SUBAROYDA or TOYBARU or whatever its called, its finally out

[camip]

The sticker price plus the destination charge is like 25k stopped by to look at one the other day. I'm a big fan of the seats.

[Chaz]

Says you.
This was my daily driver from 2003 to 2007,

until I got this,


Guess what, the Datsun failed to get me home once, in 10 years of ownership, and that was last year when I broke an axle 150 miles away racing it. The Alfa failed to get me home only twice, the first time being when the clutch master cylinder died (again, 150 miles away in the same place I broke the datsun) The second time, it failed to get me home wasn't its fault at all. Someones Nissan Frontier rearranged the back end of the car putting it in a ditch totaling it. Any one of the cars I mentioned would make for a fantastic daily driver. The wrong hand drive Skyline might take a little getting used to however. That said, my M3 is a perfect daily driver. Its quiet, has a great stereo, its comfortable, has a heater, a/c, and gets good mileage. What more do you want?

Heck, when I get my '59 Alfa Sprint back on the road, I'll daily drive that for awhile as well. Cars were meant to be driven, not parked in the garage.

Will

You're my hero.

[InuFaye]

Says you.
This was my daily driver from 2003 to 2007,

until I got this,


Guess what, the Datsun failed to get me home once, in 10 years of ownership, and that was last year when I broke an axle 150 miles away racing it. The Alfa failed to get me home only twice, the first time being when the clutch master cylinder died (again, 150 miles away in the same place I broke the datsun) The second time, it failed to get me home wasn't its fault at all. Someones Nissan Frontier rearranged the back end of the car putting it in a ditch totaling it. Any one of the cars I mentioned would make for a fantastic daily driver. The wrong hand drive Skyline might take a little getting used to however. That said, my M3 is a perfect daily driver. Its quiet, has a great stereo, its comfortable, has a heater, a/c, and gets good mileage. What more do you want?

Heck, when I get my '59 Alfa Sprint back on the road, I'll daily drive that for awhile as well. Cars were meant to be driven, not parked in the garage.

Will

So your lucky nothing hit you in a tiny vert, because if they did you would be dead.

I love old cars, but with all of the distractions out there today, they just arent safe to DD.

[Nsquared97]

A 128i is slow, has a poor suspension, no LSD, and feels mushy as hell.

also you aren't touching a 1er for less than 38k, new.
Which is 14k more.

Im talking to a dealer now that will selling me an FRS for 24k, not a cent over MSRP.

Thank you! Comparing a base 1 series to the FT86 is just stupid. Not even close to the same price, and not the same sort of car at all.

[Dave]

I drove the FR-S this past weekend. It is as close as you will get to an e30 M3 in the modern car market. The HP/liter and low curb weight are just starters. This is a great car out of the box. Sure, if you want to make it a dedicated track car, it will need some work, but so does an M3.

I have owned several BMWs, but my first (and second and third) cars were Toyotas. I had an IS300 thrown in as well (great car, but no soul), and my wife drives a Toyota. The main thing about the Toyota is it is dead nuts reliable. Far superior to BMW in that department.

I had written off Toyota long ago when they stopped making RWD cars. The IS300 seduced me initally, but it just wasn't for me. The FT86 however . . . it is.

Is it perfect? No. But damn, it is good.

My daughter just got her learner's permit, and my current DD is going to her in a few months. At that time, I will be getting an Ultramarine Blue FR-S. I figure I'll DD it for 5 or so years, and then make that my track toy.

I love BMWs. I wish they could make something that is comparable. They just aren't looking for that market.

[VinniE30]

^ So are you gonna tell us what you think of it? How does it handle compared to other cars you've driven, etc...

[havand]

If they can get it up to ~250hp for the same price, we can talk.

For car guys on this forum...new toyota.... or used cayman for about the same price. You pick. Sure, toyota is probably more reliable, but still a strange copy of the target (cayman).

[Holland]

If they can get it up to ~250hp for the same price, we can talk.

For car guys on this forum...new toyota.... or used cayman for about the same price. You pick. Sure, toyota is probably more reliable, but still a strange copy of the target (cayman).

Or I could save 10k and get a pristine AP-1 and spank both on the track.

Honestly you can't compare new to used like that. A few year old sports car is going to have much better fun for the money than a new car that has yet to depreciate a quarter of it's value the minute it leaves the lot.

[u3b3rg33k]

So your lucky nothing hit you in a tiny vert, because if they did you would be dead.

I love old cars, but with all of the distractions out there today, they just arent safe to DD.

Safe cars are for bitches. And there's a lot of them in this thread.

Seems a bunch of these need to be handed out in this thread:

[BlackbirdM3]

So your lucky nothing hit you in a tiny vert, because if they did you would be dead.

I love old cars, but with all of the distractions out there today, they just arent safe to DD.

I was hit while driving the Datsun. That is how I ended up with the Alfa. I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to make a left turn and some dumb ass kid smashed into the front (Hit and run, kid had no license, parents had no insurance, plus the kid was 14.) of me destroying all the suspension on the drivers side and a good portion of the passenger side (the impact pushed me a good 5 feet to the right, into the curb) Guess what, not a scratch on me. $10K worth of repairs later, the car was back on the road, but since I now had the Alfa, I had the green light to make it more race car than street car.

No, the key here is don't be distracted so you can see the idiot who is doing stupid shit. I feel more safe in my now race car on the street than I do in any street car. FIA approved 5 point racing harnesses win over a simple lap and shoulder belt every time, assuming the harnesses are mounted securely and correctly (Hence the reason I haven't put a set in the M3 yet. I can't find anything solid enough to mount them to.)

