When the then-new Impreza WRX debuted in 2008, Subie fans had a tough time accepting a slightly softer version of a car so many felt so passionate about. Quick to react, Subaru got the WRX back on track with a host of improvements for the 2009 model year. 2010 looks to be a quiet year for the WRX, with the only notable change being the addition of a Limited model.
Mechanically identical to the base and Premium WRX, the Limited adds HID headlights, Sirius satellite radio and leather seats. Pricing for the WRX Limited 4-door will be $28,495USD, and $28,995 for the 5-door. While some WRX diehards may consider these superfluous items, buyers want, and are willing to pay for them. I doubt it is accidental that a WRX Limited costs about the same as a similarly optioned VW GTI.
The La Carrera Panamericana open road rally is a throwback to an earlier time. With real cars running on real roads, the La Carrera route follows pretty much the same path that crews took back in the Fifties. Over the years, La Carrera has also gained a reputation for being one of the most challenging events on the annual calendar. The term challenging is often politely interchanged for the word dangerous. The most challenging of all the La Carrera stages is considered to be the Mil Cumbres stage, where many cars have been lost. Lives too.
Regular contributer here in The Garage, Gary Faules, took on La Carrera in 2007 and took the win on the Mil Cumbres stage. Now that the documentary movie about Gary’s trip to LCP has been released, he is free to share the in car footage they shot during the race. The first video we’re going to share is that historic run up Mil Cumbres with it’s roadside cliffs and even a burro taking in the spectacle.
Following the 2007 running of the La Carrera, the decision was made to remove the stage from the event. The video after the break may well be the last competitive event held on the road.
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Quite a few people think racing drivers, and by assocciation, all involved are crazy. Now I don’t believe that but we sure had a tendancy to get up to no good. This especially held true if you got a bunch hanging around together with a little time on their hands.
The old late 60’s early 70’s enclave of race shops on Midwest and Midland in Scarborough had more than its share of nonsense. The Atlantic teams of the 70’s were nortorious for destroyed rental cars and other shennanigans. Alan de la Plante and I both have come to the conclusion many of those stories still cannot be published. Some milder ones may get told later. This pretty tame one took place at John Dobbins shop on Birch Ave in Toronto in the mid 60’s. Gary Magwood ran out of there and several other racer types were always around.
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If you’ve ever taken your car to the dealer for service, you know that you end up in their retention system and will receive maintenance reminders as long as you live. Often times, well after the car is dead. Occasionally after you are dead! This is nothing new, as dealers have been hard at work trying to groom loyal customers since the dawn of cars. Today’s find, sent to us by Ed Moody at the CMSHG board, proves it.
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One year during the 25 Hours Of Thunderhill for us California boys it was cold as hell and keeping my gloves and racing shoes dry was a must. It was only 30 degrees but the wind was terrible, blowing sideways and never letting up as the rain began to turn into sleet and snow. Of course we can’t have any type of heaters but we can have lights and anyone who has used halogen lamps know they get pretty hot.
