After months of bad luck with my 2007 Honda Accord, I decided that it was time for a change.  I had dealt with the Accord for a while, and it just wasn’t my favorite car.  When the clutch refused to disengage 180 miles from home, that was the last straw.  Bent rims and tickets are one thing, but a clutch issue could have left an average driver stranded.  I limped it home with every trick in the book and started thinking about my next move.  I fixed the clutch issue and sold it off fairly quickly for a great price, but I sold it in San Francisco – 400 miles from home!  I only had a couple days to come up with a solution or drive our trusty road trip vehicle temporarily.  Figuring that driving 20-25MPG trucks and vans would cost me an extra $200 per month, I decided to go take a look at the new VW Passat diesels.  I had driven them before, it just came to an issue of price.  I managed to haggle them down to a great price, and they got me a vehicle, and the rest of the story still needs to be written.  The important question is, how does it drive and compare?

Drivetrain

When I was looking for a car, I specifically looked at cars with great gas mileage.  My Accord had accrued over 70,000 miles in slightly over 3 years, so if I had to pay lots of money for a new car, it should at least be frugal at the pump.  While the 2014 Mazda6 has a great 2.5L SkyActiv-G engine, it won’t hold a candle to the 2.0 TDI in the Volkswagen.  Mated to a 6-speed manual, the turbodiesel will produce 236lb-ft at just 1750RPM – this despite having 2 catalytic converters and a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF).  The ability of this drivetrain to climb mountains at low RPM’s is shocking – it will climb Grapevine, Pacheco, and Cajon Passes in 6th gear at under 2000RPM (~75mph).  On the highway, it maintains a fairly constant 40-45MPG, despite driving at 70-80MPH with massive headwinds at times.  The DPF Regeneration process is also very seamless, maybe too seamless – I would have preferred it to warn drivers when regen starts, so they can decide whether they really want to shut down the car right now.

That doesn’t mean it’s a flawless drivetrain though.  While great for producing torque and fuel economy on the highway, the drivetrain is not well suited for in town driving.  First gear is too short, the 1st to 2nd RPM gap is huge, turbo lag is evident below 1200RPM, and some NVH penetrates the cabin above 2500RPM.  Anything above 4000RPM is completely useless – there is virtually no power from 4K to the 5000RPM redline.  Torque is significantly reduced below 1500RPM to control emissions, making it hard to launch from a stop.  No warnings are given when the engine is about to stall – no vibrations, no weird noises.  It just dies, and you’ll need to completely shut the car down to induce the starter.  This is easy for cars with a metal key (like mine), but with cars that have Keyless Start (KESSY), it’s a very time consuming ritual in traffic at a stop light.  Forum members also complain about hesitation and jerkiness on cold starts.  This is likely produced by an exhaust back pressure valve, which helps to quickly warm up the engine.  That valve should be open once the vehicle starts moving, but emissions standards likely require it to remain at least partially closed until the engine is warm.

If you’re sharp, you might realize that most of my drivetrain complaints center around the 6-speed manual transmission.  You might wonder why I picked it if I hate it so much?  That’s a valid question, and it’s simple to answer.  The manual isn’t as bad as I make it sound, with the clutch and shifter both having acceptable feel.  The biggest reason is that the “automatic” is truly an automated manual (DSG in VW speak).  Not only does it present its own set of compromises in city driving, it also requires about $400 in labor and parts every 40K miles to maintain it properly.  For me, it was senseless to buy a vehicle to save fuel, and then pay some of those savings back out in maintenance.  Sure, $400 on a $27,255 car isn’t a huge bill, but a $400 DSG service at 40K, a $1200 timing belt at 130K, $500 brake jobs every 40-50K – these things add up and car companies won’t do anything about it if we just roll over and pay these exorbitant sums.  Thus, I feel better about buying a manual as a protest against ridiculous maintenance costs.  Plus, the manual suits me better on highway drives, which accounts for 95% of this car’s usage.  So, I’m really only compromising 5% of the time.

