Subaru Sti Obp Stage 2 Low Miles on 2040-cars

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Which is quicker in the standing mile, a Subaru WRX STI or a Porsche Cayman?

The 2015 Subaru WRX STI and 2014 Porsche Cayman are both saddled with unfair reputations. The STI with its huge wing and gold wheels has the title of the ultimate boy-racer. On the other hand, Porsche brand snobs look down on he base Cayman as just a wannabe 911. In reality, they are both pretty fantastic performance cars. But what would happen if the two of them lined up at a stoplight, and maybe the guy in the suit in the Cayman started throwing some revs at the young man in the STI? Automobile decided to find out in a recent video pitting the two stereotyped hot rods against each other in a standing-mile drag race.
In terms of raw numbers, they are surprisingly close. Both use flat engines and six-speed manual transmissions here, but the Subaru has more power and torque. However, the Porsche makes up for it with 300 pounds less weight. Neither should have a problem with traction either thanks to the STI's sophisticated all-wheel-drive setup, and the Cayman's mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
The comparable specs certainly show themselves in the real world for the race. We're not going to give away the winner here because it's too exciting, but let's just say the finish is very, very close. Scroll down to watch both of them shrug off their stereotypes and show off their real performance.

Custom cabinetry gives this Subaru Outback camper cred

Where there's space, there's wood to make it more functional. At least, that seems to be the ethos at customization shop Solid Wood Worx. The Huntington Beach, Calif.-based company has turned vehicles such as the Ram ProMaster, Nissan XTerra, Toyota 4Runner, and Ford F-250 into small, livable mobile homes. The most recent project is a Subaru Outback, which uses a unique series of cabinets to meet a fairly complex checklist of asks.  Noticed by Motor1, the Outback belongs to an adventurer named Sean who is setting out on a six-month climbing trip. She reached out to Brian, a woodworker and former cabinet builder, at Solid Wood Worx with her vision of the Outback as a sleep-in camper. She wanted a flat place where she and her 80-pound dog could sleep, a slide-out kitchen with stove and fridge, storage for climbing gear, storage for clothes, and a designated space for a water supply. Possibly the biggest ask was an integrated solar panel with a battery and inverter for off-the-grid living. Brian made it all work.  With the solar panel and spare tire hitched to the Thule roof rack and out of the way, Brian built an interior platform that stretched from the rear hatch to the back of the front seats. Since this eliminated any use of the rear seats, they were taken out. The platform itself has built-in drawers, and the upper portion is split into two functional spaces. The right side has just enough room to fit a small mattress, but Sean looks small, so it should work perfectly. Beneath the bed is the sliding drawer that stows the camp stove. On the left side is a massive amount of storage that doubles as secondary kitchen prep space. On top of that is a small fridge that opens on top like a cooler.  With the kitchen area in its "out" position, a secondary panel opens up to the space where the spare tire used to be. Inside that, Brian's team fitted the wiring, fuses and equipment for the solar panel's battery storage. For this project, Brian used a 100 amp-hour battery and a 100-watt solar kit from Renogy. That power feeds an inverter, a few USB plugs, and the small fridge. Looking through the rear passenger door, there are even more storage spaces for things such as clothes, bedding, shoes, and a laptop. The water tank slides in behind the front seat.  In most of his builds, Brian uses three-quarter-inch nine-ply pine plywood that he gets from Home Depot. It costs roughly $35 for a 4x8 sheet, and each piece weighs about 60 pounds.

Here's the story with the Chicken Tax

Quiz America's auto enthusiasts about the vehicles they most want to see in the US market, and for every one that doesn't respond with a French hot hatchback or some diesel-powered offering, there'd be at least three that ask for some small, imported pickup truck. That won't happen, though, and we have the Chicken Tax to thank. This damnable bit of legislation affixes a 25-percent tariff to any light truck not built in the United States. That's why Honda, Toyota and Nissan build all their trucks in the United States, and it's also why pickups like the foreign-built Volkswagen Amarok, shown above, or the long-rumored Mahindra pickup aren't offered here. Wired has the story on the roots of the Chicken Tax, including how one Japanese manufacturer got around it and even delivered a vehicle to one of our country's presidents. Head over and check it out.