Subaru’s Outback spawned a whole category of imitators when it appeared on the scene offering some of the versatility of a sport-ute without the tradeoffs in ride and handling. Big-tired, all-wheel-drive station wagons have become almost as common as Ford Explorers, and the combination of carlike ride and off-road ability could be said to have inspired the Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX300, and other “soft-utes.”  Subaru lays claim to inventing the “sport utility wagon” niche (although we think that if AMC were still in business, they might dispute that, citing their …

After two years of beating up on unsuspecting (and more expensive) German sports sedans, the Subaru WRX’ natural enemy has finally arrived on our shores, with Mitsubishi’s announcement that it will be bringing its rally-bred Lancer Evolution to the U.S. this year.  Unfortunately for Mitsubishi, the WRX hasn’t grown fat and placid on its steady diet of hapless Nissan Sentra SE-Rs and Audi A4s.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Even as the Lancer Evolution is getting geared up, an even angrier WRX is making its debut.

If the all-wheel drive, 227-horsepower …

When Subaru introduced the Forester in 1997, its unique blend of car and sport-utilty vehicle proved to be a perfect match for suburban buyers who wanted a bit of ruggedness without the weight and unpredictable handling of a truck.  The niche for more carlike trucks has grown since then.  Like the Forester, the competition began building SUVs based on cars instead of trucks, and with newcomers like the Toyota Highlander and Ford Escape vying for space in the crowded market, it’s no surprise that Subaru decided 2003 was a good …

227 horsepower.  All-wheel drive.  You probably don’t need to know what a rally car is to appreciate all that’s wonderful about the 2002 Subaru WRX wagon.  But just in case you do, we’ll explain it anyway.

The largely European sport of World Rally Championship (WRC) racing involves a driver, a navigator, and a car sturdy enough to thrash as fast as possible over nasty, twisty unpaved roads, through mud, snow, or ice.  The navigator’s job is to call out directions to the driver; the driver’s job is to execute the specified …

Imagine that your list of things to do this week looks like this:
Get groceries
Haul wood for fireplace
Drive the boss and coworkers to lunch
Pick up kids from school
Pick up Mom at airport at 5:00
Head to Colorado for skiing trip
Save money for new swimming pool!
What’s more, you’ve only got one car with which to accomplish all of these feats of urban life.
Actually, that’s not so uncommon; most of us have only one car to tackle whatever tasks come up in the course of a week.  For the most part, we learn …

You say L.L. Bean doesn’t build cars, and have no right to put their name on the new Subaru Outback?  Yeah, right.  Tell it to Eddie Bauer.  And Orvis.  And Harley-Davidsion.  And don’t forget to remind Nautica, Fila, Kona, Trek, Warner Bros., Lego and Neiman-Marcus while you’re at it.

Whether the association makes sense or not, specialty-edition automobiles pay off, for both the car manufacturer and whoever they decide to team up with.  For 2001, Subaru has gone the same route, with a special L.L. Bean Edition version of the popular …

If your initial reaction to the scoops, spoilers, wings, and flares of the 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS is anything other than, “Wow, it looks like a rally car!” then it’s not likely to be the car for you.  If the letters WRX don’t have any car-related meaning in your vocabulary, and if Colin McRae is an unfamiliar name, then the 2.5 RS isn’t going to make a great deal of sense.  You have to love the sporty Subaru for what it represents as well as for what it is.

The …

There’s no telling if Subaru knew it was onto something when it introduced the Forester in 1997.

I can’t help but feel for Subaru; the purveyor of entertaining all-wheel drive vehicles seems to be forever locked in combat and disagreement with its sharpest critics–its own biggest fans. When the WRX got its first facelift in 2004, the Subaru loyalists hated it. When the design was revised again in 2006, they hated it even more. Subaru’s Forester and Tribeca have gone through similar styling woes. Now, for 2008, the WRX is all-new, along with the Impreza lineup, and it’s got a completely new look And guess what? …

Back in the day, the family car was expected to do everything–it wasn’t uncommon to see mattresses or furniture strapped to the roofs of sedans, or sports cars struggling through the snow in the dead of winter. In the new millennium, however, we’ve got an automotive landscape that’s diversified and specialized, and there’s a car, truck or SUV suited for just about every task you could imagine.

So where does that leave the old-fashioned do-all? Well, as it turns out, that’s a class of car that’s evolved along with everything …