which car should I choose?

Man, my father is definitely going straight through his midlife crisis. I was talking about getting a classic 'vette to rebuild and work on and junk, but he told me he'd rather get something like an import! Anyway, we were talking it over, and we mentioned a 1995 Mustang GT 5.0, a 1998 Eagle Talon TSI AWD, and a 1995 Honda Prelude VTEC. We are looking for a good looking car with room for modification. And sporty. For a guy in his mid-life crisis, sporty is essential :naughty: ! Thanks!

If you have enough money go for a supra twin turbo. If not the talon is a very fast car with alot of room for modifications for a 4 cyl.

You gotta have him look at the Mercedes C43. It's a little more pricey than the other three but it is bad ass car to drive. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds in a four door sedan! Plus the Mercedes C class is one of the most reliable cars on the road.

I'd say when it comes to room for modification the Mustang is the roomiest. But there is also a lot for the other two. I'm not saying the Mustang is the best car or the one you should get(I'm not big on SN-95's
). I'm just saying there is more available for that particular car from looks to performance mods. Your dad should just get the one he likes the best now and work from there changing it exactly to what he wants out of it.

As for the supra, that would be awesome, and it was an idea I had, but finding a supra with a good body for decent price is hard here in MD. Mercedes, truely a nice car, but no room for engine mods and work. Plus price.

If you want something you can modify, I will the suggest the 5.0 too. There is just an insane amount of performance parts for it. The 5.0 is probably cheaper and more fulfilling to modify than something like the Talon/Eclipse.

I will also suggest the GTI 1.8T if you don't mind a small car. The 1.8T has lots of potential and a lot of performance parts to play with. Though, it's not as sporty looking as the 3 cars on the list... it's a box on wheels, you know. :iceslolan

I'm not much for fords, but i'd say go for the '95 5.0. that was the last year of the 5.0, a legendary sports car. and has plenty of motor and room for mods. If not that, then if your dad wants a sporty car, definitely w/out question a vette, and any yr except a c4 model. get like a halfway restored 60's model. Sweet ride, or anything newer than a 97. But imports are NOT what a guy wants for a nice, sporty hot ride. 4 banger import pieces of trash are for high school and college kids who want a cheap, somewhat fast ride, thats it. Remember this, "There's no replacement, for displacement". Take that seriously.

One more thing, i said get a halfway restored 60's model vette, because then if u dont want to take a long time restoring one, u can just finisht whats left, have fun doing it and then have fun drivin it. but if he wants to get a junker one and make it a whole project, awesome, theres lots of nice vettes out there that need to be brought back from the dead. And all in all, the best car for ur dad, will be the one he ends up picking for himself that he wants and will enjoy, not the one that WE all TOLD him to get, but i do understand we're tryin to help make a decision easier.

Theres no way an eclipse is a piece of trash! Yes, alot of 4 cyl are trash except for the eclipse and the s2000. Its all of those civics with there weadeater exhausts that gives 4 cyl a bad name. Theres a dude with a stingray at our school and my eclipse has beaten him alot. Why do u think that imports are not hot and sporty? Although mustangs are nice cars a supra could take one any day and look alot better. Supras are awsome cars and im gettin one soon, im still in highschool so my dady will b buyin it 4 me lol! :evillol:

Again "no replacement, for displacement". I'm not big on mustangs, just out of all those thats the only one i might take. We're not deciding on a kids car, we're helpin decide a car for a middle aged guy. And guys like that, well most i know, dont want a 4 banger import. Most want a sophisticated sports car. I just think its funny everyone likes all these imports and look at all the stuff u gotta do to em to make em fast, twin turbos, cold air intakes, exhaust, shifters, trannys, ect. ect. And get a nice ZO6 Corvette, and u dont have to do anything to make it haul ass. Go to www.extremezo6.com, youll find a video of a guy getting wasted by a ZO6 while his freind tapes it from their toyota supra, its funny shit. but you wont go there i bet.

One more thing, i'm soo glad that your daddy will be buyin you a car like that and givin it to you. just another reason why kids dont have to earn damn near anything anymore. But hey, i'm sure you're a hell of a guy, aint got nothin against ya.

