Inexpensive. And Built To Stay That Way. So read Subaru’s advertising tagline for all of the 1980’s and nowhere was the “Inexpensive” part more apropos than with their hatchback version of the second generation Leone (that wasn’t generally known as a Leone over here in the US). Two things really surprised me when I saw this car in the junkyard recently.
The first was that this has been a local car all its life, as evidenced by its Dellenbach Subaru dealer sticker. Dellenbach is still around, they also peddle Cadillac and Chevrolet in much fancier buildings on the same piece of land; until a couple of years ago, the Subaru part was tucked in a small corner of their lot (as was Suzuki but the less said about that, the better).
Even though there was a big remodel recently that resulted in a bit of an expansion, it’s still tucked in the same corner of the lot with a modernized building and an abysmally small parking and display area compared to the Chevrolet and Cadillac areas even though I would venture that Subaru is by far more profitable and drives more traffic than Cadillac does and probably more than anything but the Chevy trucks. There certainly seem to be more people looking at Subarus than Chevrolets whenever I drive by. Never mind the Cadillac funeral parlor…
But second and most surprising is that this is a front wheel drive model. Yes, some of our younger readers may not even know of a time when Subaru wasn’t all AWD, all the time, but it existed (well, I guess it does again what with that BRZ sports car joint venture with Toyota thing). I somehow mentally always flash back to “The Crying Game” when I crouch down to check the undercarriage in these situations…well, it’s really the opposite I guess but you know what I mean…
Yup, the pics don’t lie, this is missing what really makes a Subaru a Subaru. Not that you absolutely need AWD around here, decent tires and more importantly a little common sense will get you far as long as you don’t absolutely have to be on the road no matter the weather.
$4,989. That was the asking price from Subaru for the base Hatchback in 1984 which our subject surely represents. How basic is that? Actually it seems like some niceties are included. The rear side windows seem to have a pop-out mechanism. The bumpers are chromed steel. The…well, that’s probably it though…
That’s pretty much the same angle as the ad. This buyer sprang for (or the Finance Office sprung uponst him/her) a jaunty pinstripe and one of those rubber door ding protector strips.
Even though the rest of the Subaru lineup got rectangular headlights by 1982 (curiously enough in BOTH single large rectangles as well as dual small ones depending on trim level), the base Hatchback stuck with the round ones. I always thought it made these look kind of sad. Or sort of like an AMC Matador. Or maybe that’s the same thing.
The hatchback, introduced in 1979, actually continued pretty much like this all the way through 1989 (!) even though the rest of this generation bowed out after this 1984 model year and was replaced by the much squarer 3rd generation, eventually being renamed as the “Loyale” lineup. As a side note, none of these (2nd or 3rd generation) were ever badged as “Leone”, just no badge at all, then DL, GL, GL-10 (3rd gen), and Turbo.
That’s most likely the original Bridgestone spare tire back there, soaking up the heat from the little 1.6L horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine. As some or most of you know, for a while I had a 1982 (I think it was a 1982) wagon of this generation and while mine may have had the 1.8L instead, it certainly was always willing to give its all for me and I never demanded less than that. Under my tutelage I recall it turning over 200,000 miles so they can certainly be long-lived little beasts.
This one didn’t make it quite that far, calling it a day at the 188,196 mark. Boy, could there BE less instrumentation in a car? That’s as bare bones as it gets. Whatever keeps the price down, I suppose.
Still, that interior looks durable. Those seats aren’t ripped, and I’d venture any visible dirt is a newer addition, likely from its current resting place – this Subaru gave off a very strong vibe of being a cared for one-owner car. Frameless doors, rollup windows, a very thin wheel with minimal spokes, it all helped to keep the weight down to just over 2,000 pounds.
Hold on a minute! The buyer actually sprang for the dealer-installed air-conditioning which is surprising. I love the little plaque on the dash that reminds everyone that “Car is equipped for installation of optional A/C.” But the slider switch has definitely been swapped out for the A/C version, the dealers always seem to leave the little badge in place.
It’s also curious how the stereo ends up being installed so low on the console. It seems like there is room for a bangin’ system in there but why put this little one so low?
