Thanks for the ideas. I like the idea of spending the money on a 1200 ... but the wife won't even ride it in let alone drive it. So the subaru is really for her.

Yeah, the Mitsu Evo is only one year old in the US. I'm not a fan of the looks, and the Impreza STi is faster accelerating (and an even "300 HP" sounds nice). The Evo is supposed to handle slightly better though. But the Evo looks like an inexpensive Lancer dressed up. The WRX looks tough and sold quality. These aren't facts, just subjective "how I feel" opinions.

Unfortunately we never saw the GTR in america. The only Skyline we have is the 2004 Infiniti G35 coupe and sedan. Those have really good sounding engines.

I have considered the 2004 Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro), but ... here we have the 4-dr Cadillac CTS-V with 400 HP gen III engine (for less than the price of a Corvette Z06 406 HP). That car fits my style (no wings or big scoops), but is about 10,000 more than Subaru.

I guess we could get a run-of-the mill Subaru Forester 2.5 Turbo, then turn up the boost, but if I wait a year maybe they'll start selling the Forester STi here (with factory warranty).

Ah, so many choices. This is not like the 80s in america, when performance vehicles could be numbered on your fingers.