Interior

The interior was one of the reasons I liked this car over its competitors.  I carry friends on a regular basis, and the large trunk and rear seat are very appreciated.  VW’s famous CarGo blocks are ingenious and I had to have them in my trunk.  The interior materials are well picked and look durable, while the design is typical German – simple and elegant.  Many people chastised the interior for being too simple, but I much prefer real knobs and buttons to the gimmicks like MyFord Touch.  Niceties such as comfy heated leatherette seats and Sirius satellite radio on the in-dash screen are included even in the base TDI models.  Caveat emptor, although the leatherette looks fine in black, it can look very cheap in lighter colors.

The pedals and steering wheel are not positioned correctly relative to the seat.

After spending lots of time inside the car though, I have managed to drum up a lot of small complaints.  The side sills are wider than necessary and flare out, making entry/exit tougher than it should be for a family sedan.  It is absolutely impossible to tell where the back of the car ends – there are no visual guides, and you can be 3 feet away from the wall and think your rear bumper is kissing it.  The dead pedal is extremely misplaced – it needs to be further away from the driver so that s/he can stretch his/her legs while not using the clutch.  Instead, it’s lined up with the pedals.  The pedals and steering wheel are also misaligned with the seat – you have to skew your arms and legs towards the center of the car to use the controls.  And, why does that cheesy analog clock exist?  The time can be displayed in the instrument panel and on the in-dash screen – the analog clock is clearly just a filler.

As with many other vehicles, the in-car electronics are antiquated.  The Premium VII sound system and RNS-510 Nav/Sound (N/A on my vehicle) sound great, but both are very slow to respond to inputs.  Even when switching songs stored on a super-fast Class 10 SDHC card, there would always be a pause.  With the advent of smartphones and tablets that can do more/faster for less money, you have to wonder why car makers are so behind on the times.  My biggest nitpick is with the Sirius satellite radio.  Initially, I thought that having the music pause was normal, since I was heading through some tunnels and under some rather large overpasses.  Then I started noticing it cut out when passing by street lights and overhead Interstate Highway signs.  That’s pretty ridiculous, especially considering local radio stations have superior sound quality (that’s a Sirius problem, though).

Finally, a gaggle of information is available in the Multi-Function Indicator, but the coolant temp gauge is simply a dummy.  I reckoned that since the needle stayed at the gauge midpoint (which is marked “190″), that the engine was just running 190F when warm.  In fact, the OBDII port data indicates that the TDI runs at 201-205F, and can get up to 233F under certain conditions.  The “190″ marking?  The gauge hits that mark when coolant temperature is only at 160.  Talk about false advertising…

Ride & Handling

The car magazines seem to agree that the Passat handles better than many other midsizers in the segment.  After driving most of the competition, I’d have to disagree.  The Mazda6 and Honda Accord both feel sportier than the Passat.  The beautiful 3-spoke steering is properly weighted and feels wonderful to hold, but feels only slightly livelier than a Camry.  Then again, most dead fish are livelier than the Camry.  At least the steering box is fairly intuitively geared and accurate.  Any doubts imparted by the steering are removed by the brakes, which work more linearly than in some Japanese cars.  It’s a pleasure to have brakes that work this well, and hopefully these won’t warp over time.

Of course, the Passat is designed to be a great highway cruiser, and the cushy ride is evidence of that.  Body motions are well controlled and wind/engine noise is not generally an issue.  The only time the car really speaks up is on rougher sections of road, but we think that the Hankook tires are the most likely culprit there.  It’s not bad enough that the audio system won’t overpower it at will, but it is definitely a contender for one of the loudest cars in this field.  Overall, it is a great car for driving all day, eating up long portions of road well into the evening, without arriving fatigued – something I have never experience before.

Long-Term Intro: 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE 6MT

Our long-term 2012 Sonata met the end of its time with us, with an extremely low ~12,500 miles on the clock.  The reason was not a mechanical failure or accident, but instead a great deal on another vehicle.  Even though our friend traded in the trusty Hyundai, he adamantly defends it as a great car.  It had all the power he wanted, looked great, and was reasonably fun to drive.  The icing on the cake?  There were absolutely no problems with the vehicle, not even a simple rattle or loose trim piece.  It performed flawlessly in extreme heat and never skipped a beat.

