A lot of people ask me what they should get as a second car or fun to fix up car. So here's a little article on that.
NEW CAR
So you wanna buy a new car and cant decide what to get? Well here are my fav picks for that nutty import enthusiast and why:
Acura RSX (K series engine is much better than the infamous B series plus it just looks bad ass.)
Subaru WRX (Flat four, all wheel drive, and turbo make this the best bang for the buck. Although its a face that only a mother could love.)
Nissan 350Z (6 speed V6 sport car that looks great!)
Toyota MR2 (Convertible, rear engine, and rear wheel drive. Okay I admit I love MR2s.)
Ford Focus SVT (I like them in black with a turbo and a tach. My poetry rules!)
BMW M3 (Its just a great car.)
Honda S2000 (Convertible, VTEC, and rear wheel drive. Plus a great chick magnet.)
Honda Civic Si (No-brainer)
Mazda6 (Its just a pretty car.)
Mazdaspeed Protege (Turbo orange car.)
Mini Cooper S (Cute and tiny. What a message to convey!)
Lexus IS300 (5 speed with 2JZGTE power!)
Mercedes C43 AMG (Ooooh!)
So yeah thats all I can think of right now. Those are the only cars that I believe are worth picking up but thats just me. I'm sure you noticed I didnt list any Mitsubishis. Well Mitsu hasnt done a very good job lately of putting out cars with real tuning potential that doesnt require a huge amount of money to be spent. Sure the Lancer is cute but its damn weak. Plus all the other sedans are automatic. The Eclipse is okay but its not that great looking really.
The new Accords I think are funny. I think Honda had this idea of "Hey we're so popular I bet we could make a butt ass ugly car and people will still buy it!" The car looks like to me it was designed by a team of people who cant dress themselves because it lacks style.
Toyota Celica and Matrix I didnt list because they have terrible motors. Those motors are pushed to their absolute maxes already and adding a turbo or supercharger is just playing with firecrackers around a campfire. If you leave the car as is out of the box and normally aspirated you have a good car. Start adding forced induction and nitrous youll be feeling very broke and very sorry very quickly.
I left out a lot of luxo big money cars because those cars at most should have a set of nice large wheels and a sound system. They were not designed to be zipping through traffic as much as people would like to think they are. They are boats. Very nice and expensive land boats.
When you buy your new car dont be insistent on getting the "yellow" or "red" one. All cars are not the same. They come off the factory floor with their own little quirks. You will find some are much faster than others and some that suck as much as your mom's Corolla! Test drive a number of the same model to make sure you get one that fits you right. A paintjob costs only 1k but trying to get a crappily made car up to par with a well made one can cost you thousands!
Happy spending!
