As you’ve been reading this series, you might have noticed a trend in my car selections.  As I moved from one car to the next, there was always a bump in horsepower.  Plotting the horsepower versus the car number makes a tidy chart.  It also shows how well a second-order polynomial can fit.

Horsepower versus the number of the car

Based on the curve, one might expect my fifth car to have made nearly 400 hp.  Was it an M5? A Corvette?  A Ferrari?  No, it was better: a Subaru Outback.

My 1998 Outback

Coming to the table with a whopping 170 hp, the Subaru wrecked the trend, but what it lacked in power it made up for in utility. My 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback hauled anything and everything.  It was already pre-scratched, so it could be parked anywhere without worry.  On the rare occasions when it needed repair, parts were affordable.  It even got decent gas mileage.

Snowy Outback

The Outback is the car that carried me and all of my worldly possessions between Minneapolis and Palo Alto.  It was severely overloaded, but it made the 2100-mile trip (twice!) with only one glitch. Deserts, plains, mountain ranges, heat, and cold; none of those things could stop it.

Loaded with everything I owned for the move to California

(it was a tight fit)

It’s funny how each car model draws a certain crowd.  The Bonnevilles drew the practicality-minded gearheads.  The BMW drew the “go fast through the twisties in style” enthusiasts.  The Subaru draws the outdoor adventure crowd.

I’ve quipped in the past that you know you’re at REI when the parking lot looks like a Subaru dealership.  Not only that, but most of those Subarus are full of mud, are plastered with outdoors-related stickers, and bear the occasional kayaks strapped to the roof racks.

I still have the Outback, but I am getting ready to sell it.  What could possibly take the place of such a dependable, affordable, useful car?  Stay tuned.

Stats

• Dark green 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon
• 2.5 L naturally aspirated flat-4
• 4-speed automatic transmission
• 165 hp / 166 lb-ft
• 172,000 miles when acquired (ca. December 29, 2006)
• 211,000 miles at present (June 29, 2010)

Update June 28, 2015: I decided to run a title search to see what became of my trusty green machine. Turns out, it’s still running and registered! About two years after I sold it, it was sold again, this time to somebody living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. About two years after that, in September 2014, it was sold again, once more to somebody living in Steamboat. I like that. It was a good car to me, and it makes me happy to see that it’s still on the road, carrying its new owners on their own adventures.