A friend just bought a '04 WRX with manual box. Great fun to drive and very pretty in its blue color. One option he had to take (already on the car) was a $100+ optional "titanium" shift knob with "sti" on it. It is a really small shift knob that does not "fall readily to hand" as the Brits used to say. I drove the car and the knob does not have a pleasant feel at all. Too small and too weirdly shaped. Almost a cylinder. The added cost seems really excessive, too.
Was the dealer doing a snow job or is that little knob really that expensive?