... so 13 years later, I actually not only found my old car, but it's truly bizarre/serendipitous:
1) I saw it in person, initially not knowing it was my old car - I literally said to myself "Cool, a black ST165! I used to have one of these... WAITAMINUTE, this is my old car, what's it doing out here at a Rally School??"
2) I have moved from the East Coast (NYC) to West Coast (Seattle), and so did the car! It is ~25 minutes away from where I now work!
3) Current owner works for the same boss as I do (he is owner/CEO of 2 different companies)
So mystery is solved! This happened this past weekend: I was competiting in my first SCCA RallyCross at Dirtfish Rally School just outside of Seattle. My old car was parked in the paddock. Current owner has another black ST165 that he brought to compete in. I started taking photos of the car and when I saw some small details that I remember about my old car, I realized it was indeed my old car. Should I go out and buy a lottery ticket?
(This might be my first forum post in a few years LOL. I still have my Teal ST185, but it's still back in the East Coast: I haven't moved it cross country yet. Last year, I flew back to NY and brought the car to the MR2/AllTrac Bear Mountain Meet in 2016 and then parked it and it hasn't moved since...)
P.S. The old VIN Registry looks like it's gone? Do we have an alternative? Would love to see that list again...