Still, notwithstanding the likely considerable upcharge for the A/C and pinstripes but then again not taking into account any possible discounts etc, driving this for 34 years for a base price of $4,989 ends up having cost the owner far less for the purchase itself over time than most any other car I can imagine still seeing around. Broken down as in the title, that’s just over $146 per YEAR, so about $12 per month. Inexpensive. And Built To Stay That Way Indeed.
Now, Subaru is pushing their new 3 row, big Ascent SUV. Far from “inexpensive”.
The last time I saw one of these was around ’99-’02, during my employment in a wrecking yard. For awhile we had a fleet of them for yard cars Tougher than I thought.
In Lafayette, Indiana (where they build Subarus) they just finished a new dealership, and it is one of the biggest dealerships I have ever seen in a town of its size. I think it’s at least as big as the Ford or Toyota dealers in the area, and likely bigger.
I just calculated that in 12 years of ownership of my Honda Fit I have the depreciation down to about $125/mo – and that is if I go push it into the river today. With tax, title and the rest I think it was mine for right about $18k after some dealer-installed options. I clearly have quite a while to go before I start to get into the range of this old Subie.
Yours may rust away before it gets to that point 🙂 This one was C L E A N. I’d like to see that Lafayette dealership sometime. The biggest volume seller of Subarus in the US is, I believe, Heuberger in Colorado Springs. I got my ’14 in Boulder, as did my mom six years prior and while nice it’s not a huge place either. They mostly seem smallish to middle of the road, very few Subaru “Palaces” out there. I guess that kind of fits with the mindset of most of the owners of the cars. Of course it helps that they can pretty much sell the cars off the delivery truck, very little storage space needed 🙂
“I’d like to see that Lafayette dealership sometime.”
I will have to snap a photo or two for you. It is right next door to the place my mother is living, so I am there every week or so. I think this one is so big because all employee purchases go through it.
Given that gen1 xBs have absurdly high residual values (like close to $5k ), my depreciation on my ’05 is at about $625/year so far, as I paid $12.5k for it in 2007. That’s $52/mo. Cheap wheels. Zero repairs for an almost 15 year old car.
Yes, my Fit was a bit more. The basic model was about $14.5k and $1k each was added for the automatic and for the Sport package. And given that the cars were on an order/wait list basis I paid full sticker for mine (and was happy to not get hammered with “additional dealer markup” or whatever else they like to call it.) Things like all weather floor mats and the cargo area cover and Indiana sales tax finished things off.
An interesting way of looking at this, so I examined what would seem to be a big depreciator at the house – my pickup, a 2007 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4×4.
I paid $13,285 in February 2012. Kelly Blue Book says private party value now is $9500. So, if my math is correct, that is $46.73 / month in depreciation so far. Not too bad.
Repairs have been one alternator due to cold weather and a $22 tensioner pulley I need to install this weekend. I’m not counting it’s only set of tires.
Well yes, but it was “pre-owned”. Try the math from the original sticker or sales price!
That’s why I have almost always bought used. Hell, I’ve made money on a few of them.
If I were to give away my 30 year old (bought new) Toyota it would have cost me 20.55 per month.
Factoring in its current resale value, the price per month drops to 10.38.
Like you, with most of the used cars i have owned, I made money.
We are just finishing our third year of Fit LX (MT) ownership. Just crossed 80000 miles and still averaging 41 MPG. We had it at a nudge over $16000 before tax and title. Not sure what all that works out to, but I’m very happy with the value it’s delivered so far.
I’d gladly pay $146/yr ($350 inflation-adjusted) for 34 years to NOT have to drive that thing, but I’ve got this aversion to most 1970s and early 80s cars that grows stronger as you move down the proverbial food chain. A spartan 3-door Subie isn’t far above plankton in that analogy.
Growing up, my best friend’s mom drove a quad-headlamp 5-door GL wagon, in blue with the nifty plaid seats. Ironically, that one I’d like. Can’t remember the last time I saw one of those.
I am amazed at the lack of rust. Haven’t seen a round headlight Subaru around here since about 1990 🙂
I fondly remember that spare tire and oval blue air cleaner housing, we had a 2WD Subaru coupe when I was a teen.
And it was just fine in the snow.
