The STi is gone. Evaporated into misty vapor and absorbed into the recesses of my mind, reserved only for the most powerful of life lessons. My experience with it taught me more than I would care to try to articulate, but thankfully, it’s GONE. In it’s place, now sits a 2012 Nissan Xterra Pro4X, the extra-rugged, utility-focused trim of the Xterra. As of my writing this the odometer reads 375 miles, and let me tell you, they are 375 of the most enjoyable miles I’ve driven. And, while the driving experience of the Xterra could never boil my sports car blood like an STi with Dunlop Z1 tires, it has certainly revealed a prevailing sense of satisfaction that was only felt in brief, fleeting moments with my former love. [click to continue…]
The Nissan Xterra – A Symbolic Step
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Many things have ramped up and changed in life of late; far too much to sum up in a single post that can entertain a reader, so here I will only focus on the material… Specifically cars.
The last time I wrote about my Subaru STi, things were looking up. My new motor was in and I was optimistic. I had written an article about it more recently but just couldn’t summon the will to finish it for posting. My transmission failed and the car sat helpless by my driveway for two months, before I finally had the transmission professionally rebuilt for $3500. New syncros, new bearings, new bell housing (which is what had failed), tighter shifter bushings, and even brand, shiny, new JDM 5th and 6th gears with a shorter ratio. Things went well for a while and the transmission felt great. I was formulating plans for the order in which I would tackle the car’s other issues (largely cosmetic), and how long it would take me to save the money… when… [click to continue…]
