New car for me.?.?. UPDATED 2012 Volvo C30 R-design

[Gas Man]

Well I won't get into why... at this point... legal reasons...

I'm looking at sports cars... remember mine is I-4 turbo with about 275hp/340 ft lbs.

NO MORE GM PRODUCTS PERIOD!!!

No Mustangs, cause they are "me too" cars.

Test drove a Mazda Speed3, about a week ago. Nice more linear power feel compared to the brute power of my HHRSS. Tight car but not sure it's all there. $24k - discount. Owned by Ford, made in japan. Eat little crow but still... hell even use my Ford discount on one.

test drove a 2011 RX-8 GT today. Great great great looking car. Beyond awesome sounding motor (needs pipes, like all stocks). Tight crisp 6 speed manual. Superb seats, feel, 50/50 weight distribution, cornered on rails. Back seat has a stupid center console that would hinder Brinks hauling. Then you plant down the right foot... the 9k start of red-line is WOW. But a complete lack of power. My HHRSS will beat it in a race. It is about the same amount of power/speed as the Speed3. But it's $8K more! WTF!! Isn't this the Mazda flag ship??

Tried to test drive a Challenger RT Classic with A DAMN MANUAL AKA STICK SHIFT AKA 6 SPEED AKA NON SLUSH BOX!!! F'in 2 dealers didn't have one. one even had a SRT8 (out of my price range) in a F'in auto!!!! FU*KSTICKS!!

Going tomry to look at a NW GTI, Nissan 370Z (big negative is no back seat) & Altima coupe

Maybe then a WRX limited. Saw a Lancer EVO at the dealer but F that $45k tag.

I would like to keep it near $30k. HOWEVER, some of these are closer to $35k. I MAY be ok with that if it makes me grin.

Ideas?

[dReWpY]

The WRX is a great car when you dont try to push 400hp through it. I loved that car and will own one once again, just not in the near future

[derf]

Yeh the RX8 is a huge letdown, especially after how great the RX7 was. I had both the first and second gen rx7s and they both kicked ass. The 1st gen was kinda underpowered with a 12a engine, but it was completely stripped down brining the weight bellow 2,000 lbs and handled like it was on rails. My 2nd gen had the turbo motor 13b-t and once it started to produce boost it would just lay the power down. I was trying to buy a 3rd gen but they are just too pricey for me and I wound up with a ford focus instead.

My brother has a 2011 Subaru 2.5 sport, pretty sweet car. at 170 hp its no super race car, but it will haul ass on any road you throw at it, and get decent gas mileage too. I'm not to impressed with the 2012 new model imprezza, they dropped the engine down to a 2 liter and the hp down to 140, but that was only to get better gas mileage.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

Well I won't get into why... at this point... legal reasons...

I'm looking at sports cars... remember mine is I-4 turbo with about 275hp/340 ft lbs.

NO MORE GM PRODUCTS PERIOD!!!

No Mustangs, cause they are "me too" cars.

Test drove a Mazda Speed3, about a week ago. Nice more linear power feel compared to the brute power of my HHRSS. Tight car but not sure it's all there. $24k - discount. Owned by Ford, made in japan. Eat little crow but still... hell even use my Ford discount on one.

test drove a 2011 RX-8 GT today. Great great great looking car. Beyond awesome sounding motor (needs pipes, like all stocks). Tight crisp 6 speed manual. Superb seats, feel, 50/50 weight distribution, cornered on rails. Back seat has a stupid center console that would hinder Brinks hauling. Then you plant down the right foot... the 9k start of red-line is WOW. But a complete lack of power. My HHRSS will beat it in a race. It is about the same amount of power/speed as the Speed3. But it's $8K more! WTF!! Isn't this the Mazda flag ship??

Tried to test drive a Challenger RT Classic with A DAMN MANUAL AKA STICK SHIFT AKA 6 SPEED AKA NON SLUSH BOX!!! F'in 2 dealers didn't have one. one even had a SRT8 (out of my price range) in a F'in auto!!!! FU*KSTICKS!!

Going tomry to look at a NW GTI, Nissan 370Z (big negative is no back seat) & Altima coupe

Maybe then a WRX limited. Saw a Lancer EVO at the dealer but F that $45k tag.

I would like to keep it near $30k. HOWEVER, some of these are closer to $35k. I MAY be ok with that if it makes me grin.