We would, however, like to remind Hyundai owners that the 2.0 Turbo is an engine that needs more maintenance care than other modern engines.  The oil change interval is between 3,000 and 5,000 miles, depending on conditions – a far cry from the 10K intervals that many manufacturers are now preaching.  Also, Hyundai would prefer their owners to use 5W-40, which is harder to find.  They do explicitly state that 5W-30 is acceptable, but 5W-40 will give the best performance.  Given that the direct injection and turbo technologies in this engine demand clean, fresh oil, we would follow their recommendations to a T.  Not doing so could result in costly downtime and an even costlier engine replacement.  The importance of using the right oil with the right oil change interval was underscored by an email that we received regarding a blown Hyundai 2.0T engine with 41K miles on it.  The dealer had been doing oil changes between 7000-8500 miles with 5W-20.  This all led to a spun bearing and a new engine in the vehicle.  The moral?  Be aware of what oil your vehicle calls for, and make sure your dealer is using it!

Long-Term Wrap Up: 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE 2.0T

Fisker Motor’s broke. Bankrupt. All outta the green stuff. It’s a real shame. No, I won’t miss the clever hybrid gasoline-electric range extender powertrain. The performance numbers weren’t stellar (0-60 in 6.3 seconds, 125 MPH top speed), it didn’t have enough range to be a grand tourer (230 miles), and it certainly wasn’t cheap ($100k+). So why do I miss it? Well, just look at it.

There are faster cars, there are more practical cars, there are better cars by any yardstick, but few cars look this good. The kidney grill reminds me pre-Bangle BMW with a sinister twist; The headlights, a Z8. The tail lights are cribbed off an Audi from the future. In profile, the car looks more concept than production, deftly catching and reflecting light in ways a real car rarely does.

Some cars are too stunning to be crippled by something as pedestrian as a drivetrain. The Alfa Romeo 4C jumps to mind. What if these rolling works of art came from the factory as a blank canvas? Bring your own drivetrain, anyone? Apparently, Destino Motors was thinking the same thing even before Fisker announced bankruptcy.

Lose 1,100 pounds, add 50% more power, V8 soundtrack. Suddenly I don’t feel so sad anymore.

RIP Karma. Long live the Destino.

Eugoogly for Fisker Karma

My trusty 2007 Honda Accord is getting long in tooth.  It is about to turn 140,000 miles as of this writing, and the features are certainly not up to date.  So when I rolled by a Mazda dealer and saw their stash of new 2014 6′s out front, I decided to stop in for a drive.  I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, since I knew no diesels were in stock – perhaps the Bluetooth and Skyactiv gas drivetrain would impress me enough to trade for one?

First impressions are crucial, and the Mazda 6 looks even better in person than it does in pictures.  The Kodo design language works better than the garbled mess that was the last generation 6, and makes the car look athletic without being overwrought.  Inside, the interior layout was refreshingly simple.  I had just driven a 2008 Camry, and the difference in material quality was stunning.  Where the Camry was filled with cheap painted surfaces, the Mazda was overflowing with soft touch plastics and beautiful gloss trim that should have gone in a high-end Porsche.  Everything was logically laid out, and the return of knobs for HVAC and radio was definitely welcome.  Comfortable seats and an easy to read instrument panel work to reduce driver fatigue.

The relief continues out on the road, where the drive was noticeably more relaxed than some pretenders (we’re looking at you, Camry SE).  The ride was well controlled without being floaty, and noise levels remained fairly hushed.  This came as a surprise, considering the Touring model wears largest-in-class 19″ wheels.  Those 19″ wheels also helped produce sporty handling, a Mazda trademark.  While I didn’t get to push it too hard, it definitely feels smaller than its 191.5″ length.  Other details let you know that this is a driver’s car, not an automotive nanny.  Although the Touring has features such as Smart City Brake Assist and Blind Spot Monitoring, the BSM can be turned off and neither feature proved obtrusive during our drive.  We applaud Mazda for the level of balance that they’ve achieved in this car, both in terms of dynamics and in terms of features.

