Help me choose a Daily Driver!

If you read your last two sentences together, that would be a reason I'd hesitate to recommend a Neon.

Who wants to pay $100/hr to fix a 20y/o economy car? Not many people. Who knows how and is willing to maintain/repair their own 20y/o economy car? Not many people. Thus the fact that junkyards are a viable business. There are plenty of 'very reliable' (20 years ago) 20y/o cars in junkyards...

Speaking of good cars that end up in junkyards, how about a 4th gen 5spd Maxima? They're very quick and have an externally undetectable junkyard LSD upgrade available, and should be a rear sway bar and some good dampers away from being decent handlers. 27-30hwy mpg.

4th gen maximas are pretty great. My buddy in high school at a 99 with some very mild mods and it would put a smile on your face any day and still knock back 28-30 mpg. I'd also recommend looking at 4cyl 6th gen accords. Not particularly "fast", but with a five speed, sways from the acura TL, and good rubber it's definitely entertaining. One of the last gen fwd cars to come with fully independent suspension.

My vote would be for the Focus, good aftermarket, very affordable, good interior room.

In reply to irish44j:

Gotcha, I see now you were referencing the E36 318i, not the E30. And good to know about the rack in the E30. If the rack is quicker in the E36 318i, that does seem like a good option. Tons of aftermarket support too.

Regarding Maximas, wouldn't the 3rd gen be preferable to the 4th? IIRC, 4th gen Maximas lost the independent rear suspension the 3rd gen had, and you could get the same 190hp V6 in the 3rd gen. They can also be had with an LSD.

I do like the looks of the 4th gen though.

A Maxima isn't going to be competitive in any autocross class that I know of.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Any way to add power reliable to the svt? Is it better to seek out a 2.3 liter model?

and you could get the same 190hp V6 in the 3rd gen

Same hp but not the same engine. Yeah, a Maxima is not going to be competitive in autocross. It's just a really good car that would be half decent to autoX with some basic handling mods.

In reply to taparsons:

The Focus that is competitive nationally in STF is a 2.3, not an SVT. The 2.3 makes more useable torque, and I think it might be lighter (the car as a whole, if not the engine itself). It's basically the same mill that is in the Mazda 3 IIRC.