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Junkyard Gem: 1988 Subaru GL 4WD Sedan

While Subaru kept the hatchback version of the second-generation Leone available in North America all the way through the late 1980s, the third-generation sedans and wagons went on sale here in 1985. Today's Junkyard Gem is a loaded '88 4WD sedan, found in thoroughly worn-out condition in a junkyard next to Pikes Peak in Colorado. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Subaru named each of their North American Leone models "The Subaru," adding trim levels as placeholders for model names. The GL was the top-of-the-line version. This confused everybody, so these cars became Loyales starting in the 1990 model year. This car has the optional automatic transmission and Subaru's first full-time four-wheel-drive system (we'd call it all-wheel-drive by today's definition), available starting in 1988. You hit the red button on the shifter to switch between front- and all-wheel-drive, and if you drove on dry asphalt in the 4WD setting you didn't tear up the tires and/or drivetrain. Prior to this system, four-wheel-drive Subarus had a big lever to switch between drive modes, and you'd damage stuff by using 4WD on dry pavement. Adding to the luxury, this car came with factory air conditioning. A/C was still considered a frivolous luxury by many small-car shoppers in the late 1980s, but that attitude faded as the cost of refrigerated air went down. This car turned well over 200,000 miles during its 32-year career. That doesn't quite measure up to the kind of final odometer readings I see on four-wheel-drive Toyota cars of this era, but it's still excellent for its time. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In the end, the rust finally got this car. The fenders sway in the mountain breezes now. The final owner appears to have been a huge fan of high-potency THC concentrates, available legally all over Colorado. We can only hope they didn't drive high, because shatter hash and old Subarus don't mix. In addition to the high miles and rust, the scent of overflowing ashtrays, sweat, clouds of vaped cannabis, and decomposing interior plastics knocked the resale value of this car down from $400 to about $80, despite the sale-enhancing automatic transmission. The idea of a Subaru GL with power windows would have seemed laughable just a few years earlier than 1988. This car could be purchased with a turbocharged engine, but this one just has the aftermarket badge upgrade.

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.

Motor Trend pits Subaru WRX vs. Ford Focus ST

The Ford Focus ST has enjoyed a relatively calm, if brief, reign in the world of hot hatches. With nothing else in the class (in the States, at least) but the aging Mazdaspeed3 and Subaru Impreza WRX and the slow-selling Volkswagen Golf R, the Blue Oval's 252-horsepower five door has been the go-to vehicle for those that don't need the high-octane lunacy (and expense) of the rally bred Subaru Impreza WRX STI and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
Now, though, as the new Subaru WRX (it's not an Impreza anymore, though, neither is it a hatchback...) starts to arrive at dealers, the Focus ST appears to be under threat for the first time. Naturally, Motor Trend is here to figure out which one is the best, with another one of its Head 2 Head videos. Host Jonny Lieberman puts both cars through their paces, going above and beyond, quite literally, at the very end of the video.
Have a look below and let us know what you think of MT's verdict in Comments.