.)
Awesome account – thanks for sharing it.
Good story!
In 1978, one of the kids on our soccer team, had a Subaru AWD wagon–their other car was a new Caprice wagon–loaded, and I though, “wow, these people are loaded”.
But I also thought, “how clever, they have a frugal car for errands, and a big car for everyone”.
My Dad was an early adopter who bought a new Subaru DL in 1976. It was that light yellow color that a lot of them were back then (don’t see that color on current Subarus), and had I think only one option, an automatic, on account of my Mother, who still doesn’t like manual transmissions. We bought it in Winooski Vt.
I car shopped with my Dad, and we also looked at the Datsun F10 (no, we’re not blind…just few cars offered FWD in 1976…..this was before Subarus were AWD. What bothered us about the F10 was the vent on the hood which looked like a patch for a problem…it was only on one side, near the carburator…..so he didn’t buy an F10.
The Subaru was pretty space efficient, the spare tire was on top of the engine (a boxer even back then). It came with a lot of standard things which normally were options back then, an AM radio, rear defroster, etc, but I wouldn’t call it plush.
My sister ended up with the Subaru later, my Brother-in-law wasn’t too excited about it until he found out it was the car of the US Ski team, and he could get into events for free with it (he was a big skier, no more since he now lives in the South). Even then, the Subaru didn’t age well, the hood came open once in the wind and buckled so it wouldn’t close right; we used a bungee cord between the front wheel cutouts to keep the hood closed when driving. It had lots of rust by the time my Sister took it over, even though it was 5 years old, I can’t remember when she got rid of it, but I’m thinking around 1984, so it wouldn’t have even been 10 years old by then.
My Father never did buy another Subaru…
While I see a lot of Subarus here in Florida, I had no idea it was selling more cars than many of the brands mentioned. MORE than Mercedes-Benz AND BMW combined? Who knew?
I have 4 sisters and among them they have bought at least 9 or 10 Subarus and all but one was happy with her purchase. That one was a used Legacy GT that never seemed to run right and developed several (typically) Subaru maladies. But it sure looked sharp, for a Subaru wagon.
I rode in one of those early GL wagons, like the silver one pictured, when it was fairly new. I wasn’t all that impressed with the car but did admire many of its features. I think I may have been prejudiced as my car at the time was an Audi Fox. The Subaru felt like only 2/3rds of a car next to that Audi.
BTW, when Subaru introduced the Star series wasn’t Honda building a fairly advanced car for a newcomer to the auto building business? I seem to remember Honda producing a car about the same size as the Star, with an air-cooled engine and FWD…though I don’t suppose it had a flat four engine? It did have a dry sump, though, unusual for such a small car and a not yet common electric fuel pump.
Honda had the 1300 with an air-cooled inline engine. The coupe exported to Australia in 1971-72; I don’t remember seeing one for many years.
When the Subaru Star came out in ‘70, the Honda 600 was still 2-3 years in the future in the American market, much less the Civic, an Honda still meant motorcycles. In the US, to even realize that Honda messed with cars, you had to be a Formula One fan.
No. The 600 was also available in 1970. Honda had left hand drive testers running around in the US as early as the winter of 1967.
While Fuji Heavy Industries has pulled a few boners over the years (BRAT, Justy, XT, Tribeca, Baja), none of them were serious enough to overshadow their successes (Outback) and put a crimp in the marque’s upward trajectory. They might be considered Japan’s version of independent AMC if AMC had had better luck. Coincidentally, AMC actually tried to get in on the AWD car market, too. Unfortunately, their spotty quality control wasn’t nearly as solid as Subaru.
And it’s not like Subaru hasn’t had alliances with other manufacturers, either. There was Nissan and GM, and most recently, Toyota. But through it all, Subaru has managed to maintain their identity and effectively stick to their core market which has served them quite well.
Frankly, those folks who decry Ray Abernethy’s ill-fated efforts to expand AMC’s lineup to compete one-on-one with the Big 3 instead of carrying on George Romney’s focus on Rambler’s core, small car market, could point to Subaru’s success as how AMC could have potentially survived to this day. It’s a theory that has some merit.
Funny that you mentioned AMC’s AWD car efforts in the same breath as Subaru.
In the late ‘70s and into the ‘80s, AMC dealer in my hometown also owned the Subaru dealership next door (and Oldsmobile and Toyota, but that’s another story). Up until now I never realized how well those two makes fit so well together.