That depreciation number needs a bit of inflation adjustment….it cost $12,000 new in adjusted dollars, so that makes $353/year. Still pretty cheap. 🙂
Drive this car for a dollar a day! Buy it today and we’ll even throw in a dozen free days a year! * **
* No down payment necessary! Just 408 easy monthly payments of $29.42 per month! Tax, tags, and title not included. Insurance is the responsibility of the buyer. Calculation does not include interest rates.
** Car as shown includes air conditioning, AM/FM Cassette radio, and pinstripping which are additional cost dealer options.
Well that’s true. But even adjusted that’s not bad at all. Will a $12,000 car purchased today still be around in 34 yrs or will something computer related and expensive doom it prior to that? The problem with most cheap cars are some of the people that drive (and abuse) them. If it stays in one set of hands, perhaps, but once it changes hands once or twice (or thrice), then the spiral really begins. Around here with weather there are enough fender benders that tend to thin the herd as well.
Of course it’s not bad. But the same numbers apply to any old cheap car you find in the junkyard from the ’80s.
The bigger question is what did any old car cost in repairs and maintenance over the decades? 🙂
Actually, I can share an ancedote on the maintenance costs of more complicated (but not as complicated as today’s) cars that can give some perspective. My wife loves her 1998 328I. We bought it new for her and she drove it (obviously a very short drive) to work and back…. and that’s all… and now she’s retired and drives it little at all. So, today, the car has less than 69,000 miles on it. It’s benefitted from having covered parking at home and at work, and rusting is not a factor here in Dallas, so it’s in really nice shape and gets waxed and the leather treated twice a year, need it or not.
Still, without actually checking the books, I can say that the car averages at least a thousand dollars a year for repairs and maintenance. To be fair, because she loves it, I have our (independent BMW specialist) shop follow the BMW maintenance cycle and change the brake fluid every two years, etc, etc. I also buy her new Michelins every five years regardless of tread wear. So obviously whatever the car needs, it gets, and no Chinesium parts, please, but damn. It adds up.
Bit by bit, little things just break, just because. The plastic radiator top; new radiator. The electric radiator fan failed in the on position; $1,100 because you have to pull the nose apart to fix it. A speaker cone went and it’s Harmon Kardon. Right now it’s in the shop having a taillight (not bulb, taillight) relaced because the contacts corroded after 20 years and it drives the onboard computer crazy, flashing a “Brake Light Failure/DOOM” warning that makes passengers nervous; the driver’s side A pillar trim replaced because it broke without being touched, and new exhaust hangers which I hope will fix a rattle that apparently only I hear.
This is the fate I forsee, based on my experience, for almost all new cars. The little stuff will kill you.
Oh, the final example of a typical repair – the power seat back on the passenger’s side, where no one ever sits, failed. It reclined itself fully, and hence had to be replaced. The plastic gear which broke is about as big around as my little finger, and cost $55… and $450 for removing the seat, and replacing the gear.
Yeah, I’m still sulking about that one, but she loves her car, and you can’t drive around with the passenger’s seat in full recline.
I left a comment somewhere else today stating that my ’05 xB has not required a single repair or trip to the dealer (after one initial warranty issue). Zero repairs. 15 years old now. Only things spent on it have been oil changes, a couple of air filters, one set of brake pads/linings, and a set of new Michelins. I’m a cheapskate when it comes to car costs, and this is a personal best. I’m going to see how long it will be before it needs an actual repair.
And due to its ridiculous high resale value (about $5k), the depreciation has been extremely low too, like about $600/yr. It’s hard to imagine driving any cheaper than this, at least with a newer, reliable car.
I suppose a new set of plugs and a serpentine belt might be worth doing now that it’s approaching 100k miles.
The increasing length of drive train service life built into cars over the past 15-20 years left the manufacturers with a problem. Both style and functional obsolescence were no longer the generators of accelerated repeat sales like in the good old days.
They started fighting back with proprietary headlight assemblies that cost hundreds to replace (in place of the $10 sealed beam), then on to the wide array of expensive electronic technologies whose failure essentially ends useful life and then into body styles that put scads of ‘too expensive to replace’ sheet metal at risk.
Every time I see one of those bulbous front ends I shudder. It’s why trucks make more sense and why driving older iron makes even more sense.