The engineers have done a great job with the powertrain too.  Our particular model had the 2.5L Skyactiv-G paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission.  Shifts were handled smoothly and without drama.  Although paddle shifters are oddly not available on such a sporty package, the manumatic gate on the shifter followed drivers orders – it would stay in high gear even if the accelerator was pressed pretty far down.  That’s a helpful tool, as some people might not like the transmission’s tendencies to upshift quickly.  That tendency not only achieves better MPG but also takes advantage of the engine’s amazing low end torque.  Don’t believe me?  It produces 185lb-ft at just 3250RPM – the most torque at the lowest RPM among non-hybrid, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder gas engines in its class.  The 2nd place Accord has to settle for 181lb-ft @ 3900RPM from its Earth Dreams 4 cylinder.  Still don’t believe me?  My 2004 Mazda6 had a 3.0L V6 and it only produced 192lb-ft at 5000RPM.  That means the SkyActiv-G engine is producing V6 levels of power (of a decade ago), and it shows with great pull at low RPM’s around town.  All this, while getting 38MPG – sounds good, doesn’t it?

Downsides?  Sure, there are a few.  The Sport and Touring driver’s seat is only 6-way adjustable, meaning it only has a pseudo height adjustment.  Instead of making the entire seat go up and down, they decided to have a hinge on the front of the seat.  The height adjustment only pushes the back portion of the cushion up and down, while the front (where your knees are) simply pivots in place.  For a driver’s car, the driver’s seat adjustment is an odd place to cut.  Because Mazda chose to spend money on other technologies like Adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights, the infotainment is also severely lacking.  While most competitors offer 7-8″ touch screens with navigation, the Mazda makes do with a 5.8″ screen.  While there is a USB port, smartphone integration is nearly nil.  And for such a long vehicle, the back seat doesn’t provide as much legroom as a CamCord or Passat, though it’s similar in size to the Fusion.

So the big question is, will it sell?  We have our doubts – Mazda advertising has been lackluster and market acceptance is tough in this segment.  While there’s no doubt that it’s a great car, we fear that the out-of-the-ordinary options and lack of a premium engine will doom it into fleet-car status, just like its predecessor.  Time will tell, and we hope that diesel is a stunner – it might be Mazda’s saving grace.

Review: 2014 Mazda 6 Touring

Headlights are an important safety item on every car.  After all, you need to see where you’re headed and what obstacles lie in your path, so that you can avoid them.  That’s why in the last decade, High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights have become increasingly common in cars.  Still, many high volume industry stalwarts like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have never offered HID headlights.  Why not?

We can’t deny that when done properly, HID’s (sometimes also called Xenon’s, after the gas that the bulb is filled with) can produce a brighter, more focused light than a typical halogen sealed-beam headlight.  The HID system uses the same or less power to produce more light, and thus is usually paired with a custom-tailored projector housing.  The projector directs the extra light to the road ahead, instead of scattering it and blinding other drivers.  Sounds like a win-win, so what’s the downside?

Expense, for one.  HID systems are expensive and attractive to thieves.  If they’re optional, they can cost you dearly – they are a $900 option on the $36,850 2013 BMW 328i, for example.  There have been stories of thieves stealing thousands of dollars worth of HID equipment off cars like the Acura 3.2TL and various Porsche’s (sometimes for purposes that are non-automotive).  You can pay out of pocket to replace the pricey HID system, or you can pay your insurance company fistfuls of money to handle it for you.  Even routine maintenance will cost you hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars – Prius owners found this out the hard way and promptly launched a lawsuit.

The 1999 Acura 3.2TL was one of the first high-volume cars with HID's (and without too, thanks to thieves).

Second, light projection technology (the housing/projector) seems to be behind the ball when compared to light production technology (the bulb).  I’ve never owned a car with HID’s, but I’ve had experience with a few different ones.  Most recently, a 2013 Mustang with factory HID projectors.  It was absolutely terrible, especially when driving through Death Valley.  Yes, the lights lit up the road in front of you fairly well…all 100ft of it.  At highway speeds, it doesn’t project nearly far enough to save you from danger.  The high beams made such little difference that they weren’t noticeable to drivers or passengers except for the indicator on the instrument panel.  The salt in the wound was that oncoming cars routinely flashed us when we only had low beams on.  And for the naysayers – how does an 8 month old car with 15k miles have headlights that are out of alignment?  I refuse to accept that as a reason for the problems we saw.

