Anyways, on Subaru… I teach advanced driving skills as a part time volunteer for various car clubs. You own a Mini right? That is one fun and crazy car. It will be very difficult to match the bang for the buck and sheer fun factor of that car. Having said that, I currently own three Porsches, two Subarus and a SAAB Turbo. I’ve owned anything else that you can think of. My vote for the most fun and best all rounder? The Subaru WRX is the hands down winner. It may not out perform the Porsches but it has a raw sportscar feel that has made brands like BMW great. Unfortunately most manufacturers have homogenized and processed the visceral feel out of thier cars in hope of appealing to the broader market. It looks like Subaru did the same for 2008 although there are are lots of tuner shops out there that will gladly help you re-Subarize an ‘08.

So, my suggestion is get out there and find a nice 2007 Subaru WRX Sti (U.S. Autotrader is a good source) and grab it. Check out the advasnced driving schools at Race City once you get the car. BMW club has a great school at the end of May. Bring the car out (All makes welcome) and we’ll show you (Bring Ashley too) how to drive it FAST and safe without trashing it or causing premature wear to the car or it’s occupants.

Chris: The Mini Cooper Ashley drives is still a great car, and quite fun to drive. It has a few quirks, but overall she still likes it a lot. We’d like to try something new though, and since she’s had a fun, fast car to drive the past four years, now it’s my turn.

Everyone who suggested Subaru: We’ll definitely take a look at them. They weren’t high on my list, but I’ll take one for a test drive and see what’s up.

Cold Flame: I’m one of those guys that really believes in a warranty, just like life insurance. You hope you’ll never need it, but when you do need it, you really want to have it in place.

Infinity: Sounds like a great car, but I’m really not comfortable spending quite that much money. Although maybe I’ll take one for a test drive and who knows…we’d probably buy the 2009 Camero if we could, but the damn thing isn’t out yet.

2008 Impreza: It looks so much like my Mazda Protégé 5 that I don’t think I’d want to get a car just like that. Although if it’s way more fun to drive, who knows, maybe I’ll sell the Protégé 5 and we’ll end up with two new cars. Doubtful, but who knows.

I’ll post about the test drives we take as they happen…feedback is always appreciated.

Subarus in general have feared well in owner satisfaction surveys (in various magazines and countries) and also quality statistics in Sweden and Germany (GTÜ), to name a few. The Forrester being the most reliable model that Subaru has, I believe.

Finally, you Canadians sure got a fun commercial for the 2008 Impreza: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2eHJO8J5-U

(In the light of that video, please don’t start to flame here if you like German cars/don’t like Japanese cars. There are car forums available on the Intarwebs for such bickering. )

On another note, some Calgary dealers are starting to drop their prices to be more inline w/ their American counterparts. At the end of the day, it’s the Canadian divisions of the automakers that are charging these prices, not our local dealers. So it’s GM Canada, Toyota Canada, Honda Canada, et al. that need to be screamed at; screaming at our local dealers just falls on deaf ears as they’ve heard it many times before and likely wish they could match the US pricing so they could remain competitive.

It’s just like your post about Amazon.com & Amazon.ca pricing, Jason; similar anyway.

Hmm…. new cottage industry. Buy one of those truck that will hold 10 or 12 cars on the back and start a service shuttling cars from Canada to the US for service. While your at it, send down some of those inexpensive Canadian pharmaceuticals.

Just curious, did you grow tired of the mini? A friend has the convertible and it is a blast other than feeling every bump in the road. Of course the convertible more than makes up for that.

I’ve had some experience with Mitsubishi, and though I like the look of them, I find they tend to be very cheap in the longrun. I personally have met a Mitsubishi mechanic who works at Platinum (I believe that’s the NE dealership here in town) and he doesn’t recommend buying them. They’re designed to go their obligatory 160,000 km’s and then they die/fall apart.

Subaru’s are great vehicles; too bad they’re poorly marketed and not very mainstream. The WRX & it’s STi brother are great cars. Very reliable, and incredibly safe. I’ve heard all good things about all lines of Subaru over the years but have never had the chance to drive one unfortunately…

My Mom has a G35 (’04 I believe) and it is a gorgeous car, but it was about $50k from Hyatt. Ridiculous price, especially considering what Chris bought his for. It is an unbelievable car though, and even her 4-door model is a dream to drive (VERY FAST!) and handles incredibly. I’ve had that car at 235km/h and it still wanted to go. No idea where the governor kicks in (if there is one).

As far as the cross-border pricing, not all companies are blocking you from importing vehicles, though a few major ones are. The US dealerships have been specifically told NOT to sell to Canadian buyers for the reasons talked about above; however, that’s not to say you still can’t. The Ford companies (BMW/Jag/Volvo, etc…) still give you a North American warranty. GM, Honda, & Mitsubishi will not. I can’t remember for Toyota and for Daimler-Chrysler (Dodge)….

I read an article about a month ago about a couple from Ontario somewhere’s who priced out a loaded Lincoln Navigator (75k CAD with all the options they wanted). They thought that price to be a little high, so they started researching on the Internet and found the EXACT vehicle in the US for 45k. So, after exchange, I think at that time it was 43.6k CAD, and then they had to put about 6.5k into it for GST and the small import fees you have to pay to get it across the border, the inspection, etc… Ultimately, they saved $25,000 on an identical vehicle. Absolutely absurd!