New job, new requirements, need new wheels. I need a 4 door car that holds 4 adults. No room for a fourth car and the Formula's not that great to keep around anyway. (the Firehawk does stay, however) Not looking to compete Nationally, but it would be nice to be semi- competitive locally. Would like to stay around $30k or less.

Thoughts?

WRX, Audi A4, BMW 3-series (sport model from 2002-2003 IIRC) come to mind.

Mitsu. Lancer Evo.....

Mazda 3 is an excellent HS car (won nats), but might be a bit small for your tastes. WRX or Evo would be good, or 4 door E36 M3.

The MazdaSpeed 3 seems intriguing (DS I think), but yes, small and I've hardly ever driven a fwd and never driven a fwd competitively.

Evo and STi are not bad thought, but new ones easily go over 30k and I don't know if I trust buying a used one the way they often get beat.

A used E36 would be something to consider. If only those new G8's came in a few pounds lighter and with 9" wide wheels.



Nevermind, this may be the answer if I can wait long enough.

now that's a sweet car

I think I found my next daily driver. I like the GXP. I was considering the GT they just released, but I can't order it they way I want. I can only take whatever the dealer can find. Plus, I think I want the manual (even for a daily driver) and the extra ponies wouldn't hurt either.

.....I wonder what this thing will end up weighing ~ and what class SCCA would drop it in

http://www.fquick.com/blog/G8_GXP___G8_ST_Unveiled__/1458

1 Series BMW or a 335i would be good.

The G8 GT is a cool car but what's it going to run in FS? I do agree that the GXP would be a killer DD! Hell I might trade the Silverado in on one of those UTEs they are coming out with. 360hp and 4000lbs is better than 285hp and 4400lbs!

Bret

Here's an STI that only needs the suspension to make it an STU car. It has been autocrossed and daily driven. The owner appears to be very responsible. I'm co-driving a standard Impreza with him this year.

2004 STI

I drove a G8 GT Friday afternoon. All I can say is, NICE CAR. I want one. The one I drove had the smaller 18" wheels with all season tires, premium package (leather etc.) and no sun roof or sport package, basically just what I'd probably order for a daily driver. The G8 drives small, if that makes any sense. It's very tight and responsive with good brakes, good power and quick steering. It has great ride but it's not mushy at all. The traction control can actually be turned completely off, not true in the Chrysler products. The seats are awsome and the back seat is the one you needed in high school, it's huge. At 6'-3" I can ride very comfortable back there with someone my size driving. It has a big "2 body" trunk with fold down rear seats to make it even bigger. It even has telescoping steering, a must for people with long legs.

The only thing I really didn't like was the overly complicated stereo/climate controls/info center in the dash. Trying to change from floor vents, to dash vents in heavy traffic might be dangerous.

I told myself to at least test drive a G8 GT before buying my Aura... that didn't happen. I figured the G8 would turn into a toy and could distract me from the Firebrid. Also the manual transmission would take almost a model year to get. At least the Aura is $7 grand cheaper.

As it is I want to do a cat back and strip some chrome off the Aura.

Yeah, I crawled around in one on the showroom floor and the space inside was freaking awesome (I'm your height). The only thing that really bugged me was the back seat not folding down to increase cargo room for oh, say, 4 tires, a jack, a small toolbox and a small cooler and a couple of helmet bags. I'm just not sure 4 18" or 19" wheels are going in that trunk and my other hobby, cycling, isn't real conducive, though they do sell a roof rack specific to the G8 for that. I did get to drive an A4. That was a nice little ride. Car seems a bit heavy, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be much different from the G8 (except the A4 does get the advantage of AWD. I guess the 2009 A4 will have a stretched wheelbase, a little more power, the DSG and a little better fuel mileage. I may bump my spending and compare a G8 GXP with an A4 in the fall.

How was the G8's manumatic?

After all the Audi and VW'se and my family have had along with the stupid issues the dealers can't fix, they are nice cars but a nightmare to own.

yup yup yup
my g/f has an 03TT AWD 6 speed. awesome car to drive, but a maintenance nightmare. so far...
sway bar/bushings - once under warranty, second time used an aftermarket solution
airbag light - bad control module
on its 3rd CD player (drive through a big puddle in the rain, it cuts off)
secondary air pump - on its 3rd (1st two under warranty)
vacuum lines (had to replace from rotting)
eats tires (might be the driver )
all this, and barely over 60K on it...
and the 4 cylinder cars are known for killing motors/timing belts *before* the change interval

I'm not sure how competitive the car is...its in D Stock since its AWD

An E36 M3 or Mazdaspeed Protege would be at the top of my list for four-door, autocrossable cars.

Pat