Ten years ago today, I got the Lancer as a graduation present. Happy Birthday, Lancer!
My garbage Failtima was so bad that my parents came into Waco one weekend and basically told me that I was getting a new car that weekend or I’d be stuck with the Failtima, a terrible car that ate head gaskets and was the wrong color.
My parents wanted something new so there’d be a warranty and as few issues as possible after the Failtima (again, a bad car) was such a nightmare. Dad wanted something American, but there just wasn’t a new smaller car I liked out then. The Fiesta was the only little American car I really liked, but it had just come out and the only one available near Waco was a black one with that stupid stubby trunk.
Finally, we convinced him that hey, let’s look at Mazda since they have some ties to Ford and their small cars are good. I liked the Mazda3, but the new ones on the lot were loaded up more than they wanted to spend and the used one I liked was a) used and b) black, which is a bit more monochromatic than I prefer.
Eventually, that search ended up at a Mitsubishi/Subaru dealership, where I found the Lancer. I’ve driven the crap out of it ever since. It went on Harris Hill Raceway as soon as it was out of its break-in period. It’s autocrossed, rallycrossed, track-day-bro’d (on an F1 track, too), time trialed (1:37.7 on Harris Hill, IIRC), gotten me a job at Jalopnik, moved a bunch of my stuff (and my gross car parts), appeared on Regular Car Reviews, forded a river and driven across the country (Austin to Seattle and back, there over the highest pass over the Continental Divide and back via most of the Pacific Coast Highway).
At this point, I’m just seeing what all I can do with it. I would probably have to pay someone to take it on a trade-in given how many times it’s been hit, so I’m not getting rid of it. Can I put a million miles on a CVT car? Haha.
I still need to take it drag racing—I was set to run it in the event with Alanis at Texas Motor Speedway a few years ago, but my dad passed away right before that weekend. Maybe it should do the Texas Mile? It’s slow time, baby. I’m convinced that the Lancer needs to go up Mt. Washington and get that sticker, although I’m hoping there’s a white vinyl version to fit in with the rest of the stickers. Maybe it should do an east-to-west trip across the U.S., too? (It’s been halfway there going from California to Texas, but like, I should do it in one trip.) Or maybe it could even be the world’s shiniest Gambler 500 car if the Volkswagen isn’t ready in time?
Also, it definitely needs to go on the Nürburgring.
Update: GIVE ME BAD IDEAS!