What car: $7500, Autocrossable, 25 mpg, Practical.

Alan Cesar wrote: .........I, for one, have read about enough Miatas for a while.

AMEM! Preach it Brother!!!

In fact, to try and temp me to renew with a boatload of free Miata backs issues is, well, not tempting!

mazdaspeed protege

BMW, Mini, WRX, Miata, MR2.

An overlooked good daily driver is a Mazda 6. It is a good handling FWD midsized car. I don't know how competitive it is in GS though. It's too heavy to be a favorite in STF.

Hey, what about a Saab? Nice examples will be gone soon and now is the time if you want that opportunity.

I am kind of regretting not getting one when I had the chance now.

What about a Mazda 3? They seem to handle well, good gas mileage and were a dark horse to overtake Minis in HS (at one point..not sure at this time still).

Peugeot 405 Mi16.

http://cloudlakes.com/data_images/models/peugeot-405-mi16/peugeot-405-mi16-05.jpg

Merkur XR4ti or Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Swap transmissions. Increase boost. Enjoy. (Or add turbo to a Ford Ranger.)

XJ Cherokee?

Stealthtercel wrote: I'm liking the Infiniti G idea. It's actually more interesting if we have "no idea" whether it makes a good autocrosser, right? Nothing wrong with writing a car story that has some suspense. A G is probably a nicer commuter than a Cobalt SS, and I wouldn't be surprised if it carries an easier insurance hit, too.

I think we know how it handles, though.

Probably exactly like their project car 350z, but slower and heavier.

KevinLG wrote: I can't say I'm an expert on which ones are reliable and practical and reasonable to own and what not, but I can tell you which ones out of the suggestions will be competitive autocrossers. Integra GS-R - Nope. I think it gets shafted in pretty much every class, and the closest it'll come is STC, where it's somewhat competitive locally, but STC and STS will get merged in a few years so it'll be doomed to get walked by Miatas and CRX's. SE-R Spec V - Same story really, I think it gets placed in STX for some reason. Might be reasonably fast in GS but it's been out of contention for a while now. Celica GT-S - The last generation of the Celica, both the GT-S and the GT are highly competitive in GS. I think a GT took the jacket this year, and a GT-S was at the top of the RT2 heap at the ProSolo Finale. If you want competitive, this is the car out of the lot to get. 330i ZHP - The car is classed in FS, STX, and DSP. FS is a waste of time with one, and although it's theoretically not a bad car to have in STX, nobody's done it successfully and several have tried. As far as I'm concerned the E46 is the best car for DSP, but $$$. I feel like at that point it's not relevant to your interests. Audi A4 - Ha! Nope. E36 M3 - The classing for this car is CS, STU, and BSP. It seems to me like it's just a little bit away from the top in all of those classes. It took STU against all odds in 2012, but the chances of that happening again are slim to none. Cobalt SS/Ion Redline - I think the classing is GS/STX/DSP. Reasonably fast in GS, but if a FoST, a Celica, or an SRT-4 show up then it's going to be an uphill battle. Irrelevant in ST/SP. V6 Mustang - Nope. GS(FS for the 2012+)/STU/ESP. Good luck. Focus SVT - The car's in HS/STF, both of which it has the chance to win, but the short gearing cripples it a little on the larger courses. Depends on how good you are at rowing the box, and how small the courses are. I see potential though. Volvo Wagon - Yeah, no. WRX - Unless you get lucky, the only WRX's available in your price range will be the early cars, and unfortunately the later ones have basically classed them into obsolescence as far as autox goes. RSX - I don't know too much about the standard ones, but the Type-S is the power car for STF. Very course dependent, but a few locals have found success. The suspension is awful though. SRT-4 - GS/STX/DSP. In GS the ACR model in particular can be very fast, a local to me smashes PAX and trophies at Nationals pretty frequently. The standard SRT-4 has weird 17x6 wheels which kind of mess things up in Stock. SN95 - Trying to autocross one on street tires is very fun, but it'll never be fast. ESP is the only real home for them, and you have to pour cubic dollars into the suspension and engine to keep up with the newer Mustangs. NC Miata - The unicorn MS-R is great in CSR, and it'll arguably be pretty decent for B-Street as well, but good luck finding one. The standard cars are very fast in STR. SX4 - No clue. Never looked into it, but chances are it won't be particularly fast. Corolla XRS - STF is wide open at this point, so the Corolla could very well be the hot ticket for the class. I wouldn't bet on it but I wouldn't be surprised either. EP3 Civic Si - Like the RSX, but shorter, lighter, and with less power. Might be fast for STF. Mazda3 - It looks as if it's going to be the best all around car for STF, and it's not slow in HS either. Mini - The early cars have kind of faded out in HS since the R56's have so many great factory options that make them faster but they're still competitive in STF. Impreza 2.5RS - Not really competitive in any class they're in unfortunately, unless it's raining hard and you're running STC. Mazda2 - Hollis took STF in one the first year the class was at Nationals, and while it's still a good choice, it's a little on the pokey side in my opinion. Infiniti G35 - No clue. I think it's FS/STU/ESP, and while I don't think it's a bad choice for any of them, it's not a very good one either. Hope I helped. This is all off the top of my head, so chances are I'm wrong on some of it.

My lord this post makes me want to put on steel toe boots and crotch kick the entire rules committee.

Rules committee must be one thankless task.

My two suggestions, since I can't decide between them:

R53 prepped for STX. It won't win, but it would be fun.

'03 Golf TDI prepped for FSP. Personally, I think this could be an interesting magazine project car.

My day-dreams change daily depending on my mood, but right now I lean towards the latter if/when Dr Boost decides to sell his Golf.

I like the Mustang or Cobalt SS idea.

The Cobalt was supposed to have an amazing FWD chassis, right?

1966stang wrote: Rules committee must be one thankless task.

Especially when they are crafted to be beginner unfriendly and slowly choke off new participation and kill the event.

Project Camry?

I say find the factory lowered Tacoma that was RWD. Can't think of the name off the top of my head, but maybe X-runner?

Swank Force One wrote: Corolla XRS

Come on Tom. Do it. This or the X-Runner.

There was a gent in the SCCA Blue Ridge Region that xcrossed an MR2 that would occasionally throw R compounds on his X-Runner and bring that out instead. It always surprised me at how well it did.

Ls1 Camaro. Sure, it's a Camaro, but holy E36 M3 is it ever fun!

icaneat50eggs wrote: My lord this post makes me want to put on steel toe boots and crotchet kick the entire rules committee.

My work here is done.

Toyota Tacoma!!!

mistanfo wrote: Project Camry? I say find the factory lowered Tacoma that was RWD. Can't think of the name off the top of my head, but maybe X-runner?

Let me know where you can get a decent one for this budget and i'll buy it before Tommy can.

IS300 is always a possibility. How about a mazdaspeed protege or a mazdaspeed 6 (are these that cheap yet?)? Saab 9-3 Viggen, first gen volvo c70 with a stick? Mustang or BMW is the the real answer here, IMO. I like the RSX too.

EDIT: oddball choice 2006+ sentra SE-R

icaneat50eggs wrote:

1966stang wrote: Rules committee must be one thankless task.

Especially when they are crafted to be beginner unfriendly and slowly choke off new participation and kill the event.

Which is why when run it is usually with non scca groups. NASA was going to start an auto x group here in Columbus but I do not think it got off of the ground.

And I do like the golf TDI idea. An arseload f low end tourqe would be a blast to drive.

How about a ford zx2? You should be able to find a really nice one in your price range with cash to spare.