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If you had $35,000 to spend on a vehicle what would it be and why? Here are the rules; it has to be practical, brand new, can't be modded, and you can't keep the change. I spoke about this with Jeremy and we came to the conclusion that a basic IS350 would be the best, although I posed the question a little differently. I want some feedback from true car enthusiast and you guys are really the only ones I know.

STI hands down

I didn't even think about that. It would be nice to have all that extra room.

 O0

i also agree with the sti, or a murano mostly because my next vechical will be a suv. or maybe an element sc, ive never been in the ones with carpet and ish.

Why a basic IS350 when you can get a IS250 with everything for the same price? You're losing about 100HP but hey...lol

If I were in his situation, a 2011 Crew cab F150 would be ideal. Every family man needs a truck. with a crew cabyou can fit the whole family, and still have enough room in the bed to haul whatever you may need to haul. Say you want to build your son a tree house, or build you daughter her own barbie dream house, there will be no need to have to pay lowes to deliver materials, or rent their truck for an ungodly price. how about if your washer goes out and you go buy a new one? eh, just throw it in the bed of the truck I will get it home.

I'm not a fan of the STi's because if you wanted to up the boost later on down the road, you'd have to open up the engine. I'm more of an Evo fan because they take to the abuse of boost a lot better than the STi. If I had to get an auto, I'd opt for the MR as it has one of the crispest, most responsive tiptronic/ paddle shifters in its class. Last I checked, the Evo MR wasn't offered in a manual. If I were to get a manual, I'd get the GSR.

I'd probably get a Ridgeline or MDX.  Maybe an A4 Avant.

Fuck it if it is, I wish my parents had the money and were cool enough to buy me a car...Bill is lucky

I'd love to get an MDX. They start at $43 though  :( A4 is something I never though about. One of my friends from high school drove an A5. I drove it a couple of times. I was never really impressed. They have been changed since, though. I'll have to go drive one next time I am in Nashville.


If I were to get a truck, it would be a Chevy and I doubt I would be happy with what options I could get on it. Either that or a Tundra which I didn't think about until just now!


Well, I think I would sacrifice Mark Levinson and Nav for an extra 100 hp lol. The IS350 I drove was basic, but it's still a Lexus. Heated seats, leather, sunroof, nice looking trim, etc. That would be a touch decision. In that same type deal, an IS250 MT might be a possibility. The 250 is just so damn slow.

Something I was thinking was a 4Runner. Maybe Mark will chime in on this. My sister's boyfriend just got one and he loves it.


Funny you compare those two. After Mike suggested it last night, I went and watched the Top Gear episode comparing the two. They liked the Evo much more.

I mistyped.  I meant RDX. 

I'd get a Mercedes C class.

RDX is a sweet ride. Trust me on that one. No MT option though.

I can't bring myself to owning a Chevy after all the hell I have went thru with my dads truck

I couldn't bring myself to owning a Ford after all the hell I went through with my truck.

Honestly, I don't think I would ever pay for an American car. The idea of an A4 is kinda cool. I don't think I would get the avant though. 6 MT turbo...

Why could you not own an american car Bill? And for the record I am looking at buying one of two gm products, believe it or not, one of them I think would really impress you there bill

i would buy a evo or wrx sti  O0

Some American cars are starting to get better.  I still think the Big 3 has some more improvements to make, but they're actually turning around.  I've been turned off by the negative commercials GM has been running for the past few years.  If their only sales pitch is that the other companies suck, it shows that they have much more to offer than a juvenile attitude.

I'm actually a fan of the Fusion, Taurus, Mustang at the moment. My opinion is that Honda is moving backward (Major Tranny Flaws) and the other companies are moving forward.

Well, I drove a ctsv last week and fell in love. But o am more than likely buying a GMC canyon to drive every day BC it is cheap and more efficient fuel wise and I will be able to clear most of my debt

I have a Chevy uplander and it takes E87 it saves me a ton on gas in my area I like them for that

I have only been "impressed" with one american car and that is a new Tahoe LTZ. I would pay for one or gladly accept one. There are plenty of foreign cars I have been impressed by, expensive and cheap. My car had a $20,000 sticker, and it impressed me the first time I drove it and still does to this day. I don't see why anyone would buy say a fusion, when you can buy an accord or camry. My family used to buy all american cars, had a few bad experiences, now we don't own a single one and couldn't be happier. I will agree, they are getting much better, especially Ford.

