OT: I need help choosing 'other' car, The firm says sedan. I say performace. Options

[Allan]

Infiniti G35 Sedan - same chassis (longer) than the coupe which is the luxury model of the Nissan 350Z.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) My wife has an I30 right now and it is bullet proof. Plus I think the G35 put out an extra 25-30 horses.

[rick 918-S]

My BMW E36 M3 Pulls like a 1970 Big Block Chevelle while wearing a tuxedo! No Bull! Lots of aftermarket stuff available too!

[bondo]

Here's all I have to say about Mercedes:

[dlo914]

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[campbellcj]

surplus or retired police cars! they rock!

big v8's! and i dunno if you gotta smog them

My F.I.L. has a Mercury Grand Marquis and a Ford Crown Vic Police Cruiser; former fleet vehicle and cop car respectively. He got both of these cars for <$20K (combined) and they are great driving, V8 RWD cars for that kind of dough. Although keep in mind he is 70-something...concept of "performance car" is a bit different than ours. (Although he does have a 356).

[Lou W]

If you're looking at a full size car, Merc Marquis, etc., how about a mid 90's Chev Impala, small block chev, rear wheel drive, better than the newer ones with the sixes and front wheel drive. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[fiid]

I've heard good things about the Legacy GT (Subaru) ask fiid.

What he said. I have a Legacy GT Ltd. It's a WRX for grown ups. It handles very well and has more torque than Jay Leno. I very much suggest going to test drive one. It will also cost you less and will perform better if you are at altitude.

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[scruz914]

1996 Impala SS 5.6 liter V8.

-Jeff

[Eddie914]

I agree with Rick Ollah!

I didn't have $20K to spend so i got a 1988 BMW M5.

More room than the e36 M3, but not quite a refined ...

eddie

[Hawktel]

3 K for a supercharger....cost.....

Not that I'm pimping my ride for sale....cause I am.....

But to do a Blower RIGHT....you need cooling, mapping, rear end gearing, and an LSD and other accoutrements to the tume of ten K>>>>PLUS.....

I think its going to be alot cheaper than 10K.

Towncars use the ford 4.6 plant. Nearly everything you want is found on Mustang Cobras. And its bolt on for the most part. Or so I've been lead to believe, as I've never even poped the hood on a towncar, just drove a few.

[DuckRyder]

Marauder.

My pilot freind had an IS300 6 speed. what a souless piece of shit that was. Now he has an S60R which is very entertaining...

[GWN7]

I know this won't be any help but Scientific Car Calculator

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[balljoint]

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi

2000 BMW 540

[PAPERBOY]

98+ Jaguar XJR, suit and tie crowd loves it, 390 HP, 0-60 in 5. Falls under the radar as a sleeper which adds to the entertainment value. You can't shift it yourself but that's why you still have the 'teener.

[gopack]

I vote E36 M3. Practical, lots of power, and if you have extra money , you can supercharge it for over 300 ponies. I got a really low mileage one for about $20K. Been smiling ever since.
(after the teener it won't feel like a sporty car as much, but it handles well for a sedan)

[mike_the_man]

I really love my 94 Audi S4. These cars are the original S4, and they're a little bit bigger than the new A4/S4 platform. Last weekend I had 5 people and 5 sets of golf clubs in it, no problem. As far as tuning, there is a tonne of stuff you can do to it. A new exhaust, bigger turbo and manifold, and a chip, and this thing will fly. The bottom end of the engine is bulletproof. Highly recommended by me!

[914werke]

Ben, Your on track w/ the S4 though I agree the B4 cars are smaller and and rear seat is cramped, Look at a 95 (C5) S6 Best of all worlds, Power luxury, Room, & all weather handleing !!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[914werke]

Heres a peek

[thesey914]

Are there no SAAB fans here.....I have a 93 and I really like the design philosophy unique to Saab

[fiid]

Here's my non-biased answer to this question. I like to ski, and have done a couple of trips to Utah in the last few years so my requirement list had AWD and Turbo on it, which you may not have; which is how I ended up with the Legacy - but here is what I would consider. I also do not know what your budget looks like.

BMW:
The E36 M3 is a great car. People had better opinions of the older ones than the newer ones- I think this is because the newer ones are so polished that the fun factor is a little dulled. At some point they went to a much better euro engine and full sequential box though, which is worth having, but pushes you a lot further up the price curve. I would also take care not to overlook the 328 and the 325 as well - these are a little less likely to have been driven hard - so the same money might buy you a better condition model.

Audi:
Lots of cool A4s to choose from. The 1.8t actually seems to have more tuning potential than the 2.8 V6, unless you get an S4, but the used prices on S4s seem to be way high. These are pretty damned nice and some will get you AWD. They also seem to hold almost more cred than a BMW in Cali, since everyone bought at least one beamer during the boom.

Jag:
Being from the UK - I do lust after the Jags. There is a certain charm to them. Read some of the Jag enthusiast forums and you will learn that the reliability thing is restricted mostly to certain years, and can be avoided with routine maintenece. They are comfortable for passengers, and the supercharged models are scorchio. The XJ8s which came out in 95 or so are beginning to become realistic used fodder (for me anyway) price-wise. Only the top models have forced induction, and there is no AWD to speak of. Jag recently switched to aluminium bodies, making the very new stuff much quicker and nimbler in the turns.

Subaru:
You already know what I think about this. I'm very happy with the car. You can get a wagon if you need hauling space. I would get the Legacy instead of the "Pimp-my-ride" "I need people to think I almost bought an SUV" Outback - the 2.5 turbo engine puts out 250ft/lbs of torque at 3600rpm and peaks at 250hp at around 6000. THe engine pulls hard. More mild mannered driving will get you better fuel economy. This car is actually about .2sec quicker to 60 than the 5.7l Chrysler 300M/Dodge Magnum, and gets much better fuel economy. I probably have better fuel economy as well. It's really funny burning these off because they TOTALLY don't expect you to be able to keep up. I ended up here for the following reasons: Forced induction (for high altitudes), AWD (ski trips), 200+ HP, Wagon (kid on the way, and home depot/car parts/etc), and it makes a good shot at being a luxury car to boot.

VW:
VW is also trying to go upmarket, but have largely failed - you might be able to get something nice, and not pay so much for it.

Chrysler 300M:
I actually like these - The design (IMHO) is not pretty, but it's distinctive and innovative, and I like that. They do look somewhat button down, (although somewhat gruff with it) and perform well.

There are some nice Benzs around too - but my impression is you need to bring cash to get real performance there.

I'm not all that fond of Acuras, Nissans Toyotas or Lexi; which seem to be quite common on California roads. Acuras and Hondas particularly seem to be serious theft targets - One of Five integra owners I know has NOT had his car broken into. Of the others, one has been broken into twice. The Lexi might be interesting - I took a ride in a GS400 once, which was quick, but not amazingly so. The tiptronic-esqe gearbox was kinda nice, but I don't think it's anything more than a manual control auto box.

There you have it - hope this helps.