Hi All GenVibers!

[Stang2Vibe]

Just dropped by to say hi to all the GenVibers. I was doing some things around the house yesterday and I remembered some of my friends here on the site. Missed you guys so I figured I'd drop in today and give a shout out.Been some major changes in my life over the past few months. Yes, I'm still a guy in every way, I didn't weird out like that or anything. I've moved into my own place again and I really love it. I now live in a 3 bedroom townhome with a garage in a really nice suburb south of Pittsburgh. I've wanted to have a place in this township since I found it in my teens. The view of the rolling countryside off my back deck is beautiful. I've found it to be very peaceful here, many of my neighbors are retired or nearing retirement age so they appreciate the fact that I'm a quiet, polite, and respectful neighbor who didn't move in and wreck up their neighborhood. A few of them commented recently to me that they didn't even know that someone was living in my house because I'm so quiet, I thought that was kinda funny. I usually keep mostly to myself and don't want to disturb others so they probably haven't seen me around much. I'm very busy with work and my businesses so it's no wonder.I started a new job back in April too. I now work full time (and then some) for a major media conglomorate in the Pittsburgh area selling advertising to local small businesses. I'm doing pretty well there, they gave me a promotion after only about 60 days of working there so I guess they like me. I make almost 3 times more money at my new job compared to the old one so I'm happy about that, plus there's still plenty of room for me to make way more money once I get a few more things figured out. I still own my own internet marking company on the side too and it's doing better than ever before also. I've also formed a corpration with a few other partners and we're in the final phase of purchasing a popular nightclub and restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. It can be any day now that we get notification that all the paperwork has gone through and we can begin to operate the business in our own name. I'm very excited to get going on that project but I know that patience will pay off in the end.The Vibe is doing exceptionally well. I've had it for almost five years now. It has about 63,000 miles on it and the only work I've ever had to do to it was change the oil on schedule, air filter, tires (twice) and brakes (once) and one front speaker went bad and was replaced under warranty about 2 1/2 years ago. It still gets 25-30 MPG and the extended lift still has me passing cars on the road without difficulty. I have to replace the lower front bumper since I hit a big piece of a recapped truck tire on the interstate back in the winter. I also dinged the rear hatch door when I was moving my jetski and it started getting away from me. The trailer hitch hit the hatch, denting it and scraping the paint off but it's only about the size of a quarter so I haven't freaked over it. I use the Vibe every day now for work and I'm in and out of it all day so it's really being put to use. After 5 years and 63K miles it still runs and drives perfect.My Jeep Cherokee has been doing well too. 14 years old with 211K miles and it still starts and runs every time. Drives straight as an arrow too. I have to fix small things on it here and there that are mostly due to the age and use of the vehicle. I'm thinking of repainting it in the spring. If the nightclub goes well I'll probably sell the Jeep and buy a new Subaru Forester XT Limited. I test drove one a few months ago and was really impressed. It's a WRX in disguise. I like my wagons because they're a good fit for me with work.I refuse to have a car payment again so I can be patient to save up for the Forester. Then I want to pay off my remaining balance of my student loans, and after that I think a nice Ferrari F430 would suit me real well. I'm patiently yet eagerly awaiting the day when I can drive it over to my ex-girlfriend's place and tell her I'm so sorry that she put all her chips on the wrong horse and lost, beep the horn and wave goodbye one last time with a giant smile on my face. Yeah, I can't wait for that day to come .But that's pretty much all there is to tell for now I guess. Hope you all have been doing well and that the Vibe has been just as excellent a vehicle for you as it has been for me. It serves me well and I'm still glad to have bought it.Maybe some of you could offer your thoughts and suggestions on what color looks best on an F430? I'm sorta torn between red (rosso) and black (nero). I'm not too enthusiastic about yellow, though it is eye-catching. I understand that they offer 16 factory colors and also will paint the exterior any color that you'd like, but I'd like to stick to something that is classic Ferrari.

[AKLGT]

Hey, stranger! Miss seeing you around, but i understand. Sounds like you've been quite busy!and really, the FXT isn't a WRX in disguise, more than that. But you should go for the FXT Sports so you can get the STI front lip and rims. Glad the car is keeping up with you. You sound very happy and that's great to hear finally! Drop us a line in your busy schedule. Would be fun to talk "shop" with you. I opened my own business myself not too long ago so would be great to bounce off ideas from a long lost old friend! LOL. Hope

[Stang2Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »and really, the FXT isn't a WRX in disguise, more than that. But you should go for the FXT Sports so you can get the STI front lip and rims. Hey Hope! Glad to see you still stop by here from time to time. Wish you and Phil all the best and would be glad to exchange business thoughts anytime. Now for Subie talk.Yeah, I guess you're right, I'm told by other "Subiefolk" that the FXT is a detuned STi and could easily be built up to STi levels and beyond. I happen to like the little security blanket that comes with new cars called a warranty and turning a FXT into an STi kinda voids that. For the Sports FXT model, that's the one I test drove. I think that it is not available in the monotone exterior look and they put funky colored body trim on it that I didn't like. The Limited is the only one that offers the option for leather seats and once I reach the price threshold that these cars are in, the leather becomes a must. I'm not looking to build it into a racecar, that would be cool, but it wouldn't fly with the demands of my work and my car is a work tool now. It's my rolling office, file room, and conference center as well as daily transportation so it's gotta be comfortable. One hangup I have with buying a Subaru for a car that I need to use so much is the fact that their seats are so hard. I'm in and out of the car for about 5 1/2 hours of my normal workday in addition to the daily commute so comfort is at a premium for me. The leather seats were sharp looking and more comfortable than the cloth ones for me. Keep in mind that I'm a 260lb guy so comfort to me will be different than what it is to you. I actually thought about moving up to an Outback for more driver room, but they don't seem to build a fast luxury version like the Forester and I prefer the Forester's boxy yet elegant look over the Ouback's "I want to be a 1996 Taurus Wagon" look.I like using the Vibe in the summer. It gets good gas mileage yet is quick and since it's 5 yrs old I don't mind putting the miles on it. But I need something 4wd for the winters around here. I have lots of ridiculous hills to climb in my work territory and if I'm getting something new it's going to be real nice since I tend to keep my cars for a long time if I like them and they don't give me trouble. I want something practical yet nice for work, for when I have to be Mr. CoolGuy, well, that's what the F430 will be for.But I value your input and your suggestions.