That Mustang finally made me realize that although HID’s are bright, you really don’t need such bright headlights.  The important thing about headlights is to light up a huge land area just a little bit.  Instead, HID’s light up a mid-sized area very brightly.  When you’re away from civilization and it’s pitch black, your eyes adjust to the brightness directly in front of you, making it hard to see anything past that lit area.  Any animals lurking in the shadows should say their final prayers now, because you won’t have a chance at seeing them.

The Mustang's lights were too dark for the driver and too bright for oncoming traffic - figure that one out.

The only saving grace of HID systems is that sometimes, they’re bundled with headlamps that “lean into the turn.”  If the projectors actually swing and project light into the turn, that is a feature worthy of a few bills.  However, it is probably better to wait for adaptive LED features that German luxury manufacturers are implementing.  Audi’s Matrix Beam system is basically an LED headlight that is subdivided into little sections.  The headlights are paired with a camera that senses other vehicles, and dims certain sections of the headlight to allow other vehicles to pass in a shadow.  The driver gets the best lighting possible, while oncoming drivers don’t get blinded.  Unfortunately, the system is currently banned in the USA, but I’m sure that we will see some form of the system in the coming years.

Stupid Technology: HID headlights

I have a weird craving for recent Mopar products. From the swoopy compact Dart, to the unapologetically muscular Charger, and even the self proclaimed “Man Van” Caravan all have an extra shot of attitude and style. I’ve never owned a domestic brand car, let alone a Chrysler, but the unanimous friend consensus was they’re cheap and unreliable, worthy only of rental fleets. Unsatisfied with their anecdotes, I cracked my typing fingers and set about to do some research.

Overview

The Charger R/T is the one that makes me drool a little. Big and brawny, the Charger is as American as apple pie and baseball. Never mind that Chrysler was partially sold to Fiat, the soul of this car still whacks you upside the head with V8 Hemi power and retro styling lifted from the late 60′s Charger. Inside, the upgraded leather seats are sofa grade, and there’s plenty of backseat room. The things I wanted in my next car are:

• bold styling
• quiet and comfortable freeway ride
• space, lots of it
• good crash scores

Fuel Economy

The silver trim around the gauges is real aluminum

A 4,300 pound V8 muscle car isn’t a good starting point if you’re looking for good mpg numbers. The V6 does an admirable job with 31 MPG highway thanks to an 8 speed automatic. But since I don’t commute, I’m happy to tradeoff mpg for the extra smiles a V8 buys. The V8 has had multi-displacement system (MDS) since the 2005 Chrysler 300C, allowing it to run on four cylinders in low load conditions. With the 5 speed auto, the V8 is rated at 16 city, 25 highway. There is an uprated version of the 8 speed auto capable of handling the V8′s torque rumored to become available in 2014 which will achieve better economy, but at the expense of the 5 speed’s proven durability.

Reliability

2011 was the first year of this current model. As a result it was plagued with many issues, most of them related to electronics. Fortunately, the V8 and 5 speed auto drivetrain has been around longer and sounds pretty bullet proof based on TrueDelta reports and the forums. It’s worth noting that the NAG1 transmission is really sensitive to water. An earlier TSB also flashes the PCM for smoother shift points. The scariest report I’ve read was the adjustable pedals becoming sentient and moving on their own. Dodge offers a 3 year / 36,000 mile basic warranty, and a 5 year / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. If you’re extra paranoid, there are many extended warranties you could buy with different levels of coverage. 2012 models looks much more promising for build quality.

Options

Red leather seats, enough said.

The R/T trim comes well equipped at $30,000, but to get those lovely leather seats, you need to pony up an extra $2,000 to step up to the R/T Plus. Included in the Plus trim are 18″ alloys (up one inch), heated front and rear seats, and heated and cooled cup holders. It sounds excessive, but hey, cup holders need innovation too. The $900 Driver Convenience group is a requirement because of the adjustable pedals and seat position memory (my wife is 15 inches shorter than me) and also adds ventilated front seats for hot Los Angeles summers. The $1,000 Driver Confidence group adds a rear view camera, parking sensors, and blind spot detection – nice features to have for big car. While the 20″ wheels really complete the look, the Wheels and Tune group (10 speakers instead of 6, 20″ wheels, sport mode that remaps shift points) is one of the options I could live without. Adaptive cruise control sounds cool, but adding another grand onto the price makes it less cool.