It’s really, really sad that cars in wrecking yards are in better shape than my beaters.
When an old car is worth more as a “parts car”, it gets bought by parts recyclers.
I shot this one about a month ago and saw it again yesterday. In that time not too much has changed. They’ve sold one fender, one taillight and a few small miscellaneous items. It’ll likely be there for another couple of months before being shredded. These are pretty few and far between even here in Colorado these days, not too much demand for the parts anymore.
“When an old car is worth more as a “parts car”, it gets bought by parts recyclers”
Yup, that’s the sad part, the cars being parted-out still have some kind of residual value. The true wrecks (like my daily drivers) just get crushed 🙁
other than having A/C this was likely the cheapest new subaru you could buy back then. If I remember correctly, the subaru dealership was down college ave closer to the old Michelin tire shoppe location, i think it was co-located with the olds franchise. next door to the Honda store. Eventually they moved it to the corner where it is now, in what was once the “round the corner” burger restaurant.
In the late 80’s I owned a 82 GL 4wd wagon, people here in Arkansas would look at it like it was from a different planet. What always made me scratch my head was why the choke would not back off unless you tapped the gas pedal. It would just keep gaining rpm’s till the tap of the pedal. That car went down some crazy Arkansas back roads though. I sold it at 180000 mi. to a guy that cut the rear roof off ahhh Arkansas.
Brings back memories. My brother bought a brand new ’84 GL 4WD wagon, and I had a ’83 GL 2WD wagon, my was used, and it was originally from Vermont. Both great cars, with some minor faults like any car has. My ’83 had a Carter 1BBL (yes that Carter as we all know), while the ’84 had a Hitachi progressive 2BBL, SOP on most Japanese products at the time.
And what was the deal with the crazy center light with the pop open door ?
http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/subaru-third-eye-passing-lamp/
Really an odd idea, but I kinda like it
“Boy, could there BE less instrumentation in a car?”
Sure – there have been tons of American cars (including some quite expensive ones) which didn’t even give you a temp gauge. But that Sube dash does look really bare.
Yeah presentation is what counts, I don’t particularly like American Broughams with sparse instrumentation but at least many like that one just plain weren’t designed for them in the first place. The Subaru’s cluster assembly is clearly and plainly stripped
Good call on presentation. One of the best examples was the difference between the 1st-generation K-car Reliant and Lebaron dashes. The Reliant had two, identically sized square binnacles, one of which had the speedometer, the other the fuel gauge. It fairly shouted “cheap” as in “hey, these are all the gauges you’re going to get” in a GM sort of way.
The Lebaron, OTOH, had a more stylish, larger, rectangular speedometer, with a smaller, rectangular fuel gauge located to the bottom left of the speedometer. Same two gauges, but the Lebaron looked infinitely better.
As to the Subaru, it’s all too obvious what was going on. They simply slapped a couple of block-off plates in the spots that otherwise would have held the omitted tachometer and additional clock or oil pressure/alternator gauge. I can easily see it being the cheapest way to move the cars down the line that way, rather than putting a much more aesthetically pleasing, larger fuel/temperature gauge in the gaping space next to the speedometer.
That’s a MkV or MkIV dashboard. I was amazed when I bought mine. A massive acreage of instrument cluster that told me nothing. The gas gauge (surely the most important thing in a 460 cid luxo-barge) was thumbnail-sized where the difference between half- full and quarter -full was almost indistinguishable.
Good call. This is from a Mark V.
Weird to see this as I mentioned a former roommates Subaru the other day. His was an ’81 and the interior of this one is a Cadillac in comparison to the vinyl gutted one he had.
It was the first and only Subaru I’ve ever driven.
That was part of the impetus to dig this out of the camera. I shot this about a month ago.
Maybe you’ve inspired me to write up a find I happened upon last week. Sort of like this Subaru, I guarantee one won’t see another one like it anytime soon.
My aunt had an 87 Subie front drive sedan. Like all Subies I had seen before it in Michigan, it was an eager ruster. In spite of her diligent maintenance, by the time it turned 100k, the thing leaked vital humor like it had Ebola. The Honda dealer barely allowed her $400 on trade for her 98 Civic, but there was so much wrong with it, she couldn’t sell it to anyone she knew.
