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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.[1]
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Notable models
editBackground
editThe 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.[4]
Towards the end of the decade, models such as the GF (coupé) and the GSR became popular among criminals[3] due to their agility and relatively low weight compared with the heavier Ford vehicles then used by the Israel Police.[1]
Name
editThe exact origin of the nickname is unclear, but it has been used both as a pejorative term and in a humorous sense.[3] 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.[2]
In popular culture
editThe 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.[1]
In 2004, the musical duo Hayalei HaNekama released their debut album, Crime Subaru.[5] The cover of rapper Dudu Faruk's debut studio album, Osef HaHashmal, features a photograph of a "Crime Subaru".
External links
edit- The cars criminals love the most – Reuven Weiss, Ynet, 16 February 2018.
References
edit- 1 2 3 Weiss, Reuven (16 February 2018). "The cars criminals love the most". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- 1 2 Moshe Haim. "Growing up and living in the 1980s/90s | Who had this car, the Crime Subaru??". Facebook. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Why is the Subaru Crime called Subaru Crime?". CarsForum. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- 1 2 "Subaru". Israeli 4X4 Website. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ↑ Stereo Ve-Mono. "Stereo Ve-Mono, Israeli Music Discography Website". Retrieved 28 July 2025.