Community

I’ve found a number of really knowledgable moderators and good overall discussions reading through the Charger Forumz. Most users are very friendly and provide a good support network. It’s also nice the forum is divided up by model years to keep threads more on topic. Auto magazines and blogs can only give an initial impression on cars, but forums tell what it’s like to live with a car as a daily driver. On the whole, the forum consensus is the Charger is awesome, the SE is good value, the SXT adds goodies, and both V8′s are great, as long as you don’t care about mpg.

The first generation 2006-2009 Chargers have had more time for parts to be developed for it. The current generation is starting to have more choices for cosmetic mods like exhaust tips, and also has some common upgrades like catbacks. If you’d like to have a factory navigation system, there’s a good thread explaining how to convert the 8.4 Uconnect to a 8.4N Uconnect system for around $200. There are also a number of cosmetic mods under $50 to help personalize your ride.

Resources

• Edmunds Model Overview – good starting point for comparing trims
• Allpar Review – very comprehensive, lists lots of details
• Autoblog Review
• The Truth About Cars Review
• Car and Driver Review
• MotorTrend Review (V6)

Research: 2013 Dodge Charger

This past Black Friday, while tech geeks were lining up for high dollar tv’s and low dollar laptops, both Jerry and I had our eyes peeled for deals on the recently introduced Forza Horizon. When it finally came down to 75% off, Jerry couldn’t pass it up. At $15, it would be a steal even with mediocre reviews, but Horizon was getting wonderful comments from all ends of the globe. So we hunkered down after the LA Auto Show for a weekend of gaming, with me leaving early and unimpressed. Read on to find out why! (Warning: some spoilers ahead).

When the game begins, you’re given a VW Corrado as your first car. You’re told that you need to make it to a certain checkpoint to grab one of the last wristbands, allowing you to participate in the Horizon Festival. So you barrel across the Colorado landscape, dodging real life traffic along the way. After making it into the Festival and doing a race or two, you’re invited to compete in a Showcase race, where you take a 1971 Mustang Boss 429. You race across a canyon against a P-51 Mustang, Top Gear style. When you inevitably win, they give you that car too.

Win this 1971 Mustang practically right after you start playing the game!

Does that sound as disjointed to you as it does to me? For example, why did they just give you a car to begin with, instead of just giving you money to buy what you wanted? And why would they let you win a car almost immediately after they just gave you one? This is the theme of the entire game – it’s just way too easy and superficial. We even found that the highly touted “barn finds” were completely pointless. All of the barn finds came early on and in quick succession, and all you had to do was find a location – you were not involved at all in the vehicle’s restoration process. There are so many missed opportunities with that feature.

The game developers also made it known that Forza Horizon uses the same physics engine as Forza 4 – we call BS on that. Horizon’s physics are much more arcade-like and closely resemble something out of the Need For Speed series. Unlike Forza 4, we never found a car that was uncontrollable, even though real life roads should be much tougher to race on than full blown racetracks. Even when you get off the pavement, the steering seems to work pretty darn good. Speaking of pavement, we have no clue why the developers put in those dirt roads for a Ferrari F40 to drive on. It’s complete nonsense. Finally, unless you flip the thing, there is no drivability penalty for damage to your car during a race. It just keeps on keeping on, at optimum power and handling.

Got damage? Just keep on truckin', it won't affect you in Forza Horizon.

If you’re deciding whether to buy Forza Horizon, we suggest you save your money. It isn’t challenging and it isn’t nearly long enough. We expected much more from the creators of the first serious challenge to Gran Turismo, and hope that Forza Horizon isn’t a sign of things to come from them.

Review: Forza Horizon

The drab grey building housing the Petersen Museum in downtown Los Angeles isn’t very inviting, but once you get inside, you’ll be treated to a wide number of exhibits ranging from the earliest automobiles to futuristic concepts. I was lucky enough to go through a limited time tour of the Vault, a special collection of cars that are not typically on exhibit. The tours were supposed to end January 6th, but they’ve been extended to the end of January. If you’re looking for a family friendly outing this weekend, be sure to check it out! Follow the jump more info and some photos.

