That's why girls like Mustang GTs--they get their thrill in beating the boy racers with less money to put into a car.
On the street you get to pick your victims. Road conditions and possible traffic as well as reliable timing and maybe nitrous can change things fast. Hot dog on the track.
My RSX-S is a mix of characteristics, as any car is. It ain't slow and it ain't particularly fast. I prefer the hatchback, a stick, a small car and a fairly tight suspension. I like a WRX and find the STI with European tune to be verrrry interesting. Also the EVO VII (sans air conditioner!).
For my driving I get 29.5 MPG, which is pretty respectable, and Honda reliability and long life. For beating cars I have a ZRX if I am in a bad mood. Zero to 60 in 3 seconds amuses even me. We all need at least 4 vehicles, anyway.
You mean installing a "coffee can" tail pipe and neon lights under the car doesn't make my car go faster and handle better? If not, then I better buy the widest, lowest profile mag wheels and bolt on the 747 size wing on the back of a front wheel drive - that should make my car go faster out of the light :-) Oh, I forgot, I need to paint it some bright color and put those stickers all over the windshield. You also need a killer sound system . . . to play the sounds of tires spinning because the engine does not have enough power to spin the wheels and the smoke from the oil seeping past the rings just might look like rubber burning . . .
Ah, to be young and stupid aga> excellent post......
I am not a poor driver but the Mustang is a challenge to drive in the snow. That is why I drive my 4x4 Suburban in the winter. I had a 1980 Turbo Cobra Mustang that was horrible when it came to traction in the snow. Probably those TRX tire/wheels or then again maybe I was a horrible driver in the
80's when I was in my early 20's and had a lead foot and no fear!
I made that statement since many people run one tire during the year, and on a FWD you can get away with that, but for a RWD, they just have to face the facts that dedicated snow tires and dedicated summer tires are the way to go. No matter what tires are on a FWD, FWD itself is always a compromise.
It's a little different putting snows on both. Since FWD has the engine weight over the wheels, it tends to get going easier than a RWD. But once you're at speed, the RWD handling starts to show. I've hit those "snow ruts" in the middle of the road, and they make the steering wheel twitch in your hands a bit, while a RWD over those same snow ruts pretty much just goes straight because the drive wheels aren't the steer wheels.
In the past, I thought FWD was the thing for winter. And we get a lot of winter where I am. And then I put real snow tires on my RWD, and I'd never go back to FWD if I can help it. Really, for mild snow, none of this matters too much and you can drive pretty much anything you want. But driving in serious stuff really shows the differences. Of course,
lol. It was all mainly due to one moron who couldn't believe a stock-internal DSM could handle 450+hp and 20+psi, etc. Well, that guy, and Devils944 is an idiot, too, but he doesn't post much anymore. Most of the rest of the Porsche ng's are good guys.
I was doing the same 6 months ago. Here's my experience.
Hyundai was out of the question since it's a Hyundai.
The Celicas handle really well, and feel a bit like a sportscar, in the sense that it's begging for some fun twisties. I do not like the engine, it is so weak at low rpms it's ridiculous. However, somewhere around 6000 rpm, it feels like giant leaped out of the wood and kick the car in the trunk, as it just flies forward.. "All the way" to 7500 or something. I wanted an auto (too much traffic here), and that didn't work well at all with the rev happy celica. You need a six speed with this, so you'll have 5 usable sweet spots (high rpms), rather than an awful 4 speed auto. It looks very feminine - like a 80 product from Sony.. oh, I did try the GTS and the GT. Get the GTS. Also, the celicas get a huge boost from a cheap cold air intake, I think it's about 15 hp at the wheel or something.
Acura - pretty much the same as the celica. Doesn't feel as good in handling, but not sure if that is because of poor handling, or the fact that it's a luxury car. While the celica was pretty fun to drive, the acura was boring. The looks are extremely boring. Had a bit more low-rpm punch than the celica, but still a rev machine. No soul.
Eclipse - now this is one sweet looking car. It is a big and very "american" car, which is all bad in a sportscar context. The handling was not good at all, even though it comes with 17" wheels stock. The V6 was a dream compared with the others.. Some like the revvy valve-beaters, but I want either displacement or a turbo. The 5 speed felt pretty peppy, in big contrast to the auto, where about 40-50 HP is lost the powertrain. I did get an eclipse, I got a great deal on a used one, a GT convertible auto, 1,5 year old, still with warranty, and 12 grand less than a new one.. great when buying used, but awful if getting a new one. I like the Eclipse, I find it to be a great compromise between handling, comfort, looks and performance. A sportscar? hardly.
Two others to consider: The VW GTI, both VR6 and 1,8turbo, and the Subaru WRX. If you can stretch the budget, look at the Mitsubishi EVO and Nissan Z too.
I'd still rate it higher than the celica and acura, and it does look better than the Suburu. I would definitely look at VW/AUDI if an auto tranny was desired, they are pretty tight unlike many of the awful slushboxes out there..
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