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Junkyard Gem: 1980 Subaru 4WD Hatchback

Living in Colorado, where they might as well issue you a Subaru at the state line, I see plenty of worn-out Pleiades-badged cars in the local wrecking yards. Most of them fall into the 15-to-25-year-old age group, but I'll spot the occasional Malaise Era Subaru, from the era when the Leone was sold in North America as, simply, "the Subaru." Here's a 1980 base-level hatchback with the four-wheel-drive option, spotted in a yard just outside of Denver last month. In 1980, the US-market Subaru could be had in three trim levels (STD, DL, and GL), and as a coupe, sedan, hatchback, or wagon (the pickup version was known as the BRAT). This STD hatch is the cheapest possible Subaru available in 1980 with four-wheel-drive, and I'm just disappointed that they didn't put STD badges on the base-level cars. The driver had to choose between front- and four-wheel-drive by hand, using this lever. If you left the car in 4WD for long periods on dry pavement, you'd wear out the tires and/or break something. By 1997, all US-market Subarus had full-time all-wheel-drive, with no driver decisions about driven wheels needed. Subaru offered an automatic transmission and a five-speed-manual for these cars, but just about all buyers of late-1970s/early-1980s Subarus went with the cheaper four-on-the-floor manual. When you see a junkyard car with the keys still present, you can assume that the car ended up here after being totaled by an insurance company or traded in on a new car. A battered 39-year-old Subaru won't get much interest at the sort of auction these cars go to, and so the junkyard ends up being the next stop. The owner's manual was still in the glovebox, and of course I took at home and scanned a few pages (look in the gallery, above, for those scans). The folks at Subaru PR were interested in this book for their archives (they don't have one), so I'll make sure it gets to them soon. Rodent bedding and poop fill the engine compartment, and the employees of this yard marked the car as a hantavirus biohazard. I'd wear a mask if I needed to pull the engine from this car, because hantavirus is a real problem in Colorado and has a scary 35% mortality rate. Speaking of the engine, you're looking at 67 mighty horsepower here. With the car scaling in at about 2,200 pounds empty, drivers needed patience on uphill freeway onramps (actually, they needed patience when driving anywhere). By the standards of Japanese cars of this era, the rust problem doesn't look too bad.

2015 Subaru WRX caught testing in US on Mulholland

In April, we got our first glimpse at the 2015 2015 Subaru WRX - the car was caught in STI form in photos and in motion running around Germany's infamous Nürburgring. That's all well and good, but obviously Subaru will sell a good number of the hotter Impreza models here in the United States, and thus, it's nice to now see a video of the next WRX testing out in California, albeit in what looks to be non-STI form.
Originally posted on the Subaru Owners Club website, this video comes from YouTube user 31200MulhollandHwy. And that's quite appropriate, since the video clearly shows the now de-winged WRX prototype testing on the well-known - you guessed it - Mulholland Highway. Just like before, we're disappointed that the prototypes spotted testing don't appear to be as bold and beautiful as the WRX Concept that Subaru brought to this year's New York Auto Show. Nevertheless, we'll hold our final judgments until the camouflage is peeled away.
Have a look below to see (and hear!) the 2015 WRX running up Mulholland.

Subaru WRX vs. Volkswagen GTI | Under-$30K fun

If financing a new car purchase for 60 months, you'll spend roughly $200/month for those five years on every $10K you finance. Subaru's WRX and Volkswagen's GTI, each with a base price of around $25K (which equates to roughly $400/month with 20 percent down) can easily become $40K (in WRX STI and Golf R trim). That extra $15,000 will cost you almost $300/month over the life of a 60-month payment book. A $40K Subaru or Volkswagen is cheap in terms of enjoying the additional performance, but if your goal is only to get places in a fast hatch or sedan, you can keep your outlay far closer to the base price. Just mind the options. VW GTI: In the increasingly popular hot hatch segment, the GTI was arguably the first. Based on the revolutionary (for the mid-'70s) Golf hatchback, the GTI offered upgraded power, improved handling and just enough cosmetic enhancements to let others know you were driving something special. Consumer response was immediate, and imitators came out of the woodwork. Now in its seventh iteration (as of the 2015 model year), the GTI has consistently evolved. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged four makes 210 horsepower and — more important in day-to-day driving — 258 pound-feet of torque. Its footprint remains comfortably small, with easy access to front and rear seats and, if you need to carry something large, it has an expansive hatch and fold-down rear seat. Like most of the VW/Audi family, its interior design and appointment bat well above the $25,000 price point. Whether selecting the six-speed manual transmission or six-speed DSG automatic, know that a responsive, agile hatchback is just a throttle tip-in away. It's perfect for the in-town commute, weekend getaway or cross-country romp. And it appeals to a wide demographic, so resale value will remain high. Subaru WRX: This once was a performance derivative not shared with American consumers. But with its success globally, Subaru brought the WRX to the States, with the high-performance STI variant not long after. Having been offered in the U.S. as a sedan, wagon and hatchback, today's WRX is available only as a four-door sedan. As on every Subaru available in the U.S. (except the BRZ), all-wheel drive is standard. Power is supplied by a turbocharged flat four displacing 2.0 liters but upping the horsepower to 268, while available torque is numerically identical to the GTI's at 258 pound-feet.