interesting conversation leading up to the MSP vs 9-3 race

[CHICO2003]

WTF is up with some people??? Why is there such a love/hate relationship with Orange? Have they forgot about that glorious fruit that provides us with all that vitamin C? Or how about Florida??? One word: DISNEY!! ahh...
(merely rhetorical question btw... afterall, the combination of the association with "tuner/ricer cars" along with the overall rarity... well, I guess that's the reason) ...

regardless!! it pisses me off!

the other day I'm talkin with my crazy ukranian friend Andrew K (or AK for short)... homez is practically right off the boat... knows English pretty well but he often uses certain words inappropriately (see below) and has a ridiculously funny accent not to mention some pretty insane views on the world. (thinks all guys should have mistresses and that only europeans can make good cars) hmm... well maybe that's not so insane afterall! (the first part anyway!) but I digress...

homez just bought a saab 93. I was tryin to get him to buy a WRX (Since it's basically the same price) but as I mentioned, he'll only buy European. Below is a reinactment of the conversation we had recently at lunch...

AK: "so tell me!! what do you think of the saab? It's nice, right?"

ME: "dude, your car's pretty cool but I still think you should have got the WRX for what you paid! you should have at least test drove it... you would have been blown away by how fast those things are"

AK: "no no no... these japanese... they don't know how to make a good solid car! my car is like a tank! (makes some strange tank sound effect). Plus all the ladies love this car... I get out with my leather jacket and sunglasses and they're like 'Oh baby!!' I just got tints so they think I'm a man of mystery"

ME: (laughing at the man of mystery comment) "Alright whatever... I'll give you the fact that certain types of women would definitely like a guy that drove a saab more than a subaru but come on! you could have gotten just as much ass with a wrx and would have enjoyed the ride (in more ways than one) a lot more!"

AK: "Even if that was so, I have a professional image I need to uphold. Women see me in the saab and think I have a lot of money... that I'm a lawyer or something. This WRX... it's for college punks."

ME: "College punks huh? Hmm... so what you're saying is, it's for a younger dude whereas your car is a bit more mature. I can buy that. (even though it would totally destroy your car!) So let me ask you this... you say the saab is the kind of car a professional drives. someone who's important... and that the wrx is for a college punk...

(waits for acknowledgement)

SO WHAT ABOUT MY CAR??? (points to it in the parking lot) WHAT KIND OF GUY DRIVES THIS THING? "

(knowing how he feels about my car already, I can't wait to hear his answer)

AK: (totally straight faced and pretty loud... for a restaurant) "Some kind of motherfucker!"

ME: (lmfao) half whispering... "So I'm a motherfucker???"

AK: "well no... I don't even know why you bought that ridiculous car. That's just the type of guy I see driving it. No offense or anything!"

ME: (still lmao) "It's the color right?"

AK: nods

ME: "It's all good man... that's why I bought it! Now let's go race mothafucka!!!"


.... proceeded to hit the merrit parkway around 2pm... not a lot of traffic. and since it's rather cold out, the car seems to pull harder than usual so I was feelin pretty confident. then again, his car is turboed as well (175hp linear M/T model with a couple hundred lbs on me) we slowed it down to around 15mph... I gave him the thumbs up and we both took off.

I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised... it was a pretty dead even race. I had him by a nose but I took off before him so I call it even. it's only like the 3rd time I've raced someone (in nearly 2 years) so I'm sure someone with more experience may have fared better. Then again, his car is brand new and will most likely get a little faster later on.

We switched cars on our way back to work. Pretty sweet ride... gotta like the interior... might not be a beemer but is clearly more upscale than mine. For 24k, I'd still rather get a WRX over it but I can at least see some appeal... even still, tough to give up 50 hp and AWD for some leather seats and a sweedish emblem. Then again, if he's right about it getting the ladies attention... maybe that doesn't matter as much!


So does anyone know where I can get a "bad mutha fucka" pulp fiction wallet? I mean, I might as well have the matching wallet to go with the car!

 

[tekkie]

The 93 is a sweet car, its got decent power and a decent upscale look to it. For sheer power I would have went with the WRX as well but if its for an all around car he made the right choice.

The only thing that concerns me about Saab is that the old ones were prone to problems and expensive to fix, I dont know if they have that issue ironed out or not.

 

[Micah]

are you sure the linear is turbocharged????

 

[generix]

all the 9-3s are turboed. a good friend of mine has the 9-3 arc trim (210hp), but he has an auto and he can't keep up with me. they are really nice looking these days and nice to ride in.

 

[CHICO2003]

saab's got a pretty sweet promotion going right now... $229/month for a 9-3 linear

you can only drive 12k miles a year and have to put down like 2k on the signing... but still, if you don't drive a lot and like the base 9-3, that's a pretty good deal.

 

[II-Savy]

I used to be into Slaabs. Not any more. They went to s*** when they went GM.


Dude you should have showed him the Saab 92x lol it's a WRX. He wouldn't even know.

 

[CHICO2003]

nah... he knew!!! how could anyone who pays attention NOT know???? I mean, it's as if they took the fugly wrx wagon and simply slapped a saab badge on it!!

if that car ONLY had the looks of a P5... could you imagine?

 

[II-Savy]

Yea the saab version has some nice interior bits but that's it. I just can't get over the flat 4 sound of the WRX's. My 18HP Poulen Pro sounds nicer. The quality of the WRX isn't all that also. Just MO. Like no window support on the door glass....just cheesey.

