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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).

Is the Subaru BRZ STI being teased really only a tS version?

Teaser images of a purported Subaru BRZ STI were uncovered last night and sent the internet into a collective state of hysterics. That's not hugely surprising, though, considering the reverence that the BRZ, along with its fraternal twins, the Scion FR-S and Toyota GT86, have garnered from the automotive media. The sole sticking point, really, has been its mere 200 horsepower. People have been chomping at the bit over a higher output version of the sublime rear driver.
Those same people may be in for a disappointment, though. See, the BRZ STI that was teased last night might not be a real STI. Instead, it's looking like it might be a BRZ tS. According to 7Tune.com, the timing of the photos posted on Subaru's website lined up with Subaru's 86 Festival at Fuji Speedway, where the Subaru BRZ tS debuted. Despite wearing STI badges, the tS isn't the full-tilt STI model we've been hoping for. Instead, you can think of the relationship between tS models and STI models as sort of like the difference between a BMW 3 Series M Sport and a BMW M3.
Certainly, the speccing of the tS supports that idea. The engine of the BRZ remains untouched in both tS models, which is one of the primary things we expect a full-bore STI to address. A number of interior and exterior styling items have been added, along with Bilstein suspension pieces and six-pot Brembo brakes. The tS sports two different trim levels, with the higher end using Recaro seats, black alloy wheels, and a carbon-fiber rear spoiler. The base tS features silver wheels, standard seats, and all the same suspension and brake upgrades. Adding fuel to the fire that these are not the true STI models is the limited production run - Subaru will only build 750 tS cars.

Subaru mulls motorsports return, nixes small CUV plans

The Subaru WRX STI breaking the automotive lap record at the Isle of Man might be just the beginning of the headlines trumpeting a Subaru racecar. According to the latest rumors, the Japanese brand is looking at taking motorsports more seriously in the future. That could possibly even mean endurance racing at Le Mans.
According to Auto Express, the brand is mulling a greater participation in motorsport, but the big question is where. The World Rally Championship isn't a certainty because it now favors smaller cars like the Volkswagen Polo. Subaru still competes in series like Rally America and Global Rallycross, but there are bigger stages to play on.
What's interesting, is that this commitment to motorsports comes right as the automaker is denying plans to build a small CUV for its passenger car lineup. According to Auto Express, the company has no intention of developing a crossover smaller than the current XV Crosstrek. Even if the sales are there, it would just cost too much to develop. In the US, at least, the XV is doing great with sales up 42 percent in July.