Crime Subaru

Crime Subaru is an Israeli colloquial nickname and slang term for certain Subaru Leone models, primarily those produced between 1978 and 1982. The nickname became associated with the vehicle's reputation as a car commonly used by criminals.

Notable models

  • Subaru Leone GF Who had this car, the Crime Subaru??

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  • Subaru Leone GSR
  • Subaru Leone 4×4 Estate

Background

The Subaru Leone was a family car manufactured in Japan and imported into Israel from the 1970s onwards. It gained a reputation for being reliable, inexpensive, available with either front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and relatively fuel-efficient.

Towards the end of the decade, models such as the GF (coupé) and the GSR became popular among criminals due to their agility and relatively low weight compared with the heavier Ford vehicles then used by the Israel Police.

Name

The exact origin of the nickname is unclear, but it has been used both as a pejorative term and in a humorous sense. Alongside "Crime Subaru", other nicknames included "Arsubaru" (a portmanteau of ars—an Israeli slang term referring to a lout or chav-like person—and "Subaru") and "Cou-Pesha" (sometimes: coupé-pesha. a play on the word coupé and the Hebrew word ("Pesha") for "crime" -> en:Cou-Crime). These expressions appeared in street slang, internet forums, and satirical jokes.

The nickname became part of the collective memory of the period. The image of the "Crime Subaru" became both an object of ridicule and a source of nostalgia. Israeli satire during the 1990s and 2000s occasionally featured the vehicle in sketches as a social caricature.

In 2004, the musical duo Hayalei HaNekama released their debut album, Crime Subaru. The cover of rapper Dudu Faruk's debut studio album, Osef HaHashmal, features a photograph of a "Crime Subaru".