2006 Subaru Baja Sport Crew Cab Pickup *limited* on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1992 Subaru SVX

Subaru is doing quite well these days with its formula of selling a combination of sensible pavement-optional commuters and rally-inspired performance cars, but go back a quarter-century or so and many of the cars with the Pleiades badges were known more for futuristic jet-fighter-style cockpits and weird gadgetry. This philosophy reached its peak with the brilliant, bizarre Subaru SVX, sold in North America for the 1992 through 1995 model years. Here's a well-preserved purple SVX I spotted a few days ago in a Denver self-service yard. Just look at the side glass! It's impossible to not love the way this car looks. The design of the SVX's exterior was the creation of Giorgetto Giugiaro. The SVX had a DOHC flat-six displacing 3.3 liters, the largest street engine Subaru had built up to that point. It made 231 horsepower, which was respectable for the era. Unfortunately, Subaru didn't have a manual transmission that could handle that kind of engine power, so every SVX came with a four-speed automatic... which (in addition to being way less fun than a manual) also couldn't handle the EG33's output. For this reason, you see SVXs in fairly decent condition at junkyards all the time; a good-running, clean example is worth good money, but one with a bad transmission is worth its weight in scrap. Related Video:

2021 Subaru Outback Review | Still marching to its own drum

The Subaru Outback has always been different. At first, it was weird for a wagon since it had standard all-wheel drive, a ride height lift and rugged styling flourishes. Today, it's weird simply for being a wagon – all others have effectively disappeared, and it really only competes with small crossovers. And against those, the 2021 Subaru Outback makes a tremendous case for itself. Though it rides high off the ground with more clearance than the vast majority of SUVs, it's ultimately still lower overall, making it feel more carlike when behind the wheel and making for easier loading for roof-mounted equipment. Its longer wheelbase provides a smoother, more sophisticated ride as well as more space between seating rows. Its cargo area is also shockingly voluminous. Throw in its abundance of safety and infotainment tech, standard all-wheel drive, solid reliability ratings and improved interior quality with last year's redesign, and you have a vehicle that's easy to recommend. We even deemed it a superior choice to Subaru's own compact crossover, the Forester. What's new for 2021? After being completely redesigned last year, the Outback gains two new standard features for 2021: steering responsive LED headlights and a rear seat reminder that alerts you to check in the back seat for children before exiting the car. What are the Outback interior and in-car technology like? Nearly every 2021 Outback comes with a vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen (and even that lone exception comes with a pair of 7-inch units, pictured above right). Its functionality isn't flawless, as the audio controls when using Apple CarPlay are compromised, and the colorful graphics are a bit cartoonish and have an aftermarket look to them. Still, it's generally easy to use, read and reach. Feature content is excellent as well (see pricing and features section below). Unfortunately, typical for Subaru, stereo sound quality is poor. In terms of design, we can't say the interior is especially attractive, but materials quality is stronger than it was in the past. The buttons and switches have a high-quality feel to them, while even the base trim gets simulated leather stitched together on the dash, doors and center console. There's also a welcome injection of color found in the Touring (tasteful brown leather pictured above) and the Onyx Edition pictured below (gray and black "StarTex" vinyl accented in electric green). How big is the Outback? Think a wagon is smaller than an SUV?

We race a 2019 Subaru WRX STI up the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb

SHELSLEY WALSH, U.K. — Keep your foot down, I tell myself. Easier said than done in a 2019 Subaru WRX STI on the narrow and treacherous Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb. Right away, thereÂ’s a very hairy fast left sweeper the STI takes in third gear, leading into another left that requires even more bravery: lifting just before entry without braking. The STIÂ’s all-wheel drive helps to pull us up and out of the corner, on the way to the fast straightaway up a steep hill. Abrupt berms, vegetation and walls line the right side, while the left has a poor excuse for a guardrail and a long drop past that. The road itself is extremely narrow – only big enough for one STI at a time – but smooth, picturesque. The prototypical meandering British B-road. An obligatory herd of sheep mill about in the distance partway up the hill, and a few cows watch the STI careen over the finish line.  This is the essence of the British hillclimb, an archaic form of motorsport that has survived to this day. In this pastoral setting, Shelsley Walsh happens to be the oldest continuously running (well, save a break for two world wars) hill climb event in the world, with the first official event being held August 12, 1905. It is, like many British hillclimb courses, almost comically short – just over half a mile, so thereÂ’s not much to memorize. Cars from the early 1900s (when it was still paved with stone) struggled to even make it to the top. Part of that struggle can be attributed to the rule that you must race with a full car of passengers, no less than the number of seats available. Besides that, cars just werenÂ’t very powerful back then, and Shelsley is a steep course. It peaks at a 16 percent grade. The course record belongs to a Gould GR55 NME open-wheel single-seater racecar at just 22.58 seconds. I managed to break into the mid 37s for my fastest run in the STI, but there was still a fair bit of time to be had in the course. Car preservation was much more important than chasing lap records — it was an hour drive back to our lodging that night, and the STI was our ride. There were two flavors of Subarus available to us for the hillclimb, and motoring around the British countryside after. One was the regular WRX STI, and the other was the shockingly expensive (and limited to 500 examples, long sold by now) Type RA. All the minor tweaks and upgrades made a tiny, tangible difference in my hill climb times.