If they make 2500 then I will be able to see one someday. That is a more reasonable number,
I bet it would be a hoot to drive.
If they make 2500 then I will be able to see one someday. That is a more reasonable number,
I bet it would be a hoot to drive.
sounds like an ok deal, I like the concept of a decontented performance car, its easier than tearing all that crap out myself. but the mitsu lancer ralliart is still a better deal for turbo awd performance
I think it's a great idea - delete some useless stuff and charge less. If nothing else, it's a step in the right direction. Same goes for Nissan making the 370Z smaller and lighter than the 350Z. It's a good trend.
I for one think the car looks awesome and that $40K AWD turbo cars are ridiculous. Subaru's going the opposite way of Mitsu (Evo MR) and I think they'll be successful with that approach.
I'm glad to see a car manufacturer is moving in the right direction. My '97 328is is equipped with much more stuff than I want/need. Here's the list of stuff I'd be willing to see go:
All I ask for in return is a real LSD 
Unfortunately, it's just about impossible to find a de-contented BMW because the yuppies that buy (read: lease) them new want all of the bells and whistles.
dj06482 wrote: - Power/heated sport seats - Power door locks
I like heated seats, I like power seats but not the weight and I absolutely love power door locks.
Give me a car with a stout structure, standard air bags (no seat, side curtain, shift lever, or headlamp washer protecting air bags), cruise, standard AC, heated sport seats, power windows, solid roof, 6 speed, 295hp, 2100lbs...
Hmm, I could live without HIDs so I wouldnt have to worry about getting hit head on on a 2 lane road in the dark becasue someone coming toward me got blinded by the hids flashing in their face. I don get why thats ok, but if I was driving a normal car and flashed my high beams at someone coming toward me it wouldnt be. I think HID high beams or driving lights would be ok, but for low beams I would like to see them banned. But anyway, I do like the idea of a cheaper lighter sti, id still never spend that kind of money on a car though.
"Decontented" cars like this are probably not profitable unto themselves, and non-hardcore enthusiasts won't want to give up the niceties. But every serious car company should make models like this simply because it gives them street cred with the hardest core, which will then filter down to the more casual enthusiast - which is where they make their money.
Features aside, I like the plain white. It says "no BS here". It respects the enthusiasts ability to focus beyond bling.
FWIW, our Saabaru has auto climate control, HIDs, and premium sound and we love all of those options. None of them add any significant weight (maybe 10 pounds?), and the Saabaru also cost less than a comparable WRX when we got it despite the nicer trim. Unfortunately, the Saabaru wasn't available with the STi powertrain. 
Now, if you could get it with zero AC, sound dampening, excess interior trim, etc. and it lost a significant amount of weight and cost $XXXX less, that would be more appealing. It's nice to have the option to get the badass powertrain without the gee whiz bits, but I think they're a long way from a club racer model with this. A step in the right direction.
Bryce
irish44j wrote: those of us who pay for our own cars just get the WRX, which these days is damn near as quick...and still comes in a sedan :)
I cringe when I see the new WRX sedans. It really looks as though they took a design intended for a hatchback and threw a trunk on there as an afterthought for the US market. The result isn't pretty in my eyes. The Mazda3 is also guilty of this, but better integrated imho.
They both kind of remind me of the fugly new Sentra in proportions as well. Space-effecient? Maybe. Proper styling for a $30K+ sporting car? Errr . . . not to me.
John Brown wrote: I like heated seats, I like power seats but not the weight and I absolutely love power door locks. Give me a car with a stout structure, standard air bags (no seat, side curtain, shift lever, or headlamp washer protecting air bags), cruise, standard AC, heated sport seats, power windows, solid roof, 6 speed, 295hp, 2100lbs...
I'm fairly neutral on heated seats. If I have them, I use them, but if I don't it's not the end of the world.
Unfortunately, the power seats are not only a weight penalty in the E36, but they are also cost-prohibitive. What happens on the power seats is that the seat tracks loosen up over time, to the point where there's a lot movement in the seat under moderate cornering (and I'm only about 170lbs). I said, no problem, I'll get some new seat rails - those can't be more than $100. WRONG! $500+ at the cheapest genuine BMW parts store I could find. Unfortunately, the power seat tracks are a dealer-only part, which means you pay a ridiculous premium. However, if I had manual sport seats, the replacement seat track would only be $100 from the dealer. I can't justify a replacement seat rail that costs over 10% of the entire value of the car! Not to mention that for that money, I could get a far better seat than the OEM solution.
Power door locks on a coupe are not a big deal to me, and 99% of the time I'm in the car by myself. I just use the key to lock/unlock the doors, so I wouldn't miss the power door locks too much. In a car where other people/kids would be frequent passengers, I agree, power door locks are definitely a plus!
Matt B wrote: I cringe when I see the new WRX sedans. It really looks as though they took a design intended for a hatchback and threw a trunk on there as an afterthought for the US market. The result isn't pretty in my eyes. The Mazda3 is also guilty of this, but better integrated imho. They both kind of remind me of the fugly new Sentra in proportions as well. Space-effecient? Maybe. Proper styling for a $30K+ sporting car? Errr . . . not to me.
eye of the beholder I guess. i absolutely despise the new WRX hatch look (I liked the old WRX "wagon" look much better. I'm 34, I don't want a "hot hatch" that looks like its driven by a teenager. I want a low-key sedan that can smoke the Mustang GT or 328i sitting at the stoplight next to me (assuming I was into drag racing).
I love how my sedan attracts NO attention. Not from police, not from the uber-present kids in the GTIs arond here who wantto street race...I buy my cars for the driving experience, not to show others how cool I am. I love the look on the face of the guy in the Lexus or Audi when he gets beaten by the Corolla with the hood scoop 
Btw, after taxes, title, and everything else, my loaded WRX was under $28k out the door. Find me another car for that price that runs 13.2 in th 1/4 bone stock....
