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  1. #1

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    New member of the family!


    Thought I`d share this with my car loving friends here at Autopia.

    Long story as to how I managed to land this car. They are seriously hard to find due to unexpectedly high demand.


    I haven`t had much of a chance to drive it yet, but every time I do it puts a smile on my face like few cars ever have. I`m really enjoying going from a larger, heavier coupe, to what is essentially a simple, light sports car.

    Due to weather and well...life...all I`ve done so far is give it a waterless wash and a quick application of Griots 3 in 1. Looking forward to doing a more in-depth job this spring.

    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog
    Likes grungy, Stokdgs, RPPM, Fishing, 981 Cayman S and 3 others liked this post

  2. #2

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Nice looking car, I bet it is a blast to drive!

  3. #3
    Sizzle Chest's Avatar
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    Re: New member of the family!

    Congrats! Looks great!!!
    Scott Harle
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  4. #4

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Quote Originally Posted by Desertnate View Post

    Thought I`d share this with my car loving friends here at Autopia.

    Long story as to how I managed to land this car. They are seriously hard to find due to unexpectedly high demand.
    Desertnate:
    I`d like to hear the story, or at least a "Cliff Notes" version of it!
    What year is it? How many miles on it? What made you decide on THIS particular car? Did you try out or look at an thing else before you bought this? So does this Subaru BRZ have an automatic or the manual six-speed transmission? (Ah, yes, all the Captain Obvious questions!)
    I also assume that your "other" sedans are front-wheel drive, where this vehicle is rear-wheel drive. Not going to say that this is a poor man`s Porsche Cayman because that would offend 981 Cayman S (formerly BudgetPlan 1) and even you. Let`s just call it an "affordable" sports car.
    LOVE that Subaru blue color, by the way. Looks great already for what you have done to it!

    On a completely different note, how are YOU dealing with The Weather Channel`s Landon-named snowstorm happening in the St. Louis area on Thursday, Feb 03, 2022?? It looks like quite the ordeal watching it on TWC.
    GB detailer

  5. #5

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Lonnie,

    Great questions as always. I love geeking out on most topics I post here, but try not to bore anyone. But if there is interest, who am I to not go into more detail!

    Quote Originally Posted by Lonnie View Post
    Desertnate:
    I`d like to hear the story, or at least a "Cliff Notes" version of it!
    I was only casually looking after some circumstances led me to realize the car I had at the time needed to go. After a little internet searching, I realized there were no BRZ`s or it`s Toyota twin located within 500 miles of where I live.

    Armed with this ammo, I wandered over to my local Toyota dealer to see if ordering was an option. The dealer told me Toyota is not orders, he only had three GR86`s inbound in the next few months and they were all automatics. A quick check also revealed all the inbound inventory to other dealers in my area were all automatics too. Scratch Toyota.

    I then went to the Subaru corporate site to look at the BRZ and utilized the "contact me" option just to see what happens. Within 20 minutes (at night even) an internet sales rep texted me and told me they could order a car and have it in 16 weeks. I was game and set up an appointment at the dealer for the following day. The next day I go to the dealer, test drove a previous gen car and proceeded to start the ordering process. However, when the dealership goes to place the order the car they see that Subaru USA has shut off all orders! I find out later, customer orders in two months had already passed total sales from previous years and outstripped production capacity, so they shut off orders for the rest of the year!

    At that point, I`m a little defeated and figure it isn`t going to happen or I`ll have to fight nation wide for any car I can find. All that changes when the sales man says, "I actually have a car just like you want on the lot, but we can`t sell it at the moment". Wow. Turns out, this particular dealer supplies all the Subaru`s for the St. Louis Auto Show. Subaru USA send them the cars for the show and after it`s over, they are able to sell the vehicles. This BRZ was an auto show car. At the time it, was still a corporate demo car (but not to be driven) and wouldn`t show up on any listing. However, the dealership allowed me to put a deposit down to lock in the car. I then just waited for the show to end and Subaru USA to transfer ownership of the car to the dealership so they could sell it. The rest is history.

    What year is it? How many miles on it?
    It`s a 2022, the brand new overhauled model for this model year. I had 12 miles on it when I drove it home.

    What made you decide on THIS particular car? Did you try out or look at an thing else before you bought this? So does this Subaru BRZ have an automatic or the manual six-speed transmission? (Ah, yes, all the Captain Obvious questions!)
    I decided on this particular car because it was the ONLY one in this entire part of the US. It also was equipped exactly like I wanted and the color I wanted. For 20+ years I wanted a blue car, but could never get my choice of color and options to line up. In the past I gave up color in favor of performance.

    I came to the BRZ or GR86 because I was looking for something simple, light, tossable, and inexpensive. My BMW 435 was fast, but it was a snoozefest to drive and really big/heavy at the autocross track and hilly backroads in my area.

    I considered a 2019 or newer Miata with the new engine, but it is way to small for use in any regular basis and I prefer the flatter cornering in the BRZ/86 cars. I considered a Mini Cooper S/JCW or another GTI as well, but I`m not a big fan of FWD cars, even those that handle well. They just don`t have the same balance. I also considered a Cayman, but for my price range I would have been in a much older 981 generation car with no warranty and really expensive parts/maintenance. This BRZ is very close in size, weight, and power to that 981 Cayman.

