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Junkyard Gem: 1998 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport Wagon

Ever since the 2005 model year, only the Subaru Legacy-based station wagon has worn the Outback name. That makes it tough to recall that not only did Subaru sell Legacy Outback sedans (through 2004, although by that time the Legacy badges had been dropped from the Outback wagon) but Impreza Outbacks as well. This isn't as confusing as Oldsmobile selling three unrelated models badged as Cutlasses at the same time, or Toyota calling the Tercel a Corolla Tercel for a few years, but it's a bit of automotive history that can be illuminated via a junkyard visit. Because you'll find examples of just about every vehicle Subaru built during the last 25 years in every Denver junkyard, it didn't take me long to find this Acadia Green Impreza Outback here. The Impreza Outback wagon had been around since the 1995 model year, becoming the Impreza Outback Sport in 1997. All North American Subarus went to all-wheel-drive for 1997, so the Impreza and Legacy Outbacks became more outdoorsy-looking at that point, to distinguish themselves from the non-Outbacks. While the advertising for this car called it just the "Outback Sport" (to distinguish it from the Legacy Outback), the Impreza name appeared on the rear bumper and in all the documentation. This sort of airport-gate-carpeting pattern became very popular on cars that were supposed to appeal to young people during the late 1990s. You'll see similarly busy fabric in Volkswagens Jetta Trek Editions and Plymouth Expressos from around the same period. I've always admired Subaru's hood scoops of this era. This one appears to have been lifted from the Japanese-market WRX. This 2.2-liter boxer-four made 137 horsepower. If you wanted the 150-horsepower 2.5 engine in an Impreza in 1998, you had to buy the RS Coupe. With the 5-speed manual transmission in a 2,835-pound car (the current Impreza doesn't weigh a whole lot more, which is unusual in our era of Model Bloat), the 1998 Impreza Outback Sport was quick enough to be fun. The automatic version was… well, not quite as much fun. This appears to be a genuine 1990s Jack in the Box antenna ball. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. When pursued by baddies in a RAV4, the Outback Sport had you covered. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.

Subaru readies BRZ RA Racing for Japanese trackdays

As if we needed any more reasons to take a Subaru BRZ to the track, Subaru has just announced that it will be producing a racing-spec version of the car straight from the assembly line. The only problem is that the BRZ RA Racing is being offered for the Japanese domestic market only, and won't be visiting any road courses in the US any time soon.
To get the BRZ ready for some serious track time, Subaru added brake ducts beneath the front fascia, removable tow hooks and an oil cooler behind the grille. Inside, the car gets a factory six-point roll cage (including custom-fit floor mats) and a four-point race harness for the driver. Now we get to pricing where US enthusiasts will get even more miffed. The entire suite of racing add-ons increases the BRZ's price by 31,500 yen, which converts to less than $350 US; the total price of the car converts to right around $31,500 US.
There is a brief press release posted below, which has been translated (somewhat poorly) by Google.