generally im not a ford guy but a mustang is cheap to mod and you can make fairly quick for under a grand and also the 5.0'* are a good motor accept for a oil leak that they are prone to geting

all i can realy say about this is one word "insurance" your 17 yrd old and you wanta a sports car you will pay more for the insirance then you will for the car!!!! go with something fwd first off. my bonne will keep up with my freinds turbo treaked probe and anothers freinds rustang. just remember insurance is expensive when you are only 17

I can see why you said....Why stay American other than the fact that it'* an American car?

American cars don't have anything going for them when it comes to 4cyl, 5-speed RWD .

....sure is a lot of mileage on that Toyota.

it didn't die either, it was just "retired"

I'm not exactly worried about insurance, and for the last time, I don't want something FWD. I already have 2 FWD cars, and if I get sick of those, I can drive one of the other 5 we have at our house. The insurance really won't be THAT bad. Due to the fact that we have 7 cars on our insurance, its actually quite cheap, we get just about every discount there is. All 4 drivers on our insurance have perfect driving records, no tickets, no accidents or anything like that. It was a lot more when my sister was on it, but when my dad took her off a few months ago, insurance went way down. She had totalled 2 cars, and got at least 2 tickets, maybe more. My STE is $120 every 6 months for full coverage. Yeah, a "sports car" will probably be twice that, but i think I can handle $40 a month, especially since I'll be dropping the Calais when I sell it in the spring, which will save me a bit, and we're dropping the STE to Comprehensive instead of full coverage, which is supposed to save $11 a month. So doing that right there pays for some of it anyways.

I"m sure you're Bonnie probably does keep up wtih your friends Turbo probe, but like I've already said, I'll be keeping the STE, it runs high 13'* (mid 13'* with traction), is FWD, and has just about every option under the sun, an SSEi is just gonna give me more of what I already have. I just want something else to play around with and I like RWD and a manual if I can have it. And preferably something with torque, a V6 or V8. Gas mileage is not a concern, afterall my STE only averages about 14mpg and take premium.

I have one of those. My Calais is 180hp, 5 speed, and weighs 2500lbs. It does quite well in the corners, and feels very fast, although stock they were low 15 second cars, so it really isn't bad at all performance wise. But I want something with some torque, the ability to do nice doughnuts on dry pavement, and to be able to kick it sideways on demand. A big V6 or V8 with a manual tranny would do that quite nicely. My friend has a Cherokee with a 4.0L 5 speed and 4WD. It is quite quick for what it is, and they are pretty bulletproof, but I'm not really an SUV kinda person. Its just not really something I have any interest in right now. I don't haul anything, I don't tow anything, I don't go offroading, it seems kinda pointless...

Yeah, I'm also not a ford guy at all, but Mustangs are a lot of car for the money really. And besides the rear main seal leak that is common, the 5.0 is a pretty strong engine, and also as you said, they are cheap to mod. Really, thats what I've been looking at, fox body mustangs, and late 80'*/early 90'* f-bodies, and mid 90'* f-bodies with the 3.8. I was just hoping somebody knew of something else that was RWD, manaul, decent power, and less than $3k.

Lets just say you're in my position, your 17, and have $3k. What would you buy? FWD, RWD, 2wd, 4wd, auto, manual, car, suv, truck, van, 4 cyl, 6 cyl, 8 cyl, it doesn't matter, what would it be?

Shawn

That'* easy then......a '78 or '79 Firebird with a 350 and a 350 Turbohydramatic auto trani. Want more torque, find a 6.6 L. Keeps me plenty happy.
Even a newer 350 like in a late 80'* model. The 305 standard trani early 90'* models are no slouches either. The insurance is cheap too. I only pay $600. a year for mine.
Bet you could find one easy for the money you are talking about.
....and it'* a Pontiac.