2012 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

1992 Subaru Libero | eBay Find of the Day

The annals of history are filled with some pretty strange vans. Here in the U.S., we've seen such oddities as the Stout Scarab and, more recently, the mid-engine, supercharged, all-wheel-drive Toyota Previa. In other parts of the world, things have gotten even more interesting. Take this Subaru Libero for instance. A 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine means it isn't a Kei car, despite the van's diminutive dimensions. That engine is mounted at the rear, and it sends 73 horsepower to all four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. This particular Libero is far from perfect, but it shows just 14,000 miles on the odometer and you're not likely to see many others like it here in the States. The high roof with its trio of glass panels keep things light and airy inside, and its massive rear hatch makes all that space inside extremely accessible. Sure, it's not a camper, which means its owner won't be living that hashtag-vanlife. But it offers a lot of space for its size, so it might be the perfect promotional vehicle for a local delivery business or the like. At the very least, this little Subaru Libero would definitely strike up lots of interesting conversation at your local Saturday-morning hangout, and that's what's really important, right? It's currently for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $9,900 and located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2013 Subaru Legacy and Outback recalled over potential steering loss

Subaru today announced a recall that affects 5,379 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon models in the United States. All of the affected 2013 model-year vehicles were built between February 15 and June 15 of 2012.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "the inner and outer shafts of the steering column assembly may become disengaged from one another" in these vehicles. If that happens, the driver can lose the ability to steer the vehicle, which could obviously lead to all sorts of harmful things.
Subaru will notify owners of the problem, and affected models will have their steering columns replaced at dealerships, free of charge. Scroll down for the official NHSTA report.

Let's all take a moment to smile at this tiny Subaru van

The news is really depressing. You're stuck at home, hopefully working but possibly not. The kids home from school just ... won't ... calm ... down.  We need something to make us smile, so allow me to present a tiny morsel of happiness that is this 1993 Subaru Sambar Dias van currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer. One might call this a mini van if a minivan wasn't already a thing (and in no way mini any more), but the actual term is a "Kei-class van," referring the Japanese Kei class of vehicles that are teeny-tiny and capped at an engine displacement of 660cc. Some fun stuff: this Sambar Dias has beautifully maintained cloth upholstery with oh-so-Japanese lace covers for the headrests and upper seat backs. There are also rear captain's chairs, so really, the 1993 Subaru Sambar Dias is exactly like a 2020 Subaru Ascent Touring. It rides on 12-inch wheels, meaning you can use a Chicago deep-dish pizza as a spare tire in a pinch, and there are side wind deflectors because of a reason. There's a cassette deck and crank windows, but as the Sambar is roughly eight inches wide, it should be pretty easy to just reach over from one side to the other and roll'em down. Which is good news since, as a right-hand-drive car, that would otherwise be a pain in the lace-covered neck at drive thrus or parking garages. A 1993 Sambar would be from the nameplate's fifth generation, which perfectly spanned the 1990s. The "Dias" bit refers to the wagon version you see here as opposed to the commercial trucks and vans. There was also a Dias Classic, which is in a whole other league of wackadoo cuteness. Unlike any literal minivan in 1993, the Sambar Dias came with dual sliding rear doors -- Chrysler wouldn't introduce their dual-slider option until 1996. That rear-mounted 660cc engine produced 54 horsepower and is paired here with a five-speed manual transmission. There was an all-wheel-drive version, but that was apparently exclusively paired with the automatic.  There's actually one of these buddles of van joy in my neighborhood here in Portland, which like the entire Pacific Northwest, is a hotbed for oddball Japanese vans from the 1990s and earlier. The trend apparently started up in British Columbia where vans like the Mitsubishi Delica and Toyota Hiace started to be imported after the Canadian 15-year waiting period rather than the American requirement of 25.