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Let's not forget that Subaru was reluctant to sell its performance turbo vehicles in the US, thinking that there'd be no market for niche turbo sedans and wagons based on WRC cars. There were heated discussions from people who believed that an RS Impreza was "just as good" as the WRX, until Subaru sac'd up and brought over the WRX and the RS suddenly disappeared from our market because who wants a car that just LOOKS like it can go fast. Today, only the most fire breathing models are kept from American shores, and we can even walk in and get an STi if we so want.
I'm just very curious what kind of logic Toyota used to sell the idea of an NA "performance" car to Subaru. Maybe it had something to do with not killing Benevolent Chairman Toyoda when he loosed this thing on the track in a flourish of geriatric driving prowess not seen since the demise of Paul Newman. I get that it handles well, so do many cars. I just don't get the dilution of performance, or why there wasn't a turbo variant available at launch.
And while people are just happy to say that "if you want a car that actually is fast, get a Genesis or WRX or Veloster Turbo or Mustang V6 or a Camaro V6 or 370Z," exactly how many 86 platforms is Toyota/Subaru going to move when everyone who has been talking this thing up on the forums gets one and the rest of the market (who has a tendency to cross shop) doesn't see the performance advantages of this car. Also, and I really hate to say this, but being one of the slowest sports cars in the segment in 0-60 times is not really a very convincing argument to get me to part with 25 grand.
I'm still hoping that Subaru makes a high-powered version of the BRZ. It's not that difficult for them to dig up some intercoolers and turbos that will immediately add some pulse to the engine, and I'm okay to wait for that. Until then, I'd rather wait for a price drop on the current crop of underpowered cars or get a used one...
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