Most exciting cars from around 2000

[dazzleman]

Love that color! So rare, unfortunelately

I agree.  That's my favorite color for a 'Vette.

[dazzleman]

Heh, someone else mentioned in the "late 90s dark ages" in another thread. I was gonna respond with a list of cars I liked from that era until I realized that they're pretty much all Hondas and BMWs.

What about Saab?  That was the time when their redesign broke them out of the egghead college professor from Comnecticut crowd and they became pretty popular.  I considered Saab before getting my BMW.

[dazzleman]

I'd go for this...

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/los-angeles-1970-oldsmobile-442-with/6768284369.html

Now we're talking....Thismis a great car, a close cousin to the early 70s Chevelle.

[Payman]

Porsche 996. Not a well loved 911, but that means you can still get a good one for under $20k, and they're still fantastic driving cars.

This one has 85,000 miles, 6 speed manual, for $18,000...

[MX793]

Porsche 996. Not a well loved 911, but that means you can still get a good one for under $20k, and they're still fantastic driving cars.

This one has 85,000 miles, 6 speed manual, for $18,000...

Pretty sure 996s are widely available in Europe.  I think the point was to import something that was never offered in that market.

[Payman]

Pretty sure 996s are widely available in Europe.  I think the point was to import something that was never offered in that market.

Ah ok.

[Payman]

...

[FoMoJo]

...

I had one of those, a '78.  It got around 12 mpg.  Nothing would stop it though.

[BimmerM3]

What about Saab?  That was the time when their redesign broke them out of the egghead college professor from Comnecticut crowd and they became pretty popular.  I considered Saab before getting my BMW.

They were certainly better than American cars of that era.

I wasn't a huge fan of the first gen 9-3's styling at the time, though I think it's aged fairly well. 9-5s were always pretty handsome cars. I test drove a 9-5 Aero when my old Accord got flooded and I assumed that it was going to be totalled, and liked it a lot.

[dazzleman]

They were certainly better than American cars of that era.

I wasn't a huge fan of the first gen 9-3's styling at the time, though I think it's aged fairly well. 9-5s were always pretty handsome cars. I test drove a 9-5 Aero when my old Accord got flooded and I assumed that it was going to be totalled, and liked it a lot.

The 9-5 was the model that I was looking at.  Some time in the late 1990s, I noticed that they were really popular in my area, and that Saab had shed the egghead styling for which it was known in earlier years.  It was a pretty handsome car.  What dissuaded me from getting the car was stories I heard of major mechanical malfunctions when the car was relatively new.  There was this mentality that this was one of the "quirks" of owning a Saab, and that it was part of the car's charm.  I didn't really agree -- When I need to go somewhere, I want the car to start and get me there without incident, and I don't want to be doing major repairs when the car is a year or two old.

[cawimmer430]

They have an ambition to go all zero pollution at some time, but it will depend on such cars being avilable in all segments. It will only affect new cars, though.

That sucks. I see the Greens are ru[ i ][n]ning your country as well!

Here there is serious talk of introducing speed limits on the Autobahn - a pathetic 130 km/h. How people are gonna stay away at that speed is beyond my understanding... 

[565]

How reasonably priced is reasonably priced?





Were the Japanese sports cars originally imported?

[Laconian]

Yikes, did someone crossbreed a FD with a S2000 there? Those fixed headlights aren't stock, are they?

[CALL_911]

Yikes, did someone crossbreed a FD with a S2000 there? Those fixed headlights aren't stock, are they?

Later FDs had those but they aren't headlights- they still have popup headlights. Honestly I like those a lot, more than the earlier FD.

[Payman]

Lol, it's the low camera angle.

[GoCougs]

I'm gonna go with whack focal length (probably short):

[BimmerM3]

Yearlier FDs had different shaped lights there too.

[BimmerM3]

Post facelift from a normal angle.

[mzziaz]

I'd like to keep the budget at $15k for a low mileage, clean car. That rules out the Supra/Viper, I think. Not sure if I want to roll the dice on a rotary.

How about a mn12 Thunderbird?
Looks good, probably cheap, IRS, manual, V8 or supercharged V6:

[Raza]

I'd like to keep the budget at $15k for a low mileage, clean car. That rules out the Supra/Viper, I think. Not sure if I want to roll the dice on a rotary.

How about a mn12 Thunderbird?
Looks good, probably cheap, IRS, manual, V8 or supercharged V6:

Looks good? Mate, they were dated when they were new.

[Soup DeVille]

Its been a long time since I saw one of those that wasn't beat to hell and back.

I've never seen one with a stick; I see that one was offered, but never seen one.

[Speed_Racer]

The Cougar XR7 was the more attractive twin, also came with a stick.

[BimmerM3]

I'd like to keep the budget at $15k for a low mileage, clean car. That rules out the Supra/Viper, I think. Not sure if I want to roll the dice on a rotary.

How about a mn12 Thunderbird?
Looks good, probably cheap, IRS, manual, V8 or supercharged V6:

Unless you just want something different for the sake of being different, save your money. Anything from that era under $15k that's worth the trouble of importing is already available in Europe.

[Payman]

...

[Payman]

What's the year cut-off? I see a few Pontiac GTOs, V8 + manual, in your price range. I think 2004 is the first year for them though.

[Raza]

The Cougar XR7 was the more attractive twin, also came with a stick.

It looks like a regular car backed into a Lego car.  Yikes.

[Raza]

What's the year cut-off? I see a few Pontiac GTOs, V8 + manual, in your price range. I think 2004 is the first year for them though.

Yeah, that'd be a good choice if it works.  Head and shoulders above the Mustang of that era.

What about a Trans Am?

[shp4man]

I had the pleasure of putting a few miles on one of those Australian GTO's. Somebody traded it in. It was a stick, too. Lot's of fun. 

[Soup DeVille]

The Cougar XR7 was the more attractive twin, also came with a stick.

LOL. That pick is taken right outside the studio for Grace & Wilde (an ad firm that works with cars)

(coincidentally a lot of screen shots of nav systems also show this address, or BBDO's on 8 mile in Farmington.

[Submariner]

The Cougar XR7 was the more attractive twin, also came with a stick.

That "formal roofline" looks like garbage.