2006 Sub Imp Wagon Blu Sport on 2040-cars

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Forgotten 1990s Subaru showroom is still full of new ghost Imprezas

Every now and then, stories and photos surface of car dealerships simply forgotten by time. Sometimes it's due to the dealer in question ceasing trading, for one reason or another, sometimes it's because of political tensions in the area — like with the Cypriot Toyota dealership which still has 1970s J-tin laying dormant, ravaged by opportunistic parts hunters. Years ago, photos appeared of a complete, 150-car, zero-miles Chrysler Neon shipment in Singapore. And no matter what the backstory, it's always fascinating to see completely everyday cars remaining undriven for decades, as if they were frozen in time while the world revolved around them. How about these as-new, unregistered, first generation Subaru Imprezas? Somewhere on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean, as reported by CarsAddition.com, there's a forgotten Subaru dealership with new mid-1990s stock still on the showroom floor. Judging by the unpainted bumpers and steel wheels, the right-hand-drive cars on display are absolute base spec, with likely the 90-horsepower 1.6 flat-four powering just their front wheels. They are almost all white, which adds to the appliance appearance. A couple Justy 4WD hatchbacks keep the Impreza saloons and wagons company, along with some Kei car vans and pickups. But the star of the showroom is the still-dazzling, late-'80s XT Turbo 4WD coupe, which has probably had been there originally to draw attention. It still does, and it's likely barely used. There are Subaru posters on the walls, all faded to blue, depicting Subaru's rally program and Leone/Loyale models which were originally replaced by the rounder Impreza in 1992. It's likely that all other base-model, first-generation Imprezas ever made have faced a quarter of a century of careless use, dents and rust. They were no fancier than a similarly priced Corolla, and it's unlikely any others have been preserved in a condition anywhere near these. Were the dealership owner ever to sell these, they would need complete overhauling after sitting for 25 years with their factory liquids and lubricants, but something tells me they won't leave the place anytime soon. It's unclear what the story behind this seemingly forgotten dealership is. CarsAddiction.com, the source for these photos, says it's probably due to a competing Maltese Subaru dealer upstaging this one, and the cars' era places them in the time of the 1990s economic downturn, which might have thrown a spanner in the works for this "Fuji" dealer.

2015 Subaru WRX leaks out ahead of debut [w/video]

The car you see above could, possibly, be the 2015 Subaru WRX, a car that isn't supposed to reach the public eye until next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. The leaked image has been circulating around the web, along with a brief teaser video of the new sports sedan (which you can see below).
The image, which AutoWeek reports may be (probably) a render, appeared on the Clubrz Facebook page, a Subaru fan group. It does fit somewhat with the teaser image we showed you yesterday, while featuring certain styling cues from the WRX Concept shown at the last New York Auto Show.
Now, we'd advise you take this with an appropriately sized grain of salt. We won't know for certain what the next WRX looks like until we're parked in an uncomfortable chair at the LA Convention Center. Still, take a look up top and let us know if the new WRX - which, we'll point out, has neither gold wheels, a big wing or World Rally Blue paint - fits with what you wanted to see. We've also got a very short teaser of the car that plays on the teaser image posted yesterday, which you can see by scrolling down.

Autoblog Podcast #318

Toyota back on top, Barrett Jackson, Crowdsourcing your Dodge Dart payments, Nissan and Toyota double down on pickups
Episode #318 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Zach Bowman and Michael Harley talk about Toyota regaining the No. 1 sales crown, getting your friends and family to buy you a Dodge Dart, Barrett-Jackson, and Toyota and Nissan remaining committed to their pickup trucs. We wrap with your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #318: