WARNING: The following product uses gasoline.
I like my car. I’ve had my red 2004 Subaru Impreza for over a year and half now, the longest I’ve kept a car in a few years. It is a TS model which means it is tough….a wagon. Insert soccer mom joke here. Sedans are marked RS and the legendary 225hp turbo model is the WRX, which stands for World Rally Cross I believe. Don’t quote me, I’m not a real journalist but I play one on TV. For those with the burning need for speed Subaru also sells the 305hp WRX STi (Subaru Technical Institute). My last car was an STi, sometimes called the Japanese Corvette. It is the same car you see in the Summer X-Games on ESPN getting airborne and rolling over inside stadiums (index finger and pinkie extended). Aside from the high payments and higher insurance it was literally going to kill me at some point. It could pin you in yer seat so fast you felt like Plackameyer kicked you in the chest. I also know it goes 130mph on wet roads at night and can make the turn at the Rodeo Grounds at about 90mph. The pro-life people should picket in front of Continental Motors to protest that vehicle. That’s why I got the wagon.
I bought most recent ride used from Affordable Used Cars in Anchorage for $15,500 with 36,000 miles on it in May of 2006 and haven’t had a problem with it except some d-bag backed into it at the Rendezvous and dented the rear right door. No fault of Fuji Industries. I got an automatic because that is all they had. Since my left foot went to hell I don’t mind so much but I wouldn’t dare get AT in a WRX. Blasphemy.
Subaru also has had a version called an Outback Sport (see blue car). What happened to Crocodile Dundee? The suspension is a tad higher and add a corny two-tone paint job and bi-colored seats but the cars are basically the same. All other Outback models are based on the larger, more fat-arse-friendly Legacy. THOSE are for soccer moms. And yes, Foresters are still for butch lesbians and my Chiniak peeps (I know a guy out the road who hunts bears with just the grill of his Subaru, driving back and forth to town trying to nail one. Once he was successful).
The Impreza started in the early 90’s replacing the Loyale, a Kodiak standard. It is one of the first models of any brand I remember to have full time all-wheel drive and that Chef Jerm bought one. There used to be a two-door hatchback model and I wouldn’t mind seeing that again. A Brat remake based on the WRX would be even cooler, unlike the Baja which is only good for moving growlers. The AWD system on my current car is so good I’ve never really even seriously considered studs or snow tires for it.
The 2002 model year was the start of the body style of my car. ‘02s and ‘03s have the round “bug-eye” headlights, ‘04s and ‘05s like mine have slightly squared, conservative looking lamps, while ‘06 and ‘07 models have the funky three-part grill and slanted lights. That’s the easier way to tell what year is what. Does anyone beside me care about this?
This model year the Impreza has had a major makeover. Like the dealer in Renton said, it more “refined”. I’m in the majority in that I like the look of the 2008 hatchback (wagon) over the four-door. The former looks good like an Audi A3 while the latter looks like the f-tarded cousin of an Accord. When it debuted they said it looked better in person than in pictures. They lied. PR people are worse than salesmen, if there is a difference.
The STi is a wagon now too, following the footsteps of the Mazdaspeed3. The interiors do look good on the latest model, borrowing from the Tribeca SUV (I’d like to Tri-beca but she wouldn’t let me. That‘s a joke).
My Little Red Sister Of A Japanese Corvette doesn’t get the mileage I think it should at around 18-19 miles per gallon riding around the Rock. Maybe because it is used and was once a rental car. It is still better than a truck although I kind of treat it like one. Another benefit of the wagon is the roof rack rails on top for a kayak or that REI co-op member look. The neo-hippy image is one of the few drawbacks.
It ceases to amaze me nobody ever opened up a Subaru dealership on the island. Remember when Ford/Kodiak Motors carried Volkswagen? They should have gone Suby instead. With Toyota gone now maybe it could happen but realistically this town is probably too small to support (m)any car dealerships. Or should I say truck dealerships? Is it my imagination or are there even more Chevys in town now since Kodiak Auto Sales croaked?
