Mark,,
There is also a guy at Day Appollo by the name of Karl Niche. He used to be
a North Hills member who autocrossed a bit and rallyed a whole bunch, and
more importantly, was a sales guy at Sewickly Porsche & Audi when it was as
much a club for the sports car crowd as it was a dealership.
I am sure their familiarity with autocross in no small part comes from
Karl's influence.
Larry.
>From: "Mark J. Andy" <marka@telerama.com>
>Reply-To: "Mark J. Andy" <marka@telerama.com>
>To: autox mailing list <autox@autox.team.net>, Evolution Discussion
><evolution-discussions@egroups.com>
>Subject: Subaru dealer recommendation in Pittsburgh area
>Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 19:07:54 -0500 (EST)
>
>Howdy,
>
>So I test drove a WRX today. I've attached my autox/street review to the
>end of this email.
>
>I'm really writing this to let folks in the Pittsburgh area know that
>Day Apollo Subaru in Coraopolis, PA seem to be decent in general and Jason
>Rebholz in particular was cool. Not pushy, let me drive a WRX just
>walking in off the street, understood the feedback I gave him, etc.
>
>He knows what autox is and did it up until a couple years ago, other
>folks in the dealership currently autox, etc.
>
>No high pressure sales job, but we did talk about price and they aren't
>sticking people with list. We didn't talk exact figures, but he didn't
>balk when I suggested invoice or invoice + a little.
>
>Anyway, just thought prospective Subaru buyers around Pittsburgh might
>like to know. Phone is 412-264-9222. I've got no affiliation with them
>at all, just met 'em tonight.
>
>Mark
>
>------- begin sucky review ---------
>Well, I stopped by Apollo and drove one. Red Subaru WRX, manual. The car
>had ~500 miles on it (already!).
>
>Mixed reactions. Below 3k, the thing is a dog. Above 3k or 3.5k it comes
>on reasonably well, but it certainly didn't feel a _huge_ amount faster
>than even my '95 DOHC ACR. I'm sure the extra 700 lbs has a lot to do
>with that, but still. Starts tailing off a little before redline.
>
>The ABS seems pretty good, at least in a straight line (stock tires kinda
>suck though). Shifter is pretty mushy, particular on hard throttle 1->2
>shifts. Its also reasonably difficult to get back into 1st if you're
>moving much at all. Steering is kinda slow compared to the neon, but not
>horrendously so. Suspension felt decent in everything I did, but I wasn't
>sliding it around corners. Up to the point where you get a bit of tire
>noise it seemed pretty neutral. Kinda felt like if you tried to jam it
>into a corner it'd push, but as long as you were smooth on entry it'd
>probably be ok. No real data there though.
>
>Interior is decent/good. Seat seemed to hold you in pretty well, plenty
>of headroom and adjustability, controls reasonably placed though the
>throttle was maybe a bit high for hard braking heel & toe.
>
>I did a few semi-launches. AWD is pretty cool :-) I think to launch it
>well, you'd need to take it to 5k+ and sidestep it. I went up to around
>4k and released the clutch quickly. It'd hop off the line, then semi-bog
>a bit, then go. No tire noise at all off the line... :-) Gotta wonder
>how the clutch would take it though. Not much room for mechanical
>sympathy on the line.
>
>Ride was good, solid but not harsh, nothing loose feeling.
>
>Overall it seems like a decent car. I don't think it'd be as much fun to
>drive as a Z28 and that it'd take a little while to get used to the turbo
>(both for performance driving and just around town stuff). It _certainly_
>would take a while to get used to the "cop siren" sound the turbo makes
>around 3.5k or so. I checked my mirrors a _lot_ :-) I think it'd overall
>be good for the daily driver stuff. The only thing I don't like in that
>role is the silly cupholders.
>
>For autox, I'd have a hard time believing it would be faster than a neon
>on regular courses, and I dunno if the launch could make up the difference
>in ProSolo. I've never driven a type R, but from what I've seen the type
>R is a little better than the ACR. I predict that GS will have some WRX's
>doing well with good drivers, but it won't dominate unless every top
>driver gets in one.
_________________________________________________________________
|