The vault is a bit of a misnomer. It’s really 2 large storage areas underneath the main museum. I’ll let it slide since “Vault” sounds much cooler than “Basement”. Sadly, no photos are allowed in the vault, but an upbeat and chatty guide will guide you through legends like the Ferrari F40, 1952 Ferrari Barchetta, Toyota 2000GT, an original 911 (named a 901), and so many more. It’s definitely worth a visit. Prices are $12 for adults, $5 for students, $3 for teens, and free for kids under 5. The vault tour is an extra $25, but definitely worth it. Full details can be found on the Petersen site.

Petersen Museum: Automotive History Galore

This is the first post in a series of articles on the search and long-term ownership of a 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Sedan.

Like that of many teenage boys, my (realistic) dream car of choice in high school was the Evo. The first time I laid eyes one in the flesh, I knew I had to own one. The Evo VIII’s vented hood, rocket ship performance, and trademark giant rear wing checked all the right boxes. Countless hours of my youth were spent/wasted lapping the Nurburgring and Laguna Seca with the Evo in Gran Turismo 3/4/5. So now, ten years later, why am I looking for an STi?

Fast forward to a few months after graduating college. With a growing bank account and no other financial obligations, I began looking for a new car. It just so happened that Mitsubishi was going to skip production of the Evo for the 2009 model year, and one of the local dealerships had way too many of 2008 Evo X GSRs sitting on the lot. So many, in fact, that they were willing to sell them at $7,000 under sticker. They even had the right color (Octane Blue Pearl) and the right options (Sight, Sound and Spoiler Package). With all the stars aligned, why did I pass on it?

Mean and menacing, just the way it should be

I knew the 5-speed manual would drive me nuts. During college, I owned a second generation RX-7 with a 5-speed manual, and it was fine. I really didn’t think I had any need for an extra forward gear. Unfortunately, what I failed to anticipate was that the 5-speed in the Evo has a very close gear ratio; 60 mph on the freeway in top gear translates to almost 3000 RPMs! With a 60 mile roundtrip commute everyday, that missing cog would be dearly missed. With a miserable 22 MPG on the freeway and relatively small 14 gallon fuel tank, I would get to know the clerk at my neighborhood gas station very well. Ultimately, I ended up buying a used BMW Z4 3.0si for about the same money, but I always wondered if maybe I should have just sucked it up and gotten the Evo.

Three years later, I’m in the market yet again for a new car. I now need something with four doors, can seats five, and is relatively safe. And again, I thought about getting the Evo.  In fact, the Evo X has gone under no real changes since the last time I looked into them. Unfortunately, the future of Mitsubishi in the US is quite cloudy, so again I decided  to pass on them. The new Ford Focus ST had just came out, and by all accounts it received rave reviews. I also found a 2012 Mazdaspeed3 going for $3000 under invoice at a local dealership, so that was a consideration as well. But in the end, I would up going back to the idea of an all-wheel drive street legal rally car (more on that later).

The only question that remained was: WRX or STi? On paper, the WRX seems (and probably is) the smart choice. It’s venerable 265 horsepower mill has good usable power, it gets better fuel economy, it’s $8000 cheaper, and with the 2011 refresh it shares the same widebody sheet-metal with the STi, sans the picnic table rear spoiler. The only black mark was it’s  5-speed manual. Perhaps I was biased against the transmission going into the test drive, but I absolutely hated it. Shifts were very vague and spongy, and the throws were quite long and imprecise, even with the STi short shift kit installed. With the gear lever being so tall as well, I felt like the transmission was sourced from an old pickup truck. $8000 premium be damned, I knew I would regret it if I didn’t get the STi.