The main functional advantage that the AMC Eagle had over the Subaru 4WD is AMC’s system was a full-time 4WD system, what is now usually referred to as all-wheel-drive. Subaru’s early 4-wheelers were part-time 4WD and could not be driven on dry pavement with the system engaged. (Early Eagles could not even be switched out of 4WD.)
I’ve read that current Subarus with CVT transmission have a somewhat compromised 4WD system but I have not heard any complaints from people who drive them in slippery conditions.
(The first time I saw a Subaru was around 1970 in a supermarket parking lot, it was an FF-1 that still had the factory plastic wrap on the door panels. Toyotas and Datsuns had become a fairly common sight by this time, but this was something different. As I recall my reaction was something like “WFT is that?”)
The differences between the Subaru and AMC drive systems are definitely worth noting. AMC essentially adapted the Jeep off-road style 4WD to the Eagle, while Subaru was an early version of an AWD system, much more focused on street operation than off-roading. In effect, you could take an Eagle off-road without a lot of difficulty. A Subaru? Not so much.
Eventually, the street AWD system would come into its own with the Audi Quattro. No one would ever take a Quattro off-road. From there, it was a short leap to affordable, car-like vehicles with street-based AWD systems which weren’t really designed for any kind of extensive off-road use but mainly gave an increased level of safety and security when the weather was inclement. People who bought those first Subaru AWD cars were the early-adopters of today’s very popular, car-based AWD vehicles.
AMC essentially adapted the Jeep off-road style 4WD to the Eagle, while Subaru was an early version of an AWD system, much more focused on street operation than off-roading. In effect, you could take an Eagle off-road without a lot of difficulty. A Subaru? Not so much.
You got it mostly backwards. The Eagle had a full-time AWD system that was not used on the CJ Jeep. It was designed specifically to be on all the time, meaning it was oriented to on-road use. The hard core off-roaders generally preferred a switchable 4WD system.
The Subaru was strictly a part-time 4WD system, not AWD. It could only be used off-road or on snow and slippery conditions, since it had no center diff. Subarus were off-roaded extensively. Lift kits were very popular.
You could off-road an Eagle, but that was not really its thing, unless it had a lift kit and such.
Realistically, both could off-road in stock condition to roughly similar extents, but the Subaru had the advantage of being narrower and shorter. Lift kits improved their capabilities.
Like AMC, Subaru is one market hiccup from death. They sell about two thirds of their worldwide production in one country. They have also have a more diverse product line than even Abernethy wanted. They do have a strong Romney like image tho.
Excellent comparison. AMC’s real selling point was quality, not size. If they had stuck with quality, things could have been different.
Here in Spokane, Subaru never acquired the cult flavor. It has always been popular because it runs every day and gets through snow and ice.
While maybe not in the ‘cult’ status like, say, Jeep, Subaru owners are a pretty loyal bunch, are comfortable with their cars, and tend to stay with Subaru for their next vehicle (at least if they get the ones without mechanical issues). In fact, I might go so far as to say Subaru customers just want a Toyota-like, four-season appliance (but don’t want a CUV), and Subaru is as close as they can get.
Subaru is kind of the ‘anti-CUV’. Yeah, you don’t get the higher ‘command seating’ of most CUVs, but you also don’t get the higher, more tip-over prone center-of-gravity, either, as well as a lower ease-of-entry.
It’s a common stereotype to suggest that lesbians like Subarus. I might expound on that a bit and say that senior citizens (of any sexual orientation) are another demographic that’s fond of them, as well.
“senior citizens (of any sexual orientation) are another demographic that’s fond of them, as well.”
Yep, in Ithaca the running joke between me and my brother was that any time you see a Subaru being driven at a snail’s pace at the first sign of winter precipitation, or conversely driven haphazardly in other circumstances, nine times out of ten it would be a post-menopausal woman (not necessarily of any particular “orientation”). The other Ithacan trope was hippy-dippy granola liberals driving ragged out Volvos that spewed blue smoke into the atmosphere, and Chinese post-docs that all drove Camries with dents in the corners of the bumpers (poorly).
Actually, Subaru actively marketed to lesbians UTR, with inspired ad campaigns. NPR did a story on this, but a really good read covering this aspect of Subaru’s marketing is the one below from the Atlantic…
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/how-subarus-came-to-be-seen-as-cars-for-lesbians/488042/
One of a number of ad campaigns below..:
Interesting article, thanks for the link. Good for Subaru, I can’t understand why this aspect is such a problem for some people. I also think it’s hilarious that they provide so much employment in Mr. Pence’s (of all peoples’) home state though.
