Somewhere on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta lies an abandoned Subaru dealership that’s full of brand-new old cars from the late 1980s. While apparently the old man who owns the showroom labeled “Fuji Heavy Industries” refuses to sell the cars, it still gets us dreaming of importing a classic Subaru with delivery miles.
As first reported by CarsAddiction.com, the story goes that this was the first and only Subaru dealership on the island for a long time, at least until the late 1990s. At that point, a competing dealership set up shop on the island with a brand new showroom, better customer service and a modern car sales techniques. The older dealership either was unable to or refused to adapt quickly, and he was run out of business. Strangely, the owner of the dealership didn’t try to sell off the remaining cars, but rather locked the doors and walked away, probably out of sheer frustration. The showroom has been left in perfect condition, including the sign that advertises the installation of after-market air conditioning units.
So what’s in the abandoned Subaru dealership? Quite a few gems, actually. There’s a Subaru Sambar van, a few old Impreza station wagons and sedans and a Justy 4WD hatchback. Best of all, there’s a brand new 1987 Subaru XT, the weird Subaru turbocharged AWD coupe that was upstaged by the SVX. That particular car in such a pristine condition could fetch a significant sum as it has become quite rare, and has become a bit of a collector’s car due to the crazy 80’s design.
Apparently, the cars and dealership were fairly well-maintained, at least up until a few years ago. Now, though, they’re starting to look a bit neglected, as the tires are running flat and a few cars have some puddles underneath. Hopefully, someone breaks through to the guy who owns this dealership and helps him sell the cars to loving homes. However, you’ll probably never see these cars stateside, because they are right-hand drive models. Malta was a long-time British colony, after all. Find a Subaru for sale
Image credit: CarsAddiction.com
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I’m wondering how those tires are still inflated?
If there ever was a time to justify breaking into somewhere just to see this stuff up close! That’s pretty awesome.
If there was ever a time to “Justy-fy” a break in, it’s now! The story of your experience could become part of your Legacy. There’s probably a easy way in Outback. Maybe a former employee rememBRZ how – ok that last one was too much, I’ll show myself out.
A bit late to the game Billy, this “news” made its rounds back in early February….#journalismhack
Those wheel covers though!
I’m a bit confused. This new dealership didn’t come on to the scene until the late 90s, but the original dealership has cars that hit the market in the late 80s still on the floor. To say that they didn’t adapt to the new competition doesn’t account for the decade inbetween. What did (or didn’t) they do that allowed them to sit on cars for over a decade? Was the dealership that hard to deal with? And we thought it was bad in the US.
It was the sole dealership in Malta until the late ‘90s. When it opened isn’t mentioned, but the age of the cars is likely indicative.