Boise Street Sighting: Subaru 4WD wagon

If there's one Ii love about Boise, it's the cars (and my family of course); for me, car spotting doesn't quite go this well at home. At most, Minnesota brings a rusty-but-trusty fliplight Accord, and maybe if I'm lucky, a ragged-out Z31 sporting an APC muffler and dollar store chrome fender trim. Out here in "dry land", things are a bit different. As you saw earlier, the BMW 2002 is a common occurrence out west, and so are pre-1980 Japanese cars, too.
While many people know Subaru for its Outback lineup, and Forester lineup, as well as the extremely-popular Impreza with its vast fanbase, many people do not realize that before being "just another Japanese automaker", Subaru had a quirky history. Not so much quirky in the way they ran things, but the vehicles they produced. Subaru used to be--up until the 1990s anyway-- a brand of character, of quirkiness. Unlike Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, Subaru has been a maker of funky vehicles right off the bat for all markets. Long before the days of the crossover and "sport utility wagon", Subaru had this: the 4WD Wagon . Appearing at a time when 4WD in passenger cars was completely unheard of, not many people flocked to their local dealers to buy one. And unlike its modern counterpart, these old Subies are, you know, interesting.
While these Subaru wagons have been produced in Japan since 1972, they finally came over to our shores in 1974 as a 1975 model. And look contemporary, they didn't; because they weren't. While Mitsubishi and Toyota had contemporary designs, Subaru sold its three year old car as a new model here in the states-- and not many people cared. Despite Japanese cars not being very popular some forty years ago, Subaru was hit the worst. As the reader can see, even in dry states these cars rusted. In the 1980s, a newer, modern-looking DL lineup was introduced, and it too had 4WD, and had awesome offroadibility--for a car, mind you. Then in the later 1980s things took a tragic turn; instead of quirkiness, Subaru began being noted for building bland imitations of successful cars like the Toyota Camry. While they still had 4WD, their focus turned on quantity rather than quality--if you can call it that. In the 1990s, with the rise of the traditional SUV, Subaru embarked on another quest; the crossover. Rather than simply make a good offroading wagon, the folks decided to kick it up a notch and infuse luxury. And to their surprise, it worked.
The Legacy Outback was so successful that it spawned competition from luxury makers such as Audi and Volvo. Even Pontiac tried the AWD crossover with-well, not all that great results. But point stands. From a marketing standpoint, Subaru is brilliant. And their 4WD legacy (bad pun) is certain proof of this.
I have never seen a first generation Subaru 4WD--ever. Even in Idaho, Subies this old aren't exactly everyday cars. I would write and babble on and on about how it could use a polishing up or what have you, but honestly, this thing is rare enough that I would leave it be. Well, okay, I would at least attempt to fix the rust, but everything else is damn near awesome. Scratch that; it is awesome. And I wouldn't change a thing besides that one little problem.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Audi S4 Avant.

Normally, I don't post modern cars, but damn. This is just.. wow. I literally ran to catch this mofo when I saw it hauling ass down Lake Street. My god. I've always loved this bodystyle Avant, and certainly the color only helps the case here. The SSR wheels definitely don't hurt either. I am a sucker for wagons, and I honestly don't see enough hot ones to shoot here in the land 'o' rust. Obviously, this B5 S4 is too new to have rust, and this one certainly is in too good of hands to have rust. Every time I see this example of one of Audi's best, it's hauling major ass around my area, and it sounds wonderful too.
There honestly isn't much to write about this car because it leaves me speechless; I've always been a sucker for this bodystyle, and I don't see enough that tickle my fancy in the way this Nogaro blue one does. If I were to have one modern wagon to tool around in, my heart would definitely say yes. If I get tired of two turbos strapped to the 2.7 narrow angle V, I could upgrade to the much-love Audi 4.2 and toss a couple turbos on that. Overkill? Nah, I'm all for more power. Fast wagon? Yes please. As if the stock one wasn't awesome enough. I would kill to own one so I could basically make a twin of this. Copying? Maybe, but it looks damn good.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: AMC Eagle

I love AMCs; I love station wagons; I love the Eagle line of cars. Naturally, this was a "must shoot" for me. Cars like this make me perk up, moreso than the average classic Ford or GM for obvious reasons. Even new, the AMC brand wasn't the most common brand, despite having a strong presence on our roads. Assembled in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a good majority of these cars spent their lives in the rustbelt, which is not good for cars in general, let alone the hit-or-miss paint quality of the Malaise era.
Getting out of the 1970s, AMC was in a rather dark period; the once-muscular AMX was a shadow of its former self and now reduced to a tape-stripe package, the much-loved Marlin was long gone, and the quirky yet functional Gremlin and its cousin the Pacer, were both on their way out, and the Matador had developed into a big, bulky coupe that people either loved or hated. That left the basic Hornet bodyshell, which, despite revisions, still looked like the same product that left factories in the early 1970s.
In 1980, the Eagle lineup was born. Comprised of lifted sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons, this lineup would be the forerunner to what would spell success for Subaru with the Outback lineup some fifteen years later. Along with these off-road cars, AMC bonded ties with Renault, and..well.. you can guess how that turned out. However, in the 1980s, the majority of the population didn't quite understand the concept of four wheel drive cars, and those who did bought Jeeps instead. Chrysler saw the success of the Jeep brand, and purchased them in 1987, thus winding down the nearly 35 year old automaker.
Despite being out of production for nearly 35 years, the AMC Eagle certainly has a cult following, and owner fall into two distinct categories; AMC nuts, or people who don't quite know what the significance of what they drive (ie not car people). I have loved the Eagles for quite some time, and despite being produced close to Minnesota, seeing a well-kept one is quite a rare sight.
I was gladly surprised when I happened upon this gorgeous example -- okay, maybe gorgeous is too kind of a word, but this car is definitely one of the nice Eagles I've ever seen. Even though the factory sky blue paint is quite faded, and lost its luster, this example isn't sporting any rust. The wheels are in excellent shape, too, which I suppose isn't too surprising since they're aluminum. What I do find quite attractive here, is the lack of woody-sides. Yes, I realize a woody would make this all-the-cooler, but dare I say it looks great without it. Even better than the wood-sides perhaps. I just wish more people had the same train of thought as me, so more would be saved. Cheers to the owner for keeping this example is pretty-much flawless condition.