You may be asking yourself “A Subaru? the best modern car?”. Yes, hear me out. Every Subaru Impreza has the same recipe: 4 doors, compact size, symmetrical all wheel drive, and a 4 cylinder boxer engine. Subaru has been manufacturing the Impreza for over 20 years, and if that doesn’t show success on it’s own then lets go into more detail. 

The reason the Impreza has been so popular and so successful for so long is due to its simplicity. Subaru has been able to keep the Impreza about the same throughout the years while also updating the car with modern features and looks inside and out as needed. On top of this the Impreza has been very reliable for a long time. Every Impreza from 1995 to 2018 uses the same motor, a 2.5L 4 cylinder boxer engine. The boxer engine just works, hence why it hasn't been changed. (If it isn't broke don’t fix it, right?) On just about every road in America you will see old and new Imprezas alike, chugging around like the great cars they are. As well as being reliable, in its naturally aspirated form the boxer engine gets great fuel economy. 

Another reason the Impreza is so widely successful is due to its size. A compact 4 door that can fit the entire family with ease. Some years of the Impreza even are offered as wagons or hatchbacks for even more storage space. 

Lets not leave out the third reason, and possibly the most important one, as to why the Impreza is s great. Subaru’s symmetrical All Wheel Drive system (AWD). AWD allows any and every Subaru Impreza ever built to send power to any wheel at any time as needed. This was huge at the time when the Impreza was first released, because most cars at the time were Front Wheel Drive. Meaning only the front wheels would be powered by the engine, and the rear wheels would just spin freely. Due to the Imprezas ability to detect when a wheel was slipping due to ice, rain, snow, or mud, it could send more power to whichever wheels had traction. Meaning it could pull itself out of just about anything. When the AWD system is not needed, the Impreza is predominantly front wheel drive to save on fuel economy. If the computer senses that all the wheels in both the front and rear differentials are slipping, it will send an even amount of power to every wheel. To summarize, Subaru Imprezas eat snow for breakfast. 

The final reason why the Impreza is so amazing is because they offer a version for everyone. Theres the basic Impreza, which is simple and a great car. If you would like something more sporty, you can get the Impreza WRX. Which is the same recipe accept Subaru slaps on a twin scroll turbocharger from the factory and a five speed manual to increase the horsepower. If you need something more hardcore you can get the Impreza WRX STI which is similar but even more hardcore. With upgrades all throughout the vehicle to be a track weapon, but can also be daily driven as your every day car. 

As my first post for this blog, I'm deciding to start simply; how does your car move when you put your foot on the accelerator. While the answer seems like it would be highly complex, it is simpler than you may think. Just about every car manufacturer on the planet uses the same concept in the modern age. An internal combustion engine (ICE). The most common version of this mechanical masterpiece that every major car company on the planet produces some version of is a four cylinder internal combustion engine. (Meaning is has four cylinders rather than 6, 8, 12, etc). These are great for fuel economy and decent power if needed while also being lightweight and not too complex to work on. However that doesn't answer the question, how do they work? 

The main part of an ICE where the cylinders and pistons reside is called the block. It all starts where air and fuel are mixed together and inducted into each cylinder in what is called the intake process. The next step is what is known as the compression process. This is when the piston is pushed upwards maintaining a tight seal within is chamber compressing the newfound air and fuel from the intake process into a confined area at the top of its stroke (Stroke = the distance or movement of a piston within a cylinder). At the peak of this stroke a spark plug ignites a small spark combusting or blowing up the fuel and oxygen within the cylinder forcing it downwards at a high velocity. This is whats known as the power stroke. While this piston is moving up and down the mechanical energy is creates moves something known as a crank shaft. The crank shaft is then connected to a variety of gears that eventually lead to what spins your tires and makes you go forward or backward depending. As the pistol is finishing up its power stroke and begins to return to the top of the cylinder is pushes out any extra gasses and unburned fuel out of a seal which becomes your exhaust gasses that travel out of the rear of your vehicle.