OK
Rice? I suggest you read a little closer 'cause I didn’t mention it either.
I had a Chevelle and a Firebird 6.6 for a while when I was a kid. I grew out of it, thankfully. So, you can take you “American Iron Rules” condescending tone and do something more useful with it.
I have no idea what it is with the people (and I was one of them at one time) that makes a them spend $3K on an old car, sink triple what its worth into it in parts, and even more of your time or labor, just to make it “phat”, “go fast” and best of all, get the right “sound”.
When all is said an done, its still an old car worth 1/4 - 1/3 of what you put into it.
But hey, its a free country. It doesn’t mean you have to be smart.
WTF?
It’s not about being smart. For me, and millions of people around the world, it’s a hobby. It’s not about the money, time or labor. And check this out, I enjoy working on my car! Who the f*ck would have thought? I like going fast, and I too, like the right sound. I like hitting up the local dragstrip every once and while too. I also like the added performance on the road. It’s something I’m into, is that so wrong? As for the import bashing - picture it like baseball, I have my favorite team and you have yours. In sports, this is just friendly competition over a hobby. I like American cars, some of my buddys like imports. I don’t really hate imports, it’s just part of “being into cars”.
As for the rice statement. I know you didn’t specifically say rice in any of your posts, but you did imply it. Being “rice” is the following:
10 ft wing (apparently, this aids performance in fwd hondas)
neon lights (another go fast feature)
You mentioned both of them. You’re the one who implied that I should this for performance. Real car performance is something I already partially listed.
Boys get out grow out of cars. Men don’t. GF! :eek:
Dammit!
Boys grow out of cars. Ment Don’t.
So… are the Cavaliers, Camaros and Mustangs with Neon lights and big honkin’ wings driving around ricers? I’ll have to take your word on the answer as you probably know more about that than I do.
I didn’t say *men grew out of cars[i/]. Most men grow out of buying pieces of junk and sinking a fortune into it so it can do a 1/4 in 13 seconds. Never mind the fenders flapping in the wind and the stereo costs more than the car is worth.
Men grow out of crappy cars that boys drive in high school when they are young and foolish.
Thats all, and honestly, no offense is meant. We were all there at one time.
BTW - ParentalAdvisory, don’t try to read minds by what a poster implies. That can have a nasty habbit of biting you on the ass with some posters on the SDMB! 
I bought mine already! I have a nifty little Mazda Miata, which I adore. So with my primary vehicle taken care of I will go crazy and get me a nice '40’s Ford Woodie wagon. In hunter green, 'cause they’re gorgeous.
I’d get one of those Honda Accord Wagons they’re not selling over here yet… but it’s in that awesome commercial with all of the parts working in sync. If I couldn’t get that, I’d get a new Toyota Celica, or buy back my old '92 Celica and restore it - new upholstery and interior, new paint, etc…
A fully-loaded MiniCooperS of course. Minus that dorky-looking sunroof. Hmm, maybe I’d have enough left for a nifty jet ski to tow behind it. 
Don’t suppose you’d want to come out to CA to pick that up, would you?
Buy the Subaru WRX. But you’ll have to budget for windshield replacements if you’re like me. Flying down snow and ice covered mountain roads at twice the speed limit makes gravel picked up by the trucks you pass hit you like bullets. I had 7 cracks/chips from one time through the mountains between Calgary and Vancouver two years ago. Piss me off. I even knocked off part of the plastic Subaru emblem on the front of the car.
I’d buy a used Ferrari. 308, Magnum PI style. Yes, it’s old, yes, it’s used, but it’s a Ferrari (and cousin to the car I already own… family affair kinda thing)
ParentalAdvisory
should have told your frieng to put a Grand National engine and trans in the Regal - quite engine automatic overdrive trans, 20 mpg’s and they started life in the 13’s. 1 G of mods and it will be doin 11’s easy - in street trim!
Lots of Fun
Oh, goody. Car wars!
Let’s see… $3,000 car. Guy sinks another $5,000 into it. Loves the car to death. Drives it for five years, and sells it for $3000. Takes a $5,000 loss. Is that stupid?
Or… Guy buys a new $28,000 ‘sensible’ vehicle. Drives it for five years, and sells it for $12,000. Loss: $16,000. But he’s much smarter than the guy who sunk $5000 into his beater?
