THIRD GENERATION
Gen Kanai packs up to leave Midtown Manhattan in his Subaru Impreza WRX. Suddenly a car a lot like the one Grandma drove looks hotter than Dad’s sport utility vehicle. Just don’t call it a station wagon.
My girlfriend introduced me to someone who works at the Times and is a big WRX fan and he convinced the Escape editors to do a piece on sport wagons. I’m quoted and the photo is of me and my car 
NY Times – An S.U.V.? Oh, That’s So Over!
“My car is the anti-S.U.V.,” said Gen Kanai, 29, of New York, who works in the business development division of Sony and drives an Impreza WRX. “I carry bulky computer boxes, my mountain bike, my snowboard. The sports rack is on it all the time.”
What his wagon doesn’t have, he added, is “the environmental image problems, the parking problems, the higher-center-of-gravity problems” of an S.U.V.
See also relevant Subaru Impreza Owner’s Club (i-club.com) post.
I would have thought the Times would run that photo with a different caption:
Parking Space Imminently Available In Midtown Manhattan
Seriously, Go Gen! The more “anti-SUV” messages we can get out there, the better. I’m convinced we’ll look back at these vehicles with the same mixture of nostalgia and disbelief that the bat-finned monstrosities of the 50′s evoke.
We had a spot on the other side of the street but it was brighter on the closer side. So we had to use the hydrant spot.
I’m happy to promote SUV-alternatives. It just makes sense.
Is it my eyes, or do you have a kitchen sink in the car? Have you ever thought of modeling?
VERY COOL! How’s the sound system? Perhaps at some point I could replace my Escort with one of those
.
I’ve ridden in that car!!
Does that make me almost famous?!?
Wow, a NYT coverage. Go Gen! Did you get that car after your VW? After reading your posting, I am not so keen on getting a Range Rover… I even feel a bit embarrassed for having wanted one so badly.
C’mon dude, down on suvs?… what would your dad say? And on a lighter note, I’m going to need to borrow your car, you know… for an upcoming move, a really hot date or a spirited ralley romp through Labrador.
yo man my s4 will wipe the floor with you. oh
wait no it wont. oh wait i dont have an s4.
Fantastic. Much cooler than an oversized behemoth.