I'm starting to question MSN Autos...
 

2005 STi Review

Read paragraphs four and six, and you'll understand ;)

Also, if you read it through, he seems stuck on the way it looks, rather than how it performs. He doesn't seem to have a clue that you don't have to get gold wheels, and keeps talking about the hood scoop

A ha ha ha! :D

I want to go down to my local Scooby dealer and pick up one of those S/C STI's!!! ;) :p

-Chike

Wow imagine that...a reviewer giving a biased review of a car. Get used to it, American car fans deal with it every day. The company that pays the most for advertising has the best cars. Notice now that GM is ramping up it's advertising campaign, SUDDENLY GM cars aren't so "low-quality". Funny how that works. I feel your pain though.

Oh that and the guy who reviews cars for our local paper is a looney. I swear he must have had his balls cut off in some unfortunate paper cutting accident.

I think i'm going to start a magazine that tests all kinds of cars, however my reviewers will know what they are reviewing. i.e. - if they are reviewing a truck, they should be looking for things that people actually care about in a truck - power, capacities, cargo space. Not front interior head room, quiet interiors or ride quality. Or if they are reviewing a sports car, they'll be talking about power, acceleration, speed, handling, looks. Not whining that it doesn't ride like a lexus and is noisier than an accord.

Does something like this exist? I don't think so.

Great idea for a mag Shadow. One thing, the reviewers should know how to drive the cars as well. Nothing worse than reading a review of a S/C Mustang Cobra or Neon SRT-4 and seeing performance results over a sec slower than what most owners do...

I've always dreamed of being a reviewer for a car magazine.

-Chike

It depends on where you live

Yes, it does. I don't buy American car magazines much any more. I mean, I'll get GRM or maybe ocassionally Automobile. But I much prefer Evo or Car.

Maybe it's beause many of the cars reviewed in the magazines aren't sold here, but it seems to me that they're much more willing to say what needs to be said in those rags. They don't just heap praise on whatever they're driving.

When it comes to Top Gear, by the way, I scrounge up every scrap of the show that I find online. But I find the actual magazine to be most like an American publication like Car and Driver or Road and Track.

Speaking of British car mags, I don't think you'd like them. They don't have nice things to say about American cars, either. :p

"Some car buffs may scoff at the garish wheel color, but most such folks will probably know that the hood scoop is needed to feed the intercooler; it works with the supercharger to give the car's 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine 300 horsepower and an impressive 300 pound-feet of torque."


:confused:..... I thought I knew everything about the STi.... Daymmmm I didn't know that Subaru had ditched the sweet VF-34 for a Supercharger :confused:

"The 2004 STi was plenty good, but improvements for 2005 include improved quick-ratio power steering, new limited-slip front differential to enhance grip and larger BBS wheels—although the wide 45ZR tire size remains the same."

Ya know.... call me stupid if ya want, but I KNOW that the STi has had front and rear limited slip mechanical differentials BOTH years that it has been here (04 and 05)... MSN Autos really [size=4]SUCKS!!![/size=4]

"Steering is razor-sharp, but the firm suspension occasionally delivers a jerky ride, whcih is the price paid for the superb handling with a fairly short (100-inch) wheelbase car. The clutch pedal has a rubbery feel, and its aluminum-alloy pedal covers can cause regular dress shoes to slip off them. "

Those little black spots on the pedals are RUBBER to help keep your foot on them!!!!

"There's also a new automatic climate control system. The interior was a weak point of the 2004 STi, so the latest version has a more upscale interior with a new dashboard containing a special instrument cluster. There are a new console, door panels and Momo 3-spoke leather-covered wheel. New blue door panels match the upholstery, and higher-friction seat fabric provides better grip for occupants during cornering maneuvers, although the front sport bucket seats provide good side support in curves."

Ok, so they got some of it right... "There's also a new Automatic Climate Control system"..."leather covered MOMO steeringwheel." That's about it... The interior is the SAME... With the exception, of the center console the seats are the same.... The door Panels are the same (color and texture)...

"The spoiler is designed to reduce the rear end from lifting at high speeds, but the lightweight aluminum wheels would be best painted something like a dull silver to tone down the car's appearance. "........

Idiots..... SUBARU has ALWAYS had gold wheels on it's STi models!!!! Since the first STi!!!

I'm never getting anything from MSN again....

It's just their opinion, man, calm down. Most people don't really care whether or not Subaru has 'always' had gold wheels on the STi. Whether or not they like them is a matter of taste - it doesn't make them idiots.

The rest of the article does that nicely. :p

Quite right :D:D:D

You hit the nail directly on the head! When I read this, I couldn't believe what he was saying. I want to smack him. One side note though, and I want to be corrected if I'm wrong. On Subaru's site, under the build it now feature, you can build a, STi with silver wheels. Do they offer it for the Sti, or is it just an error?


[Edit: Looky here! I just hit my 100 post mark! :D :D :D ]

Not an error. It's been an option since the STI was introduced... ;)

http://elf_world.homestead.com/files...C/PICT0019.jpg

-Chike

I know that they offer silver wheels on the STi now... What I mean to address that is... An STi isn't really an STi without the traditional gold wheels :):):)

And Subaru's have been using them forever... Leave it to an American company to judge Subaru and what they have been doing for the last decade... Especially since the WRX has only been here for what, 3 years now??? Sorry, I guess I take it personal sometimes when american companies critisize what they don't think looks good, yet Subaru has been doing it for over 10 years and the rest of the world loved it!!

:rolleyes::)

:rolleyes: Right back at you. If people don't like the gold wheels, I'd absolutely expect them to say so. Who cares if Subaru has used gold wheels on the STi 'forever?' If something doesn't work in a certain market, you change it or your sales suffer.

Why would you take somebody else's tastes personally? Who cares?

It happens with most products sold internationally. Maybe Subaru's marketing research has shown that the gold wheels help sales or hurt them. The point here is that somebody else said they didn't like something. It's not worth getting worked up over. Deal with it.

for all of you getting such a chuckle out of the mention of the SUPERCHARGER in the article, technically, he is correct.

supercharger: in piston-type internal-combustion engines, air compressor or blower used to increase the amount of air drawn into the cylinders by the pumping action of the pistons during each intake stroke.

a turbo is an exhaust-driven supercharger. traditional use of the word usually refers to a belt-driven compressor. however, i doubt the writer actually knew this as it would have been easier to just say "turbo". :D

the 2005 STi has the same 17" wheels, but they are wider, with a different bolt pattern.

i believe the door panels are different, too.

you have a choice of gold or silver wheels since its US introduction.

IMHO, this guy should be reviewing Buicks, but he wasn't as far off as everyone is whining about.