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Not that long ago, the predominant view of sport compact cars, especially by off-road enthusiasts, was a bunch of young, baggy-jeans wearing kids driving 5 year-old Civics with coffee-can sized exhaust tips, unpainted body kits fluttering down the road, and chopped springs hopping down the highway.
Conversely, sport compact enthusiasts' stereotypical view of off-road, pre-runner enthusiasts were a bunch of spikey-haired rednecks with lifted trucks that listened to hard-rock music and bullied everyone on the road with their big trucks, and went out to the dunes every weekend to get drunk and do stupid stuff in their karts and dirt bikes.
Certainly, these two groups of enthusiasts could not seem further apart on the surface. What could they possibly have in common? Well, whether it's a case of a lucky coincidence or marketing genius, Subaru and Rally USA have combined the excitement of rallying, which has traditionally been popular in Europe and elsewhere in the world, with the fast-paced action of Stadium Motocross. Naturally, they selected the latest "it" superstar of Motocross, Travis Pastrana.
So far, this seems to be a winning combination. The Subaru WRX STI is one of the most sought-after sport compacts, whether on or off-road, and the fast-paced action of motocross on four wheels is sure to appeal to off-road and compact enthusiasts alike.
So are we going to see the young kids in Civics and Integras become best buddies with Bubba and his lifted Super Duty? Some probably already are. The fact is, enthusiasts are enthusiasts, whether they're into cars or trucks, old or new. Certainly, there is enough common ground there to build something.
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