    Of course it`s a manual! I`ve never owned an automatic car as my daily driver.

    I also assume that your "other" sedans are front-wheel drive, where this vehicle is rear-wheel drive. Not going to say that this is a poor man`s Porsche Cayman because that would offend 981 Cayman S (formerly BudgetPlan 1) and even you. Let`s just call it an "affordable" sports car.
    I`ve owned/driven both FWD and RWD cars over the years. My last car was RWD as well. I prefer that layout. Our other car is a "AWD" Toyota SUV, so there isn`t a real comparison.

    This car totally bulls-eyes the "affordable sports car" market. It`s only real competitor is the Miata, which is more expensive these days and has less power. The only other distant competitors are the Veloster N, GTI, and Mini Cooper S. Subaru and Toyota freely market it an affordable sports car. Frankly there isn`t anything close any more. The Supra and Z are bigger, heavier, more powerful, more complex and more expensive. Ditto for the current gen Cayman or the Pony cars from Chevy and Ford (or BMW, Merc and Audi if we`re honest)

    It won`t hold a candle to the current 718 gen Cayman, and probably not to the 981 gen mostly due to power, but I would put it up against the 987 gen and it would probably be extremely close with a set of wider wheels/tires. mid-engine/RWD does offer amazing balance, but this BRZ platform is pretty well balanced as well.

    LOVE that Subaru blue color, by the way. Looks great already for what you have done to it
    Thanks, the more lighting conditions I see it in the more I like it. Like I mentioned before I`ve been wanting a blue car for a very long time and this World Rally Blue is an amazing color and suits the car really well. I can`t wait to give it a light polish and a quality coating.


    On a completely different note, how are YOU dealing with The Weather Channel`s Landon-named snowstorm happening in the St. Louis area on Thursday, Feb 03, 2022?? It looks like quite the ordeal watching it on TWC.
    So they named it? Nice.

    It`s a little ugly right now. Yesterday, it alternated between rain/sleet, so last night we had about 2" of sleet with 1" of ice under it. You could play hockey on my driveway last night. It`s been snowing since late last night and we`ve probably got about 5~6 inches snow out there right now. Going to be a fun time shoveling when I get off work in a couple hours.

    I`m teleworking and my wife is a teacher who got snow days. We`re just watching the storm pass by.
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog
    Likes dgage, Stokdgs, RPPM, Lonnie liked this post
    Thanks 981 Cayman S, Stokdgs thanked for this post

  6. #6
    Sizzle Chest's Avatar
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    Re: New member of the family!

    I`m glad Lonnie asked: enjoyed ready the back story on this! And again, congrats, looks great!
    Scott Harle
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  7. #7
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    Re: New member of the family!

    Just one word, supercharger! They really woke the earlier models up. Having said that, I don`t even know if they offer one for the brand new ones. Seems like I read some pretty impressive increases while keeping the car drivable from both Edlebrock and Vortech on earlier versions.
    A society willing to trade liberty for temporary security deserves neither and will lose both
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  8. #8

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Desertnate:
    Thanks for the "detailed" information on your NEW Subaru BRZ. Every vehicle and its owner has a story behind it and being the car-guy that I am, I ask my Captain Obvious nosy questions to many vehicle owners I just walk up to, especially Subaru owners. WHY?
    Because I was (past tense) a Subaru owner myself. Most Subaru owners have owned them in the past, but the new-to-Subaru owner usually comes from a previous larger American-made SUV/Crossover. Living in northeast Wisconsin they ALL say they bought their particular Subaru because of the All-Wheel Drive to get through the winter driving. I can attest to that with the 2003 Subaru Outback I once owned.

    I made the comparison of the Subaru BRZ to the Porsche Caymen because Road-and-Track magazine made that very comparison to a then newly-introduced 2013 Toyota/Scion FR-S (its development twin to the BRZ) to a used 2006 987 Gen Boxster because they were close in price. The take-away? The used Boxster was more "satisfying" because of its mid-engine balance and flat-six engine versus the h-4 front mounted Subaru engine and the overall sum of its parts. But like you state the overall cost of ownership was not factored in.

    Keep us informed what you do to and with your BRZ. Like I said the Subaru World Rally Blue color suites this particular vehicle`s styling design extremely well, not to mention it IS the Subaru-factory racing color.
    GB detailer

  9. #9

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Quote Originally Posted by GearHead_1 View Post
    Just one word, supercharger! They really woke the earlier models up. Having said that, I don`t even know if they offer one for the brand new ones. Seems like I read some pretty impressive increases while keeping the car drivable from both Edlebrock and Vortech on earlier versions.
    I seriously doubt there is anything for this car yet. It`s only been on the market for a couple months. Although the new 2.4L engine is the basis for the WRX and the Accent which are both turbocharged.

    This new engine is a very different beast from the old one...actually the whole car is IMO. I don`t know if I`d want to add any form of forced induction. That would only add complexity and weight if you add all the appropriate cooling. Since the new engine delivers such even power across the RPM band, you can actually keep up with or even beat minivans when merging on the highway.

