In 1998 I saw a loaded paprika ESi in the local Chrysler lot and just had to have it. Then I discovered Club DSM / Talon Digest and learned of the awesome potential of the 4G63. The Talon Digest also introduced me to the sport of autocross, which I began participating in 1999. After a coulple years of running the ESi in competition, I succumbed to the need for more speed and sold it in favor of a TSi AWD.

So my first Talon was purchased solely on looks & handling.
And my second Talon was purchased solely for competition.

It's too bad he can't drive... (:

(Just kidding, Scott.)

I'm still waiting for you to come out and show me how it's done...

My first Talon was a gold 92 esi in 1999. I thought it was the slickest car on the road. 2 weeks later I went to the place I bought it and saw a 91 AWD. Traded straight up. I loved those cars, but they didn't love me.

I loved those cars, but they didn't love me.


Well said Mike..........the truth does hurt sometimes.

Man you're old. Perty good memory for a guy in his 100's.

Doh!!!! Really, I'm only half that age

I bought my first DSM back in '94 after I test drove it at a Chrysler dealership. It was the 91 FWD turbo Laser which is my wife's daily driver today. I originally called this dealer inquiring about a used Chevy Beretta but he told me it was sold. He mentioned that he had a little white Plymouth that was sporty and that he thought I might like. Having never driven a turbo car ('cept a supercharged T-Bird) before I really was unprepared for the PULL of this automobile at WOT. Needless to say, I bought it. I remembered reading ads and an article in Motor Trend magazine back in '88 about the DSM turbo triplets and all the advanced technology that went into every one. I could never had imagined owning one back then because I was a bow-tie small block V8 afficionado and the thought of owning one of these little asian pocket rockets was alien indeed. Never say never.

Did you say paprika?

Yup. Wish my TSi was the same color.

I always thought that V8's were the only real way to make power, like most of the world.

I saw adds for the Talon and Eclipse in media, but I poo-poohed it like everyone else.

I went into a dealer in 1990 and there was a triple black 90 TSI awd 5spd in there. OH MY GOD, what a HOT car!! hot on the outside, so modern and awesome on the inside and apparently fast as hell. Course I couldn't afford it, so I left and forgot about it.

Fast forward to 5 years ago. I had enough money to get a nicer car and enough of having to have a car that was just good enough to get around in, so I started a search for a different car. I looked at Porsche 931's, Turbo Dodges, Mustangs, Camaros, Lancias, rotary goodness,turbo Volvos, all sorts of cars.

I joined tons of websites because I wanted to make sure there was a community for the car I bought. If lots of people are working with the car and its proven, thats a big help.

Nearly 1 year and countless test drives and dissapointment later, I finally found my red 91 TSi AWD 5spd.

See, I chose one of these because there really isn't anything these cars can't do well. They look hot, accelerate hard, go fast, stop well, handle well, are comfortable, get good fuel economy and, believe it or not, are reliable if maintained. Plus they have a large hatch if you need to move things, and have a huge international community for backup/support/r&d.

As well, IMHO, the 4g63 is one of the top engines ever made. NO need for an engine swap, unlike almost all other cars. and no need for built internals for most street driven cars.

with a few mods on power, handling and braking, these cars can keep up or better much more expensive cars and at a minor fraction of the cost. And with a more substantial, but modest set of balanced mods, hardly any car can compete for all around performance, when real street tires, pump gas and honest to god street cars are compared.

I've loved mitsubishi lancer evolution's ever since #3 came out and my all time fave was the EVO 5. I loved the 4G63 engine and wanted a evo so bad but none in canada and also I could never afford one.

After I got my license and with 3K I went to autotrader and searched for cars, I went to see cars from civic hatches, supra's, 240's, mr2 and the talons of course
I loved the styling of the 2g's but can't afford one, so i looked into 1g's and I wanted the Turbo AWD (wanted to power to show those honda guys)
I searched everywhere with my dad and it took me more than 3 months of searching to finally find the black 93 TSI AWD that I have right now, I saw it parked infront of this shop called (Front wheel drive limited around Denison, I called the number on the sale sign the next day and it was mine ^^ the car had actually been sitting their for like 3 months and no one wanted it.)

I got a DSM because I needed a hole to throw my money into

Why did I buy a DSM???

Well, Greg Kelly, another member on the board here, had a little something to do with it. Having seen him buy the '98 Tsi AWD, I was immediately jealous!

I had my sights set on a different turbo car first though....an '88 Red Toyota Supra, but aside from the high price, the automatic transmission was too much of a turn off.

Then all of a sudden, this guy right next to my house puts a for sale sign in his '95 Black Eagle Talon, TSi AWD.........my mind was made up then, I owned that car.........and 5 days later, I made it true! (thanks to student loan, haha).

2 years later, and lots of learning, I've got the car to a point where I understand how things work, and how to fix them when they don't!!

If it wasn't for the many people on this board putting their free time into making VFAQ's, replying to my various "Help-Me!" posts, and being general stand up good guys, I wouldn't be driving this sweet car today!

It's really funny how true the saying is: DSM's do make mechancis out of everyday people......hell, I'm an accountant, and I pulled the motor and tranny in my driveway (in December/January in Newfoundland)and reinstalled it all before the snow hit!