Ideas?

hyundai genesis turbo. same basic motor as the evo/srt4. rear wheel drive and about 3000 lbs. get it in black

370 has some gay bullshit that rev matches for you and should be shunned at the earliest opportunity.

[Gas Man]

Originally Posted by Drewpy

The WRX is a great car when you dont try to push 400hp through it. I loved that car and will own one once again, just not in the near future

I hear that... but I wonder if it is a "me too" car as well. That's another aspect I liked the RX8 was they simply aren't many of them around here.

Originally Posted by derf

Yeh the RX8 is a huge letdown, especially after how great the RX7 was.

My brother has a 2011 Subaru 2.5 sport, pretty sweet car. at 170 hp its no super race car, but it will haul ass on any road you throw at it, and get decent gas mileage too. I'm not to impressed with the 2012 new model imprezza, they dropped the engine down to a 2 liter and the hp down to 140, but that was only to get better gas mileage.

I agree on the RX8. But I totally felt like it would go as fast as I could make it around the corner, like you are saying about the subi.

Another aspect I don't like about the subi is the distance I have to drive to get to a dealer. I'm use to having a dealer 5 mins from my house. But I guess that doesn't matter if you don't need to take it in all the time.

Originally Posted by Dave

hyundai genesis turbo.

Um... hyundai might be pushing my new open mind. But the numbers are there...

[Dave]

Originally Posted by derf

Yeh the RX8 is a huge letdown, especially after how great the RX7 was. I had both the first and second gen rx7s and they both kicked ass. The 1st gen was kinda underpowered with a 12a engine, but it was completely stripped down brining the weight bellow 2,000 lbs and handled like it was on rails. My 2nd gen had the turbo motor 13b-t and once it started to produce boost it would just lay the power down. I was trying to buy a 3rd gen but they are just too pricey for me and I wound up with a ford focus instead.

My brother has a 2011 Subaru 2.5 sport, pretty sweet car. at 170 hp its no super race car, but it will haul ass on any road you throw at it, and get decent gas mileage too. I'm not to impressed with the 2012 new model imprezza, they dropped the engine down to a 2 liter and the hp down to 140, but that was only to get better gas mileage.

i loved it, its just a "balance" car not a "power" car. do some boltons, haul the kids around, do some autocross/gymkanha.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

I hear that... but I wonder if it is a "me too" car as well. That's another aspect I liked the RX8 was they simply aren't many of them around here.



I agree on the RX8. But I totally felt like it would go as fast as I could make it around the corner, like you are saying about the subi.

Another aspect I don't like about the subi is the distance I have to drive to get to a dealer. I'm use to having a dealer 5 mins from my house. But I guess that doesn't matter if you don't need to take it in all the time.



Um... hyundai might be pushing my new open mind.

go LOOK at it. they grow in leaps and bounds the GC is pretty sweet. bout the only new car id consider at this point. I do hear the challenger is bowing out soon and the charger might pick up its six speed in the srt form. THAT could get my attention

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpLcG...eature=related

[Gas Man]

That looks like the I4 edition... but the V-6 has more power.

[derf]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

I agree on the RX8. But I totally felt like it would go as fast as I could make it around the corner, like you are saying about the subi.

Another aspect I don't like about the subi is the distance I have to drive to get to a dealer. I'm use to having a dealer 5 mins from my house. But I guess that doesn't matter if you don't need to take it in all the time.

Yeh, I was just very underwhelmed by the RX8, almost like the designers forgot what made the RX7 such a great car. The 2011 and prior imprezza just seems to get better with every year, just by the spec sheet I'm not impressed with the 2012. But the 2011 2.5 (not the sti or the wrx), while not a super powerhouse can handle its own on any road. I never felt like it would do something other than exactly what i wanted. If I wanted to drift it I could, if I wanted to just rail around corners I could. Neither RX7 had room for kids, but it could carry groceries if you didnt buy much. Neither of them were practical cars.

Originally Posted by Dave

i loved it, its just a "balance" car not a "power" car. do some boltons, haul the kids around, do some autocross/gymkanha.

The first gen was completely stripped down, there was no interior at all, no carpet, no dashboard, no anything, just a sheet aluminum dash, the standard guages, a momo steering wheel, a race seat for the driver and a hard plasic seat for the passenger, all the glass except for the windshield was replaced with plexiglass (I did have a small vent that I could pop open for fresh air). The car just felt right when I drove it, it wasnt a monster but it had teeth.

[tallywacker]

Lancer Ralliart is nice as well. AWD turbo and costs less than the EVO