Ideal car?

Fairmont wagon + engine swap + all the usual "How do I make my Fox body handle?" parts?

A DD type thing? For me, it has to be able to carry 5 adults in reasonable comfort, be able to haul some stuff from the Big Box O' House Crap in a dry area, be able to pull ~4000-4500 pounds of race ka, be able to haul large amounts of yard trash, must have freezing cold AC and blistering hot heat, must be reliable as the sun and reasonably priced. Oh, and it has to fit in the garage with Casper and the Jensenator.

Voila; the Xterra. It will get 15-16 mpg around town, driving at ~74 MPH will get between 19-20 MPG depending on terrain, with the car trailer hauling the race ka is handled, with utility trailer yard crap is done. I've owned 4 SUV's (Cherokee Sport, Rodeo, Trooper, Xterra) and they've been the most useful vehicles I've ever owned (when paired with trailers).

Loved my pickups (Ford Courier, Nissan SE 4x4 V6) and the various non-2 seat cars I've owned have, for the most part, been good. But they just don't have the all around usefulness of the SUV/trailer combinations.

This is easy. The Homer because: Slime green + kid space bubble FTW! Four doors.. oh so practical and E30 goodness under it all.

Edit: Yes, I would drive it to work

E55 AMG wagon...because the E63 version is...too pretentious.

Audi RS4 hatch? Add E85 and a tune.

Enjoy murdering everything in a straight line, and having the room to take everything with you for the occasional track day.

And one of these so I can do chores

KyAllroad wrote: Is there a reason we can't have a small wagon with AWD, aggressive but not overwrought looks ...

Isn't a small wagon also called a hatchback?

pinchvalve wrote: The ideal car is in fact...a minivan. Easy to drive, plenty of space and versatility, light towing, AWD is out there, easy ingress/egress, safe, decent MPG, good visibility, great long-distance touring, reliable, etc. There is a reason they got so freaking popular: the concept is sound. All they lack is soul and a fun factor.

Right answer wrong picture...

If I could combine the interior dimensions and driving position of the old Escort wagon with the rwd driving feel of the old BMW and, say, 200 revvy natural aspirated horsepowers... Mmmm.

Is there a price limit?

Plenty of space would mean I would have to drive people around so two door two seat would be prefect.

Mazda5 with the Mazdaspeed6 drivetrain

93EXCivic wrote: Is there a price limit? Plenty of space would mean I would have to drive people around so two door two seat would be prefect.

It's not the last thing I'd expect in this thread, but it's close.

Longnose Astro with

An LM7 5.3, and A camper interior.

It's already been mentioned, but when I read the criteria I thought you just described our 2011 WRX hatch. For anyone that would argue that it isn't a wagon I'd suggest you compare its' interior room to the previous "wagon" body.

2 seat, FWD/AWD, Targa would be nice, long enough wheelbase to eat highway miles.

Del Sol(20 years old and few clean survivors)

911 Targa 4S($$$, I could comprimise on those rear seats)

Elio(Vaporware)

Mini Coupe($$ reliability)

Miata Shooting Brake

drdisque wrote: Miata Shooting Brake

Close enough?

Probably the one I've owned at least one of for the past 18 years:

Affordable, practical, lightweight fun. Similar driving experience to The Answer, but with a real roof, 2+2 seating, hatchback cargo space.