New Chapter for an Old Car

For the last 3 years I've been working on resurrecting a beat-up 2000 Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe.  It's had quite the transformation from rust bucket to rallycross champ.  I've really grown attached to the car in that short time, but I've come to slowly realize that I need a cleaner car.  By clean, I mean not 16 years of rust and rot and neglect and patchwork body repairs.  However, finding a suitable replacement here in the midwest has been nearly impossible.  These older Subarus have not survived the harsh winters and even harsher chemicals put on roads here in Nebraska.  Rusty quarter panels seems to be as sure of a thing as leaky head gaskets on these old Subies.

However, I've managed to find a suitable replacement to swap a few things over and continue to grow and improve with.  Hidden away in Washington State I managed to find a 1999 Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe... same color and everything, just no rust.  In fact, the car is in awesome shape and is more than ready to take up the mantle of my previous project car.  However, the story of this RS Coupe has a more interesting start than that.

I've been following Agatino Fortunato since the beginning of the 2016 Rally America Series back in January.  Tino and the All Fours Rally Team have a Super Production WRX STI that they compete with and I was lucky enough to meet them at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood earlier this year.  Instead of trucking the Impreza here and fixing the head gaskets on the '99 Impreza, I got in touch with Tino.  By some strange force of nature, they're going to button it all back up and drive it on it's maiden voyage to Ojibwe Forests Rally next week!  Now all I've gotta do is quit geeking out, make some plans, and meet them there to drive my new rally car home!

I wish I could attend the whole rally, but I have to work that Saturday.  I'll be hitting the road, driving through the night to make it there, get some rest, check out some of the rally, get the car, and head home with it.  What an adventure I've got coming!  I'm pretty stoked to have this cool of a story linked to a car I'll be picking up.  What a way to start a new project!

Subaru Generational Changes

I work in Subaru sales and a common question I am asked is "When is the bodystyle changing?"  Knowing what I know about the cycle most Subaru bodystyles take, this can be a pretty easy question to answer... but all of that might be up in the air with the new "Global Platform" that Subaru will be going to in 2017 starting with the new Impreza. 

Confused already?  Here's a quick rundown of what Subaru currently does with their lineup.

Colorado Bound!

This week my wife and I are taking a much-needed vacation.  Work has been busy for both of us and we haven't really had a breather since January, so when our friend from Colorado invited us to their wedding... we decided to turn it into an adventure!

We'll be taking our trusty 2015 Subaru Forester XT along for the journey.  As much fun as my STI would be on these scenic roads, the Forester is the smarter pick and still delivers a good amount of fun.  Between the better fuel economy, added space and comfort, and the massive sunroof to help us enjoy the scenery as we weave through mountain passes, we're excited to jump head-first into this adventure with our Subaru!

On our to-do list is the Rocky Mountain National Park.  I've visited the park twice, but both times were quick pass-through visits that really didn't do the park justice.  We're planning on spending most of our Thursday there, so it'll be nice to take it all in without being on the clock.  Friday we might have some more time to visit other parks before wedding commitments come into play, but we'll make the most of it regardless!