It’s a “Pony Car.” These had good straight-line performance, and don’t handle well, brake well, get good mileage, etc.
The car I suggested probably provides a good hint as to my personality. To me, a sports car is a sports car because it makes the most of limited resources. I won’t drive a car that routinely gets under 20 mpg. The S2000 has pretty much everything I look for in a sports car (as does a Miata). If I had been 49 thirty years ago, I’d have been in the market for an MG/Lotus/Porsche, instead of a Corvette/Mustang/Camaro.
I have never considered a Camaro to be a “real” sports car.
I’m guessing at this point you’d be pretty unhappy with the kind of car I’d like.
That being said, I haven’t seen what you have in mind for a budget. If you’re serious about putting a V8 into a Jaguar, I wouldn’t touch that project with a 10 foot pole. I sincerely would not. It would be a nightmare.
Note that the CURRENT Mustang is much more like a sports car than it was in 1975. Far more.
If it was me looking for a pure sports coupe right now, I’m not sure you could do better than a Cayman. So, does this project include $60,000? I doubt it.
All things considered, I’m pretty sure a 10 year old Corvette Coupe would be about what you’re looking for. No, it’s not what I’d buy, partly because I live in California. Gotta have a droptop if I’m going to have a sports car.
These had good straight-line performance, and don’t handle well, brake well, get good mileage, etc.
There are upgrades to these cars to make them handle as well MOST of todays cars. Complete suspension systems. Braking is a easy fix…There are MANY aftermarket kits to upgrade to 4 disc brakes.
Gas mileage…I’m sorry…but Sports Car and gas mileage are NOT the same.
The Camaro was the poor mans sports car. The guys who couldn’t afford a Corvette or Porsche. They are easy to work on…THOUSANDS of aftermarket parts and upgrades available. I don’t think a sports car has to be a two seater.
The only real sports car with more than two seats is probably a 911 (and those aren’t real back seats). One might call a vintage camaro/mustang/etc “sporty” but not sports cars. I agree they are really “pony cars” (smaller muscle cars), even the worst sports cars will out handle them easily (but they are fun in a straight line). I don’t know anything about the new “camaro” and “mustang,” but I do wish these guy would stop ruining “classic” names by recycling them for plastic cars.
If I was looking for a cheap (under $20-30K) sports car, I would probably look for an old (air cooled) 911 or a old (but not classic) vette, depending on your taste. Personally, I wouldn’t hack up a (pre-ford) jag by installing the incorrect engine.
“The only real sports car with more than two seats is probably a 911…”
No, by your definition it is a GT, unless we can open it up a bit and include all GTs and sports cars. Maybe GTs and roadsters, but not all convertibles. An XKE would be a sports car under these circumstances, and most (all?) Ferraris would be sports cars, too. And Aston Martins…
I would have trouble classifying any 4 passenger domestic as a sports car.
OK, that explains why you don’t call a Camaro a sport car. So why don’t you call a Honda S2000 a sport car? Is there any two seat convertible you consider a sport car? If so, what are the differences?
I don’t know of a single definition of sports car. Personally, I consider a 911 a sports car and a 928 a GT regardless of the number of seats. I tend to consider early vettes sports cars, while the later ones are closer to GTs (debatable). I would certainly consider a type-E a sports car, but not any jag sedan/coupe. Some folks would exclude anything with roll-up windows.
“OK, that explains why you don’t call a Camaro a sport car. So why don’t you call a Honda S2000 a sport car? Is there any two seat convertible you consider a sport car? If so, what are the differences?”
I don’t know, what’s a S2000? I’ve never heard of it (I really don’t follow ricers), if its a small RWD two seater (like a miata?) that handles well it’s probably a sports car by most definitions (convertible or not). If it’s a FWD econo-box, not so much.
Okay, Jad Just so my facts are straight. You live somewhere in Canada and wish to buy a “sports car” which implies something with quick acceleration, will handle corners without a second thought. Something relatively inexpensive and easy to work on. Are against a tractor or mini school bus…had too mention it, the Scion is not for sale in your country…I don’t really know what that’s all aboot! Sorry had to do that too! Due to spouse and climate conditions a convertible seem to be out of the question. I’ve seen a lot of replies regarding what I would describe as “muscle” cars. Not that I’m against them, it’s just that any “muscle y” sports car that will handle corners well will cost you! Such as a Vette. Even they have had their problems depending on the year. So if your not too far in the sticks up there this might be a viable option: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=103416 since they’ve made them relatively inexpensive since the 70’s. You mentioned a Cutlass? Wow! You still have one of those? Since you also mentioned V8 torque/power maybe you can build something like this: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2052251. I hope you find what your looking for…and what your wife will allow!
So you haven’t seen an S2000? I guess that explains why you think that recommending a Honda is incongruous with recommending a sport car. Here is a picture of one.
OK, I’ve probably seen them and thought they were a miata or something else. I don’t know anything about them, I’m not a big fan of front engine sports cars, and I don’t buy ricer/domestics anyway so I probably just didn’t pay any attention. If that’s what the OP wants, he should go find one and give it a try.
If you can find the July 2007 issue of Road and Track magazine, they have a “Used Car Classic” article on the 1997-2004 Corvette C5. That will give you lots of information on what to look for in one of these cars.
The C5 Vette is a pretty nice machine for 20-30k. And for the guy who said the fbody is unreliable(Camaro, Trans Am), well you are wrong. I’ve had two, and I have a bunch of friends that have them, all of them have been reliable. If you don’t abuse them or mod them heavily(cam, NOS, turbo, etc), they will last a long time. The reason they were discontinued was they quit selling(they sold 4 times as many mustangs as Camaros and Firebirds combined). GM didn’t redesign them every 4 years like they should have.
All of the Camaros are reliable, no matter the year. Most of the “unreliable” ones are the cars that have been beaten into the pavement or neglected by their foot to the floor owners.
Both of my sons own Camaros and they’ve both been rock solid vehicles. One is an '88 with 280k miles and the other is a '96 with 220k on it. Neither one of these cars have ever had the engine or transmission touched, or even needed it, and still run/drive just like the day they were purchased. Brakes, struts, maintenance/tune up stuff, and a fuel pump each is about it. Matter of fact, the '88 still has the original water pump in place.
I guess reliability might not have been the reason, but the fourth generation Camaro/Firebird (1993-2002) seems to be on everyone’s list of used cars to avoid. I am glad to hear that your experiences have been positive, but that is hardly an endorsement of this particular model’s market wide reliability statistics, is it? For example, my mother’s experiences with her 2002 Sienna have been pretty good. However, market-wide there have been issues with the motorized sliding door and other issues, like engine sludge. My personal experiences and those of people I know don’t qualify me to judge any particular model of automobile market-wide. That knowledge is merely anecdotal.
Read my response to thorthemetalgod, its about the 5th posting. I live on the praires in Canada. The cj7 can fulfill all your requirements and women love them.
Based on other people who actually own and drive the cars, it appears the 4th generation Camaros/Firebirds do just fine in regards to build quality and reliability.
Just a small sampling. There are also 3 Camaro (2 4th and 1 3rd gen) owners who live within 3 blocks of me and they’re perfectly happy with their vehicles.
