By Kamil Kaluski
Following the transformation of the Subaru Legacy wagon into the Subaru Outback, the world has lost its mind. Suddenly everyone wanted, no they needed, a vehicle that was capable enough to effortlessly power through anything that the suburban jungle could throw at them. And in recent times it’s getting worse, with the whole ridiculous overlanding trend and the safari-ing all the things that shouldn’t be safari‘d.
I’d be a total hypocrite if I said that I didn’t like some aspect of it. Or that there weren’t days that I wish I had a Raptor as my city commuter car.
The question I have today is – is simply Outbacking vehicles enough anymore? By that I mean, when automakers show a model with a slightly higher ride height, knobby tires, and blacked-out moldings – is that enough? Or so people want more?
I found the above image on Instagram somewhere. I like the the jacked-up Forester and decided to tweet it, because that’s what I do. But the responses were really surprising – people loved the the damn thing. So, should automakers go beyond just Outback-ing all the things?
Jeff Glucker
Changing a vehicle’s “stance” makes a big visual difference and sets it apart, the more options the merrier, I say, so long as you’re not ruining the way the car drives. Fashions will come and go, as ever. The rock crawling Crown Victoria exists, or at least it did for a time. That’s as much of a counterpoint as the world needs.
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When I was daily driving the Syclone, the front propshaft had developed a curvature that caused vibration. I was concerned that continued vibration would wipe out the transfer case front internals, so I removed the shaft until I could get it straightened and re-balanced. Like many projects, that took longer than planned, but I continued to commute in it.
One day, there had been a very hard rain, and the railroad underpass near my house had filled up with water. My retreat was blocked by traffic. Turning around meant going off road, up a 30 degree muddy slope, and then across to join up with the lanes heading out in the opposite direction.
I did just that. With the propshaft still AWOL, and the rear axle on the downward side of the slope, the back was swerving all over the place, while spraying mud everywhere. I didn’t realize you could fishtail AND roostertail at the same time.
But I made it up that hill.
I think that should be the next thing: taking lowered AWD vehicles and converting them to RWD and climbing muddy hills using ZR50 tires. Great fun, and certainly beats having people make fun of your knobby tires in the mall parking lot.
The yang to your story’s ying is courtesy of my wife when she was in college.
Her parents wanted her to have a big safe vehicle, so they bought a full sized GMT400 Blazer, like a ’94 or so. It was 4WD, but she wouldn’t have offroaded it for anything. One day running late for an exam, she had to get out of her driveway, but her roommate’s car was blocking her in the driveway. She took an unadvised detour through the water logged front yard and promptly got stuck and never even attempted to engage the transfer case. She snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, for sure.
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I think there’s already a push to bring back a bit of “authenticity” (quotation marks deliberate) to the crossover market. See the RAV4 Adventure as a gentle example of that (to say nothing of the Tacoma TRD Pro, or Colorado Bison, or others in the pickup segment). It makes sense that a popular aesthetic will be co-opted by the OEM’s to add a bit of flair to staid commuter products (which is why on a similar note, I’m expecting the #vanlife movement to translate to more van sales down the road).
Whichever way this goes, it first and foremost confirms the same old thing: Cars are fun to people, a way to express themselves. If I think it looks like crap or makes no sense, the person next to me will prolly “Wow!” the heck out of it. Fine for me, and it sure beats government-mandated A-to-B-autopods.
“So, should automakers go beyond just Outback-ing all the things?”
No. Not because I don’t like safari rigs, but what I like about them is that they are different. Even when it is “just like all the others”, it is a unique car. It is the hot rod ethos brought from main street to the trails. Just as “factory hot rods” fall somewhat flat (hello Prowler), a factory safari rig or overlander would lose most of what makes them cool.
As seemingly huge as the niche of safari cars is, it is still a niche. There isn’t the volume to support factory offerings.
I love that lifted Forester, and the MTs look great on it. I think the trend isn’t so much about truly creating more off-roadable cars as it is about just making them look that way. There’s far more to creating a capable overlanding vehicle than lifting the suspension and throwing on a set of tires.
Regardless how far it could legitimately take me into the wilderness, I love this:
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