Last week we got some new cars.
I picked up a Subaru WRX, which is basically the car I spent years grinding with the most in Gran Turismo so it’s like a video game turned to real life for me. Surprisingly, it feels right. Turbocharged. Six-speed manual. Questionable life choices included at no extra charge. Nah, I’ve barely even gone over the speed limit.
It’s not an STI. I don’t have STI money, and after reading about the maintenance costs, I decided I’d rather spend my weekends driving the car than explaining repair bills to my wife. The standard WRX is still plenty of car. Since the 1990s it’s built a cult following as an all-wheel-drive corner-carving machine with legitimate rally racing heritage. It’s basically what happens when engineers decide practicality is nice, but having fun is nicer.
At the end of the day, I wanted something used that would make driving enjoyable again. I also wanted to avoid the variable valve timing transmissions which I was bitten hard in the Ford I had. I haven’t really enjoyed driving in a while, and that’s something I’ve genuinely missed. I had a Mini Cooper that was so fun to drive, but the maintenance sucked. My high school and college cars were always really fun, even the beaters. I thought the Toyota Tacoma I’ve had in recent years would scratch that itch. Turns out my fantasy life of overlanding remote trails mostly consisted of driving to Menards and hauling mulch. The Tacoma is fantastic at being useful, but fun isn’t always the first word that comes to mind. In general it’s underpowered and just practical and reliable. I love it but I wanna go fast.
The WRX, however, has one glaring flaw.
The stereo is absolutely terrible.
Apparently the previous owner checked every box except “music should sound good.” Well, there are signs they had an aftermarket stereo in it and threw the factory one back in because I don’t think the door speakers are even connected. It didn’t come with the premium audio package, so now I’m shopping for a new head unit and four door speakers. I installed a head unit in the Tacoma a few years ago, but it’s been forever since I’ve replaced speakers and the doors in these new cars have quite a bit more going on than what I used to pull door panels out of.
What I’m learning is that modern car audio installation mostly involves buying adapters. Need an adapter for the radio. Need an adapter for the steering wheel controls. Need an adapter for the backup camera. Need an adapter for the antenna. Then an adapter for the adapter. By the time I’m done, the wiring harnesses may cost more than the Alpine or Sony head unit I’m planning to buy.
Of course, owning a WRX means I now get to enjoy all the stereotypes.
According to the internet, WRX owners are:
Vape enthusiasts
I get it, but I’ve never vaped once in my life.
Energy drink addicts
Never got into Red Bull or Monster. I did have an Amp Energy phase years ago, but I was a new dad and was moonlighting for extra money, I had an excuse.
Car modders
Probably not. Twenty-five-year-old me absolutely would have been browsing giant spoiler catalogs by now. But I barely have interest in getting floormats. A “save the bees” sticker, maybe.
Outdoorsy people with roof racks carrying kayaks and mountain bikes
Okay, this one might be accurate. I was literally looking at kayaks on Facebook Marketplace yesterday. I’ve been really itching to do more kayaking this year. I’ve overdone the bike trails a bit, need to get on the water, without adding a boat payment.
People who love drifting around empty parking lots
The only time I’ve ever done that was in a rear-wheel-drive Chrysler LeBaron on an icy parking lot about thirty years ago.
“The Hellcat for lesbians”
LOL… No comment.
Meanwhile, my wife got a Toyota bZ, and we finally traded in our Chrysler Pacifica before it could invent any new warning lights.
This is our first fully electric vehicle. I’m working with the power company to get a Level 2 charger installed and enrolled in one of their discounted overnight charging programs. It makes a lot of sense for us right now.
I’ll admit, the technology makes me a little nervous because technology is exactly what made the Pacifica such a headache. That van spent more time diagnosing itself than transporting people. But it’s a Toyota, which inspires considerably more confidence than Chrysler.
The Tacoma isn’t going anywhere. Hopefully it has many years left in it. It shows no signs otherwise. My current plan is for it to be my son’s first vehicle, he has his driving test in the next couple weeks. Right up until he decides he’d rather drive something cooler than his dad’s old truck but a Tacoma isn’t something to be that embarrassed. Could be worse, I could be sending him to school in a Ford Fiesta or a Prius or something. I actually looked at Priuses…can tell I’m getting old. I mean, I saw some clothes at Costco the other day that looked pretty good, so my oldness is clear.
I also still have a Pontiac Trans Am project sitting in the garage.
By “project,” I mean “large object I occasionally stare at while thinking about future plans.”
The biggest roadblock is paint. Not exactly something I can do well DIY. Auto body shops are a special breed. Most won’t touch the restoration projects, and the ones that will operate under this insanely unfair business model best described as, “We’ll let you know when we’re done and how much it cost.”
The biggest downside to getting rid of the minivan is that none of our remaining vehicles are particularly great road-trip machines. The Pacifica was an absolute champion at hauling two kids, a large dog, snacks, luggage, and enough electronic devices to power a small nation.
We’ll make it work with the Subaru or the Tacoma. The bZ is perfect for daily driving, but it’s not exactly begging for a cross-country adventure.
Listening To…
I’ve been listening to the new Sublime album. I’m a fan.
The new frontman is Jakob Nowell, son of the late Brad Nowell, and the resemblance is honestly kind of wild. He sounds enough like his dad to trigger nostalgia, but the songs never feel like an imitation. It comes across as a genuine tribute rather than a tribute act.
For Father’s Day, I was gifted concert tickets to see The Black Crowes, which is exciting because they’ve been in my top five favorite bands for decades.
Sure, it’s not the full original lineup, but Chris and Rich Robinson are still there, and that’s close enough for me.
Fun fact: former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman now hosts one of the major morning radio shows here in the Twin Cities. Somehow he managed to successfully transition from rock drummer to radio personality, which feels like a career path nobody saw coming.
Watching…
Honestly, not much lately.
I kind of drifted away from the NBA Finals and have mostly been watching racing. The Indy 500 was fantastic this year, especially that finish.
As for movies, I’m not sure how excited I am about Toy Story 5. Part of me thinks Toy Story 3 already wrapped everything up perfectly, and the other part remembers that I’ve said that about every Toy Story sequel.
Supergirl actually looks promising, though. I’m not really a superhero movie guy. More specifically, I’m not much of a Marvel superhero movie guy.
DC superheros and Spider-Man are the exception. I’ll watch Spider-Man anytime.
Batman? Good. Superman? Usually good. Supergirl? Maybe good. We’ll see.
Honestly, I think I’ve reached the age where I don’t eagerly count down to big blockbuster releases anymore. Either Hollywood changed, or I did. My guess is it’s a little of both.
These days the movies and shows I end up loving are usually the ones I never saw coming.
Upcoming plans…
It’s turning into a busy summer, which is great!
Planning a trip to North Dakota to see family, have a couple of camps, some family coming to visit, a few concerts, kayaking trips, the dog is addicted to the dog park, etc etc.