Well actually the deal is he will but the car if i buy the insurance which is gona b a whole lot. If i could work and make enough to buy it then i would buy it on my own but theres no possible way i can make $20,000. and ya zo6's are awsome cars and if i could get one i would. And with mods a supras engine has so much potential (you can get 900 hp with $11,000 without nos)

Of the list I would pick the Talon TSi. I was going to buy one when my old AMC Jeep threw a rod. I went a test drove one and it was very fast and it could stick to the road pretty damn good as well. I have test driven a Mustang GT, a newer one, and I didn't like it at all. It had the low down torque but it felt like driving a truck. The Prelude just can't keep up with the other in stock form.

Redline, man, you need to open your mind. I will agree with you that there is no true replacement for displacement you can get close with forced induction. You need to understand that some people want to have a fast car while being able to have descent gas mileage. Turbos allow you to be able to do that. Some people like Sport Compact cars, and it don't matter if you like it or not, they are the new hot rods. Different strokes for different folks. I happen to like both breeds.

For instance, I bought a 1990 Chrysler LeBaron GTC earlier this year and paid to have it shipped out here. I paid $600, $200 for the car and $400 to ship it. I have a plan all worked out to restore the car since it isn't in the best of shape and to modify it to be able to run 12s on street tires and perhaps the 10s on slicks. All of this still being a good looking street car. It will also be made to handle. When I am done it should be able to destroy a Z06 on the track and strip all the while should only cost me about $10,000 to pull off. I'm doing it because it is a unique car and I like how it looks. It is just a matter of taste.

i'm going for tsi, but the trans is known to be bad.

I kinda thought the mustang was the best choice out of the three of them, too, actually. there is a bunch you can do to mod. them, and, even without the mods, the GT isn't bad. But, I like the all-wheel drive capability of the Eagle, and I also like the VTEC in Preludes.

if i were looking for a car to mod i'd get a nissan 240sx and swap a sr20det engine in it, or an rb25 turbo inline 6(skyline engine) or work with the ka24 4 cylinder that comes in it. I've seen mid 90's 240's for around $3-4K in good condition and the engine would be around 1K-3K depending on which engine you went with. you'd get a hell of a car plus the exclusivity factor is way higher than either of the other cars.

The 240sx isn't very exclusive... :sly: I see a lot more 240SXs around than something like awd DSMs. I remember the 240sx cost about $16k to $23k when it was in production, so it wasn't like it was an expensive car that no one could afford in the first place.

I'd definately go w/ the 95 5.0 if you can find one in a good shape for a good price. Afterall, it's the last of the 5.0s and it's an awesome car!

Its a tough choice to make, especially given the options.

A prelude/talon tsi will suit better than the 5.0 seasonally. If thats one consideration your looking for.

5.0 has an unlimited library of modifications.

I've heard the safety ratings on a talon aren't very appealing.

Prelude would be the most reliable car out of the bunch, and it would also require the most attention in modifying.

A talon can be easily modified out of the box, buy a boost controller, get your air fuel ratios adjusted, and you'll see that for a few hundred nothing else would be the best hp/$. But then your throwing out reliability. Its a tough call.

Make balanced modifications to ensure the best drivability every day. (which i'm sure thats what its main use is for right?)

Have you also checked out some other cars for around that price range?

You may find a SRT-4, WRX, MR2 Turbo, as another good possible choice.

I would even look at a 350Z, S2000. That would be my choice, but the price is a little steeper.

First off, Redlined_V8 "no replacement for displacement" is not exactly the end-all-be-all of tuning for power. There have been many cars with 4 bangers that produce 400-500+ hp...to me that's a lot for street use and while they may be the exception to the rule, they are nonetheless out there and able to beat many larger displacement engines with ease.

There are also imports with 6 and 8 cylinders...lexus makes a few with 8s and if you want 6 cylinders than an early model supra, late model supra, datsun, etc. If you want displacement then imports can porvide it...just they also seem to value technology and weight savings a bit more than american sports cars.

My personal choice, if your dad has the money, is a 300ZX...not my favorite...but they can be made fast cheaply (400+hp for under 2500). They are also decent handling and are relatively reliable if you make the necessary mods to the engine.