Feature: “Cholo,” The Yellow Vibrance Subaru WRX From...

A Cholo, according to the Urban Dictionary, is a “Hispanic male that typically dresses in chinos (khahki pants), a 'wife beater' sleeveless teeshirt or a flannel shirt with only the top buttoned, a hairnet, or with a bandana around the forehead, usually halfway down over the eyes (think Cheech and Chong)”. Erick Gonzalez's yellow Cholo may not be dressed in the stereotypical garb, but most certainly has the attitude.

Australians have not always been fans of the quirky little Subaru WRX. When it first arrived in 1994, locals didn't quite know what to think about it. Historically, Aussie's are known for their infatuation with the big V-8's (Ford, Holden, etc), but it didn't take long for them to realize many of their favorite muscle cars were no match for the compact, turbo power of the “Rex”.

Before the end of the 90's, the Subaru WRX was a favorite among Australian tuners. “I've worked with many other cars before,” says Erick. “Skylines, Honda's, Evo's, etc., but the Subaru always stood out to me with its ease of extracting power, exhaust note—plus, with two kids, it's a safe (four door) family car, which made it an easier choice to convince the wifey to let me buy one.”

WRX Trivia #1:
While the giant wings found on many import tuners work as trunk weights more than anything, on the WRX STI sedan, there is actually some function behind them. According to Subaru, the large wing drops the drag coefficient from it's normal 0.37 on the hatchback, to 0.35 on the sedan. While this may not seem like much, it actually increases the STI's top speed by 3 mph (158 mph top speed, as compared to the hatchback's 155).

“When I got the car,” explains Erick. “I told the Wifey, I'd probably just need to get some new wheels since it was already fast and had a leather interior with 6-disc changer—What else could I possibly want to do to our family car, right?” That was two paint jobs and two trims ago. “It's gone through four stages since I've owned it,” reminisces Erick. “From a neat silver car with a few mods, to an orange/black JDM style, to a Yellow/Black JDM, to now, which is a bit of a JDM/SEX SPEC with airbrushing, which makes it different than any other cars in the show scene over here.”

Working at a custom paint and airbrush company (PJS Custom Spray Painting) has its perks, allowing Erick the pleasure of being involved with every stage of the build-up, from it's basic paint and ground effects, to it's custom graffiti-style airbrushing on the hood, rear quarter panels, and interior. “With the airbrushing, I'm just keeping it gangsta,” says Erick. “The first time around I did the hood, then later I decided to extend the airbrushing to the sides and interior.” Most of the artwork was inspired by L.A. Artist, O.G. Abel, but Erick is responsible for the hands on artistry.

About the only work that Erick has had to sub out is the mechanical upgrades, which he admits is one of the best parts about owning the car. “Obviously I'm expected to say this car is the best,” says Erick. “But in reality it's awesome, especially after not driving it every day—I drive a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon these days, and when I jump in the Rex, it's a totally different experience—close to the ground, throttle response, engine/exhaust sound, and power!” This may all sound great, but there is one problem when your having this much fun in Aussie-land... all the damn laws.

WRX Trivia #2:
One of the worst PR nightmares for Aussie Subaru a few years ago, was a slew of robberies. The preferred getaway car for the thieves in question, was none other than the turbocharged Subaru WRX. What these blokes had figured out, was not only was a WRX relatively easy to steal, but was also extremely difficult for the Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon police cruiser's to get hold of. This is a primary reason why interceptor Subaru WRX's have since popped up on the highways, as part of the police program know as, “Fight Fire with Fire”.

Australia is like California when it comes to customizing a vehicle, which in other words, means you can't just pick out your favorite parts, slap them on, and go your merry way down the road. “Police bust your ass for having a modified car,” says Erick. “For example, the first time I was busted for noise pollution and being too low; not long after they got me for still being too low, a loud exhaust, and wheel and tires that were too big.” This action eventually ended Erick's Subaru in the “PIT”, where vehicles are gone through from top to bottom to decide whether or not a vehicle should be considered “roadworthy”.

“My car passed with only a few things I had to change,” says Erick. “I had to buy new wheels and tires that were a legal size, raise the car to a legal height, and purchase an stealth exhaust with a wireless remote control to set the loudness of the car.” This kind of sucked, as you can imagine, but there's more to this story. Erick also ended up in court because of Australia's California-style Anti-Hoon Laws, which were introduced in 2006.

What the Anti-Hoon Laws dictate, is anytime a driver is caught chirping tires, racing, showing off, or just video taping these antics and displaying them on YouTube, they face up to $700 or more in fines, and the possible impounding and sale of the vehicle for government profit. Since the Anti-Hoon Laws have been in effect, as many as 10 cars have been confiscated per day in Australia, which is an average of 2,700 per year, according to The Herald Sun. A good portion of street racers have even had the displeasure of several of their vehicles being confiscated over the past four years. In other words, business has been good. Good for the Aussie government, anyway.

Cholo has been featured in several Australian tuner magazines before becoming our feature ride of the month, and while his Subaru will always be his first love (you know, a macho kind of love), Erick has since started work on a new project. “Right now I'm working on a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon,” says Erick. “The only difference is this time I'm going the opposite of what I'm familiar with—I'm lifting it, going bigger with the tires, smaller with the wheels, and installing metal bumper bars instead of fiber glass, just to keep the cops off my back—For how long, I don't know?”

May the force (and our prayers) be with you, Erick. The Bandit (Smokey and the Bandit) had it easy compared to you blokes down in Aussie-land!