Twenty twenty-two is here, and I’m still thinking about the holidays with memories of what they used to be like with my extended family. I have only two first cousins, and though the oldest of the two was closer in age to my younger brother, he and I ended up being really close in adulthood. Nate and his wife, who is also an amazing person, photographer, and mother to their kids, had even come to visit me in Chicago on a few occasions before their kids arrived. One thing that bonded us from childhood was our love of cars. Even more so than with either of my two brothers, with whom I shared a plastic beach bucket full of Matchbox cars, it was Nate and I who really got into all things automotive.
All of those action shows from that period of the late-’70s through the mid-’80s shown either in reruns or in real-time would have him and me glued to the television and occasionally high-fiving each other. “CHiPs”, “Dukes Of Hazzard”, and “The A-Team” comprise just a partial list of the shows that got his and my vote when thumbing through the TV Guide in the combined kitchen and dining room of our grandparents’ farm house where there was a second, small, portable television set. Looking past the obvious, superficial differences in our appearances, with him being a towheaded White kid and me with my light brown skin, kinky hair, and ambiguously ethnic features, it was still clear he and I had much in common and really liked hanging out with each other. He and I have discussed as adults how neither one of us as kids thought a lot about how few people might have guessed we were related unless both in tow behind Grandma. We were simply cousins. It’s true that even today I think of him almost like my third brother.
Not my cousin’s car, but just like it. Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois. Wednesday, April 23, 2014.
Where cars are concerned, though, there later developed one major fork in the road in our already somewhat divergent paths: at some in point in adulthood, I noticed that he had developed an affinity for imports, and more specifically, for the Subaru brand. He remains a loyalist today. His first Subie was a silver 2001 Impreza 2.5 RS coupe – a car he cherished, babied, and make the hard choice to sacrifice when his family started to grow. Being completely honest, I was perplexed that the newfound object of his car brand fandom was a foreign make. This didn’t seem right to me, but he didn’t grow up in Flint as I had, or even in car-centric Michigan. He was as much an Ohioan as I was a Michigander, and I always suspected that it was the absence of the same “buy domestic” mindset that I was steeped in basically from birth that contributed to this.
Naturally, when a decades-long friend and I were going for a walk last month in her neighborhood and I saw this Subaru, I thought immediately of Nate. My friend politely ducked out of sight while I got these few snaps, as she knows the drill. A license plate search revealed that this example is a ’99 Impreza L, and is powered by 2.2L flat “boxer” four-cylinder engine with 142 horsepower. It was originally manufactured in Gunma, Japan, which is a prefecture (local entity) of Japan known primarily for its skiing and hot springs. This seems in direct contrast to many automotive manufacturing areas I’ve ever heard of, including there in the greater Detroit area. This particular car was made toward the end of the first Impreza’s production run which began in the fall of ’92. The second-generation cars would arrive for 2002. The Impreza has been in its fifth iteration since the 2017 model year.
Once again, one of my essays has drifted into personal territory instead of saying anything informative about the subject car, but many readers of my essays are used to this by now. I’ll close by saying that I realize my bond with my cousin had started to influence my taste in cars when I started paying more attention to JDM-specific models, especially as excellently photographed and written about by our own Tatra87. I thank both gentlemen for broadening my automotive palate. In this new year, may all of you in the Curbside community, regardless of the frequency of your readership or active participation in the comments, randomly stumble across more of the cars that make you smile, even if only by simple association with the people you care about. This one’s for you, Cuz.
(Detroit suburb) Royal Oak, Michigan.
Sunday, December 12, 2021.
Now that you mention it, each time I bring to mind one of my cousins, a particular car pops into my consciousness too. For one of them it was a 1971 Subaru that she and her young husband bought new. I had never even heard of a Subaru before, and found the little red sedan kind of funny – as in odd. Especially in Celina, Ohio, a place where something built by Chrysler was considered exotic.
