Hey everybody...This is my first post and I hope it's in the right place...I'm 17 and will be in college in a year and and also be in the market for a new car about a year from now.

As a huge fan of rally racing and "made in Japan" turbo cars, I've narrowed my choices down to the WRX and the Evo.

At $23K, the WRX is a relative bargain. But what about the Evo? What exactly does "under $30K" mean? Does that mean $29,500 or $25K? Kinda hard to judge, but when Nissan said the new Z would be less than $30K, it turned out to be $26K. Not bad. In the 10/02 issue of C&D, they say the Evo will be about $27K...But that's just an estimate. We don't know the final spec yet, so I don't know how to approach the issue of price. In the 7/02 issue of SCC the Evo VII they tested did 0-60 in 5.2s, which is only a tiny bit faster than a stock WRX (I realize there are many more important performance figues to look at besides 0-60). If we don't get AYC and ACD, Brembros, Recaros, HIDS, more than 250HP, 6spd, etc. (pretty wishful, huh? ) then I don't think this car is worth $27K, let alone closer to $30K (probably gonna get flamed for saything that ).

Having said that, the WRX STi will probably cost more than $35K...

Regardless, I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about the Evo. It's a really exciting time for us. I wish Mitsu would release some official specs and pics...I'm sure they would have to have the final spec figured out within a few weeks if they want these things to be rolling off US lots in February or March...The suspense is killing me!!!

 

In alot of ways I agree with you. isn't exactly synonimous with quality. This is why they are able to offer a car with AYC, ACD, 280HP(cough,300+,cough), turbo, AWD, etc. for around 25-26k equivelent in japan and still make it pofitable for them.
Since the car is a , asking for all that for under 30k isn't at all unreasonable. Especially since nissan just released thier much anticipated sports car for a base of 26k.

However since even in a striped down/detuned form people will probly still buy it and many dealers will have people to pay over MSRP for it; it will probly sell fast. Especially considering that we've never really had anything close to that kind of performance in this country for that price. Also to be taken into consideration is the fact that in Europe they sell the car for around 35-40k U.S. equivelant.

If does however bring it over in full strength and with all the goodies for under 30k then thier image amongst the enthusiest community and the U.S. press will be extremely positive for once.

in anticipation.

 

I agree with you. You make a lot of good points. The thing that burns me is this (you kinda mentioned this in your post)...Let's take the WRX for example...In Japan the STi Type C (the highest-performance WRX made) sells for the USD equivallent of $24K. In the US, the standard WRX sells for $23K. In Europe, the STi sells for the USD equivallent of about $39K. If you think about, it makes it hard to justify the price, knowing you're getting so much less for more money. I understand that import fees and various taxes jack the price up, but it's still very sobering. The chance that we'll see an Evo like I decribed in my original post for a price of even $30K is slim-to-none. But I don't know if I could stomach paying a nice price for an Evo knowing it didn't have ACD and that cool Tarmac/Gravel/Snow selector in the instrument cluster...

But like you, I am still anticipating it greatly...

 

$29999.99

Your point about the 350Z is an interesting one. Nissan said sub $30K, and they delivered a stripped out version at that price. The only Z really worth owning (Track package) will set you back close to $35k. could do the same thing.

 

Have you driven the Performance model(30k) and the track model?? They are virtually identical. Minus the 18's (17's instead) and extra front spoiler there are very few differences in how they drive and both are an awesome deal. Not to mention the entry level enthusiest model for around 26k which SCC named as a very worthy offering and loved the way it handled and accelerated.

If turbo lag isnt your thing then this is an excellent choice in the world of J-spec sports cars.