Off to the interwebs to look for one in my favorite color, the famous WR Blue. Unfortunately, the only dealership in Northern California that had one was over 3 hours away, and it was the Limited model, which would have added an extra $3000 to the final price for stuff I really didn’t need (leather seats, moonroof, and forged BBS wheels). The flow of STis coming in had also slowed to a trickle; the dealerships claim it’s due to the  unfavorable exchange rate. Adding insult to injury, lead times for custom orders was on the magnitude of 12-16 weeks due to Fuji Heavy shifting most of their tooling to pump out the  new redesigned Imprezas. Interestingly, the upcoming departure of the WRX/STi from the Subaru line-up just made me want one even more.

Expanding my search, I found that a handful of dealership in Southern California had base WR Blue STi sedans in stock. Emails were sent, calls were made, negotiations were performed, tears may or may not have been shed, and soon I had a deposit put down for the exact car I wanted at $540 under invoice. As a sure sign from above, I was to be flown down to LA for a job interview that weekend anyways, so I could just drive the car back up.

So, why did I end up choosing the Subaru over the other cars that met my requirements?

Ford Focus ST

I may be in the minority, but I love the Tangerine Scream paint job. Pictures do not do it justice; it looks much better in person. I also liked the support offered by the Recaro seats that come as part of the ST2 package. Interior quality is very good for the price point, the transmission is pretty smooth and notchy in a good way, and the engine pulls hard whilst making an incredible (albeit artificial  noise. To top it off, it also has the practicality of being a hatchback. The only knocks against it was that it’s front-wheel drive, and since it’s the first model year of the car it’s bound to have issues that crop up (FoMoCo hasn’t exactly been a bastion of reliability over the last couple decades).

Mazda Mazdaspeed 3

The 2012 model was being heavily discounted, with an asking price at my local dealership of $3000 under invoice. Plus it’s been around for a while, so most of the bugs should have been worked out. However, I’m not a big fan of the exterior styling, especially the smiley face front fascia, and ultimately the Focus ST is a newer and better version of the Speed3 (in fact the Speed3 shares the same platform as the previous generation Focus). I had a feeling I would regret not getting the Focus ST had I gotten the Speed3. As an aside, if the Mazdaspeed 6 was still being produce, I would have very likely bought that.

Honda Civic Si Sedan

While the engine may be underpowered and the car isn’t exactly a looker, the transmission does a good job at making you forget all of that. If there’s one thing Honda knows how to do best (and they certainly know how to do a lot of things well), it’s how to make manual gearboxes. Unfortunately, the fact that it’s so low on power and torque (even with the new 2.4L motor) and that it’s FWD is just too much for the fantastic transmission to overcome.

Lexus IS250/350

I would have been really tempted to go for one of these, but alas the IS350 was never offered with three pedals, and the IS250 is now a two pedal only affair as well. Deal breaker.

BMW 328i/335i

Having gotten a 328i loaner on a number of occasions, it didn’t feel all that special. The 335i loaners I got were better, and it makes a ton of power with no discernible turbo lag, but I just know I would regret not going for a slightly older E90 M3. As for why I didn’t just do that, I’m going to have to park the car outside on the street, and I didn’t feel comfortable about leaving an M3 outside on the streets every night. To top it off, BMW reliability isn’t something to write home about (see: high pressure fuel pump and water pump issues).

VW GTI/Audi A3/A4

One word: reliability. A lot of people I’ve known who have owned late-model VW and Audi’s have complained about their cars having all sorts of problems, both electrical and mechanical in nature. In fact, a friend who had recently purchased a new RS5 had to take it in for servicing due to a CEL just days after taking delivery.

Ultimately, the decision boiled down to one thing: what car have I always wanted? To be honest, it’s the Evo, but all the quibbles I have with it (the transmission, Mitsu’s future, safety, etc.) the STi seems like the smarter choice. In fact, to me it almost feels like a more refined and grown-up Evo, even with the boy-racer looks. Subaru’s Symmetric AWD also helps if I need to move to the Northeast in the near future, and it makes a solid track day toy that can turn around and be a family car.

Long-Term Test: 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Sedan Introduction – Scooby-Blu, Where Are You?

Most men aren’t excited by interior design. But that’s all going to change after you see some of the crazy gearhead-approved decorations in this post. Follow the jump to see a collection of awesome and kooky home improvements that’ll leave any car nut drooling.

Images are from a chain email.

How to decorate a man cave