Americans were first introduced to Subarus back in 1969, when Malcolm Brickin (yes, *that* Malcolm Bricklin) began importing the tiny Subaru 360 and the related Subaru Sambar van. This was not an auspicious beginning, for the 360 was way too small and way too slow for American roads - earning it serious scorn from Consumer Reports in 1969.

Subaru recovered, however, and introduced a proper car - the FF-1 Star - to the U.S. in 1970. This pre-existing design was then replaced for 1972 by the Leone - called the Subaru 1300 in the U.S. At a time when more imported cars were finding mass acceptance in the United States, Subaru's 1970s vehicles were low profile, and the brand expanded only slowly at first. By the end of the decade, however, Subaru had established itself as a maker of solid, dependable cars and had also established it's reputation for 4WD ruggedness with a popular 4WD wagon - decades before AWD became commonplace in "regular" cars.

In late 1979, the second-generation Leone debuted in Japan, and this design would help truly established Subaru as a volume seller in the United States.

Since Subaru only had one U.S. model, it did not use the Leone name here - Subarus were just "Subarus" in various levels of trim (GL and DL being the most common). The new car came as a four-door sedan, a four-door wagon, a three-door hatch, and an attractive hardtop coupe (unusual in that almost all hardtop coupes had vanished by 1980 - but somebody at Subaru liked them). Also continuing was the 2-door car-pickup hybrid "BRAT" - which remains a popular classic today.

The newly enlarged Leone was a hit in the United States - finally looking and feeling contemporary and having gained some much-needed torque in the form of an enlarged 1.8 liter flat four. In time, this engine would also get a turbocharger at the very end of this car's run. The 1.6 liter engine of the car's previous generation remained as the base engine. The new car earned positive comparisons with the Honda Accord at the time (then still in its first generation), a marked improvement for Subaru, who's "Inexpensive, and built to stay that way" slogan had earned some unflattering parodies in the previous decade.

The 4wd-optional wagons remained extremely popular in snowy and icy climes - indeed, one could not read a review of any Subaru in the 1980s without hearing these exact words. It was their reliability and economy which made these cars popular, not their looks or speed.

In this generation, he 4wd option could also be had on the hatchback and the sedan, where before it had been a wagon exclusive.

In 1980 and 1981, both recession years in the U.S. where car sales were tough, the new cars set sales records for the brand, reaching 152,000 units in the second year. Thus the template was set for even wider acceptance when the redesigned Leone debuted in late 1984.

By that time, a Turbocharged version of the 1.8 had arrived - sporting 95 hp and under the hoods of various versions of the car from mid-1983 on. 95 hp seems like a humble number but in 1983 that was a good output from 1.8 liters, and these cars were light - just 2300 lbs. for the 4wd wagon. These early turbos formed the template for what would eventually evolve into the Subaru WRX.

©2015 A. Kwanten.

July 2025

Cumberland, Rhode Island

My star shot got chosen for Subaru of America's Facebook Page for the week!

Cool looking Subaru in from of our dealership

3 years I have owned this 2018 Subaru Outback, and have had the software updates and replaced the head unit and still this fucking thing does not work right, What the Fuck Subaru?

We might be small in the grand scheme but we have to keep doing what we love!

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Oregon Trail Rally 2018

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Got the 30k service done and Polysteel applied by the dealer today. She is looking great!

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Oregon Trail Rally 2018

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Oregon Trail Rally 2018

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@Yakimaracks WindFairings...great for killing the whistle from the round bars and a great place for stickers!

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OTR2017 Stage 5 Higgins lining up at start.

David Higgins / Craig Drew #75

I was a volunteer Rally Marshal for this years Oregon Trail Rally. I worked the gates at PIR on Friday, worked start for the Deere Run stages (stage 5, 7, 10) outside of Dufur, Oregon, and was a midpoint watch for the Maryhill stages (stage 14, 16). That allowed me to take some photos and video of rally cars on the historic Maryhill Loops road, which normally closed to the public.

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