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What did you drive before your WRX?

220K views 2K replies 1K participants last post by  ProZach626 
#1 ·
Here's my short list.

1989 Honda Prelude Si

1988 Chrysler Conquest TSi

1988 VW Jetta

1987 Dodge D50

1979 Ford Bronco Custom

 
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#1,542 ·
What's the main allure for BMW guys? For your average 3-series drive, it would be a distinct drop in things like "quality materials, amenities, cachet", etc. Is it the perception of lower cost to own, more performance/dollar spent?
 
#1,544 ·
Ultimately, a BMW of any type is made for drivers. It isn't just a slogan to say it is the Ultimate Driving Machine. BMW does a great job at intangibles like driving dynamics that don't necessarily translate into a brochure.
I think Subaru does a pretty good job at the same thing. They make an exciting product at a lower cost, and specifically targets people with an active lifestyle.
 
#1,543 ·
my 2004 WRX is my first car :lovewave::drive2:
that may explain why i'm all gaga over it all the time :D

Never needed a car until about two years ago when we moved to the countryside. my dad 'gave' me his 2000 camry -- which i had to give back when I bought the shoopster :/ . It drove like a sofa in a tank on bed of marshmallows -- smooth, solid and comfy :D (still does) because he coddled it, he did maybe 15 miles a day from indoor garage to indoor garage.
 
#1,545 · (Edited)
For me the change from my BMW was for a few reasons. Reliability is one of them, no doubt. The performance of the BMW was better but also different. i thoroughly enjoyed the relentless pull of the engine in that car. I mostly wanted a more simple vehicle. Subarus are like going back in time as far as technology goes. My BMW had a warning chime for everything. Every mod you do requires extra caution because the cars computer is so touchy. My Subaru is very stripped down and basic. I love the manual seats and having to grab my own seatbelt. If you haven't been in an e92... they have an arm hat hands you your seatbelt. It was really dumb. The only way to disable it was to pull the fuse which also turned off the passenger airbags and turned on a warning light that couldn't go away I admire German engineering but they can often take it too far. My WRX may not be as good dynamically but i can make it better with some easy mods and still have great reliability and a great car to go skiing in. When i traded in the rear wheel drive beemer in Colorado the subaru dealership looked at it like it was something they had never seen. I think they shipped it to California to try and sell there and get away from the snow. haha

I have also noticed that many BMW owners had GTIs in their past. Is that true of anyone here. On the BMW forums it was full of people always wandering why so many switched from GTIs to 335is. kinda weird.
 
#1,547 ·
Very true that GTIis fall into the same fun-to-drive, versatile, performance hatch and I often encounter some camaraderie with GTi owners when they spot my WRX.
The simplicity seems to be slowly slipping away with some Subaru Models. the Outback is basically a Toyota now. But this WRX still preserves that fun, nimble, lightweight concept.
 
#1,548 ·
Honestly, I don't think of modern Subies as being all that simple. My rail buggy is simple. The engine is linked to the car via 4 bolts and 3 wires.
 
#1,550 ·
Great photo and car. Always loved the E36's..just seemed less "bloated" somehow than all of the 3's that have come after.
 
#1,552 ·
Agreed my WRX is not a simple car compared to some of its competitors and cars from the past, but relative to the e92 BMW it is a very simple car. That is exactly what drew me to it. I like that once you turn off the traction control it is essentially you and the road. Just for an example of the complexity of modern BMWs I will list some features I no longer have since i got my WRX.

Steering headlights
12way power seats
rain sensing windshield wipers
3 levels of traction control
self monitoring oil level (the car tells you when oil is needed, no set mileage interval)
butterfly valve in the exhaust system so it is quiet at low revs and loud above 3500
every warning in the car has a different chime that is supposed to relay a sense of how urgent the concern is
speed sensitive volume and windshield wipers
CDV in the clutch (the worst idea ever)
seat belt delivery arm
cooled storage area in middle console

There are many many more. In reality all they do is complicate things. Don't get me wrong though I do miss a few of them like the turning xenon headlights mostly. My WRX is simple in a way that I love. I get in it and drive without a concern. It has technology where it is necessary and not anywhere else.
 
#1,557 ·
For being 22, I think I've had a pretty decent selection of driving machines thus far.

1995 Saturn SC1, 90's teal / blue ugly as SIN
2000 Saturn for about a week, thank GOODNESS for GAP insurance. That was an awful vehicle.
2004 Grand Prix
1973 Chevy Crewcab C20
1980 (i think...) 280ZX
1983 Porsche 944 (by far my favorite)
2002 BMW 330i (third, but tied with second in spirit)
2006 WRX (close second but tied with third)

I traded the 3 series in on the Rex specifically because of maintenance costs that I did NOT want to address. In fact, I'm still in "reverse sticker shock" with the Subaru. I feel like I can buy ALL the parts! I love the more... visceral feel of the Rex. The 330i was fantastic, and I very much miss the straight six, and the real leather, and the electronic seats, and the heated mirrors, and, and, and... but I am enjoying the WRX very very much. Its very different, I could never say its better, but certainly different. Lateral movement, I'd say.
 
