Subaru BRZ

Spotted this white BRZ at work and had to snap a photo as this appears the closes I will get to the little rwd monster right now. The last few months just trying to get a test drive in either the Subaru BRZ or Scion FR-S has been a challenge. This past weekend I managed to find a white BRZ similar to the one photographed online at Elk Grove Toyota. I filled out the submission form for my interest to test drive the elusive sports car. Fifteen minutes after I filled out the form, I received a call from a salesman:

Salesman: “Hi. You called about the 2013 Subaru BRZ”
Me: “Yes. Is it still available?”
Salesman: “No…Sorry. We sold it yesterday. Can I keep your name on the list when we get another one?”
Me: “Sure”

I had a similar conversation with another salesman a month ago. It makes me scratch my head a little as to way Subaru/Toyota would not manufacture enough units of these cars. I understand that both companies would like to create demand for these cars but this is a little eccentric. I guess it goes to show you that the excellent reviews of this car and limited supply has created an “I need this car!” right now feeling. According to an article by Johnathan Schultz of the New York Times, Subaru underestimated the demand for this car, with Subaru saying that they “Pegged our allotment roughly to sales of the WRX,”. The WRX is a higher/sportier version of the Impreza. I’m sure Subaru will meet their quota.

The demand of the BRZ literally reminds me of when I was a kid I wanted the X-Men action figure “Gambit”. I called multiple toy stores trying to find it and everyone would tell me it’s out of stock. Before the BRZ, the king of rear wheel drive cars was the Ford Mustang. A very close second was Nissan 350/370z. I would say the Hyundai (Pronounce like Sundae with an H) Genesis was closed but not anywhere near the top. Out of all these cars, when they were new I was able to get seat time and take them for test drive. The msrp on the Subaru BRZ is between: $25,495 – $27,495. Hard to imagine a car within that price range would be difficult to obtain a test drive. It’s almost like a Porsche.

Want a “For Free Car”

Ever wanted to live like an auto journalist or race car driver and get sponsored free cars. There is a program for regular folks called For Free Car.
The plus sides of the program is you get a free car. There are a few cons to the program. For one your free car will be a giant advertisement. Ever see those people who drive those cars completely wrapped in a red bull advertisement. Odds are they are part of the “For Free Car” program. The advertisement must remain on your car 24/7. So keep in mind that wherever you go, grocery store, work, hospital, picking up your girl friend, that advertisement must remain on your car. During these tough economic times its not too bad of a program. If you’ve lost your car during the economic downturn and are forced to take a bus or subway it’s quite an improvement in my opinion. I for one, would like to know the car selection ahead of time. A Ford Mustang or Nissan 350z covered in “Todd’s Laundry Service” might not be a bad situation to be in. After all it is a free car. You can sign up for the program through the following link: Click Here!

Looper: Miata Spotted

I recently saw the Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordan Levett. Good movie. The whole time travel genre is always interesting. for this movie its a nice way to merge to generations, Bruce Willis the old gunslinger versus the next generation of Joseph Gordan Levett. Remarkably Joseph Gordan Levett as shaken off the child actor familiaty we all new him from. 3rd Rock anyone? As a car enthusiast I couldn’t help notice the car that Levett’s character drives in the future is a 90s Mazda Miata. The movie takes place in 2030. Levett’s character and his peers have an affinity to the a time when suits and ties are fashionable.

15 Year Goal: Buy A Porsche.

If you’re a car enthusiast, you eventually want to own a Porsche for once in your life. It dawned on me that 12 years ago I did not have a car and made it a dream to own one. Now that I have a car, drive everyday, and consider myself a car enthusiast, I find myself wanting that dream car from my childhood. One of my travel goals is to eventually travel to Germany to see the Porsche museum. If you have ever gone to a car show, and visit the Porsche exhibit you have noticed that these cars are locked. Quite a contrast to the other car companies on display. I did notice that they let some attendees at the LA Auto show sit inside the SUVs like the Cayenne. I’m pretty sure because no one cars a whole lot about the Cayenne.
Now when I hear people talk about types of Porsches I usually get lost. This is especially the case when you discuss the Porsche 911. There are at least 12 different models of the Porsche 911 such as the 911 Turbo, 911 Carerra, etc. How anyone under 30 can afford these blows my mind. Porsche is not an average person’s car. The price tag is associated for people who exist in a higher tax bracket.
In 15 years, I eventually plan on owning a Porsche. I will never ever judge anyone for owning a Porsche. I know the general public regards its owners as pretentious but if you’re a fan of cars you know what remarkable driving machines these cars are. I plan on owning possible a Porsche Cayman. I will go for a used model as the prices for these are more in my own tax bracket. Used Cayman models tend to run between $22,000 − $30,000 dollars.  I am not big on horse power numbers, I want a car that has brilliant handling ability. The cost of maintenance on a Porsche would be a concern. I once dated a girl who owned a Porsche Boxster and had to shell out over a $1000 dollars for a set of tires after 15,000 miles. The price that we pay for luxury.

Mazda RX-7: Spirit R

Carlos Lago of Moter Trend Magazine did a review of the 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R for their Youtube channel. There is something fascinating about this video. I think its because the Spirit R embodies some classic automotive machinery that we rarely see these days. The Spirit R that Carlos reviewed was the only left hand drive available in the country. The car itself, is very small and resembles a Mazda Miata in design. To quote Carlos, these cars like the RX-7 were not built for the “standard American size”.  I always heard bad negative reviews about the RX-7 and RX-8 in terms of their engine reliability. One of the reasons why they stopped production of the RX-8 was due to reliability issues with the rotary engines and low fuel economy. Although seeing how these machines handle on the road is enough to change your mind.  Watch and enjoy the video. If I was under 6’0, I would consider spending the doe to drive an RX-7.

The Little Oil Light

So it turns out that the dash light that would blink on when I pressed my brake pedal, was my oil light. The Scion’s XB’s oil light is slightly annoying in this instance.

New Material

How should I discuss this first journal post. Should I describe my desire to drive the latest Scion FRS/ Subaru BRZ. Should I tell you about my experiencing test driving a Nissan 370z at a Toyota Dealership with an overly top mellow Salesman. No. I will actually talk about something that occurred to me while driving to work this morning. A little light came on as I made my way to work today. This light on my 2008 Scion XB’s dashboard is the check tire pressure light. My check tire pressure light comes on noticeably whenever I pump my brakes. Warning lights on a car always seem to be a bad omen to me. I had not too recently checked my tire pressure a month ago. Anyone ever have that feeling that when they fill their tires full of air it will eventually pop! It is kind of a shame. Not that the tire light is coming on in my car on off moments but I wanted to be really spectacular in my first wordpress blog. Talking about tire pressure on my first post of a car blog is like a Quarterback talking about the size of his football cleats. I promise to have some interesting material in the future like Brett Michaels promises this will be his last VH1 dating show.

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