    After owning a higher-ish HP BMW, I don`t really want/need a power monster. On an autocross course or a tight mountain road in the Ozarks where I like to play, big power is totally unusable. Maybe in a few years I`ll long for a little power, but for now I`m looking forward to testing the grip levels and just flinging it around with the engine at full wail.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lonnie View Post
    Desertnate:
    Thanks for the "detailed" information on your NEW Subaru BRZ. Every vehicle and its owner has a story behind it and being the car-guy that I am, I ask my Captain Obvious nosy questions to many vehicle owners I just walk up to, especially Subaru owners. WHY?
    Because I was (past tense) a Subaru owner myself. Most Subaru owners have owned them in the past, but the new-to-Subaru owner usually comes from a previous larger American-made SUV/Crossover. Living in northeast Wisconsin they ALL say they bought their particular Subaru because of the All-Wheel Drive to get through the winter driving. I can attest to that with the 2003 Subaru Outback I once owned.
    Totally get it. Hearing people`s journeys is fun. I`ll ask the same questions like that at Cars and Coffee.

    In this instance since the BRZ isn`t a traditional Subie and has a twin sitting over at the Toyota dealers, it a bit of a different journey. For me it was pursuit of a class of car. I would have been happy in a GR86, but their dark blue doesn`t look nearly as good as the WR Blue from Subaru...and none were available.

    I made the comparison of the Subaru BRZ to the Porsche Caymen because Road-and-Track magazine made that very comparison to a then newly-introduced 2013 Toyota/Scion FR-S (its development twin to the BRZ) to a used 2006 987 Gen Boxster because they were close in price. The take-away? The used Boxster was more "satisfying" because of its mid-engine balance and flat-six engine versus the h-4 front mounted Subaru engine and the overall sum of its parts. But like you state the overall cost of ownership was not factored in.
    I can see that. I`d like to see them do it again with the new Gen and a 987. With the engine being much better and the body being something like 50% stiffer, it would be an interesting comparison. The interior is also a much nicer place to be. The old engine besides not having a goofy power curve

    A 981 or 718 I`m sure still have an edge, but costs alone make it an unfair comparison.

    Keep us informed what you do to and with your BRZ. Like I said the Subaru World Rally Blue color suites this particular vehicle`s styling design extremely well, not to mention it IS the Subaru-factory racing color.
    Absolutely the right color for a Subie! I`ll be channeling my inner Collin McRae and fondly remember him tossing a WRX around the WRC circuit. My first autocross event is in April. Not quite the WRC, but the car will wear numbers (magnetic), and it is competitive!
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog
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  10. #10

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Quote Originally Posted by Desertnate View Post
    I seriously doubt there is anything for this car yet. It`s only been on the market for a couple months. Although the new 2.4L engine is the basis for the WRX and the Accent which are both turbocharged.
    Lot’s of bolt ons already out and rhe HKS Supercharger should be out anyday now…..

    there’s only too much Horsepower if your dead.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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  11. #11

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Quote Originally Posted by Coatings=crack View Post
    there’s only too much Horsepower if your dead.
    As I read this I did my best Tim the-tool-man Taylor grunt impression , "More power! OH OH OH OH OH!"
    (Quit laughing, Captain Obvious!!)
    GB detailer
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  12. #12
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    Re: New member of the family!

    That is one of my favorite car colors. Sharp!
    2014 Ford Mustang GT Track Pack- Black
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  13. #13
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    Re: New member of the family!

    Good color!

  14. #14

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Quote Originally Posted by Coatings=crack View Post
    Lot’s of bolt ons already out and rhe HKS Supercharger should be out anyday now…..

    there’s only too much Horsepower if your dead.
    Yep. I found some this weekend while hunting around to learn about vendors in the 86/BRZ market.

    I used to be all about the power, but recently I`ve had a change or heart. I think my biggest problem is with the higher power cars there is no place to safely wring them out entirely and my talent would run out WAY before the car would hit max potential. Good road courses are hours away. Higher power actually makes autocrossing more difficult. On the twisty backroads near here the turns are too tight and too close together to get unleash a monster car. Drag racing and long straight highway rips just don`t appeal to me despite having fond memories of watching drag racing with my dad on TV. Right now, I`m happy with a simple, light car that allows me to fully explore both it`s performance envelope and my talent with far fewer chances of ending up as a smoking crater somewhere.

    Now, after getting squeezed out of a couple mergers by a minivan, I might change my story, but right now a down shift and rip to the upper reaches of the tach solves most problems.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

    Quote Originally Posted by Lonnie View Post
    As I read this I did my best Tim the-tool-man Taylor grunt impression , "More power! OH OH OH OH OH!"
    (Quit laughing, Captain Obvious!!)
    Great stuff. I loved that show and still say stuff like that. Too bad the show has been off the air long enough most people don`t have any idea what I`m talking about.
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog
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  15. #15

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    Re: New member of the family!

    Such a cool story! Thanks for sharing it and good luck with the car. Many happy miles ahead of you!
    Thanks Desertnate thanked for this post

 

 
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