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Junkyard Gem: 1994 Subaru SVX

Before Subaru became best-known in North America for outdoorsy all-wheel-drive machinery (but after it was best-known for extreme cheapness), we got some wild-looking Subarus with strong overtones of science fiction over here. First, the wedge-shaped XT, XT Turbo, and XT6 arrived during the mid-1980s through early 1990s, with their video-game-style digital instrument panels and fighter-jet-joystick gearshifts. Starting in the 1992 model year, we saw the XT's replacement: the joyously weird SVX. The SVX cost plenty, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the super-cheap Subarus of the past, and not many were sold. Still, Coloradans love old Subarus, and I manage to find discarded SVXs here every now and then. Here's a screaming red '96, found in a self-service yard about 50 miles from Cheyenne. This was the first six-cylinder engine design put into production by Subaru and was essentially the Legacy's boxer four-banger with two extra cylinders. With 230 horsepower, the SVX was reasonably quick for its day. Unfortunately, Subaru didn't have a manual transmission that could handle the six's power, so all SVXs came with four-speed automatics. And, as it turned out, even that transmission didn't fare so well; transmission failures doom more of these cars than any other cause. You can swap in the manual out of a WRX if you have patience and money, and that's what some SVX owners have done in recent years. This one nearly reached 200,000 miles and the interior looks nice, so it was cared for during its life. Now this looks futuristic.  List price for this car started at $29,995, or about $49,800 today. The cheapest Mitsubishi 3000GT cost $30,690 in 1996, and it had just 218 horsepower and front-wheel-drive, so the cooler-looking and quicker SVX seemed like the better deal. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In its homeland, it was known as the Alcyone SVX. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. If you jump to 5:10 in this dealer-promotional video for the SVX, you'll see the street corner in Los Angeles where the irradiated corpse of J. Frank Parnell got incinerated in the film Repo Man. Featured Gallery Junked 1994 Subaru SVX View 15 Photos Auto News Subaru Automotive History Coupe subaru svx

Subaru sells 2 millionth Outback in U.S.

Subaru just sold its 2 millionth Outback in the U.S. The Outback is Subaru's most popular vehicle, and the brand's sales growth in recent years means it took far less time to reach the 2 million mark as it did to sell the first million (from 1995 to 2011). Currently in its fifth generation, the Outback is built in Lafayette, Ind., and the 2 millionth example was sold at Subaru Pacific in Hawthorne, Calif. Andrew Simpson is the new owner (that's him in the center in the photo below), and a host of Subaru's top executives were there to close the deal and to give Simpson a few gifts the buyer of Outback No. 1,999,999 apparently didn't get. Best of all, there was a charitable donation to the Grades of Green program on his behalf from the automaker's environmental philanthropy arm, Subaru Loves the Earth. The second millionth Outback is worth a look back 24 years down the long rutted trail it has traveled, with bragging rights over SUVs strewn along the way. It all started in 1995, with "Crocodile Dundee" Paul Hogan offering "a ripper deal": This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Hogan did Outback commercials for years. But this may be the first instance of dogs as Subaru pitchmen: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Here's a pretty great extended commercial with Daniel Tosh, "proud Subaru owner." For once he's not kidding. He even held a contest on "Tosh 2.0" to give his 2011 Outback away to a viewer: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This one is wrapped in a Snuggie: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In recent years, in the "Love, it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru" era, there has been a focus on the Outback's reputation for safety. This ad pulls a heartstring: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. And finally, a toast from the Barkleys (in "two completely different voices"), to you, Subaru Outback, and your many loyal customers, including the 2 millionth: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Next-generation Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ confirmed

Toyota and Subaru jointly announced today that they would be continuing and expanding their alliance. Toyota will be taking a larger stake in Subaru, bringing the total to 20%, and Subaru will respond in kind by buying shares equal to the value of those purchased by Toyota. In terms of product, the two companies will reportedly swap knowledge in the development of all-wheel-drive systems, battery-electric powertrains and connected/autonomous driving technologies. Oh, and there will be a next-generation Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. Despite less-than-stellar sales, the two companies confirmed that the rear-wheel-drive Toyabaru twins will be returning for a sequel. No details about them were provided, but a second-generation has widely been speculated and reported, with Australia's Motor quoting Supra chief engineer Tatsuya Tada confirming as such. "We have a new 86 team," he told Motor. "We have to make a new 86 that surpasses the Supra ... that is what the customer expects." Beyond that, there is rampant speculation of where the rear-drive platform will originate (a derivative of Toyota's TNGA platform, something boosted from Mazda, aliens), as well as what might find its way under the hood (virtually anything would be better than what's there now). A Japanese publication even suggested it might even be previewed next month at the Tokyo Motor Show.  In any event, expect the next-generation Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 to be a continuous source of interest for the next few years.  Subaru Toyota Coupe Future Vehicles Performance