Junkyard Find: 1987 Subaru GL Wagon

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin
junkyard find 1987 subaru gl wagon

You didn’t start seeing Subarus in large numbers in North America until the third-gen Leone showed up. Even so, most of these quarter-century-old veterans are gone now, even in regions they once dominated (e.g. New England, Colorado). I found this more-80s-than- Wang Chung example in a Denver self-service yard a few weeks back, and I had no choice but to document this soon-to-be-rare piece of Subaru history.

You want concentrated essence of 80s? Right here.

Japanese car designers really lost something when they decided to listen to American focus groups and killed off these Mars Base-style futuristic interiors.

When did fuel injection stop being special?






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  • Volt 230 Volt 230 on Dec 14, 2011

    I wonder why this car is not being used, it looks to be in pretty good shape, much better than some crap I see every day.

  • Rahamim Rahamim on Nov 20, 2012

    i live in israel and am the proud owner of a 1990 dl station wagon with 380000 km (you do the conversion!). Here, we have the regular 4 cylinder v shape engine and no 4wd. these cars are indestructible and you see here so many still on the road - the 3rd generation was produced from 1985-1993 and you even still see the 2nd gen 1980-1992 ones as well as the 2nd gen type open back pickup truck model which often has a rear compartment with 2 vertical benches . there are also still plenty of spare parts because this car is so good!

  • Inside Looking Out In June 1973, Leonid Brezhnev arrived in Washington for his second summit meeting with President Richard Nixon. Knowing of the Soviet leader’s fondness for luxury automobiles, Nixon gave him a shiny Lincoln Continental. Brezhnev was delighted with the present and insisted on taking a spin around Camp David, speeding through turns while the president nervously asked him to slow down. https://academic.oup.com/dh/article-abstract/42/4/548/5063004
  • Bobby D'Oppo Great sound and smooth power delivery in a heavier RWD or AWD vehicle is a nice blend, but current V8 pickup trucks deliver an unsophisticated driving experience. I think a modern full-size pickup could be very well suited to a manual transmission.In reality, old school, revvy atmo engines pair best with manual transmissions because it's so rewarding to keep them in the power band on a winding road. Modern turbo engines have flattened the torque curve and often make changing gears feel more like a chore.
  • Chuck Norton For those worried about a complex power train-What vehicle doesn't have one? I drive a twin turbo F-150 (3.5) Talk about complexity.. It seems reliability based on the number of F-150s sold is a non-issue. As with many other makes/models. I mean how many operations are handle by micro processors...in today's vehicles?
  • Ravenuer The Long Island Expressway.
  • Kwik_Shift A nice stretch of fairly remote road that would be great for test driving a car's potential, rally style, is Flinton Road off of Highway 41 in Ontario. Twists/turns/dips/rises. Just hope a deer doesn't jump out at you. Also Highway 60 through Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. Great scenery with lots of hills.
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