Junkyard Gem: 1990 Subaru XT

Mon, Aug 29 2016

Back in the 1980s, Subaru decided that the futuristic-looking, gadget-packed Alcyone would go over well in North America, and so the XT became available for the 1985 through model years. They were reasonably popular in California, and I saw this discarded example awaiting its fate in a Los Angeles wrecking yard.

Because the boxer engine in the XT was so low, the car could have an extreme wedge-shaped body and a very low coefficient of drag.

Inside, an asymmetrical steering wheel, gearshift that looked like it had been torn from the cockpit of a Mitsubishi F2, and Mars Base-style controls made Toyotas and Hondas of the era look staid and sensible.

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When you adjusted the tilt steering wheel, the instrument cluster moved with it. If you were really serious, you could get an XT with a video-game-style digital instrument cluster.

You could get an XT Turbo (with 115 horsepower), or an XT6 (with six cylinders and 145 horsepower). Four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive systems were available on some models for some years. This car here is an ordinary front-wheel-drive XT with naturally-aspirated 90-horse four-cylinder.

Not a speck of rust, pretty straight, but nobody was willing to save it. Next stop: the crusher!

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By Murilee Martin