The interior of the STi adds to the already unique styling of the car. A leather MOMO steering wheel, leather shift knob and leather parking brake are all stitched with red lining;, all are unique to the Impreza WRX STi. Custom embroidered performance bucket seats skinned in blue and black are emblazoned with the STi logo, giving the car a race-bred appeal. An easy-to-read electronic gauge cluster with a center-mounted 9000-rpm tach comes complete with red LED indicators on each dial. The gauge needles perform a full sweep each time the car is brought to life with a turn of the key.
With a release date of summer 2003, the STi's sticker price has yet to be determined. Subaru has hinted the car will be competitively priced around $28,000 to $ 32,000.
With Mitsubishi releasing the new Evolution 8 around the same time, it will make for a very interesting year in the import market. Who will reign supreme? That question will be answered in showrooms and tuning shops around the country.
Honda's Element Studio EWhat exactly was Honda's concept car at this year's North American International Auto Show? Was it the world's first high-performance hybrid? Or maybe a thrilling Formula One car for the street? How about VTEC hooked to a driver's esophagus? Nope. It was this Element crammed with more electronics than an AWACS plane.
The best part of the Studio E is the conversion of the Element to a panel van. The cludgy Element looks much better with its rearward windows filled by plastic panels. It also looks surprisingly good lowered over a set of 19s and painted with some subtle flames. And the rear panel doors are a neat alternative to the stock horizontally split aperture.
Honda states the Studio E is built around the needs and lifestyle of a club DJ, and transforms the Element's cavernous interior into a rolling audio and video studio, complete with an onboard personal audio computer for mixing tracks and a 42-in. high-definition plasma screen display. We know a couple of club DJs and we'd rather crew a shrimp boat than have their lifestyles. But we admit that, though we'd never do any on-board sound mixing ourselves, the plasma screen TV coming down from the ceiling is pretty sweet. It would be even better if it picked up the Speed Channel.
ScionAt January's Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota finally unwrapped the production versions of the first two products to wear the circular logo of its new sub-brand, Scion. Called the xA and xB, both are small wagon-like things designed to appeal to members of the Internet-savvy generation.
The xA is based on a Japanese-market Toyota called the "Ist" and is powered by 108-hp, 1.5-liter dohc, VVT-i four, backed by either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic driving the front wheels. There's something weirdly neat about the xA's outward appearance, especially the rocker extensions that give the thing a low stance. But we're not thrilled with the instrumentation that's centered on the dash. We hate that on the Saturn Ion and we're going to hate it just as much on the xA.
Unfortunately, the same dopey dash design is used on the xB as well. It's based on the flat-sided, bolt-upright bbX that's already on sale in Japan. The toaster-on-wheels styling isn't for everyone, but this small wagon is dang roomy inside and that counts for something-in some other magazine. The xB has the same 1.5-liter, 108-hp engine as the xA with the same transmission choices.
In fact, the xA and xB are perilously close to each other in most dimensions and specifications. For instance, the xA is 154.1-in. long and the xB is 155.3. The xA is 66.7-in wide, the xB is 66.5. In fact, they have the same 57.3-in. and 56.3-in. front and rear tracks, and both ride on 15-in. wheels inside 185/60R15 tires. The only significant dimensional differences are wheelbase (the xB's 98.4-in. wheelbase is 5.1-in. longer than the xA's) and overall height (the xB stands 4.2-in. taller than the xA).
Scion goes on sale inside California's Toyota dealerships this June and it will then spread to the rest of the country during 2004. A third model will join these two soon after that.