Right now I'm in GTO mode. The 05 really looks hot, and sweet interior, sweet 400HP. TONS of mods out already, like 8.5K for a twin turbo system.

 

[CHICO2003]

one of those car shows on tv... it might have been car and driver... anyway, they did a comparo between the 400hp 05 GTO and the 300hp new Mustang. Somehow, they were about the same in the 0-60 and 1/4mile... the "new" gto body design is definitely an improvement, but hardly stacks up to the muscular look of the new (10k less) mustang. not to mention, something that I DEFINITELY could not live with... everyone that tested the car said the tranny was among the worst they've ever used. no one will let me test drive one (even though I went in a freakin suit one day!) but according to them, it needs a short throw setup in the worst way

As far as the chintzyness of the WRX. nitpicking my friend... nitpicking! I mean, no frame around the door? lol I ripped on my friend for that as well... then I drove it and didn't give a s***! I mean, once the door is closed what does it really matter? no to mention the fact that, oddly, there are plenty of other cars well ahead of the rex in price that also feature this chinty frameless door... (new legacy for one)

no one ever said that car is perfect.... but for $23,4k (what I had bargained one down to recently... would've bought it if those F'ers gave me something decent for my ride) how can you go wrong?

 

[II-Savy]

Yea I saw that article in Car and Driver. It was a good read. The GTO beat it in all the performance tests but the GTO lost cause of the way it looked and it was more money. They said the GTO had a 90's look which is dead right. IMO the interior in the GTO blew away the mustang. The exterior of Mustang is nicer than the GTO though. But the kicker is the 400HP and the nicer interior. Also **** that 1965 solid rear axel on the mustang.


As far as the door thing goes...it's when you shut the door. It doesn't ring quality to me. Lower the window and close it again...even worse.

When someone asks you what you drive....Which do you want to say.
GTO
or
I have a subaru.

 

[CHICO2003]

yeah well... if you want that nice quality sound when I shut the door I guess the WRX isn't your ride. (very tinny sound) the best "thunk" I ever heard came from my friends new accord. in life, you gotta make some tough choices... do I get the car that makes a nice quality thunk when I close the door or do I buy the one that has awd and goes to 60 in 5.6 seconds? hmmm.... LOL I'm just F'in around. Seriously, there ARE cars out there that combine the best of both worlds. only problem is, you'll be paying like twice as much. one thing sfor sure, the wRX's interior is vastly improved over the first version. still not great... but at least as good as my MSP (minus the frameless doors of course... damn, I've got a whole new appreciation for my doors! lol)


And to be fair...

When someone asks me what you drive... which do you want to say?
Pontiac
or
I have a Subaru.


To be fair!!


And hands down... Subaru wins that battle!! WRX vs GTO on the other hand? I'll save myself the 12 grand and take the framless door wonder!

 

[II-Savy]

yea...lol I wouldn't say Pontiac. It's not really merican yet so I don't consider it Pontiac. (blah)

I just used the door thing as one example. It just seems like a thinner car than most. I think even the MSP has a bit more quality. Solidness, whatever.

The funny thing is right now you could have an 04 for around the 23/24k. No one bought the 04 with the 05 so much nicer.

I'd like to see a WRX do 5.6 more than once by a normal everyday driver. Also I'd like to see/feel the tranny and clutch after that. Isn't that an issue with those? Plus too many WRX's around.

 

[FlyinMSP]

The Saab is a very nice car! (I like the royal blue with tan leather interior), but you should have owned him as the MSP is a better performer, and handles much better. For that kind of money I don't think I'd want a FWD...
Besides, when it comes to reliability, your "mistery man" will become a "misery man" for sure LOL!

 

[CHICO2003]

it was just a straight line race... handling wasn't a factor

 

[FlyinMSP]

The Linear has 0 to 60 mph in 8.0 sec... (SAAB specs)
Stock MSP is 6.9. I clocked myself at 7.15 sec, completly stock (and 6.3 at 8 psi)
.....

 

[Spooled]

The 9-3 is a nice car, but to be honest, I've seen about as many guys driving them as I have guys driving VW Beetles. It's a chick car. Don't get me wrong; I'd love to set one up for a road course, but I can't seem myself driving one daily.

I hope he got the gunmetal gray or a color like that and not the lime green!

 

[CHICO2003]

he got a black one... shows EVERYTHING!!! but when washed... what's better? as far as the disparity... well, what can I say? I guess I just suck! lol didn't realize those cars were so damn slow! I read the car and driver had it in the MID 8seconds... WTF? it's not THAT much heavier than the speed... (175 hp and a shitload of tourque should make it a little faster than it is) was suprirsed to hear that the top of the line 210hp model only pulls a 7.3... that's BS!!

 

[Spooled]

Gearing. It's not tuned for racing.

 

[Gbourdon]

Used 93s are cheap. I was looking at them for a while. Pretty cool car. I ran down the highway with a 93 Viggen last night. He even had tireflys (cool)

 

[peepsalot]

Funny you guys are talking about the wrx window frame. My friend got one a few months ago and I kinda thought it looked cool and elegant. But his window mechanism did break, and they fixed it, but he says they didn't fit it right, and it supposedly catches on the weather stripping when he opens it or something. So (shrug), yeah it's el cheapo I guess.