DOTS

"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
10/18/2017 at 21:34 • Filed to: DOTS NYC

A true unicorn ... in front of my building, the Subaru Baja:

DISCUSSION (32)

AestheticsInMotion > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 21:39

Ohhhhh

In my three car realistic dream garage, this—in yellow or blue, no body cladding—is parked alongside a swapped Miata and a Volvo S60r

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 21:39

Not just a Baja, a Turbo Baja. While the standard Baja is somewhat uncommon the turbo model is basically non existent.

functionoverfashion > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 21:42

It’s funny, there are two of these in my small town in New Hampshire. I see them probably 3 days a week, and if I went a different route to work I’d see one every day. But then, I’ve literally never ever seen a Lamborghini in my town and can’t remember the last Ferrari I saw. Hell I can’t recall the last M3 I saw. It’s been weeks, maybe months.

JeepJeremy > AestheticsInMotion
10/18/2017 at 21:42

I saw a blue one the other day. It may be the rarest of the colors. I see them the most in silver and yellow

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > functionoverfashion
10/18/2017 at 21:46

It seems like 90% of the Bajas are in New England. People in the rest of the US seem to think they are super rare but I could walk outside my dorm right now and find at least 3 of them in under 10 minutes.

Trunk Impaired 318 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/18/2017 at 21:47

Not just a turbo Baja, a manual turbo Baja. They go for crazy money.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Trunk Impaired 318
10/18/2017 at 21:50

How can you tell it’s a manual?

Trunk Impaired 318 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/18/2017 at 21:53

I can see it in my hopes and dreams

InFierority Complex > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 21:57

I guess unicorn status is relative, I think I see Bajas a couple times a month at least. I do live in peak Subaru country, however.

E90M3 > functionoverfashion
10/18/2017 at 22:00

If it wasn’t for the fact I own an M3, I would rarely see them where I live. I went home this weekend and saw at least 5 E9X M3s running around.

fintail > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/18/2017 at 22:11

The rest are in WA and OR.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 22:13

There are several Baja’s in my town. There is a black one that lives up the road from me and a yellow one in town. It’s not a car that you can forget easily.

Patrick Nichols > functionoverfashion
10/18/2017 at 22:22

It might be a unicorn in that it is one of the only non two tone versions I’ve seen. Used to see them all over the place in southern NH but I think rust and head gaskets got to a lot of them.

Dusty Ventures > Steve in Manhattan
10/18/2017 at 22:39

To be a true unicorn it needs to be the Baja TurbOHMYGODTHERE’SAHOODSCOOP

Unicorn status confirmed

Steve in Manhattan > functionoverfashion
10/18/2017 at 22:45

When we lived in Soho, they were fairly common as work vehicles, but 11 years later they are thin on the ground.

Steve in Manhattan > functionoverfashion
10/18/2017 at 22:45

When we lived in Soho, they were fairly common as work vehicles, but 11 years later they are thin on the ground.

Dusty Ventures > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/18/2017 at 22:47

So I just did some quick digging. Weirdly almost half the Bajas built in 2004 and 2005 had the turbo engine. That dropped to a quarter for the final year though.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Dusty Ventures
10/18/2017 at 23:22

What? Where did they all go? I have seen 3 turbos but dozens of NA Bajas.

Dusty Ventures > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/18/2017 at 23:47

They’re hidden in a barn somewhere. Probably in Vermont

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > fintail
10/18/2017 at 23:52

I was going to say 90% in New England means they have a ton because they are all over Oregon.

fintail > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition
10/18/2017 at 23:58

Quite a few in WA too. I think there’s one (yellow, of course) in my workplace parking garage.

shop-teacher > Steve in Manhattan
10/19/2017 at 07:03

A buddy of mine had one for a while. He grew tired of its constant repairs, so he found his dream Tacoma and traded the Baja in. The Tacoma didn’t even make it out of the parking lot of the dealership before the CEL went on. A camshaft was wasted, the engine had to come out.

They ended up giving him a different Tacoma, but his tastes were so specific they couldn’t find one in the inventory nationwide. They ordered him a new truck. He waited for months, driving dealership loaners the whole time.

Finally the day arrived when he got to take his dream truck home. He promptly took it on a road trip. Where he got caught in a massive hailstorm that caused so much damage, the roof had to be cut off and replaced. He had no truck for another month.

My friend was born under a bad sign.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Dusty Ventures
10/19/2017 at 08:26

Time to go exploring.

Steve in Manhattan > shop-teacher
10/19/2017 at 18:58

Yeah - and it said TOYOTA ... usually a good sign.

shop-teacher > Steve in Manhattan
10/19/2017 at 19:58

He had a really rough six months or so there. He’s had a trouble free year since then at least. He loves his Taco.

Steve in Manhattan > shop-teacher
10/19/2017 at 20:01

That’s the thing with Toyota - it should be like a gas stove. It should just work, and most of them do.

shop-teacher > Steve in Manhattan
10/19/2017 at 20:24

Nobody’s perfect. Not even Toyota.

You just reminded me. My neighbor and I have our driveways butted together. Both of us freely use the other’s driveway when needed (having good neighbors is THE BEST). Of the cars between us, we have my 12 year old GMC, the RallyMetro beater, my wife’s CX-5, my scooter, my buddy’s scooter, my neighbor’s 2nd gen Equinox, and their fairly new fancy Lexus something or other sedan. Guess which one has been leaving driveway puddles? Hint: the fawncy one.

Steve in Manhattan > shop-teacher
10/19/2017 at 20:30

True - my ‘88 Toyota Camry 5M wagon dropped 2nd gear just out of warranty. I had to take the service manager for a ride to show him I knew how to drive stick (demo Corolla). They eventually relented and paid for 1/2 the rebuild. Cost me near $800, but the car was flawless after that.

shop-teacher > Steve in Manhattan
10/19/2017 at 20:33

Ouch, but not as ouch as $1600 would’ve been.

Steve in Manhattan > shop-teacher
10/19/2017 at 20:44

Indeed.

shop-teacher > Steve in Manhattan
10/19/2017 at 20:55

I have to say, I was impressed with the customer service my buddy received when he was going through that ordeal. They legally could have torn the motor out of his brand new truck, fixed it, and given it back to him. Instead they searched a 1000 mile radius to find a new one in the spec he wanted, and when that came up dry, they ordered him a new truck to his exact spec. Then the order got messed up, and didn’t have the factory hard folding bed cover he wanted. For some reason, they couldn’t add that in after the fact. The dealer told him to pick out whatever bed cover he wanted, and they would get it for him. He picked out a fancy aluminum honeycomb folding bed cover that listed for $1200, and they got it for him.

Steve in Manhattan > shop-teacher
10/19/2017 at 21:03

Now that is customer service ...