BTW, since this got a little off track... I just want to say a few thing about the SVX that occurred to me while driving her this morning... at least as it relates to my experiences in BMW's over the last few years.
While BMW's in general are phenomenal handlers, the SVX is also not half bad considering what it is. The SVX is heavy, and AWD is notoriously hard to make handle well. Subaru created a phenomenal car for its era, especially considering that at the time it was first conceived and engineered the fastest supercars were doing 0-60 in the 6's and 7's and ploughed horribly through corners. Engineering the SVX to exceed these standards was genius.
The SVX's cabin is probably the most comfortable and driver-centric cabin I have ever spent time in... and I've owned a lot of cars. With the entire dash creating a "cockpit" around the driver, it encourages a feeling of being one with the car rather than being just another passenger with some extra seat features (like a steering wheel). Other manufacturers really didn't start doing this until after Subaru did it... the closest I remember seeing in terms of driver-centric design was probably the late 90's Lincoln Mark VIII. BMW's tend to have a pretty flat dash, but where they do get the driver-centric design right it is phenomenal (witness the E46 3-series or the E82 1-series designs).
The flat 6 engine is a work of art. While it doesn't quite have the feel or balance of the in line 6 used in BMW's, it's definitely just about the best 6 cylinder design I've ever encountered. Inherently balanced, beautiful, and all things considered a relatively small package that's easy to build a car around. BMW's actually suffer a little because of the big inline 6; it tends to reduce passenger space.
The SVX is as comfortable on a long drive as a late model 5 series. That's one hell of a compliment because the 5 series is a lot bigger and designed more for luxury. I had a 2004 545i that I loved, but it was just too big... and I drove it to Atlanta and back over thanksgiving last year. The SVX I drove from Denver to St. Louis and never once did my back complain, or any of my other joints as I drove. The only reason I ended up stopping in Topeka for the night is because I was getting sleepy, my tires were bald and it was icy. Got off the highway and as I came to the end of the ramp I sailed right through the stop light on a sheet of ice. Thankfully it was 11:30pm and noone was around!
Let's be honest here, for its time the SVX was far ahead of anything on the road. Radical styling, gorgeous interiors and beautifully engineered. They set the stage for many cars that came after. Many of the technologies used in the design and manufacture had been available for some time, but Subaru was incredibly brave to implement them on a gamble. In the end, it was one that did pay off because Subaru continued to use those technologies in their later cars. In many ways it's a shame the halo car for those technologies was such a market flop, but in most ways it was worth it.
Besides, we got great cars and a great forum and club site out of it