[jimincalif]

Sounds like things are going well. RED is the only acceptable color for a Ferrari IMO.

[Stang2Vibe]

Hey there, Jim. Yeah, things are going pretty good but I'm not counting this all as a done deal yet. When I have the dirty green paper in hand then I'll be totally confident but successful people have taught me that if you're going to win big you have to think big so I've set some goals. Even if I should fail to reach them, I'll still be far better off than had I not even tried.I've been thinking about the traditional red as you mentioned and I am sort of leaning that way but just wanted to keep my options open and make an informed choice so thanks for your input!

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »Hey Hope! Glad to see you still stop by here from time to time. Wish you and Phil all the best and would be glad to exchange business thoughts anytime. Now for Subie talk.Yeah, I guess you're right, I'm told by other "Subiefolk" that the FXT is a detuned STi and could easily be built up to STi levels and beyond. I happen to like the little security blanket that comes with new cars called a warranty and turning a FXT into an STi kinda voids that. For the Sports FXT model, that's the one I test drove. I think that it is not available in the monotone exterior look and they put funky colored body trim on it that I didn't like. The Limited is the only one that offers the option for leather seats and once I reach the price threshold that these cars are in, the leather becomes a must. I'm not looking to build it into a racecar, that would be cool, but it wouldn't fly with the demands of my work and my car is a work tool now. It's my rolling office, file room, and conference center as well as daily transportation so it's gotta be comfortable. One hangup I have with buying a Subaru for a car that I need to use so much is the fact that their seats are so hard. I'm in and out of the car for about 5 1/2 hours of my normal workday in addition to the daily commute so comfort is at a premium for me. The leather seats were sharp looking and more comfortable than the cloth ones for me. Keep in mind that I'm a 260lb guy so comfort to me will be different than what it is to you. I actually thought about moving up to an Outback for more driver room, but they don't seem to build a fast luxury version like the Forester and I prefer the Forester's boxy yet elegant look over the Ouback's "I want to be a 1996 Taurus Wagon" look.I like using the Vibe in the summer. It gets good gas mileage yet is quick and since it's 5 yrs old I don't mind putting the miles on it. But I need something 4wd for the winters around here. I have lots of ridiculous hills to climb in my work territory and if I'm getting something new it's going to be real nice since I tend to keep my cars for a long time if I like them and they don't give me trouble. I want something practical yet nice for work, for when I have to be Mr. CoolGuy, well, that's what the F430 will be for.But I value your input and your suggestions.well..... subie talk.... the FXT Sports package is MONOTONE!!!! nice front bumper, rims and front lip. as for the warranty, true if you do start moving around parts and pieces it will void that portion of the warranty. however, it's a relatively "safe" mod as well as pretty inexpensive (engine parts wise). swap the turbo, swap the intercooler, do some tuning and voila! The FXT in itself is not a detuned STI however. different gearing and tranny all together. the closest to the STI would be the legacy Spec B because it has a 6MT however it also is not the same. since this will be a long while in the future, i will suggest waiting and watching to see what happens... they are talking about a true STI Forester and the new STI hatch for 09 may come with a very cool DSG slushbox. I am holding out another year for the 09 model hatch. I miss having the utility we had with the Vibe, however i MUST have AWD!!! we did an STI swap on my buddy's 07 FXT in March at the house. took about 1/3 the time to do his vs mine.as for the F430? hmm.... that will be tough. i've always been a fan of a bright yellow-orange, similar to BMW Dakar Yellow. But since you are talking Ferrari, you should go with red. black would also be acceptable. LOL. I love them, but not for me... i want a 2 seater roadster! convertible top of course. i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a BMW M3 or M5 roadster, however I am unwilling to spend the money for it.hit me up on PM and we'll chat more.

[Sublimewind]

Do not deny yourself the FXT hawtness.... you must look at this.... yummyhttp://forums.nasioc.com/forum...r+fxt

[Mavrik]

welcome back stang. Nice to see a familer old face eh?FXT is awesome but its best compared to a wrx and not a detuned STi. The STi has bigger turbo, intercooler, better suspension, different ECM and 6 spd transmission with pump fed tranny fluid. not splash fed like all the others. Still an awesome vehicle. We lowered my boss's wife's new Forester Sport XT on TEIN coil overs, and gold prodrive rims. Tinted the windows and tail lights. Its hot!

[MRCN RCE]

hey stang, sounds like you're doin pretty good over there, congrats. about the ferrari color, i've always thought white ferraris looked great. i've only seen one of those. the red and black are beautiful colors too, but to me, too many people have them. to help your color decision, one thing you could do when you're ready to buy one is start a poll on here listing all the colors, n let us choose.