That plant had a rocky start here. In the late 80s when the Japanese companies were really getting their US plants going, the State trade people were all excited that they had enticed one here. Everyone here was like “All these other states are getting Toyota plants and Nissan plants and Honda plants and you bring us . . . Subaru & Isuzu? WTF?” For a bit it looked like the Isuzu part of the plant would be the dominant partner but they eventually shriveled and left. That is how SIA went from meaning Subaru Isuzu Automotive to Subaru Indiana Automotive. It’s a heckuva big deal now.
Subaru is a brand that caught my attention as a child due to their commercials and I’ve admired them since. They have found their niche (quite a large one as we now know) and have worked it masterfully.
For whatever reason I’ve only experienced one Subaru, an ’81 hatchback (damned if I can tell you what model) a college roommate had in the early ’90s. At the time it was pretty rough, being a $300 special from the dealer his uncle worked at in Indianapolis. Rust had consumed a lot of the doors.
After riding quite a few miles in it, I did finally drive it one night when my roommate was drunk. A very rev happy engine and a slick five-speed. The mechanicals had aged much better than the shell had.
I respect the heck out of Subaru for what they’ve been able to pull off, and I also quite like a lot of their key design philosophies: maximizing utility, excellent visibility, sturdy long travel suspensions and very serious ground clearance, “true” AWD (although they’ve sacrificed that a bit on newer automatic models for the sake of MPG). I was particularly impressed with the new-for-2015 generation of Outbacks, the interiors are really nice for the price point: I’d actually put that $27k Outback with cloth seats up against cars in the $40k bracket, no joke. And well ahead of modern comparably priced Toyotas and Hondas in terms of quality and design on the inside. Yes a few historic Achilles heels give me pause, and more-so the recent oil burning issues as well as the use of a CVT transmission. I haven’t heard any issues with CVT longevity yet, unlike Nissans. But I would not want a CVT in a car that might find itself needing to rock out of a snowy/off-road situation. Oh yeah, one more Subaru bug-a-boo: seat comfort. The latest Outback finally gained adequately sized seat cushions for thigh support, but even on a short test drive I found the lumbar support wretched. I looked on the forums and indeed people are doing all sorts of things like disassembling their seats to remove this painful piece of plastic.
I first learned what a Subaru was when a newlywed cousin bought one in 1971. Everyone in the family thought her husband was nuts for trading a beautiful 67 LeMans 2 door hardtop on it. He did actually turn out to be kind of nuts, but that’s another story.
You can imagine my surprise at coming across one of these at an Indianapolis show a couple of years ago. I cannot tell when I had seen one before that. This one is a little newer, a 79.
Underhood
Inside
Subaru is a great example of having the right car at the right time. Actually way before the right time, but they kept persevering until the right time came.
Regarding Subaru’s popularity, my parents are an interesting example. They bought a 1980 4WD wagon (the first year of the GL/Leone’s 2nd generation). It was a great car in theory, but was absolutely awful in reliability… as in the worst car they’d ever owned. Even now, almost 40 years later, I can still hear them arguing about whether to pay for yet another repair for that car or to get rid of it. They kept it for 6 terrible years.
However, despite that bad experience, my parents now own… two Subarus. My sister owns one too, as does my aunt. The concept of a 4WD wagon was to alluring for all of them, and and about 25 years after my folks gave up on their GL, they once again became Subaru owners.
And I can’t help thinking that the modern Outback/Crosstrek is as direct a descendant of a long-ago ancestor like this featured car as you’ll ever find in the automotive world.
My sister bought a 2016-ish Outback but never fell in love with it. A series of electrical glitches led to its being the shortest time she has ever owned a new car since the 1986 VW Golf she bought with no a/c. She quickly learned that no a/c is a whole different thing with a hot and cranky 1 year old kid strapped into a car seat.
Sorry to hear about your sister’s Outback J P! My normally completely-car-ambivalent wife actually really rather likes them and we’ve been eyeing one as her first post-residency doctor car to replace her Camry. I haven’t heard of too many quality issues otherwise but that is less than encouraging.
