dreaming of affordable fun! : )

Hi everyone,

I just signed on. My name is Dave, and I'm a car addict.

I've tried 60's muscle cars and they just attract way too much cop attention.

Now I'm dreaming of a day when I'm less broke so I can buy a fun little Japanese car.

When I finally find 3 or 4 grand to spend on my next car... here are my thoughts:

I don't need or want a convertible. I love Rear Wheel Drive, but I'm open to possibilities of Front. Since i already have a huge old '65 chevy, I'm wanting to try something SMALL.

MR2's are tempting, but I'd definitely want a 91-92, for affordability, less flashy looks, and "tail-happiness!" : ) I was unimpresed with the power of a late 80's MR2 I drove once. And of course the newer ones are too expensive.

all the really cool Subarus are out of my price range, as are Acuras.

I know an old 240 Nissan won't blend in the crowd, but it might be worth it!

Haven't driven a civic. The lack of torque might annoy me.

A good pal of mine has a Miata, and he loves it, but he keeps wishing it had more power.

My original "someday when I'm LESS poor" dream was to buy an 87-89 mustang before I got to thinking Japanese. I used to own an '89 Toyota Celica 5-speed and if it had had another 50 or 60 hp, it would have ruled.

However, after reading several dozen of the car comparisons, I see that many of you have dire warnings about Celicas, and say that they really aren't capable of much, except the new, unaffordable ones.

good to meet you all. Please feel free to give me advice. thanks,
-d

well, i am biased of course, but try looking at the third gen camaros. best bet would be the 90-92 camaros, which ahve the speed dencity system, which will need to be programmed to mods unlike the MAF system which is more adaptive. but they are somewhat small, handle well, and are pretty darn quick as is. and respond extreamly well to mods. and right now, they are CHEAP!! ive seen the B4C camaros for 4500 dollars. bought my 89 IROC with a 5.7L TPI motor for 2300 bucks. the deals are out there. i just have to throw this out there cuz you seem very lost looking at jap crap, and *gasp* mustangs ;) may be a little bit bigger than you are looking for, they arent small, 3500 lbs, but you can get em and work on em cheap, and run 10s with the right setup. but i suppose it would be easyer to buy a little ricer and throw on a turbo :( just not the same ball busting tire roasting fun ;)

thanks for the notion. I hadn't thought of Camaros. Yes, they are a bit bigger than I was thinking of, but cheap is GOOD. How are their handling characteristics? I assume they come in 5 speed options? If they can corner like a Prelude, that's good enough for their weight class.
I don't like to get into the "U.S. cars vs. Japanese cars" debate though.
Japanese cars are made better, and handle better.
U.S. cars have better immediate torque -- generally larger engines.
Neither are crap! I love nimble J-cars and American v-8s for different reasons.

first off, well spoke on the usa vs. japan subject, im just a redneck who likes to start stuff ;) but as far as how well they handle, with the stock suspension system, the RS has the soft ride, and i can take the local "dead mans turn" a 90 degree downhill turn with a creek on the far side, at around 40-45 with only slight tire squeek. takes a little bit of practice to get to that point, because they do tend to slide the butt around a bit, cuz its so light, especially with an empty tank, but once you get used to it, its nothing unmanageable, you learn to feel the car through the steering wheel, and predict when its about to happen. and the IROC, i havent really pushed, but driving home through the blue ridge mountains, i was having a blast, thought that the car was handling great, expected i was doing around 75 mph or something, looked down and i was doing over a hundred, through the mountains. one handed. so i dont know what that says about handling, but it was pretty impressive to me. and thats all before aftermarket mods, like subframe connectors, and performance shocks, and springs, and they would be even better. and yes, there was a 5 speed option out there, usually with the TPI 305 cars. and my dad had an 89 prelude, and they definately could hang with that car. dont know about the new ones. i know i beat em in a strait line :) and oh yeah, they are CHICK magnets :-D ive had two girls date me because of the car, and the french hottie im currently hooking up with is with me because of the car. lol. and honestly, they do not feel that big when your driving them. i drove the car once, and was instantly hooked. now, im not saying that these are the best cars out there by any means,*cough* yes they are * cough* but you should at least take one for a spin and find out for yourself, i honestly think youd be doing yourself a disservice if you didnt. happy hunting, hope you find the car for you. :)

French Hotttie? Sounds like you're living life right! : )

well to be honest, i do have very few complaints ;)

by the way, I test drove a '94 Integra today. It was nice. I can't believe it only had 140 hp. felt like more : )

Its pretty sad that the only way you can get a chick is by driving your dads old crappy honda. I have much higher standards for my men's cars.

CAT~ Have you thought about an RX-7? Since you said you've tried muscle cars, your probably used to working on cars, so the RX-7 shouldnt be any different. You can pick them up really cheap, make them very fast and they handle awesome. Go drive one and tell me what you think.

question, was the honda crack aimed at me? i drive camaros, not imports. but i will agree with you dayna, if wayoutcat can find an RX-7 for the price of a third gen camaro, he should snag it, they are sexy cars. i wouldnt mind having one myself :)

and my dad had an 89 prelude, and they definately could hang with that car. dont know about the new ones. i know i beat em in a strait line :) and oh yeah, they are CHICK magnets :-D ive had two girls date me because of the car, and the french hottie im currently hooking up with is with me because of the car. lol.


um does this answer your question?

ok, guess i worded that badley, cat was askin if the camaros handled like preludes, so i was answering his question in that the camaros were on par with the older ones, didnt know about the newer ones, but as far as the chick magnets, i was talkin about the camaros. i havent driven the prelude sense i was like 16 or something. got the first camaro when i was like 18, driven only the RS and the IROC sense.

ah, here I must sadly admit that I am not the greatest mechanic, and in fact have seldom done more than change oil, and troubleshoot why a car won't start; i.e., the old "is the distributor dry? is the carb choke stuck? uh..how about I crawl underneath and hit the starter with a hammer while the wife turns the key?" : ) that's about the extent of my automotive prowess, I'm sorry to say. Rebuilding a rotary engine would be about as possible for me to do as differential calculus.
That is why I'm seriously thinking of going back to 90's Japanese cars, since they almost never need any serious do-it-yourself-ing, but are not hugely expensive to take in to a shop. I have found myself with too many hobbies, too much work, and too little time & money. Sure, I would love to learn more about engines, but I would also like to get good at playing guitar, publish a book, learn several languages, and study martial arts. Okay, I'm not a total failure-- I am studying Kung Fu, and I am working on a novel, but you get the idea; I've decided to look for cars that are cheap to pay someone else to fix for me, i.e. Japanese cars that are old enough to NOT be astronomically expensive and so high tech that every tune up costs as much as a new car, since I seem to be on a life path of not making serious money anytime soon.