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Junkyard Gem: 1982 Subaru GL 4WD Wagon

As a junkyard aficionado living in Denver, I get regular opportunities to study the history of the Pleiades-badged brand every time I hit the IMPORTS section at one of my local yards. You won't find any Subaru 360s in U-Wrench yards these days (I haven't seen a discarded 360 since the early 1980s), but I still find plenty of Malaise-Era Subarus from the period during which they were mocked for their small size in novelty songs. Here's a seriously loaded (by early-1980s standards) 1982 Subaru Leone four-wheel-drive wagon, found last fall in a yard just south of Denver. Back in those days, Subaru USA just called this car "the Subaru" and used the trim levels as confusing model names. There was the base model with no name, the mid-grade DL, and the high-end GL.  Four-wheel-drive was optional on Subarus at this point, though nearly all Colorado buyers paid for this feature. Unlike later all-wheel-drive systems with center differentials, this setup was true four-wheel-drive, which would tear up your tires (or worse) if you drove for too long on dry pavement with 4WD engaged. This proved very confusing for many owners of these cars (as well as those with four-wheel-drive-equipped Toyota Tercels and Honda Civics, a bit later in the decade). Check out the controls for the extremely rare dealer-installed air conditioning! This car has everything. By far the coolest optional feature on this car is the rare "third eye" center-mounted driving light, which lives behind this flip-up panel in the center of the grille and was actuated via a dash-mounted switch. You're more likely to find one of these lights in a BRAT, which was the truck version of the Leone, and I've found a few third-eye-equipped BRATs over the years. Did I buy the entire grille and third-eye assembly, for installation as a ceiling-mounted work light in my garage? You bet I did! With just over 180,000 miles on the clock, this car appears to have been very well cared-for during its life. There's a bit of rust in the usual spots, but nothing too severe by the standards of a near-40-year-old Japanese car. Plaid seat fabric became fashionable on cars like this during the early 1980s, as you'll see on many a Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon. The 1.8-liter boxer-four in this car generated 82 horsepower when new, and it got the job done (if you were patient). This underhood sticker shows that this Subaru's original sale almost certainly took place in Colorado (or maybe Wyoming).

WA woman wins $90M Powerball, plans to buy Subaru Forester

This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lisa Quam recently hit the Powerball jackpot to win $90 million. Like many folks lucky enough to win, Quam says one of her first stops will be a car dealer for a new set of wheels. Her first thought isn't to choose high luxury with a Bentley Mulsanne or Mercedes-Benz S-Class, though. Nope, she plans to buy herself a Subaru Forester, which is an eminently practical (if predictable) choice for someone residing in Washington state. Hopefully, Quam will decide to spend a few extra bucks for the turbocharged XT trim; she can definitely afford it. For our money, Quam's Subaru isn't nearly as cool of a choice as the guy who decided to buy himself an used Acura NSX from Craigslist with his $448 million Powerball jackpot last year. They're both keeping things modest with their newfound fortunes, though, and that strikes us as a smart move.

Subaru PHEV possible next year, pure EV in 2021

Despite what its larger competitors are doing, Subaru has avoided the draw to create its own electric vehicle. Tighter emissions regulations around the globe, though, have the company reconsidering its options. The company is pouring a record amount of money into research and development, according to a report from Bloomberg, and that includes EV technology. Also, Subaru could introduce a plug-in hybrid as early as next year, and an all-electric vehicle by 2021. Subaru CEO Yasuyuki Yoshinaga tells Bloomberg that the company doesn't need a dedicated platform for battery-powered cars, and will likely put plugs into existing models. This way, the automaker doesn't have to partner with another company beyond finding a supplier for the motor and battery, and can extract the full value out of its current nameplates. A previous report suggests that Subaru would electrify the Outback or the Forester, but Yoshinaga doesn't confirm this in his interview with Bloomberg. Instead he uses a model that recently ditched its hybrid version in a hypothetical example: "If there's already an attractive Subaru model, for example the XV crossover, and if a customer in Beijing wants one but is only allowed to buy an electric vehicle, if there's no electric version then he can't buy it. Providing the choice of an EV means the customer can still desire the same Subaru." As for sourcing the battery, Yoshinaga says that a decision would have to come in about a year, and Panasonic and Samsung are possibilities. In addition to EVs, Subaru will use some of its $1.2 billion in funds set aside for R&D for the year ending in March, 2018 on driver assist technology, autonomous driving, and connected vehicles. Related Video: