We finally broke down and bought a new car: a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon,
in "Obsidian Black Pearl". For those who don't know, it comes equipped with
a 2.0L 4-cylinder "boxer" engine (also called a "flat four", because it has
two cylinders on each side of the crankshaft, horizontally opposed and
completely flat, like a flat V8 with half the cylinders) with a pair of
DOHC 16-valve heads and a TD04 turbo with top-mount intercooler. It's
factory rated at 227hp. The plan is to do a few minor upgrades to open the
car up a bit, then leave it alone: this is supposed to be our reliable
daily driver, not a project car like the Eclipse or Laser. We'll see if we
stick to that or not...the
short shifter and
bushings are already ordered. ;-)