It's a Cadillac, so of course the black is metallic. I believe the official paint code is "Disco Black".

Love to see you review that car.

 

Yup, good timing is key and it doesn't hurt if you have good contacts at the dealers so you can purchase as MSRP. There's also a lot of money to be made flipping cars in the used car market. Earlier this year we sold my wife's 2018 Dodge Durango R/T for almost $5K more than we paid for it brand new almost 4 years ago. She absolutely loved that SUV too, so she didn't want to sell it, but it was just too good of an offer to pass up... ~$50K more towards retirement or keep a car that will soon be out of warranty and will most certainly depreciate like a stone once the current market slows down... not a very hard decision.

 

I just took a quick look at the car before it gets set up through service and was disappointed by some small things, but the good news is that skipping some features will save a significant amount of money. The color is "Black Raven" and unfortunately it is a plain gloss black- not metallic at all. The massaging seats only have one type of massage in the lower back with 3 settings. So I would not spend $2,600 over the sport seats with the suede inserts for that feature (I can easily save $2,600 here). The dark gray wheels look cool in motion, but are a bit plain to look at otherwise (Saves me $600 if I opt out- still a bit torn). The suede on the steering wheel looks really cheap (saves some more $$ lol). The car also feels a bit big to me (maybe just because I know it weighs 3,800 lbs?). It should be all set up and ready for me to drive tomorrow and hopefully it drives smaller than it feels. It also had a lot of settings, but they seem pretty straight forward.

On the plus side the radio sounds pretty good- nice improvement over the Bose in the ATS-V. The interior is also a nice upgrade over the previous generation and the digital dash is worlds better than the plastic fantastic dash in the ATS-V.

I never thought about flipping the car, but I get it at employee pricing which is a nice discount off of msrp. Maybe keep both cars for a little while and sell the one I like the least. I think the Blackwing would make me miss the Subaru in the snow. I had a lot of fun this winter with that car.

 

^^My stinger is supposedly around #3850 or #3900. Initially it did feel larger - wider (compared to the accord or G). That disappears after a while. Wheel base wise it's nearly the same length as the accord (3" longer iirc). So long as the engine has power, car will feel light on its tires.

 

Cadillac must have changed paint colors/codes from 2020 to 2022, the black on my wife's car is "Black Raven" and it's got gold flecks in the paint. It dulls quickly with dirt and road grime but washed and buffed out it's like glass.

 

You are right on the money about the car shrinking in size based on how it drives. The car did feel big initially, but because there is a lot of power along with great steering and handling it felt like a much smaller car after driving it for a short period. It was quite tail happy driving through roundabouts in the sportier settings of the stability control. Fortunately, it was completely controllable, but it does give me some concern for winter driving as the G37 was ok with snow tires, but my STI is glued to the road in the winter with LSD's at both ends. Much more fun to drive in the snow.

Honestly, that is what I am struggling with in trying to convince myself to get a Blackwing. The Blackwing is a much nicer and faster car and it would be much faster on track. However, I only do 2-3 track days/yr. in my most track-friendly years vs. 30+ days of driving sideways in the snow where the STI would excel. Two of my Cadillac stores are getting in 6 spd. manuals so hopefully one arrives unsold that I can drive to make a final decision.

Gold flecks? Does your wife's car look metallic? The Blackwing I looked at appeared to just be a gloss/piano black with no metallic flake in the paint.

 

^^Keep both if you have the means. Otherwise, keep the more practical one.

If you really have a need for speed, get a motorcycle. No car can give you the thrills a bike can at such a price point. A decent bike today is probably $12-15K new. Less so used.

If you need a tune, there's a shop near by - https://www.fuelmotousa.com/ , he's done a few bikes for me over the years.

Granted you're up in the land of grid too, but a few hours west and you got some semblance of corners. Have ridden many thousands of miles in the areas NW and SW of madison.

 

If I keep 2 cars I would get a new Z as my second car. I have done the 2 car thing before and would really prefer to have one car that does it all- the swiss army knife of cars. The STI does a pretty good job of that.

Motorcycles are definitely faster. However, I lost a really good friend to a motorcycle accident so I swore to keep my fun on four wheels.

You are dead on about the "land of grid." I grew up in Janesville where we have things we like to call "corners" and "hills." They don't exist in Appleton, but there are some good twisty roads not too far away.

 

I finally got all of the parts in for my STI Type RA to match the gold wheels and simplify and/or remove some badging for a cleaner look. Let me know what you think.



I painted the calipers black and got gold Brembo stickers for them. The BBS center caps took 2+ months to get from Europe. The gold fender badges only took a month and a half.


I replaced the pink bumper stripe with gold, replaced the blue and silver Subaru badge with black and gold, tinted the taillight centers, and removed all of the silver badges on the left side of the trunk. I painted the remaining "STI" and "Type RA" badges gloss black and moved the "STI" badge to the left side and moved the "Type RA" badge up.


I found these awesome fog light covers that reminded me of the WRC champion Subarus from the late 90's once I found the right type of gold STI stickers. A real pain to get the stickers straight with so many angles, but they look awesome in person. I also replaced the grille to get rid of the ugly center bar and lower pink stripe. Finally, I replaced the silver and blue Subaru badge with black and gold. Initially the fitment was way off, but with some cutting, sanding, and additional adhesive I got it set up properly.

 

That looks badass. Love the black and gold theme. Are you gonna space the wheels out a little more to make it flush?

 

Absolutely fantastic. The detailed changes here are spot-on. Love it.

The only thing I see that gives me pause is having two of those STI branded panels on the front bumper, one at each corner. Then again, they look great, so IDK.

 

I love everything except the wing, but I'm generally not into wings and spoilers.

 

@4DRZ What's the plate mean?

 

Thanks! In my head I thought the gold would be an improvement, but I agree- I think it looks great in person and reminds me a bit of the Lotus John Player Special F1 cars of the 70's and 80's.

You are right about the wheels too. My snow wheels/tires are a 35mm offset vs/ the 55mm offset on these gold rims and they look way more aggressive, but do absolutely spray the side of the vehicle with salt. I already have a set of 18" gold wheels picked out with a better offset if I ever get serious about adding more grip with wider wheels and tires. I have also considered adding spacers, but it makes me nervous that they would get loose and Subaru wheel bearings and not exactly what I would call "durable." I'm ok with the gold wheels the way they are for now... at least until I put the snow tires back on and these suddenly look really tucked. lol

Thanks! The fog light covers are a throwback to the 90's WRC championship Subarus, but you would have to be a big WRC Subaru fan to know that.

I hate the wing on the normal STI, but oddly this one is way more subtle and thinner so I can see out the back window better. It is still a BIG wing, but I am ok with it because it is totally functional, adjustable, the carbon fiber looks amazing, and I did not have to pay the $4,000 to have it. I am still afraid to take the car through any automated carwash as a result of it though.

Flat out. The Road America plates only give you 6 letters. The late great Colin McRae who won all those world championships for Subaru in the late 90's used to say, "When in doubt, flat out!" It was also meant to reference the flat 4 boxer motor. The 3rd meaning is the most obvious since it is a track plate- flat out meaning pedal to the floor.

 

fwiw i've been running wheel spacers for like 6 years now with no issues daily driven, but I am using the extended lug type and not the bolt on ones.