For a long time I’ve been waiting for someone stateside to build a Corolla just like this one and at TORC’s Toyotafest I finally did. Cesar Fernandez’s orange AE71 was one of the most impressive cars at the show. I have to admit, my first car was one of these generation Corollas (but a coupe), and I hated it. But long after I got rid of it, I started to realize they had some serious potential. Maybe even more potential than the Honda I traded up for.

Photo Gallery: 1983 Toyota Corolla AE71 – 4A-GE Engine – Super Street Magazine

Photo Gallery: 1983 Toyota Corolla AE71 – 4A-GE Engine – Super Street Magazine

Let’s face the facts once and for all: when Subaru came out with this hatchback on ‘roids and slapped on an STi badge on the back, don’t even front like you weren’t as shocked as I was. I remembered distinctly how much I was flabbergasted when I first saw the photos of the new version. I think it was a Monday morning as I worked out my delts, balancing atop a bed of nails, surfing the Interweb when I came across a picture that Elliott Moran sent to me. It was a photo of what seemed like a cross between a Ford Escort and the Saab my uncle used to drive. When I saw the badge names and slowly realized that Subaru done gone wild like a college sorority sister, I nearly pissed myself. I was flabbergasted, so much so that I checked my flabbers and found that they were indeed thoroughly gasted.inline_mediumwraptextright30719613/featuredvehicles/130_0911_2008_subaru_impreza_wrx_sti_grb_asstp_0911_01+2008_subaru_impreza_wrx_sti_grb_a+front_right.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi GRB-A – L’aunsport Japan – Super Street Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi GRB-A – L’aunsport Japan – Super Street Magazine