It always amused me that Subarus were marketed for snowy conditions (and they were good for that) but they were horrible at keeping the rust monster at bay.
As for FWD models, I suppose it was a solid move, marketing-wise, to go to all AWD (BRZ aside) but until the CUV boom I think it cost them a lot of sales in dry regions.
Kind of still does. Don’t see a lot of Subies in Vegas, excepting the WRX and folks who *think* they need AWD for their “active lifestyle”.
You do know that Subaru almost failed and pulled out of the US market in about 1991. And as a final gambit, they went all-AWD. And they’ve been the fastest growing mass-market car company in the US since? And that it’s considered a textbook example of brilliant market positioning? And that they’ve been struggling for years to keep up with the demand?
Competing against Toyota, Honda, Nissan and the others in the FWD market was killing them. This saved them and made them huge. but you think it was a mistake? Remind me not to hire you as an industry analyst. 🙂
Huh. Nope, I did not know they almost folded out of the US.
Good thing I make no claims to be an Industry Analyst. I’m just a crotchety old guy whose opinions are neither well-reasoned nor insightful. I still find myself amazed that you paid me as much as you did to write for this site at all! 🙂
What we (try to) do here is to share our knowledge and make us all more…knowledgeable, to make our discussion and comments more informed. You presumably didn’t read my Subaru post the other day, which prominently included this information about Subaru’s issues in the US market and its switch to AWD, which saved it:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/cohort-outtake-1978-or-so-subaru-gl-leone-fwd-wagon-the-biggest-success-story-in-the-industry-started-here/
If you didn’t read it, you get a pass, this time. If you did read it, you get a fail.
I’m just a crotchety old guy whose opinions are neither well-reasoned nor insightful
Yes, I figured that out quite a while ago. Which explains why I spend way too much time responding to your comments with corrections. I think it might be time to just ignore them. 🙂
Apologies if this was mentioned before, but back in ‘95 there was even a book about Subaru’s dark years: “Where the Suckers Moon.” Mainly about their terrible ad campaign of the time, apparently, but also a good insight into the company.
I have a soft spot for honest, simple cars like this. I woul totally drive this, an enjoy it.
Great find indeed and in the Pacific Northwest these Subarus are quite uncommon. I talked with the lady in Portland who has had a Subaru like this for 32 years only their’s was a more lively color.
She told me that she does not drive it as much anymore due to the lack of safety features and does not like to take it out on the Banfield since she has a newer and safer vehicle to drive.
My grandparents had a yellow one just like this, and later a silver 88 GL. I was suprised to see one of these last year during a snowstorm, likely the same one I saw parked in front of a church in town on Christmas Eve a few years ago, it was the first one I’d seen in years.
This is pretty plush for this level of ’80’s car, almost the brougham version. Ma bought a new ’86 Sentra which was well below this. This car has ac, radio, cloth seats, and the instrument panel does have the little ideogram showing which doors are open and possibly which lights are out. Hers was a real hairshirt penalty box with none of the above.
There were NO discounts on Japanese cars in the 80s. You were lucky not to be on a waiting list and not pay toooo much in additional dealer markup or $400 floor mats.
Re depreciation and cost to own, ma is still driving a ’96 ciera I bought new. I paid around $13 for it and it hasn’t required anything beyond normal maintenance and possibly a few minor things in 22 years (ma also drives it about 5 miles a day, so. . .) It outdid a Camry or Accord of that year for durability and reliability.
Ah yes, the Subaru dealer A/C. I had it installed on an 80 wagon I bought lightly used in ’84. The freeway entrance near my house had one of those old style “floor it and pray” short acceleration lanes. I quickly learned to switch off the A/C before merging, in order to have any actual acceleration.
This was exactly what I had as my first car. Round headlights, mom paid extra for ac and basic radio. 4 speed manual, no power steering. Had to turn off ac when going up hills to get more power lol! Had it from 84-97. Never had any problems! Loved it! Ché Whitey was her name!
Have a 1984 Subaru 4×4 wagon, registered and on the road with about 230000 kms,(150000 miles) in rural NSW Australia. Don’t get much time to use it now as most of our travel is in a Mitsubishi Triton 1 ton truck