So you mean it wasn’t a “little Su-BA-ru” 360? Haha… I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a ’71 Subaru. I had to Google it. And while I’ve never been to Celina (or nearby Lima, where my ’88 Mustang’s 2.3L four cylinder engine was built), I have been to Van Wert.
Chryslers even seemed a little “exotic” in Flint, where pretty much everything on the road was GM. My parents probably only bought Plymouths because one of my dad’s former university students was the salesman.
Once again Joe you have given life to an inanimate object. Don’t ever stop.
I have a ‘sort of’ relationship with Subaru. My son has had three of them, he loves them. His latest is a WRX sedan, with the manual slushbox. Every time I get a chance to take the wheel of his car I do, and enjoy the experience. Just getting to drive a manual shift every once in a while is enjoyable. My first car was a manual, or standard transmission, and it harkens me back, except in the performance department. The Subaru dances rings around my former 1960s ride.
I find my son’s cars are quite good in quality and reliability. Their dealer network is quite solid, every one he has used has given great sales and service.
My now deceased brother in law had a Subaru Outback, I think. He always called it a “SA-BA-Ru”. His daughters derided him endlessly for his mispronunciation.
If I were to buy a compact utility, I would give the Sube a look see. They are a bit more costly than Ford or Honda or Toyota I believe, but may be worthwhile.
You mention quality, reliability, and a solid dealer network and positive experience. These are all contributing factors, I’m sure, to my cousin having made Subaru believers out of my aunt and uncle, as well!
It’s amazing to me that base-model (i.e., non-WRX) Imprezas are now in their second decade of Anonymity. I’ve rarely paid attention to them, and would have a hard time distinguishing a late-90s Impreza from an early-90s example. Now, I suppose, they’re uncommon enough to finally become interesting.
I knew one person who had an Impreza – a friend of my sister bought one as her first new car sometime in the early 1990s. Hers was a two-door, and painted in that shade of dark green that was popular at the time. I rode in her car a few times, and wasn’t terribly impressed. But for her it was a good buy, since Subaru dealers heavily discounted lower-end Imprezas.
I’m glad you’ve managed to keep up with your car-enthusiast cousin after all these years. Your story reminds me of one of my cousins — I was never close with him growing up, but we became good friends in our 20s, and largely over our mutual interest in cars. However, our families have drifted apart over the years, which is too bad.
Well, Happy New Year Joseph, and I look forward to more of your articles in 2022!
Thanks, Eric, and Happy New Year to you (and everyone), as well!
Your comment did make me remember how the first Impreza seemed modern when it came out, replacing the Loyale (Leone, everywhere else) that had been in production for 8 years by that point. The older car definitely had that dated, angular look that seemed so ’80s by the time the Impreza was new.
But then, the gen-one Impreza ended up lasting just as long. I don’t think the first Impreza looked quite as dated by the end of its run, but of course, I’m probably biased, having written this thing. 🙂
How awesome that you still have a close cousin Joseph. I have 20-ish cousins and although I was close to several as a child I only communicate via email with a few. Some I haven’t seen in 30 years.
Subaru does remind me of one of my cousins, he had a Legacy wagon and we used to see quite a bit of him and his wife before their marriage grenaded. 🙁 They were not handy at all, and the decline of their vehicle bugged me. I snuck out and lubricated the squeaky door hinges while they were visiting once.
I was always a little envious of those who had a bunch of first cousins. Even my two cousins have other cousins on their dad’s side. I suppose, though, that this made me appreciate mine all the more. Ultimately, though, I do have other relatives that I refer to as cousins even if their not the children of siblings of one of my parents. Family is family – I do try not to put too many qualifiers on it. 🙂
I can just imagine you sneaking out of a side door with a can of WD-40 and trying to take care of the door squeaks without anyone noticing. I think that’s pretty awesome that you did that.
I’ve owned a ’92 Suby SVX since 2001. Very few knew what it was when it debuted, & very few know what it is today. At 170K it still looks new……and strange.
It must be marvellous to have such an ‘alternative universe’ vehicle right in your own garage!
