1979 Subaru 4WD Wagon – from Internet
In 1979 I headed to upstate New York for my first USAF duty assignment – at Plattsburgh AFB. Plattsburgh was about 30 minutes from Lake Placid and about the same distance from the Canadian border – a beautiful area but with some tough winters. I drove to NY from Ohio in my 1976 Plymouth (Mitsubishi) Arrow – a car I had owned for three years and loved.
The Arrow was a great car; dead reliable, frugal, fun to drive, and with an eager personality. But it was not a real winter car – even with a bag of Quikcrete in the back and a pair of snow tires. It managed a mid-Ohio winter but I could tell it would be really challenged with anything more than three inches of snow.
It was a real dilemma – I wanted to keep the Arrow but knew that in the military, duty always comes first. That was reinforced to me when I first met my new Commander, who among other things, made it clear that “I don’t want to hear any excuses about missing mandatory formations because the weather was too bad – get yourself something that can handle it”. Well, that decided that – I started looking around for some more winter-capable alternatives.
I first went by the Jeep dealer – I had almost bought a CJ-7 several years prior. But given temperatures could get down into the minus-20s (it actually got down to minus-62 degrees F wind chill one night), the Jeep would need a hard top, and even then, would still be pretty drafty. The other Jeeps were outside my price range. Next…
I then looked at two models that seemed, by their numbers on the road, to be the favorites of the local folks. First was the AMC Eagle AWD Station Wagon. I had never considered an Eagle before – I kind’a thought they were warmed-over Hornets – not my kind of car. But it was clear that they were great in the snow, so off to the dealer I went.
And was quite shocked at the prices – those things were expensive. I later learned that AMC made a decision to market them as a “premium” product – but all I could see was a ten-year old Hornet with square headlamps and a Quadratrac AWD system underneath. Maybe it was because I associated them with “Ramblers” and thought they’d be cheaper, but the Eagle AWD Wagon’s base price was around $7500. The sedan, which I thought looked way too weird, was $7000. Most of the stickers seemed to be in the mid-$8K range. That was big bucks back in the day – and beyond what I could afford. Next…
Subaru 1600 4WD Wagons were probably the most popular car among the locals – several of the guys in my squadron had them – and all gave them a big thumbs up. There was a dealer that was within walking distance of the base – so I ventured down. They had quite a few 4WD Wagons; in both DL (base) and GL (up-market) trim. I found a nice one in bright red with red and silver plaid seats. The MSRP was around $4800, but the lot was full and the dealer was eager, so we settled at $4500 out the door.
Subaru Wagon from internet – similar to mine
I was surprised how tiny it was – it seemed smaller than my Arrow, in both length and width – though they were both about the same size. Mitsubishi just seemed to carve out more room inside. Sitting behind the wheel was pretty cramped, but as long as it got me to work, I felt I could tolerate it. The stubby FWD/4WD knob was right next to the 4-speed shifter. Up for normal FWD – down for part-time 4WD. The Subie had no central differential, so 4WD could only be used on traction-limited surfaces. Use it on hard surfaces and the drivetrain would bind. I saw several with that malady, and they tended to lurch or hop around corners.
But that didn’t matter in the snow – and this car was a mini-beast when the white stuff was swirling. It came with a set of four fairly small, thin snow tires, with an aggressive tread pattern. They would cut right down to where the traction was, and the 4WD would just pull you through. Many times I would get off from a midnight shift and the roads had yet to be plowed. Even with snow over the front bumper, it would surge forward. Through that entire winter, the Subie never once got stuck.
So you’d think I would have been happy – but I really wasn’t. The Subie was a great appliance – but it had zero personality. Well, unless you’d call “quirkiness” a personality trait. Just look at it – from the front it’s clearly a product of the 1960s/70s Japanese “Mothra vs Rodan” school of styling. Look at it in profile, and you kind’a scratch your head trying to figure out how it all goes together. Start the engine, and the 1600 cc flat four thrums out its own distinct vibrations and tune. Definitely quirky. And it had its downsides. As I mentioned, it was small. It also needed another gear (or two) – in fourth gear the engine would be turning around 3300 noisy rpms at 60 mph – not fun on a long trip.
It then dawned on me what I imagine most of the locals already knew – the Subie was a great second car. For the spouse to go shopping, or to drop the kids off at school – all during the season’s worst blizzard – the Subie was your go-to car. As a primary vehicle however, especially for an auto enthusiast, it was lacking.
After a year in which the Subie got me dutifully to work and back, I felt I needed something more – something other than an appliance. So I decided to part with it. The car that I bought next, which I wrote about several weeks ago, certainly had personality – unfortunately one similar to Norman Bates…
Recently the website TFL.com took a 40 year old Subaru Wagon off-roading with a brand new Jeep Gladiator, just to see how it would do. It made it up and down every hill.
Subaru was really a niche car then. In the mid 80s I knew very few people who owned them, but those who did were near fanatical about them.
I always kind of liked these wagons, but these were being sold in the years when I was either looking for something modern and cool or was re-living the final glory years of the big American gunboat sedan. By the time they were a few years old, rust was a terrible problem on them.
Now, the Subaru Justy, was a bizarre little thing.
Reminds me that my Uncle Mac had a mid 80s Loyale wagon mostly so he could get back and forth to his job as Maintenance Manager for a local factory. They ran one 10 hour shift 4 days per week and so he had to be on site by roughly 4 am to start checking equipment etc. That meant lots of travel in the dark in blinding snowstorms. He loved his Subaru so much he eventually ended up with a Legacy GT. Last vehicle he owned before his untimely passing.
