Volksroddin
Volksroddin HalfDork
4/12/09 9:06 p.m.

What would be in the top 5 GRM car of the year? We're talking about price/performce and DIY friendly? Your thoughts ?

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter Reader
4/12/09 9:14 p.m.

Miata

Crown Vic

E30

Turbocharged Miata

LS1-swapped Miata

Or does it have to be something you can buy new?

P71
P71 GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/12/09 10:25 p.m.

2009 Models?

MS3, MX5, Cobalt SS/TC, M3, and... RX8? That's 3 Mazda's though...

2010 Hopefulls?

Genesis Coupe, Camaro, revised Mustang GT, revised MS3, and... Fiesta?

All time?

Miata, E30, RX7, MS3, SRT4?

Apexcarver
Apexcarver SuperDork
4/12/09 10:46 p.m.

turbo volvo

MR2

NickF40
NickF40 GRM+ Memberand Reader
4/12/09 10:48 p.m.
P71 wrote: 2009 Models? MS3, MX5, Cobalt SS/TC, M3, and... RX8? That's 3 Mazda's though... 2010 Hopefulls? Genesis Coupe, Camaro, revised Mustang GT, revised MS3, and... Fiesta? All time? Miata, E30, RX7, MS3, SRT4?

way to sum it up!!

Fiesta are frakin awsome, I love Top Gears reveiw on the RS Focus, i'm movin to the UK.................preferrably Scotland

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/13/09 7:01 a.m.

Top 5 2009 MY: (from the bottom)

Cobalt SS/TC

Mazda 3

MINI Cooper S

Pontiac Solstice GXP

BMW 3 series

Tim Baxter
Tim Baxter Online Editor
4/13/09 7:33 a.m.

Our Top 5 (so far):

* Infiniti FX50S  
* Nissan 370Z  
* Porsche Cayenne S  
* Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR  
* Audi A4 Sedan 2.0 T quattro Tiptronic

Top Bang For Buck

* Nissan 370Z  
* Saturn Sky Redline  
* Dodge Caliber SRT4  
* Hyundai Genesis  
* Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR
Ian F
Ian F Reader
4/13/09 7:49 a.m.

Having just been to the 2009 NY Auto show, my top 5:

  1. Miata (duh... the magazine is called "Grass Roots Miata," right? )

  2. Challenger R/T While I expected to like this car, I'm surprised by how much. Sure, it's a big, heavy tank... and the 6spd is a $1000 option... but I don't care. I look at the car and feel like I'm 16 again (which I'm sure is intentional). I want one. )

The order of the next three are interchangable to me, listed at random...

  1. Genesis Coupe (nice, but hurt by the fact I had just gotten out of the Challenger when I looked at it, and the Challenger's interior blows the Hyundai away...)

  2. 370Z (nice car, but right now, I can't remember a damn thing about it...)

  3. Camaro SS (not a bad car, but if going for retro-muscle, I like the Challenger more).

Honorable "family truckster" mention: Chrysler minivans. How ANYONE can buy an SUV after looking at one of these is beyond my comprehension... the stow-n-go seating set-up kicks ass. The cargo capacity of these things is incredible.

P71
P71 GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/13/09 8:46 a.m.

Holy crap I left out the MINI and the Solstice!

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/13/09 9:54 a.m.

That's okay, your last name is Pinto so all is good.

Brust
Brust Reader
4/13/09 1:30 p.m.

The car I was actually most impressed (read: surprised) by was the mazda 5. It has no sporting pretensions, but for a family of four it would be a perfect mini-minivan. lotsa space, stowable seating, up-models looked like audi's inside. Unfortunately the only way to get a manual is in the base model. Imagine this thing with the ms3 drivetrain and mazda has a winner. No idea of driving dynamics, but I'd choose this over a transmission-grenading minivan any day.

Ian F
Ian F Reader
4/13/09 2:00 p.m.

The Caymen S at the NY auto show was a real eye-opener...

Base price: $60,000

However, the one on the show floor had been loaded to the Nth degree with options.

As-is price: $89,000 That's right... an almost 50% increase from the base price... Wow.

P71
P71 GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/13/09 2:22 p.m.

Spend some time on Porsche's website speccing out options. A $150K Caymen/Boxter is easy. The sheer amount of extra interior items will boggle your mind...

bravenrace
bravenrace HalfDork
4/13/09 2:45 p.m.