Does not compute.
Frankly, if you want to drive a ‘nice’ car, the absolute cheapest way to do it is to buy a used classic car that will hold its value or even appreciate. So, take your $28,000 and find yourself a '63 Corvette, in the best condition you can find for that money. You’ll have incredible pride of ownership, it’ll be fun to drive, look like a million bucks, and in five years you’ll be able to sell it for much more than you bought it for. Cost of ownership: ZERO.
Of course, you’d still be driving a 40 year old vehicle, with the amenities of that era. So if you don’t like that, fine. Just don’t bitch about other people’s choices.
Cars are expensive. No one needs a $28,000 car. Anyone who buys a vehicle in that price range has NO RIGHT to slam someone else for being ‘stupid’ about sinking money into their old vehicle. If you want to be responsible, go buy yourself a five year old Civic for $5,000, and drive it until it falls apart.
Back to the OP: If we can push the $28,000 just a tad, I’d have to say a Mitsubishi Evo. 4.7s 0-60, low 13-second quarter mile, pulls almost 1g on the skidpad, stops shorter than any other car on the planet, will stay with or even beat Ferraris, Porsches, high-end BMWs, etc. That new GTO won’t even be in its ballpark, let alone the same league. And, it’s AWD, and will be just as much fun to drive in the winter as in the summer. It’s got four doors, and can carry four adults comfortably. Keep your foot off the gas, and it’ll get 24mpg.
In short, it’s the perfect car. Well, that and the Subari WRX STi, but the STi is a little more money.
Evo’s got better balance, I’m hearing. STi has more power, but the Evo gets better lap times.
Thing is, it’s last year’s Evo, compared to Japan. Plus, I kinda want to buy American.
Crossfire is a bit underpowered, darn it, or I’d be all over it. Two years and they’ll have fixed it, though.
Sam, wanna lay your money down? Go GTO!!!
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION
Vehicle type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
Estimated base price: $29,500
Engine type: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 4-in-line, iron block and aluminum head, Mitsubishi engine-control system with port fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1997cc
Power (SAE net): 271 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 273 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Wheelbase: 103.3 in
Length: 178.5 in
Width: 69.7 in
Height: 57.1 in
Curb weight 3250 lb
C/D-estimated performance:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.4 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 14.2 sec @ 98 mph
Top speed (redline limited): 155 mph
Projected fuel economy:
EPA city driving 18 mpg
EPA highway driving 26 mpg
It depends what you need, want and expect in a car Sam. I spent $28K on a car a few months ago. That wasn’t the price, that was TT&L and warranty and out the door. Sale price was $24,500. And it’ll bring me $18-20K when I roll it at around three years.
I agree with you about buying new. My MO has been to look for 3-4 year olds that I know to be good cars. The last three have been BMWs, and I’ll likely stay the course.
0-60 in 6.9 seconds, with the warranty intact, gets me to work on time. In nice, comfy heavy iron. Right now, somebody who spent $80K on it is breaking in my next car for me, the one I’ll buy for pretty close to what this year’s car cost me, in 2006. That one does 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. Guess I’d better save up for gasoline.
So, yeah, it works for me to see around $3K in depreciation per year for the ride I want (and don’t have to monkey with).
Blown and Injected: That was their estimated performance. The actual performance has been proven to be a bit better than that. Quite a bit better, in fact. I know for sure the STi has run 0-60 times well under 5 seconds, and the Evo is just about as fast. And both cars are running quarter miles well under 14 seconds.
Ringo: Don’t misunderstand me - I’m not arguing against buying new cars, used cars, expensive cars, or cheap ones. My sole complaint is with the hypocrisy of people who complain about other’s taste in cars. My point was that unless you are driving the cheapest, most economical vehicle that serves your needs, you are spending a lot of money just because you like to. To then turn around and criticise someone else is just idiotic. You want to buy an $80,000 Beamer? Great. Knock yourself out. Just don’t go around calling someone else stupid because they chose to spend their money on colored lights and a big wing on the back of their car. To each his own. A car is a personal statement, and people spend whatever they can afford, and buy the vehicle that makes them happiest.
‘Car wars’ are just stupid.
I’d finish restoring my 1969 Buick Riviera, and then I’d take the rest of the money and cruise what’s left of Route 66.