Man…beach bucket full of Matchbox cars…heck yeah!
This gen Impress is my favorite. Decent styling, venerable EJ 1.8/2.2 engine, solid transmission in either form. Still a handful on the road in my part of VA. If I come across one for sale, I either don’t have the room in the paddock or it sells before I can respond. Some day….
Like others mentioned, I too have drifted apart from family over time, but am reminded of a few car crazy cousins when we were in our teens and 20s.
Thanks for another great article, Joseph!
My daily driver from 1994- 2020 was a poverty-spec Impreza in 90’s teal blue (Aegean blue was the official name). I think ’94 was the last year for the 1.8 liter engine. Something about the combination of small size, manual transmission, and reliability made the car bearable for such a long time. It didn’t do anything particularly well, but it could be relied on to be stable, unassuming, and not particularly boring. Something about the car was charming!
One of the cars in my current stable is a 2017 Legacy. All of the attributes of the old Impreza are completely absent from the newer Subaru. I will be happy when I can finally justify getting rid of the new soulless lump of metal. Luckily, my Miata and ,62 Valiant can be relied on to provide for my driving pleasure.
Without any firsthand experience with driving a Subaru, part of what I had come to understand in terms of their appeal was that they presented a unique, different, and sometimes quirky solution so the same transportation problem. With more widespread buyer acceptance (enthusiasm, really), I wonder if the popularity of the Subaru brand has led some of its purists to think it has lost some of its edge.
I have a favorable impression of the newer ones, having ridden in a modern Outback wagon on many occasions. It served that family well and was very roomy and reliable. I have no frame of reference, though, to compare them with the older ones.
Imprezas have always attracted young owners, for all the obvious reasons. Subaru’s involvement in World Rally Racing earned it lots of dividends. There’s a young kid just down the street that has two of them of this vintage.
I had a 1995 Impreza AWD sedan with the 2.2 liter engine; it was in the turquoise color and had been owned by a girl who was s Subaru enthusiast and swapped a few unique cosmetic bits from the top line 2.5RS including the seats. She added 17” wheels from a Legacy and I just remember that little car having the most amazing handling I’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing, it ranks up there with the 94 Infiniti G20t and 05 Acura RL with the trick SH-AWD system I later owned.
I never really connected with it though; it wasn’t particularly fast for a car I could only describe as the size of the contemporary Corolla and with an engine similar in spec to a base Accord. I also would have much preferred the Outback version, being a wagon with a nice cargo area versus the unfinished and exposed surfaces in the sedan’s trunk.
Very stout cars though, if a bit anonymous; I kinda forgot they were produced until MY 2001 in a single generation!
The older 2.2’s were very robust and durable engines with no particular weaknesses, unlike the 2.5 engines with their fragilities. The earlier 2.2 engines were freewheeling engines, so a timing belt failure was an inconvenience rather than an engine destroying disaster. My 2.2 originally in a ’92 Impreza outlasted two vehicles (both done in by rust) and still ran strong at close to a quarter of a million miles, had never been apart, and did not consume enough oil to be discernible on the dipstick during my customary 3,000 mile oil change intervals. It spent its second life as the replacement engine for a 2.5 Forester’s failed power plant, after I changed out enough external components to switch from OBD1 to OBD2. I think that it was peppier in the Forester than its original, larger engine. Why Subaru couldn’t or wouldn’t make an engine as high-functioning and durable as the old 2.2 in later years when everyone suffered with oil and coolant leaks and headgasket failures, as well as expensive timing belt/water pump changes with the 2.5’s I’ll never know.
I remember the first batch of really popular Subaru’s back in…..?1973? ~they were close to indestructible and those who were able ($) to purchase one new were as fanatical as I was about my elderly VW Beetle .
Most Subaru owners I’ve met who are long term seem to find some quirk about them endlessly endearing .
I like the neighborhood you photographed this car in Mr. Dennis, esp. the Concrete pavement .
-Nate