Despite my own family’s good experiences with modern Subarus, a co-worker of mine had a 2007-ish Legacy wagon that had tons of electrical and drivetrain problems — it was almost like a malaise-era car. Ironically, his parents also owned a Legacy wagon, and put over 200,000 trouble-free miles on it.
Hers was probably a fluke, the kind that any new car could get. At random times every warning light on the dash would come on at once but the dealer service department could never duplicate the problem.
Her bigger problem was that she is a stick shift girl and missed a stick-available Outback by a year. She had spent years going back and forth between VW diesels and Jeeps, always manuals. She traded the outback for a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with a 6 speed and has been a happy camper ever since.
We had fellow Russian emigres that settled on a used mid 80s Loyale as their first car in the US in the early 90s. Despite what was written above about the older Subarus with smaller displacement flat fours being very long lived, they had repeat overheating conditions with theirs. As I recall they ended up buying a slightly newer Loyale wagon, which ALSO ended up having engine problems. We were quickly becoming Honda people at that same time (’82 Civic Wagon, ’85 Sedan, ’90 Wagon) although I will say our Hondas were not entirely trouble-free either. The ’82 needed a top end work after our mechanic made some kind of mistake and dropped something into a cylinder (he repaired it free of charge). The ’85 constantly warped rotors and blew a CV axle soon after purchase, more of a function of being an older used car I suppose than a factory defect. Finally the ’90 blew a head gasket at low mileage soon after purchase. Dealer called it a factory defect and good-willed the repair.
i’ve rented the crosstrek a couple of times and was impressed. i generally hate the driving dynamics of crossovers but the subaru was great. the low center of gravity from the boxer engine makes a big difference. the cvt has a “manual” mode that worked well when driving through the mountains. if i was in the market for a new car, i’d probably buy one.
Isn’t the Crosstrek just an Impreza with a couple more inches of ground clearance? The Crosstrek isn’t bad, but if I were in the market, I’d probably just get the Impreza and save the money.
And speaking of the Crosstrek, Subaru really pulled a boner with the original hybrid version. IIRC, it was at least $2k more than the non-hybrid Crosstrek, but the increase in gas mileage was small, only something like 2 mpg. Needless to say, they didn’t sell many of them. But I think Subaru has re-introduced a new version that gets substantially better fuel mileage. Still not sure if it’s worth the extra money, but at least it’s more cost-effective.
I’m just so staggered that an old Subaru with Ontario plates hadn’t exploded into little brown flakes of rust. I recall seeing these in the junkyard completely consumed, even the rear suspension trailing arms had rust holes in them.
But if this one is somehow in BC with ON plates then that explains everything. Nice summary, and nice job Subaru.
It’s not in BC; it’s here in Toronto, just down the street from me! I don’t know why CC or the Cohort said BC. It’s sitting in front of my friend’s house and I too am baffled as to how any Ontario Subaru of that vintage hasn’t disintegrated.
I somehow got the mistaken idea in my head that the plates were from BC. My bad. Fixed now.
And I thought that what made sense was Chevrolet….
In 1982, a Subaru dealer was trying to close the deal with me. It came down to cruise control.
“Only $99.97,” the dealer eagerly told me, “IN-stalled!”
“You betcha,” I thought, “Hell if you’re gonna give me a handful of wires & pushbuttons, and tell me ‘this is your cruise control’ .”
Oh, there are no shortage of dealers that would happily tell you, “$99.97!”, then, when you get the bill, you discover that the actual price is $249.97 because they added on $150 labor to install the parts.
good point !
In my view, beside it has good product lineup, with the current all-wheel drive trend is on its side, success of Subaru in North America is its strategy in early 90s to be a cult like inch player like Saab and Volvo, rather to be another Honda. This leads to be successfully selling more cars over the last ten years despite it is a small automaker some what independent, over the years it have been owned partially by GM, Nissan and Toyota. Its product lineups are very similar to Honda in 80s with relatively small models in the show room so that the company is much better managed — contract to BMW, another small auto maker, these days.
The extinction of Saab, and decline of Volvo and struggling VW also turn those owners to Subaru. In Brooklyn Heights where I work they are common replacement for Saab and Volvo. Ironically, in 90s some auto journalists said Subaru, Audi and Saab would be gone, except for Saab, we witness several democratic bands along with 2nd tier Japanese bands went under.
A very good point. The demise of Saab and the move upscale by Volvo have both clearly benefited Subaru.
