Welp, it's Valentine's Day, and as most of the country reaches for the champagne and chocolates, us car enthusiasts are a little too busy with the engine oil and spark plugs. And that makes it the perfect time to reflect on that one special model, the car that lit the fires of passion in your auto-loving bosom. For me, that car was the Subaru WRX.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Full Story

I remember when I first learned about rally racing as a kid. My initial exposure to the sport encompassed brief clips downloaded off the Internet showing brightly color, sponsorship-sticker laden compacts flying through the air with reckless abandon. It was insane – the speeds, the terrain, the sideways-right-on-the-edge action. Here was a motorsport unlike any I'd ever seen before. I was immediately hooked. And out of all the amazing machinery I saw in those tiny pixelated boxes on my laptop screen, one stood out from all the rest – the blue and gold Subaru WRX.

Gradually, I learned more and more about the WRX's turbo flat-four engine, its symmetrical AWD, and all the other good stuff that made it such a stout competitor in the World Rally Championship. At the time, I was quite the little import nerd, and considered the Nissan Skyline GT-R (back then, we just called it the “Skyline”) to be the biggest and baddest ride around. But while the Skyline was at the top of the pile, the WRX had all the same characteristics, but in a much more accessible, package.

Not only that, but the Suby was stout. I'd watch as pros like Colin McRae flung 'em through the corners, occasionally smashing into bits of the terrain, only to keep their foot in it and keep on goin'. As far as I was concerned, these small blue machines were simplyindestructible.

Unfortunately, they were was also perpetually out of reach, with sales restricted to those spoiled speed lovers over in Europe and Japan. Then, in the early 2000's, Subaru brought the WRX to the States, and everything changed.

Suddenly, the WRX was everywhere. I couldn't believe that here in the U.S., home of the V-8 and RWD drag racers, a high-strung AWD Japanese sedan was actually getting sold in dealers. Now I had a purpose. Now I had to own one.

Fast forward to today, and I do indeed have a WRX in my driveway, complete with the blue paint and gold wheels. It's my project car, my daily driver, and my track machine, and even though the repair bills have been getting a bit pricey in the last few years, you can rest assured I'll be holding onto it for the long term.

Yep. I love the Subaru WRX. What car do you love?

References

Subaru WRX

Read our full review on the 2018 Subaru WRX.