Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Jaguar Fuck Yeah!

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Vette Boss said:
Sir William Lyons is twirling in his grave right now.
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I have a feeling he doesn't need that awesome monstrosity for that. The current range of Jaguar will do just fine to have him twisting & turning in his grave.
 
This may shock some of you (or most of you), but I am considering changing the Volvo. I love the car, and it is currently running fantastic, which means I can get good money out of it.

For the replacement
- it has to be sub-$5000
- I'd like to go back to having a manual gearbox
- FWD please, or maybe AWD
- sizewise - about the same as the Volvo. Not smaller, but not huge either. So an XJ6 is out of the question.
- possibly something that gets more than 19mpg in town

The only two that came to mind were an older Impreza or an A4. I don't like the A4 at all. I do like the Impreza, but it's very hard to find a non-chavved older one.
Any other suggestions?
 
Oh yeah...not a Honda/Toyota please!

Why FWD? I'm just used to it, and in the area where I live a RWD can get me in a lot of trouble. I guess I'm not totally against it, but it's not like there are a lot of options, except for Mercs and Beemers.
 
I was about to suggest a Saab 9-5, but somehow it's actually six inches longer than the Volvo. I concur with the Accord suggestion, though you'll have a hard time finding a V-6 manual, as they were pretty rare.
 
I will not drive a Honda Accord! I can't believe I'll say this, but the Volvo is way cooler than the Accord. I can go out on the parking lot and out of 400 cars, there will be at least 30 silver Honda Accords. I will not be one of those people.

This sounds good on paper, but I'm not a big fan of the looks.
Mercury Cougar
 
Maxima then. Much easier to find with a manual, V-6 power, and will last forever.
 
I do like the Maxima. I have driven a 98 model (with an auto though) and it was pretty nice.


Mazda6 is way out of my price range unfortunately.

Edit: Oh no...

There is a 95 SHO in my area for $1500 that overheats. I am so tempted...I've always wanted one. There is also a 98 V6 5-speed Firebird. I know it's RWD, and not very practical...but it has pop-up headlights!
 
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LeVeL said:
I had a Maxima and now I have an Accord. 2 less cylinders, no torque, less comfortable, and I still like the Honda more
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To be fair, you did say your Maxima was in bad condition when you had it. My Maxima was older and of a previous generation, plus it was my first car so my perception may be skewed, but I really liked it over my dad's '02 Accord. Granted, my Maxima was manual, which really helped.
 
I thought about it some more, and realized that I don't really know what I want. Most of the cars that I like either don't meet all my criteria, can't be found in my area, or cost too much.

I don't really want to sell my car, but there are way too many things that are on the verge of breaking down in the next year or two. I have this silly idea of getting another 850 and making it a project car, but it's not financially viable. I'd like to get a 850 Turbo wagon, keep the engine stock, do a manual swap, get lowering springs, stiffer shocks and sway bars. By the time it's finished, it will easily cost me about $10k, and at the end...it will still be just a 15-year-old Volvo wagon :( For that money I can get a stock Impreza, and it will still be better than the Volvo.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
I thought about it some more, and realized that I don't really know what I want. Most of the cars that I like either don't meet all my criteria, can't be found in my area, or cost too much.

I don't really want to sell my car, but there are way too many things that are on the verge of breaking down in the next year or two. I have this silly idea of getting another 850 and making it a project car, but it's not financially viable. I'd like to get a 850 Turbo wagon, keep the engine stock, do a manual swap, get lowering springs, stiffer shocks and sway bars. By the time it's finished, it will easily cost me about $10k, and at the end...it will still be just a 15-year-old Volvo wagon :( For that money I can get a stock Impreza, and it will still be better than the Volvo.
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S40 T4? You can get a shit-ton of power out of one of them.
 
Labcoatguy said:
To be fair, you did say your Maxima was in bad condition when you had it. My Maxima was older and of a previous generation, plus it was my first car so my perception may be skewed, but I really liked it over my dad's '02 Accord. Granted, my Maxima was manual, which really helped.
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Everyone I've talked to that had a 3rd gen maxima loved it. I have a 4th gen and yes, there were a bunch of things wrong with it but I sorted them all out. It was also my first car and I loved it; at the same time I hated my dad's 98 Accord. When I got said Accord I wasn't too happy but after spending some time with it I've come to really like it - screaming VTEC, much better handling (I'm not sure which corners faster, the Maxima or the Accord, but the latter definitely has more feel and its more balanced), much better gas mileage, more reliable, etc. Its just more fun to drive, although it certainly has flaws.
 
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