Having come upon my “Wonder Years” around 1970, and then knowing the different makes and models fairly well, I had never considered Subaru to be a “bit player”. They always seemed rather mainstream to me, as much as say, Mazda or Mitsubishi; if you’re comparing to the Europeans then say Volvo or Saab. They were just not top-sellers. I always liked Subaru cars; it wasn’t until the last decade or so that I came to realize they had a “bohemian factor” attached to them. That turns me off a bit, but I’d still gladly drive a Subaru.
Hello All,
Just wanted to clarify that I saw this car in Toronto, Ontario. Perhaps Paul misread my Flickr description, where I noted that most older Japanese cars that I’ve seen in Ontario seem to have been shipped from the West Coast, (B.C. in Canada’s case) but this one was sold about two hours north of Toronto in Peterborough. Here’s the dealer sticker (Provided I’ve uploaded a compatible image)
Thanks for posting these pictures, William — what an outstanding find!
I somehow got the mistaken idea in my head that the plates were from BC. My bad.
No 7? I had no idea they were that successful. Still an outlier here, with an odd range of awkwardly named and configured vehicles
Something like 80% of global Subaru sales are in North America. It’s become an American brand owned by Japanese.
I took some relevant pics in Burton, BC last year. Here’s № 1:
…№ 2…
A cousin of mine bought a Subaru wagon with the fake wood trim like this I think about 1979 or 1980; he drove it several years. I rode in it once and it was a quite comfortable vehicle. With some unique advertising (like dogs)Subaru has carved themselves out in a very comfortable position. I sometime wonder how AMC would have fared if they had adopted a similar advertising strategy.
…№ 3…
…and finally, for the big reveal, № 4:
Anyone interested in the early-90’s history of Subaru, and their troubles at the time would enjoy reading Randall Rothenberg’s excellent book, Where the Suckers Moon. An interesting account of trying to modernize their advertising strategies and make the brand more relevant to people by hiring Nike’s advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy. Needless to say, that wasn’t a success.
I guess that’s where those “Subaru: What to Drive” ads came from?
My current driver is an Outback, as was its immediate predecessor. Its successor will also be one if I can find one with a manual transmission when replacement time comes. The longitudinal engine is easy to work on, with convenient access to most maintenance items. It is also easy to remove when head gaskets or clutch need replacement.
Subarus are very popular in New England where I live, and it is common to see several in a row on the highway. Some parking lots could even be mistaken for Subaru dealerships by a casual observer.
Though the Outback served as my initiation into the cult of the Pleiades, I experienced some of its ancestors back in the day. A college roommate had an 80’s model that struck me as being comfortable, smooth riding and reliable. It was the first Japanese car I had ever ridden in, and it seemed miles ahead of the 70s era big-3 junkers I was driving back then. Another college friend had a crusty older one like the one featured by Daniel Stern. It was a rudimentary, tough little car that saw rough service on beaches and forest roads. It took a licking and kept on ticking until it oxidized into an unsafe state.
Pictured below is an old-timer that I found tucked away in a corner of the service facility of a local dealership a few years ago. Last time I was there it was in the showroom serving as a table holding pamphlets extolling the virtues of its modern descendants. It is an exceptionally bare-bones vehicle that appears to be uncomfortable, undersized, and unsafe, more so than even the crappiest cars whose threadbare seats my butt has ever graced with its presence. Subaru has indeed come a long way, baby.
I have the forgotten version of the GL wagon. Mines a 1979 DL 4 door sedan FWD 3spd automatic! Love it to death! Most people dont even know it’s a Subaru. Some think it’s a Datsun or Opel. Unfortunately its getting harder to find parts for them anymore
Haha, I guess you are the guy who owns the one I saw in Indianapolis. Your picture looks like it was from the same show I attended. 3 of my shots from that show are up near the top of the comments. I absolutely loved seeing your car that day!
All this talk of longevity is at odds with how I remember these as a kid. Up until the 1600 motor in the Leone, I have a memory of these being a bit of a lottery for engines, and reputation as a car to avoid. Something to do with the wet-sleeve design (which became dry-sleeve or no sleeve with the 1600)? The early ones also had a very wacko cooling system with two radiators but no fan, which mayn’t have helped. In fact, when I was shopping – rummaging, really – through the bottom of the bargain-basement cars for sale for my first wheels in ’87, our mechanic told me volubly to avoid the one I looked at. Any of the newer ones were miles better, worthy of the legend, but priced accordingly. No-one except off-roady types, a much smaller cult then, would buy them, (the nature of those folk then being such that they’d have the skills to keep them running).
