An American Porsche? BMW? Alpha? Mustang?

[thamlin000]

I really like the ‘14-17 Chevrolet SS which is the American version of the Holden. V8, RWD and 4-door. They offered it in a 6 speed manual which is the coolest part about the car. I really hate automatics and finding a daily driver with a manual is rare; I currently daily drive a 03 Lexus IS300 5-speed (my third one). My next daily should be an SS.

The SS is also cool because they are rare. Nobody really bought them because Chevrolet didn’t market them and never really tried hard to sell them.

I saw a YouTube video where they compared the Chevrolet SS to the ‘01-04ish BMW M5. The stats match pretty good; similar weight, size, power, performance stats, etc.

[piscator]

Wow! This is great. I'll be re-reading this thread all night and searching out the different cars you've all mentioned. You've given me a lot to digest and I appreciate it.

Some of the cars posted are a little more exotic than I was thinking about, but they're fascinating! My budget on this project is somewhere between $10m and $15m.

I have to confess that I'm a bit embarrassed at how little I know about recent autos. I know I'm 'out of the loop' but didn't realize it was quite this far! I'll study up and try and comment intelligently tomorrow!

Thanks a a lot!

[porsche930dude]

Fieros are still cheap and its a pontiac

[dafischer]

As long as you like lifting the engine to change the front bank of plugs, the Fiero is wonderful.

[JackDidley]

C6 Vettes are about to get cheap. The C8 is near release and then the C6s will be a bargain. Fast and good on gas.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by JackDidley

C6 Vettes are about to get cheap. The C8 is near release and then the C6s will be a bargain. Fast and good on gas.

What I notice with the C5 is that when the C6 came out most C5 owners did not trade up, but kept the C5.

There are a lot of folks with both C5 and C7 as by the time the C7 came out they'd saved up to own a new C7 without selling the C5.

[JackDidley]

It seems that every new gen hurts the 2nd older gen a bit. C5s are a bargain now. C7s will take a hit for sure when the C8s come out and I think the C6s will be the deal of the decade. I know of a nice 2009 that runs high 10s in the 1/4 for $23k.

[masraum]

How about a Ford Taurus SHO. I rode in one back in the early 90s and was thoroughly shocked and the guy didn't even do much. It was a manual trans four door car and was fast. My understanding is that they wouldn't necessarily get a mustang off the line, but from a roll on the freeway, it probably would. I think they've made some newer variants too, but i'm not sure if they were also performers or SHO in name only.

[masraum]

If you're looking at old
Merkur XR4ti (not exactly American, but sort of)

[pwd72s]

I'll never understand why the Merkur didn't catch on. They were good performers & nice drivers back in the day. Getting old as dirt now...probably next to impossible to find a good one.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

Fieros are still cheap and its a pontiac

As long as it's an '88 GT V6.... great car.

[95avblm3]

The suggestion of a Chevy SS intrigued me, so I went and looked at cars.com... 9 for sale right now with 6-MTs from ~$30k to just north of $40k. Not really cheap but perhaps still a bargain when considering $/hp with 4 usable seats. Never really been a Fan of the General per se but if I were in the market, this would definitely require additional investigation.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

I'll never understand why the Merkur didn't catch on. They were good performers & nice drivers back in the day. Getting old as dirt now...probably next to impossible to find a good one.

If I remember correctly they were somewhat unreliable, poorly supported by a dealer network, and not well advertised. Cool cars though, not many around anymore.

[piscator]

Iceman427, a special thanks for your wonderful narrative. That brought back some memories! You capture what I’d call the simplicity (or maybe straightforwardness) of the SVO, that modern cars have evolved out of. As you say:

“In no way, however, would it compare to a newer performance vehicle in either comfort, quietness, quality, or performance. With all the vehcile being offered since that part of the 1980's, I wouldn't go back to that car... “

To me, that’s a dilemma. I appreciate comfort and quietness, but at the time, long for the elemental experience of those earlier cars. That’s the appeal of the 911. From behind the wheel, there’s no mistaking that your there to drive the car; not to tune the stereo or enjoy the quiet.

Are modern cars/Mustangs so very good at everything, that it detracts from their personality?

Zeke, Legion, 996AE Of the cars mentioned, I find the Mustangs most appealing and started reading about them last night. I really like that 1999 SVT and don’t quite understand why Ford would discontinue the IRS in the car and not bring it back again until 2015. Weird.

There seem to be so many Mustang ‘versions’ and monikers that, ‘you can’t tell the players without a scorecard!’ I have trouble keeping track of them, but I find the 1999 SVT and the 2009 Bullitt particularly attractive.

What about the balance of these later Mustangs? The 2.3 liter turbo in 1988 SVO was so much lighter than the 5.0 V8 that the auto magazines extolled the ca's balance on the track. Could someone elaborate on how the more recent Mustangs perform, in this regard?

The Pontiac G8 got my attention. They seem to command healthy $$ for an American car that age. It struck me a being a large and powerful ‘executive’ GT – which is a little more than I need at the moment.

BerretaFan, OneWhipped, The Lincoln LS surprised me! I read that it had some bugs, but I like it a lot! Even found this one in Ohio:

https://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/d/2000-lincoln-ls-1-owner-rare-5-speed/6844502270.html

I’d like to write more, but my daughter is home for the weekend, with her boyfriend. I’ve gotta start dinner, so we can talk about cars!

Thanks again!!

[Tervuren]

The Lincoln LS has a Jaguar engine.

[piscator]

Could be a winner! Great suggestion!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163566448231

https://mcallen.craigslist.org/cto/d/mission-1993-ford-taurus-sho/6852549051.html

Originally Posted by masraum

How about a Ford Taurus SHO. I rode in one back in the early 90s and was thoroughly shocked and the guy didn't even do much. It was a manual trans four door car and was fast. My understanding is that they wouldn't necessarily get a mustang off the line, but from a roll on the freeway, it probably would. I think they've made some newer variants too, but i'm not sure if they were also performers or SHO in name only.

[piscator]

Was every car built in the '90s either black or red?

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by piscator

Was every car built in the '90s either black or red?

Instead of today, where every car is silver or white.

[petrolhead611]

The Lincoln LS has not only a Ford / Jaguar engine, but has the same platform as the S type Jaguar . It is a Jaguar stripped of the tasteful interior and retro body shell .

[piscator]

Petrol, isn't that wild! I would never have known. It appears that the Jag didn't offer a manual transmission. Thanks!