OMG, another "what car" thread

I like the Maxima idea. I had a 3rd Gen ('89 SE) and it was absolutely bulletproof, handled well, was easy to fix on the rare occasion that it broke, and was fun to drive. I can't recommend the 4th gens though, they are a royal PITA to wrench on. My mother has one, and I dread working on it.

The 5th gens are pretty nice, especially the later ones with the 260hp VQ and the 6 speed. I remember back when my sister worked for Nissan in 03-or so, and they got one in. We took it "to get gas", which meant flogging it on the back roads behind the dealership. It was pretty fast and handled well for a FWD, beam axled land barge.

Travis_K wrote: I like the Alfa 164 idea, its probably the most interesting one from the list. Or what about a old BMW 7 series, the E23? or whatever the first one was. I really dont find most japanese cars to be in the least bit interesting (yes there are exceptions, but in general i dont like them much). I think an Alfa would be a pretty interesting project though.

Yes! More love for the Alfa!

A Galant VR-4 would be cool too. Trying to think of stuff that isn't so commonplace.

I'm going to also put in a vote for the Alfa 164 or E23. Manual E23s are harder to find but they're out there. Even a Milano would be cool.

I love me some maxima's as well.

I vote maxima / I30, i35.

And yes i remember seeing Irish on maxima.org in like 2004. lol.

I'll make a more personal suggestion- find a Focus ST- the 4 door with the 2.3l engine in it. That new motor has some real guts to it, and I have to be honest that I helped develop that powertrain to be PZEV.

My parents loved theirs- put lots of miles- from Idaho to the midwest mutiple times and Alaska mutiple times- and normally got 35mpg. They can be found pretty cheap.

Now for the unexpected twist- I would actually vote against the 164. Fine cars, sure- we had one for well over 10 years (a really nice '94 LS). Autocrossers they are not- while they have significant camber stock, just not that great. A better track car, for sure. Reliable? Can be- but when they are not, boy does that add up. Thankfully we never had to deal with the worst of the worst v6 failure- cam timing system (there are multiple ways they can fail)- not as bad on the 2V, but the 4V is a very expensive repair. For what you want, David- the Milano is a better choice (owned a bad one of those, too).

On a professional level- Contour (any) but the SVT rocks, Focus, Cougar, Probe, etc. If it has Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury on it, I'll smile large.

Eric

My final recommendations (for real) would be something either:

1. Caprice Wagon
2. Maxima
3. P71
4. Impala RWD
5. Camaro
6. Mustang

P71

I have visions of a dark green P71, slammed with huge wheel/tire setup (sticky rubber not 26s or something) and still sporting a pusher bar on front.

That would be do much fun to have around town.

I bet people wouldn't stay on front you on the fast lane anymore!!!

Mowry wrote:

chknhwk wrote: Lexus IS wagon. Oh yes.

find me one of those for five grand. hell, find me two...

Wow, they're holding value much better than I had thought. You're right!

Dare to be different? Okay different list...

FWD Corolla or non Ser Sentra

Any Suzuki, Kia, or Hyundai

S10 or Ranger short bed

Cavalier Z24

or any car that only came with an automatic transmission (you can't get much different than that!)

jrg77 wrote: Dare to be different? Okay different list...

That's why I'm not crazy over the Focus. It seems like every car mag out there has done a Focus project car. It's not a bad car, but if I've read about the same thing a few dozen times over the years, I'm more likely to relegate it to lowest-priority reading. I would see myself skipping over that one to read the articles I want to, then go back and read about it if I had time. Something that hasn't been done to death would have me anxoiusly awaiting next month's issue for an update.

I like the Maxima idea! They're surprisingly good cars.

Or a Volvo wagon, that'd be out of the ordinary, too.

With all the love for the Maxima, no love for the Altima? They could be had w/ V6 and manual trannies, right? And they should be lighter...

I also dig the idea of a cheap German. That 740i posted earlier is hawt. How 'bout a 190/300 Benz? Though i don't think they exist w/ a manual tranny...

jrg77 wrote: Dare to be different? Okay different list... Kia

I will volunteer mine.

mndsm wrote: Volvo 740 turbo wagon......

This.

irish44j wrote: and switch your street wheels back on, take the magnets off, and it looks sexy driving back from the track too

Well, lets not get carried away.

Now this, this is sexy lol

Mowry wrote: Two Miatas. Haven't we covered this? In all seriousness, I would like to see a bit of a departure, even though I presently own naught but Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Subaru. My father-in-law just let go what was possibly the nicest completely stock LS1 Camaro in OH for $6800. I bet you could get one with some miles on it for five grand. A six-speed gets 30 on the highway on regular gas, they're not useless on track after some stiffening and tuning, they sound fantastic, and if you ball it up you'll have a natural donor for your Miata. They've got enough cargo room to carry mounted race tires and a jack... Gas isn't going to be cheap forever. Grow that mullet! ...that said, the Max is overdue for some love, too. Just make sure you've got a sponsor lined up for fuel injectors :)

Amen brotha. I had an LT1 Z with a six speed and I didn't give a crap what anyone said about me when I drove the thing. Sure the shifter buzzed and the body panels seemed to be coming off (ever notice how the lower front fenders are "loose"?) but I didn't care, it was fun to drive even though I didn't have enough hair to have a mullet.

alfadriver wrote: I'll make a more personal suggestion- find a Focus ST- the 4 door with the 2.3l engine in it. That new motor has some real guts to it, and I have to be honest that I helped develop that powertrain to be PZEV.

I would also have recommended the Focus ST instead of the Focus SVT except for the budget. Not sure you could get an ST for under $5K yet.

pigeon wrote: Ford Contour SVT - ticks all the boxes except carrying stuff.

Not a bad idea... here is what one looks like with some wheels and Koni's. I've seem to have taken over this post... sorry i know Im doing it but I can't stop myself.

Acura RSX

Great engines, Bullet proof, Sleeker than most of the competition, Can be made to handle quite nicely.

Also you haven't done one in GRM.

5k RSX?

5k 3.5L Altima?

Wake up and smell the reality.. RSX just AINT happening in any circumstance you'd want to get in on (i just sold an 01 integra gs for $6200 if that gives you an idea), and the 3.5 altima, while it may be possible to find one for 5k, its not possible enough that you can go around telling other people you can buy them for 5k. Not yet. Also, the v6 generations of Altima were only lighter than their bloated same-gen maxima counterparts.. all earlier (sub $5k) maximas are lighter.

The contour SVT with a 3.0 shortblock swap is a really damn cool car for what you can do that for. Ive seen broken contour SVT's on CL for 1k-1500$ and the 3.0 block is just a few hundred bucks.

I agree that the focus is too 'been done'.

Ive always wanted to see a non-v8 swapped corvette (i.e. turbo 4, supercharged v6, whatever etc).. motorless c4 + some kind of motor could be ~5k$.

Do another Celica.

The 2000-2005 Celica GTS is getting closer to that $5k mark, and the GT has been there for awhile.

Light and very nimble cars.

I definitely have to second some the choices here and throw in some of my own:

2000-05 celica, impreza, p71, z32 300zx non-turbo, 3000gt, fourth gen camaro with a 3800 or v8, latest v8 mustang you can get, civic si (2000 or 02 maybe), sentra se-r, svt focus, vibe gt or matrix xrs (find one with a blown clutch for cheap), Infiniti g20 or i30/35, early Mazda 6, newer eclipse turbo, saab 9-3

plance1 wrote: Now this, this is sexy lol

Quoted for absolute truth.