 

The perception of quality being below par is more or less based on very recent events. In adition, the U.S. perception is formed by the manufacturing base in Normal, IL, which until recently was quite low quality. They have improved markedly in the past 2 years though.
In fact, quality is no where close as poor as it is made up to be. The recent slew of recalls is a show of 's commitment to improvment. In addition, the 2 million cars recalled initially pales in comparison to what Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan et al have recalled in recent history.
See the links below.
http://www.uautono.com/recalls.html
http://www.crash-worthiness.com/

Finally, Subaru also had a coverup scandal in the late 90's. Look by how much their quality and reliability has improved.

The word here is perception. Yeah, quality is not world-class leading, but it is above average.

 

Mitsu will sell the first Evo's without AYC and ACD then an improved version later in the year will probably include it, like clear lens and updates on the galant and eclipse.

 

What makes you think that? Just curious...

 

Exactly. Performance and handling is the exact same no matter which model you get. The Brembos aid stopping, but I can live without them. The rest of the stuff on the track model is rather useless.

If wants to, let them copy Nissan. It would be all gravy if they had the "base" Evo start at $26K with 6spd or close-ratio 5 spd and AYC & ACD standard then move up the trim levels with the "top" Evo costing $30K+ but coming equipped with Brembos, Recaros, HIDs, etc. All those thinng are just fashion gadgets. All they do is increase cost without adding significant performance gains. If they will sell a base "stripped" Evo for $26K (as long as it had AYC and ACD) I wouldn't care about any of that other stuff.

 

I thought that the VIII was going to be the last of the Evolution Lancers do you think that will still keep making them for the U.S. after this upcoming year?

 

No, I think the next EVO will be 2 door

 

I can't believe you wrote what you did. Since when isn't braking a part of handling and performance? Do you ever turn? Do you ever stop? This argument is straight out of the Camaro sales brochure.

The better braking system, lighter wheels, and aerodynamics make the Track package worth owning to me. Are they worth $3500? Debateable. Are they absolutely vital? No, definately not, especially if you're going to modify it. But to really get everything Nissan proclaims the Z to be, the Track package is the way to go.

I do agree with you 99.9% on the Evo issue though. I would like the Brembo setup, because there is no such thing as too good of brakes on a performance car. The Recaro buckets, eh, I'd rather have AYC/ACD and put my choice of a *real* seat in. I love HIDs, but they run $700-1000 and again, I'd rather have the advanced AWD system and regular halogen lights. Nobody knows for sure what has up their sleeve, so maybe they'll actually let us spec the car for what we want (novel concept!).

 

I think we may see a divergance - the Lancer Evolution series will continue to be saloons, while the cars Ralliart fields in WRC may go to a Peugot 206/Ford Focus style vehicle. Of course this is pure conjecture on both of our parts

 

I didn't mean to sound like that. Of course 60-0 is just as important (maybe even more important) as 0-60. Brembos are great, but are they worth the astronomical price of the Track Package? Not to me. Lighter wheels can be had for cheaper and I would never go fast enough for the areo package to be of any real use to me. I agree with you 100% otherwise.

And don't get me wrong. I'm all about HIDs, Recaros, and Brembos. But I know those thing cost lots of additional $$$ and I'm trying to be as cheap as possible. As long as it has a good power spec and AYC and ACD for about $26K, I could care less if it had HID, Recaros, Brembos, or even a stereo (the engine would produce some beautiful music by itself)...

 

First of all, please dont EVER compare a camaro to a finely tuned j-spec sports car ever. They are very different.

Second, all of you have brought up the point about the brakes.I totally forgot that the track package recieves the brembo brake pads/caliper/rotors. Personally I go through brakes in about 20k miles (alot of fun driving ) and so the brakes are not enough to upgrade to the track pakage since I can probly upgrade after the first 20kmiles for much cheaper. I agree with SirLancerLot that of corse 60-0 is very important but the assumtion that bigger better brakes and even steal braided lines will help stopping distance isn't always true.

350Z Tuning Article

Given its a very new kit and the camber was effecting the stopping distance as well but if bigger brakes were the end all to track stopping performance then they should've helped at least a little?