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Comedic Hasselhoff car ad leads to a dream job in Sweden

Last month a guy in Florida posted a homemade ad for his 1996 Nissan Maxima online and Nissan bought it from him. This month a guy in Sweden posted a homemade ad for his 1985 Subaru Justy J10 Trendy online and got a job with Swedish car magazine Auto Motor und Sport. When Nils Jangan relocated to a new city and couldn't get a job, the financial drain eventually demanded he get rid of his car. Looking for a way to convince anyone to purchase a 29-year-old hatchback, he enlisted the help of Mordor, Saruman and, naturally, David Hasselhoff giving the thumbs up.
The picture was accompanied by text describing the "Japanese mountain goat" that was "hand-forged" by "the Saruman of carmakers," and its "54 frighteningly well-hung horses." One of its other advertised features was "I.D.N.R.I.S" seat belts, the "Instant Death No Retardation Impact System" meaning the occupants would never have to worry about long-term care if they were "in any collision at speeds higher than 12 km/hour." He asked 10,000 kroner (about $1,500 US) for the beauty, but he was also willing to trade for a job.
After posting the ad on Blocket, a Swedish craigslist, and having it shared throughout the community, Jangan got a ton of interest in the car and a job offer from Auto Motor und Sport, which he accepted. As for the Subie, it ended up going to a local repair shop for just a few hundred kroner, but we imagine Jangan's gets a decent work-related loaner or two to make up for it.

2018 Subaru Crosstrek improves on an already winning formula

There's a brand-new Subaru Crosstrek on the way for 2018, and the European version, known as the XV, is making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. There's every reason to expect the new Crosstrek to be a stunning sales success. In 2016, Subaru sold 95,677 Crosstreks in the United States, easily besting models like the WRX, Legacy, and the Impreza upon which it's based. Those sales represented a 7.6 percent gain over the previous year, which is especially impressive considering that the Crosstrek is very much starting to show its age. The mini-crossover inherits all the benefits of the latest Impreza, including a stiff new chassis that promises drastically improved driving dynamics. Following in the footsteps of the larger Outback, which is based on the midsize Legacy, the Crosstrek adds a bit more ground clearance and aggressive off-road-lite styling to the compact Impreza hatchback. Don't expect the Crosstrek to tackle the Rubicon Trail – Subaru says it will have "excellent rough-road capability" – but do expect it to sell in droves in areas that get significant amounts of snow. View 15 Photos A 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine delivers 154 horsepower to all four wheels through a continuously variable transmission. We generally prefer traditional stepped-gear transmissions, but Subaru has a history of keeping its CVTs pretty well behaved. Seven pre-programmed gear ratios can be selected by the driver in manual mode. A quick 13:1 steering ratio, active torque vectoring technology, and a lower center of gravity will all deliver dividends on the road, and 8.6 inches of ground clearance mean hard parts won't scrape the ground when the paved roads come to an end. All new Crosstrek models will come standard with EyeSight, a safety system that includes pre-collision braking control, adaptive cruise, and lane-keeping assistance. Blind-spot detection, lane-change assistance and reversing assistance will also be available. Expect more information to filter out soon, and stay tuned for live photos when we hit the show floor in Geneva. The US-spec Crosstrek will make its debut in April at the 2017 New York Auto Show. Related Video:

2019 Subaru Forester Long-Term Update | A (mostly) trouble-free 12,000 miles

Our long-term 2019 Subaru Forester has been a real workhorse in our fleet from the time we took delivery late last year. We’ve managed to rack up over 12,000 miles in the first five months — itÂ’s been east and west of Michigan so far, but nowhere further than a dayÂ’s drive away. WeÂ’ll take it on a longer road trip soon. Since Subaru calls for 6,000-mile service intervals, our local Subaru dealer just finished up the second service call on the crossover. Both services have housed mini-events on top of the scheduled work. Subaru changed the oil, replaced the oil filter, rotated the tires and performed a multi-point inspection on both occasions. However, the first service also involved a windshield replacement. Days before our appointment with Subaru, one editor met with a rather large stone that was kicked up on the highway. This caused a large chip in the windshield that quickly developed into a crack meandering across the passenger side of the glass. After the new glass was installed, the Subaru techs had to recalibrate its Eyesight technology so the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping tech would work correctly. It wasnÂ’t cheap — Subaru charges $250 for an Eyesight calibration after a new windshield is put in. The second visit called for everything else, plus a new cabin air filter. There was a little more to the second visit than what we had planned for, though. Just a week or so prior to taking it in, the driver door window switches quit working. None of the four window switches functioned. This lasted for a few days, but it miraculously fixed itself just before our appointment with Subaru. But we noted the issue to the Subaru dealer. The techs couldnÂ’t find anything amiss after disassembling it, and they sent us on our way. As of this writing, the windows are still functioning without issue. WeÂ’re keeping a close eye on them. Other than the head-scratching window problem, our Forester has performed admirably. We havenÂ’t noticed any egregious squeaks or rattles developing yet, and the 2.5-liter flat-four continues to hum along to its rather loud and thumpy beat.  Our winter tires and gold Sparco wheels have been getting attention around Michigan, too. Compliments are lobbed our way at gas stations, and one individual even asked us if we were selling. The ForesterÂ’s exterior design isnÂ’t as interesting as it used to be, but adding gold wheels to the equation has upped the cool factor tremendously.