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Subaru funds Center For Pet Safety crash testing for dogs [w/video]

Crash-testing new vehicles to evaluate their ability to keep humans safe in accidents is nothing new, but thus far there has been little in the way of crash testing for dogs. Subaru, a company that portrays itself as pet friendly, hopes to raise awareness on the issue of pet safety by funding initial crash testing by the nonprofit Center for Pet Safety, Automotive News reports.
Real dogs were not used in the crash tests; three dummy dogs representing a 25-pound terrier, a 45-pound border collie and a 75-pound golden retriever were used. There are a variety of devices for sale that are supposed to restrain dogs from entering the front-seat area and distracting the driver - tethers, cages, nets and crates - but their effectiveness in a crash is unknown.
In Subaru's crash test, performed at a Virginia laboratory that tests child seats on a device that speeds down a track and stops abruptly, the results show that devices such as dog tethers are prone to break in a crash, sending the dog rocketing into whatever is in front of it. Rather alarmingly, the organization reports a 100-percent failure rate. In other words, "None of the harnesses were deemed safe enough to protect both the dog and the humans in the event of an accident." Yikes.

2018 Hyundai Kona vs other small crossovers: How they compare on paper

The 2018 Hyundai Kona is the hottest new thing in the hottest new segment: subcompact crossovers. Or B-segment SUVs. Or whatever you might want to call this hodge-podge collection of vehicles of vaguely similar specs. Each is pretty much just a raised hatchback in some form (or literally in the case of one entry), skewing the increasingly vague line between car and SUV. If there was ever a segment that deserved the term "crossover" for more reasons than just its car-based unibody architecture, this would be it. Now, for this specs and photos comparison, we lined up the new 2018 Kona with an appropriate variety from that hodge-podge. Most are those that people are actually cross-shopping the Kona against — the Honda HR-V, Toyota C-HR and Subaru Crosstrek — while the Kia Soul and Jeep Renegade line up well in other regards. There are certainly others we could've included, but we're frankly a little pressed for spreadsheet space, and if you really want to know how a Chevrolet Trax, Fiat 500X or Ford EcoSport would've stacked up, you can always use our Compare Cars feature. (You can also check out our Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross comparison that includes a few larger choices) Performance, fuel economy and drivetrains Immediately you can see how all over the map this segment is. True, all but the Jeep come with a standard naturally aspirated four-cylinder and fairly comparable horsepower. Torque differs, but not wildly so. Then things get nuts. Some are automatic only, the Toyota is CVT only, the Honda and Subaru come with a manual standard and offer a CVT as an option. The Renegade's base engine is manual-only ... in 2018. Of course, then things flip-flop with the Renegade's upgrade being naturally aspirated and the Hyundai and Kia offering turbocharged mills. The Korean corporate cousins also come with automated manuals, whereas the Renegade has a box with nine gears selected by a lethargic monkey. Then there's the drivetrain. The C-HR is front-drive only, which pretty much cements the Soul's place in a segment it arguably created despite not offering all-wheel drive. That's the only way to get the Crosstrek, while the Honda and Hyundai offer a typical option of a part-time system. In Jeep fashion, the Renegade's "four-wheel drive" systems differ by trim level.

Junkyard Gem: 1988 Subaru GL 4WD Sedan

While Subaru kept the hatchback version of the second-generation Leone available in North America all the way through the late 1980s, the third-generation sedans and wagons went on sale here in 1985. Today's Junkyard Gem is a loaded '88 4WD sedan, found in thoroughly worn-out condition in a junkyard next to Pikes Peak in Colorado. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Subaru named each of their North American Leone models "The Subaru," adding trim levels as placeholders for model names. The GL was the top-of-the-line version. This confused everybody, so these cars became Loyales starting in the 1990 model year. This car has the optional automatic transmission and Subaru's first full-time four-wheel-drive system (we'd call it all-wheel-drive by today's definition), available starting in 1988. You hit the red button on the shifter to switch between front- and all-wheel-drive, and if you drove on dry asphalt in the 4WD setting you didn't tear up the tires and/or drivetrain. Prior to this system, four-wheel-drive Subarus had a big lever to switch between drive modes, and you'd damage stuff by using 4WD on dry pavement. Adding to the luxury, this car came with factory air conditioning. A/C was still considered a frivolous luxury by many small-car shoppers in the late 1980s, but that attitude faded as the cost of refrigerated air went down. This car turned well over 200,000 miles during its 32-year career. That doesn't quite measure up to the kind of final odometer readings I see on four-wheel-drive Toyota cars of this era, but it's still excellent for its time. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In the end, the rust finally got this car. The fenders sway in the mountain breezes now. The final owner appears to have been a huge fan of high-potency THC concentrates, available legally all over Colorado. We can only hope they didn't drive high, because shatter hash and old Subarus don't mix. In addition to the high miles and rust, the scent of overflowing ashtrays, sweat, clouds of vaped cannabis, and decomposing interior plastics knocked the resale value of this car down from $400 to about $80, despite the sale-enhancing automatic transmission. The idea of a Subaru GL with power windows would have seemed laughable just a few years earlier than 1988. This car could be purchased with a turbocharged engine, but this one just has the aftermarket badge upgrade.