Cheers guys,

Mike Penton

Oh yeah, and my buddy bought an '89 Mazda RX-7, so I really had to one-up him......AWD traction was the answer to that

Mike

I baught a dsm because I didn't know any better

I bought a DSM for a number of reasons. I became hooked on forced induction when I purchased a 1989 Plymouth Sundance 2.5L Turbo. This thing ROCKED!! I bought it in 1996 as a university car, and much like our DSM Club family, there was SDML (Shelby Dodge Mailing List) where guys were doing mods to 2.2L and 2.5L four-bangers. From 12 second Caravan's to 10 second K cars!! A bit more boost in the Sundance and free flowing exhaust and I was hooked on smoking Prelude SRV's, Baretta GTZ's, Z-28's and 5.0's.

Then it came time to look for something newer, cooler, and of course, faster! I wanted the same kind of 'community' support for mods that I was used to, and wanted good value in a turbo car. Hence, a DSM!! I saw a bright shiny red 1G AWD and stopped at the dealer to look at it. I didn't like the interior design, so I started looking at the 2G's. I love the lines and the big, fat ass!! They were too expensive, so I just waited and dreamed and waited and dreamed until I could afford one, and that's how I ended up with my 95.

I liked it so much, that I've since bought a second 2G (1998, my current daily driver), and I'm even considering getting a 1999 Eclipse GSX as my next car! I'm not only hooked on forced induction, but also on traction!! My buying criteria for cars now is narrowed tightly down to Turbo and AWD as must haves.

The worthwhile DSM's are getting old now (except for the EVO), so I've started considering (only mildly) a couple other newer replacement cars (Mazdaspeed 6 and Audi A4/S4. Don't like the WRX's). But I don't think I'm ready to leave the DSM family yet, hence the 1999 Eclipse that's on the horizon.

I like boost so much that I haven't parted with any of my turbo cars!!! Easy and cheap to get gobs of power, with almost unlimited power potential!!! Nice!

Reading all these stories... is making me not wanna sell mine


How I got mine was.. i went to the local acura dealership.. to look at a RSX type-S.. test drove it.. wasnt too impressed (i recently had a SiR and it was the same thing) And then i noticed this 98 Talon TSI AWD on the lot.. salesmen told me it just arrived froma trade in.. older gentlemen was 51 and this was his summer toy. My talon has 72,000kms on it and looked like it just came from the dealership in 98.. it still does..

urgh i wish i had the money to keep it and get a truck

Here's my short story to this:

In the summer of '93 my Reliant needed replacement.
I looked at a Daytona, but eventually settled on a LeBaron turbo due to insurance.
My pre-occupation with the Daytona increased when I discovered that 220 hp model.
Then, one day, I saw the Talon, probably '95. In 2000 I finally switched from wanting the Daytona to buying the Talon Tsi, which follows me to this day.

It was all about the look, and the AWD...

Because I'm stupid and dont like to have money :rolleyes:

I wanted a car that wasn't overly common around here, and with alot of potential. So here I am 3 years later, a full second off of my stock ETs with just a few cheap bolt-ons.

Just about to slap on the 16g and a few more goodies to drop another second. Gotta love the ease at which these cars get faster.

I bought mine because it was absolutely gorgeous. It was about two years to the day from when I first saw my car parked to when I bought it, picking it from the exact same spot it had been sitting in when I first saw it. I picked it up with 51,007km on the clock. They were asking $12,000 but I got it for $7,500 just because I was a family friend.

I still enjoy my car just as much as I did that first day I saw it. I remember I stopped dead in my tracks and asked "What IS that!? It is so nice!"

The fact it was a ESi had absolutely no bearing. 4G63s are overrated.

I bought mine because I wanted to qualify for the special olympics!!!

I bought mine because I was looking for a Corrado but found this site and PPG set me on the right path.

I still think Corrados are damn sexy though

HA! If anything they are underrated...

Point form:
-Already in high insurance
-AWD traction in Canadian weather
-Turbo
-Cheap power=bang for the buck
-Fun to drive
-Self reward for finishing university/training/courses

Story:
After blowing a valve in a drive from Petawawa to Toronto in my near 280000km 1990 CRX Si, I decided to replace it. Fun to drive factor is big, given that I had a road legal go-kart. So it had to be a sporty car. My insurance was also very high being a driver under 25 with a two seater, and no car would significanly save me money (few hundred dollars at most).
As for perfect timing, the insurance company wanted to double my insurance rate for no reason upon renewal. So I said f#$% them, change insurance companies too.

After all this frustration, my thought was: "If I am gonna be charged as a dangerous driver, then I should have a dangerous car."

I always eyed DSM's as cheap supercars. Not many awd turbos out there to take on Canadian weather. Driving the TSI AWD feels like that there is only one AWD season, except for salt. I had bad experiences spinning out in my light CRX. With the extra weight, and awd traction, I became more aware of possible overconfidence that might have gotten dsm's in the junkyard.

Chosing a DSM is also a testament of car fanaticism...most people don't know what it is, and you gotto be willing to work on them, and it can take most modern cars still.

I also wanted a car with leather and A/C.

Brain fart!