Maybe a forum dedicated to these stupid threads would be a good idea. We could create a "What Car Application Form" with check boxes for price, transmission, drive train, mpg, age, kid ages, etc.
Relevant info:
-I really like my Suburban, but it would be replaced with this purchase. No room to add a third vehicle at the moment.
-My wife's 2011 Outback will be kept indefinitely. I find it a bit boring to drive, but it's a great family car and she likes it.
-Cars I have loved include: '05 Legacy GT Wagon with 5MT, E36 328i, NA MKII MR2.
-I like wagons. A lot.
-I think I prefer RWD, but haven't owned a FWD car since college, which was an '86 Audi Coupe GT. AWD is fine, but not as rewarding as RWD to me.
-My commute is five miles round trip, but I do road trip. We put about 15k miles on each of our cars each year. MPG isn't a huge deal, but better is, um, better.
-We have a 2 and almost 4 year old. Car seats are in my car all the time. No more kids will be added to the family.
-Budget is a gray area. My automotive ADD makes low price attractive. If I were to buy a new car (Mazda6?) I could justify low $20k range, but I don't think that makes much sense unless I actually keep the car for five+ years.
-I'm fine with driving slow cars fast.
-If it's a sedan, the back seat has to fold down.
My main drivers for getting a different car is that I don't have anything I can drive in anger or anything with three pedals. With two kids (and a daycare bill bigger than my mortgage payment) and hobbies that don't involve cars, reliability is important.
I've been looking at E90 BMW wagons, which can be had with a manual. Looks like I could get a nice one for low teens. My reservation about this car is maintenance can get expensive, though in general they are reliable, particularly if you stay away from the 535.
I've wanted an IS300 for a long time. Not sure if the back seat would be big enough and MT is not too common. MT with LSD is even more difficult to find, though they are out there.
Infinity G35 is intriguing. That steering wheel is pretty ugly. Not sure why, but that seems like a big deal to me.
On the more appliance end of the spectrum, an Accord with a manual would be nice in that when my ADD kicks in again I probably won't lose much money on resale, and cost of ownership should be low. Buy in for a 2008 or newer can be low teens, and shouldn't need anything beyond brakes, tires, and oil changes. But, would I be happy with a front driver with little if any soul? Would summer performance tires make it fun enough? Would the MT make it hard to sell?
The new Mazda6 looks awesome to me. Seems like a good deal to be had as well, with buy in just over $20k. Warranty is nice, but money would be lost on buying a new car. And FWD. If they offered a wagon w/manual I'd be pretty excited about that car, whether it means buying one now or buying a used one in a couple years.
There is a 2005 Mazda6 wagon with manual on CL here right now--75k miles, asking $9k. Price seems high and I worry about rust popping up since we are in Wisconsin. And it has a similar steering wheel to the G35, no Bluetooth or ability to add it as the stereo is integrated.
Whew, that post is longer than I intended it to be. So, in a nutshell, I think it's got to be manual, fun to drive through corners, predictable cost of ownership, easy to get my money out of in a couple years.
GO.
A bit outside your price range, but you'd love it. I promise. 
