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Originally Posted by Dean
The limited should really be called the "Coach" edition.
Limited in the sports car world should mean more power, better suspension, lighter weight, etc. related to performance, not heated leather seats, moonroof, acoustic damping material, non-forged knock off wheels and a less effective wing.
All the while, other countries get Spec Cs and other cool performace versions.
And now we get an Evo with neon on the dash...
Americans must be the laughing stock of the world's autophiles for the marketing people to think this is what we want.
Where is my 300whp 2500lb STI Limited?
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Put down the crack-pipe. Subaru has *always* offered their "Limited" trim editions as the ones with leather, heated seats, etc. You're lucky the STI Limited didn't come w/ a wood grain dash. Check out all the Limited Outbacks and Legacys.
Plus, the STI (i.e. the Impreza) is not, nor has it ever been, (or will ever be most likely) a "sports car". It's at best a "rally car", but more accurately it's an econo-box with a motor that's way too powerful for it jammed under the hood and a bunch of parts upgraded just to help keep people from killing themselves within 5 minutes of starting her up. Maybe a "limited edition" Porsche 911 or BMW M3 would be what you're describing, but limited editions of road cars tend to be "nicer" versions, not faster.
And it's true that we've received dumbed down versions of Japanese cars for years, but that's not the car manufacturers fault, that's the EPA and CARBs fault. You think the Japanese manufacturers don't want to sell their HO cars in the US? We're the biggest market for performance cars in the world! Gas is cheap here and the population is large and car crazy. I bet in Los Angles alone, Subaru sells more STIs than in all of Japan. And back in reality things have changed... the 2.5L US STI is the coveted version now... sure the JDM car can get a bit more hp due to the better fuel and twin-scroll turbo... but the US car just destroys it with torque. The US STI is basically a lightly dressed up Spec-C with a half liter of extra displacement. IMO, it rocks compared to the overseas versions.
Think of the Limited STI like this: all the STI performance, none of the boy-racer bullshit. There's a reason people still buy slower cars like the M3 and S4 at twice the price... they don't want to be seen in what's basically a car out of a video game. The Limited's point is to move the Subaru brand upscale a bit and start nipping at the luxo-sports-coupe market... unfortunately the Legacy GT just isn't quite fast enough yet to compete in that market, so they niced-up the STI.