I think what it really comes down to is that the speed3 is a hell of a lot cheaper than the STI so thats why many people got it instead of the STI. At first when I saw the new STI I thought it looked horrible. But I guess I was just going off the base WRX look. The car in the pic is amazing. All in all if we all had our choice where money wasnt a factor I think some, not all of us would be driving STI's & Evo's.