I also prefer the older WRX wagons. I want a bugeye with the 2.5 swapped in - yummy! (and perfect for my German shepherd that travels to work with me)
To be fair to your sedan - I'm admittedly a hatchback fanboi - there, I said it. 
To it's credit, the current generation hatchback has looked better the more that I see it. There's a lot of cars that go the opposite way over time. The bugeye hatches were a homely lot IMO, although the notchback models worked OK.
Matt B wrote: I also prefer the older WRX wagons. I want a bugeye with the 2.5 swapped in - yummy! (and perfect for my German shepherd that travels to work with me) To be fair to your sedan - I'm admittedly a hatchback fanboi - there, I said it.
btw, I'll be the first to agree that bone-stock the new sedans look kind of lame. I made a few cosmetic changes (primarily getting rid of all chrome accents - trunk, badges, window sills, etc) and adding rally armor mudflaps. Plus mine has the wicked-looking (IMO) SPT dual exhaust which I've also blacked out. Now it has more of a "performance car" look to it in my opinion;
Once I get my suspension in this winter it will sit about 1" lower (and handle 10 better) and I'll be running some dark gunmetal rota SDRs with more width/less offset, so it will look (and handle) more aggressively.
when I bought it (with the terrible chrome trunk strip)
now:
I'd still rather have a EVO FQ series in the states...
I am going to jump in here being a big Subaru fan. I have owned five including an STi and I think this particular version is awesome. They need to pull some of the luxury content out of it. More manufacturers should do this. Still make it available for those who want it but for those who don't, get rid of it. They should do this with the standard WRX also. I also would like to say that part of the appeal of a Subaru is that it's a little quirky. Ya.... the styling can be odd and everyone has an opinion on how it could be better but it always makes me cringe when they start trying to appeal to a wider audience. Look what happened to Saab. They went main stream and now they are going away. IMO there is no better performance value than a WRX and even as the price has crept up, particularly with the STi it still remains a great buy. Thank goodness they still make cars like this. My biggest complaint about this version is the limited availability. At only 125 units the dealers will gouge the living **** out of the consumer and it will end up costing more than a standard STi.
In reply to irish44j:
MUCH better - those chrome strips are the bane of my existence (dramatic any?). Utterly tacked-on and serve absolutely no styling purpose other than the fact that the manufacturers seem to think they are necessary on all new cars. They practically raped the Saturn Sky with chrome (RIP little buddy). I love the smoked reverse lights as well. Nice touch.
edit - in reference to the appearance of the bugeye wagon - yes, I agree it's probably the most unloved of all the WRX iterations. I'm not sure exactly what attracts me to it, but I do tend to like vehicles that make me look even more white-n-nerdy than I already am.
As much as I like the STi's fender flares and seats, I still can't see $7500 of value in this Special Edition over a 2010 base WRX hatch which is $25495 and is no more than a 10th slower in any meaure of acceleration. This car ought to be $29,995 and the "full-boat" STI should be $31,995. And the spec-C suspension should be standard on both.
yeah the spec-C suspention should be standard. i also wished Mitsu would do this. i love the Evo X but no RS in the states? we get an MR 'tourer' with leather and sunroof and all of that for tons more money? rediculous. at least in 2010 they didn't screw up the GSR or add any weight (it already needs a diet)
garyp wrote: As much as I like the STi's fender flares and seats, I still can't see $7500 of value in this Special Edition over a 2010 base WRX hatch which is $25495 and is no more than a 10th slower in any meaure of acceleration. This car ought to be $29,995 and the "full-boat" STI should be $31,995. And the spec-C suspension should be standard on both.
The big price difference between the WRX and STI is in the drivetrain. Basically, the WRX (especially an '09) has all of power that the drivetrain can reasonably handle. However, the STI drivetrain is overbuilt for the stock power levels, so you have a bunch of room to grow.
When you add up the price of a WRX + drivetrain upgrades, you're well over the price of an STI. At stock power levels for each car, it doesn't matter, but if you're going to modify one, make sure it's the STI.
I'm with you on the suspension, though, the spec-c should be the standard package.
Feedyurhed wrote: I am going to jump in here being a big Subaru fan. I have owned five including an STi and I think this particular version is awesome. They need to pull some of the luxury content out of it. More manufacturers should do this. Still make it available for those who want it but for those who don't, get rid of it. They should do this with the standard WRX also.
I don't know that I would say my WRX ("premium" with everything except Navi and subwoofer) has much in he way of "luxury" features - at least none that add much weight or decrease performance:
Other than that, I can't think of any other "luxury" features that weren't on previous wrx's
hell, i miss my auto-up windows, this car doesn't even hve that!
Matt B wrote: In reply to irish44j: MUCH better - those chrome strips are the bane of my existence (dramatic any?). Utterly tacked-on and serve absolutely no styling purpose other than the fact that the manufacturers seem to think they are necessary on all new cars. They practically raped the Saturn Sky with chrome (RIP little buddy). I love the smoked reverse lights as well. Nice touch. edit - in reference to the appearance of the bugeye wagon - yes, I agree it's probably the most unloved of all the WRX iterations. I'm not sure exactly what attracts me to it, but I do tend to like vehicles that make me look even more white-n-nerdy than I already am.
yeah, I dechromed / blacked out the: - trunk strip - badges - subaru logos - stainless muffler cans - window strips - front grille (came dark gray, now is black) and a few other things. Chrome does not belong on any sporty car build after about 1972 IMO!
I love this version of the hatch! I just hope it's still available in 2011 when the wife's Tundra is paid for.
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