2013 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium on 2040-cars

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To the end of the world in a Subaru

On a quiet beach in southern Argentina, I stood in awe facing the Desdemona, a massive cargo ship that wrecked ashore in the mid-1980s and has remained untouched for the subsequent 30 years. In the intervening time, Desdemona was not vandalized, nobody broke her down and sold the parts for scrap, and unlike what you'd expect in the United States, no one set up shop to sell memorabilia in addition to a $5-beach entrance fee. This is only one of a thousand gorgeous vistas that make up Patagonia, the southernmost part of South America and, indeed, the end of the world. I was there to drive Subarus along dirt two-track roads and gravel highways on an epic journey from El Calafate to Ushuaia. Subaru would have you believe that this sort of rugged wilderness is the natural habitat for its cars. Whether or not that is a stretch, the Subies proved to be up to the task of trekking Patagonia. But I fully expected that from the get-go. What I didn't expect was how every part of this journey – the cars, the location, the people – would combine to form one of the greatest travel experiences of my life. View 85 Photos The end of the world. Patagonia is gorgeous, vast, brilliant. And those words don't even really do it justice. The plains, the lakes, the mountains, the forests all feel like every color is more vibrant, every detail is sharper. It's like looking at the world through an Instagram feed, and then realizing that every photo has the "no filter" hashtag. The journey started on Valentine's Day, with senior video producer Chris McGraw and I flying to Atlanta, followed by a 12-hour flight to Buenos Aires. That's where we met the rest of the group, and spent a day relaxing and exploring the Argentine streets and shops. "It's like looking at the world through an Instagram feed, and then realizing that every photo has the 'no filter' hashtag." But we still weren't at our start point. From Buenos Aires, we hopped a flight to El Calafate, about 1,500 miles southwest. It's a common entrance point to Patagonia for tourists and explorers because of its proximity to the Perito Moreno Glacier, a stunning site we visited the next day. Watch our earlier update video to see more about the glacier – an ice formation three times the size of Manhattan (and growing!). If Patagonia is on your bucket list of vacation destinations, this glacier is a mandatory stop. There's a boardwalk that runs along the lakes, leading right up to the face of the glacier.

A closer look at the 2015 Subaru WRX

For enthusiasts, the debut of the 2015 Subaru WRX was arguably one of the more important happenings at last week's LA Auto Show. After all, the 'Rex has been one of our perennial favorite all-weather sports cars, able to offer big thrills in any clime thanks to its turbocharged engine, manual gearbox and top-notch all-wheel-drive system.
For 2015, some big changes have been made to our favorite Subie, including the removal of the hatchback body style and availability of a continuously variable transmission. Of course, there's also the new, 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, not to mention the completely revised styling.
Lots of talking points, for sure, so West Coast Editor Michael Harley chatted with Dominick Infante, national manager of product communications for Subaru USA, who promises us that this car will be the "best-handling WRX ever." As for that CVT, Infante assures us that it was "designed for a sports car" and that the company aims to change the minds of people (like us, admittedly) who have a hard time warming up to the idea of this transmission in a package like the WRX.

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Subaru XT

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. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 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! Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Subaru XT View 10 Photos Auto News Subaru