My parents had friends that owned one of these Subaru 1600 wagons. They lived about 185 miles (300 kms) west of you, near Kingston, Ontario. Their residence was near the end of a long county gravel road. As the effects of climate change hadn’t become noticeably apparent yet, generally frigid winters, and occasional blizzards, were still regular events. Their wagon seemed to handle winter well, as they were able to get to work daily. Though they didn’t own it for many years, as it did seem small for their needs. These seemed a perfect choice for isolated rural commuters.
It so happens I just watched Snowpiercer, a 2013 film by Boon Joon-ho, and it too was a bit claustrophobic and weird, and it also ultimately ran out of puff when pushed (for meaning), but it was also gripping everywhere.
Ofcourse, Boon-ho’s next major production was the universally-acclaimed Parasite, perhaps the best film I have seen. However, unlike Snowpiercer – a fine name for an all-seasons car – I don’t think even Elon Musk could sell a car named after a destructive bloodsucker.
I love the styling on the front of this generation Leone etc with the four lights, the rest has always seemed a little odd, but having owned the succeeding generation of this model I completely understand everything re the thrummy engine, low power, somewhat narrowness inside, however the ability to get through just about anything makes one overlook all of the other “character” traits. One by one, those other traits would get refined over the years and generations while picking up plenty of “Loyale-ists” along the way.
Thanks for the story!
Your experience is what made Subaru’s reputation: It’ll get you there, if not in the greatest of comfort.
About a year after your search for a Subaru, my parents undertook a similar search.
Theirs was in 1980, after the Subarus were redesigned, but their process of elimination was similar. My folks moved out of Philadelphia and into the suburbs in the late 1970s, and bought a house with a long, steep driveway. After a few winters, they decided to buy a 4wd vehicle for winters, and also for a commuting car.
They started with a Jeep, but judged it to be too uncomfortable for year-round daily use, and also the Jeep dad drove kept stalling on the test drive. They never considered an Eagle wagon because of price. So that left the Subaru. Our whole family drove to a Subaru dealer during a snowstorm in the winter of 1980 and test-drove a GL wagon. Mom and dad bought it on the spot.
From a snow-driving perspective, that car was incredible, especially for its times. I vividly remember each time it snowed that winter, we’d go out for drives, always seeking out the biggest hills. But from a reliability perspective, the car was simply awful – my folks suffered with it for six long years.
This is the model of Subaru that made some people – or maybe it was just me – think of Subaru as the “Japanese SAAB”. The design, both aesthetic and mechanical, of both cars were best described as “quirky”. In the early 60s, the SAAB’s FWD and Scandinavian heritage gave it a good reputation for getting through tough wintry conditions, much the same as the Subaru’s 4WD did 15 years later.
The earlier 1000 series Subies look a lot like the 99 series to me, but predate it by several years. Who copies who, indeed:
About 2 years later this came:
Meanwhile, somewhere near Burton, BC…!
(look closely)
Nice 4″ X 4″ there.
This type of Subaru was incredibly popular while growing up in Madison Wi. I always thought they were ugly – maybe that was Subaru’s schtick in the 1970’s. I believe there was an ad campaign in the late ‘70’s stating Subaru were the best selling car in Vermont, Colorado, and other progressive snowy places.
Same time as you (well, from ’65-69 and again from ’75-82) we lived across Lake Champlain from you in Burlington (later Shelburne) Vt….and similar to you, though not 4wd, my Dad bought a new ’76 Subaru GL (back then you could buy a Subaru with FWD). Similar to you, he wanted something good in the snow, but it was our family’s 2nd car, we had a full sized wagon (RWD) in those years. Only option was automatic (because my mother and my sisters never really were comfortable with standard).
Subaru wasn’t yet as well known even up in VT when he bought it, but later on, he passed it onto my sister, whose husband wasn’t too keen on a small odd import till later on (say, ’82 or so) he found out it was promoted as car of the US Ski team, then it impressed him a great deal. The car didn’t last long in our family, early on my Dad had opened the hood and it didn’t latch (even the secondary latch) and the hood blew open and buckled, he never replaced the hood so it made due with shock cord stretch between the front wheelwells (looked like the proper heap so it blended in with most of the cars up there). It rusted pretty quickly (though it had Rusty Jones treatment when new, guess it didn’t do much good) so by ’83 or ’84 my sister got rid of it, probably junked.
I admired your Plymouth Arrow, but it shared the same ailment my ’74 Datsun 710 I had the whole time I lived up there, it was a light RWD car. It was also an automatic (my only automatic car) and had a fast idle until it warmed up some; I warned this same sister, who borrowed it to go to her job at Mary Fletcher that she needed to remember to shift the car into neutral at stoplights until the automatic choke cut on (guess I probably should have put in a manual choke like my Fiat 128 had) otherwise on low traction surfaces the rear would crab out…and of course it did that when she promptly forgot my advice, and I had to drive up in my parent’s wagon and get her and drive my own car back.
Datsun was parked outside; the blizzard of ’78 was the only time it didn’t start for me, 35 below that week and I had to bum a ride from my Dad to school till the Datsun defrosted some, the seats felt like lead bags (never forget it)…other than that, it was reliable (though not great in the snow), just had to drive slow and predictable, like you are supposed to (and guess even at that age I wasn’t a jackrabbit driver).