#1,564 ·
:rotfl:

Yeah I'm about as big as they can be to fit at 6ft tall...

S2000s are even more tough to fit in...
 
#1,567 · (Edited)
Going to list both mine and my Fiance's as I have spent a considerable amount of time in all. Mine and then hers in order all traded for next on list.
Me:
*First car: 98 New Beetle, Black, 5 Speed. Was my 16 bday present from my parents. Got it with 25,000 miles traded in at 135,000
*2008 Scion XB (Blackberry Crush) Drove off the lot at 73 miles (same care I test drove) traded in with 113,000 miles.
*2011 Ford Edge Limited Awd Loaded.
*2014 Subaru Forester XT Touring
*2008 Yamaha FZ6, $1500-$2000 in cosmetic mods/comfort mods) (current bike)

Fiance's (Her)
*2006 Mazda 6S Base, Added HID low beams & factory Mazda fog lights. bought with 45,000 miles traded in at 68,000 miles. That was 4 years and I took it last fall for work and put 8,000 of those on it. She has a 3.8 miles round trip to work every day......
*2013 Subaru WRX Limited Sedan (Fiance can't drive Standard so I have been driving it and she has been driving my edge :thumbup:)
*2013 Ford Explorer XLT V6 Comfort package. Added HID's, Subwoofer.
*2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250r (current bike)

My dad was a Yamaha dealer and farm supply dealer for 10 years so was also given a few vehicles to drive. They were all his but I put a considerate amount of miles on each... Yeah could be considered the small town rich kid....
*1999 Chevrolet Corvette Targa top 6-speed
*1999 Chevrolet S10 4 banger with a 5-speed (Beat to heck and just kept going)
*2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7 V8 (Big POS)
*2001 Ford Focus ZX3 5-speed
*2002 Ford F350 Dually Lariat 7.3 powerstroke
*2002 Chevrolet Corvette 6-speed convertable
*2003 Ford F150 V6 5-speed
*2005 Ford F350 King ranch 6.0 powerstroke
*2005 Ford F250 Work truck (vinal floor, AM/FM only, etc....)
 
#1,568 ·
My first car ever at the ripe old age of 17 (in 1985) was my 68 Firebird. I bought it from the original owner...yes a little old lady. She lived in my neighborhood when I was growing up. She kept it tucked in her garage and used it to run to the store and to church on Sunday mornings.

One day I just flat out asked her if she wanted to sell it and she told me that young kids had been asking her to sell for years and the car was NOT for sale. But I never gave up. I kept asking and asking and one day she asked if I thought it was worth $1000.00. I told her absolutely and I had the cash too as I had a summer job cutting lawns for my uncle's landscaping company. I wanted the car badly because I was born in 1968 and wanted a car that was built the year I was born.

So I bought the car in 1985 and almost immediately ripped out the original 6 cyl Sprint motor and dropped in a junkyard 400 out of a Catalina. The stock rear couldn't hold up to all the holeshots and street racing and it blew. So I replaced it with a 12 bolt 69 Camaro rear with 4:10 gears. At the time I also scored a Pontiac 455 out of a Safari wagon. I swapped out the stock cam for a Ram Air cam and a set of Hooker headers and street raced the snot out of the car. I rarely lost too.

Then one day I threw a rod drag racing and it blew a hole in the side of the 455 so I found a Pontiac 400 and re-built it to be a pretty nasty street runner. It had a set of Ram Air heads, a Ram Air cam, and I ran that combo with a Muncie 4 speed and the 4:10 gears. Again, back in the late 80's nothing on the street could touch me. I even blew the doors off of a pretty hot well known Hemi Mopar.

1989 rolled around and I got sick of college and decided to enlist in the Marines. So the Firebird went into the garage and the entire time I was away in the Marines, I sent money home to my dad to save for a restoration. Well I served 6 years in the Marines and when I got out in 1995, I got a job, bought a new truck, and set out to restore the Firebird.

In 1997 I met a girl and got serious with her so the Firebird kind of got ignored but I did make trips to Carlisle every spring and fall for the swap meets. Parts were accumulated and in 2002 I dove into the resto.

Today the car has a 68 400 with a set of Edelbrock aluminum heads, a Crower cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and a Holley 750 carb. I run a mini HEI distributor, MSD 6A box, Doug's ceramic coated headers, and a 2-1/2" mandrel bent exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers. I still run the Muncie 4 speed trans and now the 12 bolt rear has 3:55 gears instead of the 4:10's. The motor was dyno'd at 421HP and 500ft/lbs of torque and pulls like a champ. It has a sweet lopey idle and sounds nasty with the Magnaflow mufflers.

These days the car is painted it's original color of Verdoro Green with the original white vinyl top. That is the combo it had when it left the factory in 1968. I converted to power disc brakes up front as well as a set of welded in subframe connectors, and a 1-7/8" sway bar up front.

This is my first car that I bought at 17 and today at 45 years old it still lives in my garage.







 
#1,569 ·
That's drop-dead gorgeous. Being a product of the '60's myself, I have a weakness for the first generation F bodies. Congrats on keeping up this nice car. Drive it around for people to see! We don't have enough of these on the road any more, where I live. :)
 
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