Subarus are a huge thing, as you can probably see from the recent blog posts about Subarus. There are a ton of Impreza drivers here at ASU, including my good friend Noah. Noah and I first met because I was wearing a Honda NSX shirt, and both of us are huge fans of it. With us both being car guys and an admiration for the NSX, we became friends easily. Noah drives this Blobeye Impreza WRX STi with a Cobb exhaust, white wheels that I forgot the name of, and some other various small engine mods that I forgot to ask about again since I forgot that this was also a feature piece and that I needed to ask him about these things.
As can be seen from the license plate, Noah and his STi are from Oregon, which he tells me has an absolutely massive Subaru presence. For this academic year he drove his STi down from Oregon to have in the desert. The Arizonan fuel, however, has not always matched his Impreza's tastes, as he's told me before how he's had to work on the engine mapping a lot because the fuel didn't agree with his previous maps. But, with those issues over, Noah's been driving this thing- a lot. It serves as both his daily driver to his job and also his track-day toy, and its long, multipurposed life can be seen in its odometer.
The Impreza STi has always been a favorite car of mine because of its rally heritage. Riding along with Noah on the way to the photoshoot location, I became enchanted by the traditional boxer-burble and the wastegate, as well as the smaller details such as the shift indicator (that Noah set to go off at around 3500rpm just so it can be heard regularly, a decision I wholeheartedly agree with). And, being outside looking at the car, I was taken back to when I was younger, playing Gran Turismo 4 and loving how the Blobeye looks. Even sitting still, it looks aggressive and ready to race.
Unfortunately, Noah plans to sell his beloved STi due to life. Even though the STi is a wonderful car, it still screams "boy-racer" too much for Noah's current and future professional career because of all the reasons why a person would love an Impreza STi- the big wing, the loud burble, the bright color, etc. It's a real shame to see her go, but Noah told me that after school is done and a career is in place, he definitely plans on buying another one. Subie love sure runs deep.