Quote Originally Posted by Thmstec View Post
Yea, instead of canning their drivers, Subaru let their losing driver ask for a longer wheelbase car that is impossible to drift and too cushy for a tuner Honestly, who thinks Citroen is winning cause their car is the best? Not to say it is a bad car, but you know what I mean.

Would be a great time for a 3rd car to join the Evo/STi battle... like maybe a european 4wd focus?!?! (I can dream)
Considering Subaru stunned the world again with their drastic change to the hatchback-only STI for '08+, the learning curve apparently isn't being friendly with the SWRT. Hell, just when they were getting used to the new dynamics with their '06-'07 sedan (realistically just a '02-'07 with a facelift), they flip the lid. Think about it.... all the winning Subie drivers (Block, Pastrana, Gelsomino - SRTUSA) are still using the sedan. I would love to see these guys get some runtime with the SWRT. IIRC, Pastrana did run as a factory support driver in the '08 WRC rally for SWRT but had some major mechanical issues. I think I read that in SubieSport, but not 100% sure.

You hit the nail on the head there. The "european" Focus is a force to be reckoned with. Their twist on it as an AWD rally breed is pretty ambitious and it proves worthy on the circuit. Team Ford is pretty much always in the top 3 on any heat. Maybe if Ford released "it" (as in, a more appealing vehicle that isn't a giant, gas eating whore with no purpose whatsoever) in the states, it could help dig themselves out of the giant monetary hole they dug themselves into. It is a VERY appealing car with good performance, affordable, and a solid year-round (AWD) usability.

I only speak from a rallyX angle though. I could care less about street (1/8, 1/4, drifting), especially when it comes to the EVO. The EVO has since dropped dead in WRC and become more of a wealthy street boy toy. An overpriced one at that. Looked at an '08 EXO-X here during the summer and it was priced at $43k. No stanks. Besides, all year long, EVOs were pretty much no-shows at autoX around here. Don't get me wrong, they are incredibly great handling cars and outperform the STI hatch, but they lose it somewhere along the line. Even my lightly modded '06 WReX was clocking better ETAs in the end. Guess it comes down to the driver, heh. I simply think Mitsu and Subaru both got lost with their design ambition and forgot their roots. The newer STI and EVO just don't seem to be putting their incredible numbers down in the right places. Trading some stuff up for comfort appears to be hurting where the performance counts perhaps.

The tuner market is growing though. BMW, Mini, Audi, and even Saab are baring their teeth now, so the real competition is going to be in sales numbers in the end. And as rarely as I see new STIs and EVO around here, I think the consumer is going to determine the winner on this one.

Oh, and rest in peace (pieces) SRT-4. At least you tried, heh.