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JDM Subaru WRX STI Carbon Messes With A Good Thing
Detroit, 4:33 PM
Fri Nov 27
3 posts in the last 24 hours
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JDM Subaru WRX STI Carbon Messes With A Good Thing |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
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Chairman: Ok, now the marketing department has advised me that we need to make a special edition Impreza in order to help boost sales. Any ideas?
Corporate Officer 1: How about direct injection? You know the consumers have been asking for this for quite some time since they want both improved performance and fuel economy.
R&D Engineer: Sorry, we are at least two years away from having this technology available despite the fact that half of our competitiors have been using it for several years.
Corporate Officer 2: What about a dual-clutch robotised manual?Chief of Finance: Sorry, we do not have large enough of a product line and market share to warrant the development costs.
Chairman: Fuck it, let's just throw in some extra coarbon fiber, new seats, and a 5EAT transmission. I gotta go take a shit anyways.
09/30/09
Mind you, I suppose they probably do. Every Subaru I've been in has been a veritable smorgasbord of variety when it came to vibrations and rattles.
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Unpainted carbon fiber? Automatic transmission? Fancy new seats? I know two of these things, for the first time in a sub-50-grand car, actually help performance, but it's the sound of it.
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compare to... anything with that much twist and cargo room.
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I had to settle for the automatic because there were so few used GT Wagons to be found and I have zero interest in an Outback or sedan.
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It's my nasty weather commuter, so the otto isn't so bad... I guess.
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How, exactly, does it mess with a good thing? As enthusiasts, no one is forcing us to buy the automatic. The manual is still there in all of its stick-shifty, pseudo-phallic goodness. That hasn't changed.
All that Subaru is doing by adding an available automatic is trying to get the best possible return on investment by selling as many STis as possible. The more STis they sell, the more likely it is we'll get another one when the next generation of Impreza comes out.
I don't need to remind you that the existence of this generation of STi was threatened to begin with, and now doubly so since Subaru pulled out of WRC.
Anything, anything at all, that increases the odds of us getting another STi is a good thing, right?
So suck it up, get the hell over yourselves, and if one of us goes to buy an STi, just opt for the manual and rid yourself of all your cognitive dissonance.
09/30/09
Whole discussion is moot--this is for JDM, where the STi is apparently a lot more common. Just another sub-variant that the US has no reason to get.
09/30/09
I think that bringing the automatic option to the US would be a smart move, though; after all, the US is universally acknowledged as being the biggest sucker for automatic transmissions.
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An automatic STi makes sense - at $35K+, many buyers prefer it for their daily commute.
I don't happen to be one but I can see the reasoning.
09/30/09
But that isn't the problem with this car. The problem, as with all STis, is the price. Not sure if you guys have shopped these cars but they are $40,000+. Sure, you can get a stripper for a whisper under that, but a proper one is in that range.
As much as I love Subaru (recently sold my '05 Legacy GT Ltd), they are pricing themselves out of the market. The base WRX at $25,000 is an infinitely better deal.
The last thing Subaru needs to do is introduce an even more expensive STi. What they need to concentrate on is explaining to customers why the STi commands a $15,000 premium while seemingly only delivering about $5000 in improvements.
09/30/09
Apparently people buy 'em. I'd like to hear the customers' explanation for that.
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the "i" is capitalized. It is STI...
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@Syrax, the hyrax: Actually, it seems the I is not capital.
09/30/09
You can add a bypass valve to a stick, but it makes a really odd chuffing noise every time you come off the throttle at high boost,and the driveability is weird because the motor has very little punch off the line and then all of a sudden it gets up and goes.
09/30/09
Also, wasn't there a Forester that came with a detuned STI engine and an auto? That was supposed to be a beast too.
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[www.gmcturbo.com]
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But when you're driving pants-less and really feeling the 'enhanced driving excitement' of that suede you'll know who's truly having the last laugh.
That's right: the trucker in the lane beside you.
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When I want a manual, I have my motorcycle that I can take out on weekends when traffic is light down by the beach.
Otherwise, I find manuals to be a pain in the ass in the perpetual state of gridlock that is Los Angeles on a given weekday.
09/30/09
I still prefer a stick, but let's compare apples to apples.
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Just sayin'....
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But it's 400# heavier.
09/30/09
Sorry, I don't think women are interested in WRX sti's, even if you give them the automatic they need to drive it.
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The only people I've ever seen drive WRXs around here are all young guys. I've never seen a female. But still...kind of funny they put in suede seats and an automatic for a wider range of customers.