I'm going to Nashville December 9th and I plan on driving some cars. The 2011 IS came out and it is just an updated version of the 2011 which makes me think that the 2012 will hopefully be a new generation. I don't really want to get a brand new car and 8 months later it be a body style old. I plan to go test drive an A4, IS250, and a 328i. The STi/evo may be a little to hard core for me.

I think one of the biggest problems with the Big 3 is that they got greedy and the quality of their product and their service diminished while their prices went up.  Unfortunately, we live in a society where everything has become disposable.  Why make a quality car that's going to last when the general attitude is to just throw it away when it breaks or falls apart?  I blame it on greed and American society.

the thing with the fusion i rented one a while back, its quieter than the accord and comfy, not to mention AWD. alot of places need awd. my next car will have awd.

New Toyota's don't really do anything for me exctpt for truck wise since I can't get the canyon I looked at today I am actually thinking about trying to find a Tacoma. The taco is the only thing I've liked from them from the get go. The concept dually they showed at semantics two years ago was bad ass but never hit the market. And per top gear the ctsv outran an Audi Audi v8 that was said to be comparable to the ctsv I believe it was the a4 v8so car

That's the RS4. Which compares to the M3 and C63. My neighbor has one, it sounds like a jet.

Of course the CTSV is going to be in the group its an SC'd Vette engine! It's probably better than 600 HP. Bill I would wait and pick up one of these...

(http://www.xinfo4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/The-Toyota-FT-86.jpg)

mmm.. the FT-86.. I'm considering picking one up when it releases..

And actually, the CTSV that they featured was the 400hp Ls2 N/A engine.

Was it older or something. I drove the SC'd one and it was nuts.

it was like 08 or 09 I believe, hell the 05 I drove was impressive with 400hp now you can get them with an ls6 which I am dying to drive one

I was wrong in my assumption that it was a RS4. I assumed it was an older episode, 2004ish, which is when the S4 was still a 6 cylinder. They test drove a 1st gen CTS-V, 04-07, and a S4. So, the CTS has 60 more hp. If they would have done an RS4, I'm pretty sure it would have won.
1st Gen CTS-V 6.0 V8 400hp
S4 4.2 V8 340hp
RS4 4.2 V8 420hp

Either way, it is still a domestic car that can hang with European trash(that some believe are worth while)

I still like euros.

euro>jap

At the end of the day statements like this make you sound foolish. An RS4 is trash really? I'd venture to say you've never driven a high end euro car with statements like this. There is an very long list of "Euro Trash" that would chew that Saleen up and spit it out.

Lots of cars would walk all over the Saleen. At the same time it was a stout car when it was new. And no, I've never driven a "high end" European car, nor do I care to.  From my experience with European cars, I don't like them.

I'd really like to see your opinion after riding in something nice. You have to consider that the euro cars most people are familiar with are the Chevy Cobalt of the European manufacturer.

Ive Driven an s4 I believe 1.8t, a vr6 passat(turbo'd and stock), 1.8t passat, R32, BMW m3e46 and e36( I do kinda like the e46 but would never own one) GLi jetta both 1.8t and vr6, GTi(both as well), e46 bmw 325, and 330i, Porsche 928(somewhat impressive for a 5.0), 944, 1969 porsche 911(did Like that one until my friend totaled it at the age of 14). and SLK 230 kompressor. and probably other that I do not remember.

The nicest no exotic euro I've ever been in was a M6 that was fun.

I forgot about the M6, I did not drive it but I got to ride in one when the first one was delivered to chattanooga to a guy on street car forums

I've been impressed with the Dinan E46, 996 C4S,  996 Turbo, and S4 when I drove them.  My only complaint about euro's is that most of them are over engineered and very difficult/expensive to work on. 

That is my complaint, I tried to work on a vw before and it was fepic. the damn thing killed my genesis scan tool

It was a pain to get anything done on my GTi.  I hated that about that car.

I actually learned to drive, for a year with my permit, in a 2006 S500. That might be one of my favorite cars to drive. I'm pretty sure it was the most expensive car I have ever driven too. Other than that I have driven a 2010 M3, 2007 335i convertible, 2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, 2005 Audi A4 2.0T, and a 2010 XFR all owned by family friends unfortunately  :( My impression of European cars is that they are fun to drive, but I would probably rather have a DD a Lexus and an Euro for fun.I know the cost a fuck ton to maintain though. The air suspension went out on the S and it was 10k to get fixed. I feel like I have driven a lot of cars; in addition to the ones listed above, I have driven every 2010 Lexus in the past year and a half and a few 2010 Infinitis. All that to say I think I am a pretty good judge of cars. I don't ever really drive them hard though, other than straight line acceleration, so maybe not in the handling aspect.