My manager at work looked puzzled when I told him I just spent $25k on a Subaru. He asked me if it had like a sunroof and leather and everything. I told him theres no leather or sunroof available. And he looked even more puzzled. With a smirk, I told him the Impreza is a cult car and that he wouldnt understand. A few minutes later, he emailed me asking me to explain how the impreza is considered a "cult car"? This is the email I wrote back to him in response:
Alot of people associate Subaru with economical, boxy cars, but thats mostly in the United States where they've aquired that image because as not many people know, the rest of the world have a very different image of Subaru. In countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Austrailia they have different models and versions of US models which have been dominating autocross and rally racing for several years. The Subaru Impreza won the World Rally Championship 3 years in a row. The US often doesnt get such models because of strict emissions standards and because of the low profit on these highly specialized vehicles. In some cases they have brought detuned versions of these cars over but for the first time in Subaru hisotry they are bringing over a Japanese spec model of the popular Impreza. This car features a 227hp turbocharged engine, and more performance upgrades than I can list. Many of the cars features are straight from the rally version of the car. The car has also been structurally and cosmetically redesigned for the 2002 model year. This car is not like a BMW or a Mercedes because it just doesnt have the status that is associated with those names. I won't be turning any heads most likely and anyone other than a true Sube junky won't appreciate what goes into this car. We hope that the capabilities of this car will allow Subaru to break free of its old reputation in the United States. For the price of $25k it competes with cars twice its price. For me personally, I will take an incredible performing car over one that just looks like it is. To me theres not alot in just a name. Hope that explains it
Samir.