They remain appealingly odd, though. By which I mean, the appeal was and is in the difference to anything else from the time (contemporary longitudunal FWD alloy flat fours from Lancia and Alfa and Citroen were exotica here), and the odd is the irredeemable gawkiness of the styling. The strange kid with the big heart.
Subaru are big in Oz too, 10th best seller in an immensely crowded market last year. Their name was made from farmers buying the 4wd utes and wagons and driving them outrageous miles, and then they sold in cities as word spread. The biggest dealer in the land by far is supposedly the one at Cooma, a small country town in Australia’s “high country”, where it snows on and off for about 5 months a year.
The Outback doesn’t go to the outback from which it was christened. They use only heavy duty 4wd there.
My parents owned a new ’85 Leone wagon with a stick. I drove it a couple times but found it unremarkable.
Years later, my wife and I owned three of them over an eight-year period, and looking back, I liked the driving experience of our first one – a ’92 Legacy FWD – best. It was simply fun to drive.
The ’98 Legacy Outback that replaced it had its head gaskets repaired early in our ownership. As noted in previous threads, the dealer used Fel-Pros and there were no further problems.
The ’05 Outback that replaced it was, as might be expected, the most domesticated of the three. But when the head gasket failed, the dealer – a different one than the people who repaired the ’98 – used factory parts…which began to fail again some 70,000 or so miles later.
We ended up trading for an 2011 Equinox LTZ which we still own after nearly five years.
I think it’s human nature, that that which is quirky rarely rises to the top in sales. Hey, that’s probably why they’re “quirky” in the first place!
Motor Trend once called it “staying out of left field” in an late-60s analysis of the industry. IIRC this article spent considerable time on GM, which would be logical since enough time had passed since the grand experimental period of the early 60s to see that once the A-bodies were mainstreamed for ’64, sales took off. Not to mention Corvair and Chevy II.
Subaru’s decision to mainstream their vehicles, now close to a decade ago, was the point at which sales REALLY began to fly. I’m no longer interested; then again, in all fairness, the tastes of me and my wife have evolved too.
But in retrospect, if I had to pick only one, it would be the ’98. It was enjoyable to drive if not as fun as the ’92, and yet was quite durable and honest.
I bought a 77 4wd, 4 speed with a 1.6 in 1994 for $200cad. Used it for delivering pizzas, going camping, drove it through rivers, down deer tracks and up steep mountains like a goat, ate snow for breakfast. What a car.
Great story! I owned a ‘79 FWD wagon, 5-speed manual..my first of many Subies. The car was very reliable for several miles/years. The one issue I recall with the car was the clutch cable snapping, easily replaced in my driveway.
Subies have been fun to own and drive over the years for my wife and I: ‘84 GL wagon, ‘88 GL10 turbo wagon, ‘96 and ‘99 Impreza outback wagons (especially good cars), ‘13 Impreza sport wagon, and currently an ‘18 Crosstrek Limited, which is showing itself as a stable and comfortable road vehicle. The high-tech gadgetry (EyeSight, etc.) has me wondering, prompting a warranty extention for the electronics that I would never ordinarily opt for.
So that ‘79 wagon started a lifelong family tradition.
I bought an 83 front-wheel-drive wagon, yellow of course, as a used model and drove it for several years. I bought the do-it-yourself repair manual in the style of “How to Fix Your Volkswagen.” It helped me through many, many repairs. The author was named in another thread on this site not long ago. I was unable to solve a persistent overheating problem and sold it locally , revealing the problem. I never came across it again.
I first ran across Subaru in the 70s when I had to do a brake job on one working as an amateur auto mechanic. FF1, IIRC? Front inboard drums. A royal PITA. Many curse words were used when I found out I had to pull the axle and to do that separate the ball joint to move the front hub further out.
Interesting their marketing to a specific female demographic. I am aware of them stereotyped to Foresters, but not to the entire marque.
Lastly I have considered them at times over the years for myself, 4WD being an attraction, but really more AWD. The lack of a stump puller first or transfer case being a problem. And lets not forget about the legendary head gasket problems, which seem to be when, not if. For a long time it was reportedly only between this year and that year, but as time goes on that year gets pushed further out. The rest of the cars I don’t hear bad things about, but the head gaskets…