The quest to make things more safe by making them bigger is stupid, the bigger the thing is the more mass it has and the more damage it will do. I'll take my chances in the Datsun over a Miata or Z3/Z4 any day of the week. Making things bigger isn't the way to safety on the streets. Making people better drivers is. Since the US is too lazy to become better drivers, we try to cover up the issue by removing the responsibility from the drivers and place it in the manufacturers forcing them to build tanks that are no more safe when hit by another tank.

When it comes to being hit in a vintage car, well, these pics should tell the story.







I walked away without so much as a scratch. $15K worth of damage to the car. It was a well built car. I saw the guy coming, but had no place to go.

Like I said, its not the cars that are unsafe, its the drivers. Grow up, get the hell off the phone, stop reading the paper, doing your nails, shaving ect. You are piloting a lethal weapon. Do it right or GTF off the road.:hitler:

Its a pretty sad state when its safer to 130 mph on a track with other people than it is to do 25 driving down the street.


Oh yeah, as far as reliability is concerned, I've driven the Datsun about 80K miles since I've owned it (last year it saw a little short of 9000 miles), and the Alfa had about 60K in the time I had it. Unless the car is a true POS (Yugo ect) reliability comes from correct maintenance and care. I drive the race car to the races, race hard all weekend long and drive it home. In that weekend I rarely do anything more than check the oil, put fuel in it and check the tire pressure. You can't ask for anything more than that. One failure that didn't get me home in 10 years of ownership. I'd say that speaks volumes for reliability, and yes, I drove it onto the trailer, even with a broken axle.

Will

[R3Z3N]

Repost from the Cali section of my opinion/thoughts of the FR-S

Tell us more about the FRS. What's it priced at?

This one was auto with the IS-F based semi-auto paddle shifters, priced at 26k with whatever options were on it. (BTW, the semi-auto on this car really is pretty badass. Predictable, quick enough. Completely shames the M3 SMG) Didn't look at the options as I hate electronics in cars. I want to drive, not look at an already outdated nav system and listen to a no highs no lows Bose system.

Anyway, it was actually comfortable, I lowered the seat all the way, and it felt more like sitting low like a C4 vette. At 6' 3" I dont fit with my helmet on in my E30, in this I did. (I showed up with my helmet) The bucket like seat was actually comfortable, except for the shoulder bolster, as I have ultra wide shoulders from just being damn manly ;-) (The ladies say it I swear!) Rear seat room ≠ exist, even for a toddler. Folding the trunk seats down makes for a surprising amount of space, but the liftover height while low is still obnoxious I can tell. The trunk area is NOT tall in the slightest. Am curious how wide of a tire can fit both on car and in it due to the low height of the trunk. Getting my small AUTOX toolbox in would not work, unless I went around the front seats to the rear area.

I really didn't push the car, as I am not going to buy a new car. But If I could trade my S52 E30 for one? I probably would, and I generally hate on new cars. I know my car and the FRS are about the same weight. My e30 with 5 lug, s52, race tires/rims, half tank of gas and me in it (175lbs) the car comes to 3001lbs.

BTW, car comes with 215/45/17s on it, I think tall 245s could fit, but that would ruin the DD aspect of the car, only enhance track, HPDE, AUtox fun.

For example, my S52 puts about 230-240hp down at the wheels, and with my 235s in the rear, I can't light up the tires in 1st without dropping the clutch (summer performance tires) With my track tires, the car is even less fun to dd as it just damn sticks. I think the FRS will be the same due to lack of power/torque.

Oh, stance of the FRS is terrible. It needs more offset, and a drop. With a drop, It'll be terrible to DD though. Just like us and our E30s losing our IS lips.

Visibility seemed fine, but I never feel comfortable with the visibility in a car I do not own.

Honestly, I think its a great alternative to an E30 M3, except the exclusivity is not there. My opinion? Purchase after 18mo.

I hate to think how many may try to outdrag me and my debadged 325is s52

I do feel bad for the sales people though. I test drive ALOT of cars that I want to buy, but not from a dealer. Next is to hit up the Ferrari dealership off Mullholland with my buddy who gets away with that ALL the time ;-)

[BlackbirdM3]

Safe cars are for bitches. And there's a lot of them in this thread.

Seems a bunch of these need to be handed out in this thread:

Now thats funny.

Will

[havand]

Or I could save 10k and get a pristine AP-1 and spank both on the track.

Honestly you can't compare new to used like that. A few year old sports car is going to have much better fun for the money than a new car that has yet to depreciate a quarter of it's value the minute it leaves the lot.

I get our point.. and I don't disagree, to an extent. However, if I'm buying this type of car it is a want item. Purpose car. A did/track toy. In that regard, it doesn't need to have a warranty or be new. By price point, yeah, I would consider all options toward my goal. New or used around the same price.

[BlackbirdM3]

I guess I have to retract my previous statement that there is no car currently on the market that I'd consider buying. This is brilliant! https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...e/&h=NAQHp_8yt

Yes its twice the price of a BRZ, but its faster, and looks better in every way. It also meets all my criteria for a good daily driver.

Where is the Top Gear test of this?

Will

[InuFaye]

I guess I have to retract my previous statement that there is no car currently on the market that I'd consider buying. This is brilliant! https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...e/&h=NAQHp_8yt

Yes its twice the price of a BRZ, but its faster, and looks better in every way. It also meets all my criteria for a good daily driver.

Where is the Top Gear test of this?

Will

I love MGBs but that car is 58k.

Im pretty sure id buy a Viper with that kind of money.