[piscator]

I’ve always wanted an American road car that could challenge the European offerings from Porsche and BMW. Overall, I felt that my 1986 Pontiac 6000 STE (which I posted a thread about) qualified. I feel it equaled my BMW 535i of the same vintage.

Recently, I’ve been looking for a fun car that my daughter can use when she’s home from college. And, of course, that gives me an excuse to continue my quest for road-course American iron.

I know very little about Mustangs, but a doctor friend has an attractive one that’s about ten years old. Talking with the doc about his car, brought up the ‘80’s Mustang SVO, with the 2.3 turbo motor. I had a business associate that owned one when I had my STE. At that time, I thought the SVO was a fantastic car. But memory has a funny way of making cars of yesteryear perform better than they did!

So my first question is, how would the SVO stack up against a more modern Mustang? Say, at Lime-Rock or on New England back-road twisties?

Second, Is there any Mustang that fulfills my quest for a balanced American road-car that is not, necessarily a muscle car.

Lastly, what other American cars would fall into this category? What have I missed?

Aside from trucks, I haven’t driven many modern cars of any brand, so if my questions sound ignorant, I hope you’ll bear with me. I’m afraid that I’m a Luddite who prefers analog vehicles.

Obviously, a good used Subaru would satisfy my daughter’s needs just fine. But like many here I enjoy doing things a little differently. Maybe this is an opportunity to find my mythical American road machine. In that quest, your ideas will be much appreciated!