[trackbird]

My wife has been looking at Mini Cooper's lately. Unfortunately, the Mini dealer didn't want her VW very badly (50% depreciation in 1.5 years and 25k miles?).

It was wet out and I kept the test drive short, but I really liked it (Cooper S). Actually, I liked it more than I thought I really would. It could use a bit more power, but it wasn't a pig (it's not a Camaro either). The handling was reasonably crisp and it was a bit go cart like. I found myself thinking that I could possibly live with one of those as a daily driver. And, tires and such for autocross will be considerably cheaper than my current ride. I'm really thinking that I should take another look at these. It's small, and really rather fun to drive.

She won't be buying one for a while, but....I could probably sell the Z at this point..... :leaving:

[trackbird]

Well, I'm not planning to run next year in my Camaro, and I probably wouldn't gather up wheels and such that quickly for the Mini either (if I were to buy one (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) ). I'm actually thinking that I'm in the mood for a car that I can just drive and not work on. I've got a ton of money (ok, not as much as some here, but a good bit) in my car and I just don't feel like spending the money on the care and feeding of this beast some days.

But, I'm not in the mood for a car payment, and since I already have one, I'm not in the mood for a different car payment, and that means I'm probably just keeping the Camaro.

Sadly, my friend owned a Focus and had nothing but trouble with it (fuel pump relay/switch kept leaving him stuck places). I really don't like the styling either (personal preference). Cobalt...I don't think GM builds anything I'd buy right now that isn't a Corvette. I might consider a truck, but I have little interest in the rest of their offerings.

They had a nice used (2003) BMW M5 on the lot yesterday. I could get probably get used to that (other than the $53K they wanted for it).