Having driven a Solstice GXP for the last 7 months and 12,000 miles, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't put it on a car of the year list.

Josh
Josh HalfDork
4/13/09 4:31 p.m.
Brust wrote: The car I was actually most impressed (read: surprised) by was the mazda 5. Imagine this thing with the ms3 drivetrain and mazda has a winner. No idea of driving dynamics,

It's actually sort of fun, in an "Everyone must think I'm either insane or driving someone to the hospital when they see me make the tires squeal around a corner" sort of way. It drives like basically what it is, which is a 3 with a few hundred extra pounds and a slightly higher center of gravity. Interior is the best thought out, most versatile of any vehicle I have used. It really crams everything you need into a very reasonably sized vehicle. It would be ridiculously cool with an MS3 drivetrain, and I have serious thoughts of making one myself once the early cars get somewhere near challenge territory :).

Bobzilla
Bobzilla Reader
4/13/09 4:34 p.m.

SX4 Sport + RRM Turbo Kit?

Volksroddin
Volksroddin HalfDork
4/13/09 8:41 p.m.

I was think'n more Grass Roots, but its all good here is my 2 cents

Miata

Mini mkI or so

MR2 dosent matter wich gen

P71 or 9C! (I call them Nancy1)

E30

C4 Corvette

Porcshe 911 or 914

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/13/09 9:08 p.m.

All time:
MR2
Miata
Mustang GT
E30 BMW
Civic

Current:
Mazdaspeed 3
Mustang GT
WRX
GTI
Cobalt SS

Near Future:
Mazdaspeed 3
Mustang GT
Genesis Coupe
GTI
Camaro

Distant Future:
Nissan 240Z (miniature GTR with 2.4 liter turbo, 35+ mpg, sub $20K)
United Motor Cars (GM, Chrysler, and Ford, now combined and under government control) Mustang III (flex-fuel V8)
Toyota IGO turbo SSi
VW Sportster Diesel Kia Racer SS ($14K, 300hp, sports suspension, 35mpg)

midknight
midknight Reader
4/13/09 10:17 p.m.

My All time faves!

'67 Mini Cooper S 92 Miata Turbo '69 Duetto Spider Buick GNX '89 Swift GTi

Strike_Zero
Strike_Zero New Reader
4/15/09 4:24 p.m.

My list:

-04-06 Pontiac GTO - Muscle, performance, price (400hp for 15K . . .uh . . .YES!!)

-92-99 BMW 3 Series (M3 performance without M3 money)

-E30 BMWs (My first supercar

-87-93 Mustang 5.0 (Drag racers Dream)

-Anything you can fit a GENIII-LS motor in (the vehicle instantly becomes awesome)

Done

Cotton
Cotton Reader
4/15/09 4:30 p.m.

If Porsche 911 doesn't make it on the "of all time list" there is no hope.

72SuperBrian
72SuperBrian Reader
4/15/09 4:52 p.m.
Cotton wrote: If Porsche 911 doesn't make it on the "of all time list" there is no hope.

Having driven an 84 Carrera daily for three years now, I can say that it is no performance bargain. It's expensive to fix, has no heat to speak of, no A/C and the wife will complain every time she has to ride in it.

Other than that it was a wonderful car! Involving, fun, sharp handling, torquey, well built and it didn't depreciate at all. We replaced it with a wife-friendly (and frankly more fun) Boxster S...

Cotton
Cotton Reader
4/15/09 5:10 p.m.
72SuperBrian wrote:
Cotton wrote: If Porsche 911 doesn't make it on the "of all time list" there is no hope.
Having driven an 84 Carrera daily for three years now, I can say that it is no performance bargain. It's expensive to fix, has no heat to speak of, no A/C and the wife will complain every time she has to ride in it. Other than that it was a wonderful car! Involving, fun, sharp handling, torquey, well built and it didn't depreciate at all. We replaced it with a wife-friendly (and frankly more fun) Boxster S...

I have an 85. Well kept and not a DD. It is an amazing performance car in it's own right. Mine has great heat and crappy AC, but who cares. My wife loves riding in ours, so I guess that is a matter of taste. I own cars that are faster, handle better, etc, but there is something about an air cooled 911...they have a lot of charactor. I guess it might not be on your "of all time" list, but it is on mine. Would I want one as a DD? Hell no. My 944 Turbo would make a much better DD, but as an all around great classic performance car a 911 is hard to beat.

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