Probably around $40,000

 

Impala/Monte Carlo SS 5.3 V8

Gran Prix GXP with the 5.3 V8


Check those out

 

Well, ultimately it looks like thats what I'll be doing. I was just wondering if I was overlooking anything. And yah, v8 rwd, car or sport truck "fits the bill". Ofcourse I dont want to buy something just buy it. That was just one of the first things I wanted to do once I landed a job was look for something more updated with gobs of power. Back when I had my 91 RS slow *** camaro, the market was flooded with trans ams, stangs, camaros, with lots of power (compared to my 91) and at a reasonable cost. I decided on the Z but back then there were so many choices. Now there isnt ****. Guess I was just venting that there's nothing to get excited about for what Im looking for.

 

390hp 03 or 04 Cobras are going for low to mid twenties. Pulley, chip and exhaust will put you in the mid 11s.

 

04 Cobra would be a good bet. Ford or not, it's a very potent beast and a nice car.

If you want to stay GM, you should really give the 04 and 05 GTO's a second look. The style isn't exciting, but the overall package is very nice. I don't know what the aftermarket is like for them, but maybe you could pick up some exterior cosmetic mods/pieces to liven things up a bit in the stying department.

If you want to go the somewhat practical route or live in an area where the conditions warrant AWD, the STi would be a worthwhile option. Less boy-racylooking than the EVO except for the wing, and the performance #'s are only second to the EVO in that price range. Very fun car

The new Mustang GT is a nice car as well.

 

Thats why I keep going back to thinking the cobra. They are very reasonably priced, easy to get into the 500hp range, look sweet, sound good, and just bad *** all around. I heard the 03 have some bugs though. My boss actually has a red vert 04 cobra. He took me for a drive in it and just romped it to 60, all I could say was WOW! Hes done some things though and its creeping up on the 500hp mark. As much as Im a GM guy, it would be pretty cool to have the best of both worlds sitting in my driveway. A z28 and a pony in the same corral, haha.

 

Get the Cobra. In 20 years people will STILL be drooling over them. It is an instant classic.
Don't let the fact it's a Ford deter you. It's a wonderful car. Besides...it IS still American muscle.
It's my personal dream to get a pony car from every major American manufacturing company. GM,Ford, Mopar.
I'd grin everytime I went to the garage to have to pick whether to drive a Camaro, a Mustang, or a Challenger.

Maybe by 2011.

 

Anybody know of any good cobra sites with info and pics? Its kind of a bitch looking through online classifieds as you cant usually specify cobra and have to weed through all the GTs and machs.

 

Just for information...
http://www.svtperformance.com

Not sure if this search will come up but
http://www.cars.com/go/search/fs_sea...l&aff=national

That's a national search I did on cars.com.
Just do an advanced search.
Select Ford then Mustang then just the years of 2003-2004. Then put in Cobra in the options place to limit the search to just Cobras.


EDIT
Ebay...
http://motors.search.ebay.com/Cobra_...Z1QQsofocusZpf

 

Appreciate that man, these cars really are pretty affordable!

 

You could get a used, low-mileage '02ish Z06 for ~$30k.

 

I agree that the new car market isn't the best. GM hasn't put out much that has caught my eye other than the LS based GXP which is a very nice car, but kind of expensive considering it is getting close to the price of a GTO. And because I am loyal to GM, I cant buy a SRT-4, supercharged snake, Lightning, or a Charger, right..???

 

Loyalty being a 2 way street and all, if you feel they've been holding up their end, then yeah, stay the course.

 

I would be loyal if they gave me some choices. To me its just like any other relationship, takes maintanence. GM hasnt been fulfulling my "needs" so Im looking elsewhere. So I guess Im braking up with you GM. We had a good run, but I think we are growing apart. I need my space right now to meet other cars and see what else is out there. I would say its not you its me, but that would be a lie. Hopefully, we can still be friends? If its meant to be, it will be (bring back the camaro?).

 

We're in a lull in the new performance market right now, but I have to strongly disagree that there isn't anything to buy.

The SRTs are damn quick! Not sure if you were expecting something with 425 horses to accelerate like an bullet from a Glock, but by every standard you can use (including 2002 LS1s) they are the quickest things on the street with more than 2 seats and under 40 grand, save the GTO. And even that's a virtural wash!

Mustangs are great for the price, and so is the GTO.

That's 5 cars right there without even touching imported brands. Then there's the Solstice that is just hitting showrooms. I haven't heard a complaint about them from anyone who's driven one yet.


Then there's the used car market. Mach1s, Cobras, even BMW M3s are all worth considering, and that's just scratching the surface.

That's alot of choices.