Parents want civics...Well, if you listen to CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/08/22/...ars/index.html

 

When I was 16 I wanted a Trans Am. About 5 years ago, 16 year olds wanted Supra Turbos. The early days of this website, there were a few youngsters-video game addicts who wanted the AWD Skyline here.

Bottom line is that teens don't buy new cars, and only a minicule number of new cars are sold to people under 21. Used cars are a different story, but then again, this has no effect on a automaker's bottom line.

It seems used cars are what that article was about.

 

Hehe stupid teens, smart parents... An 04 and below mustang is probably one of the worst cars for a newbie driver to be in. A V6 only marginally makes it better since they are down on power, but more importantly torque. Best line I've ever heard "Hey I just bought my kid a GT mustang, are they pretty good?" a good amount of torque combined with a crappy rear suspension (speaking of the 4-link rear) makes for a steep learnign curve. Best thing they ever did for those cars in V8 form was put traction control and ABS on em, cured a few ills.

 

When I was 16 I wanted a new black 89 Firebird but had to settle for a Grand Am instead.

 

3rd Gen - Excellent Teenage Car IMHO. (Might be biased).

Killer Looks, not TOO much power (especially 305tbi's) that they can hurt themselves, but enough Torque to make them fun (L98 TPI's).

4th Gens IMHO should not (except for V6 models) be sold to kids under 21.

Hopefully with the 5th Gen's they offer a mid-level V8 like the 305 was to the 3rd gens to make it an ideal mix of Power/MPG/Safety/Coolness for a younger kid...

 

Around where I live, the parents are buying their kids mustangs, the only catch is that they are v6 equipped.

 

To loosly quote Bob Lutz

"Kids want what adults want, they just can't afford it."

 

My youngest drove a 67 Camaro last year in high school.

 

alot of parent bought GT's around here.

 

...And in other news the world is still round.

Back to you Nancy...

 

I think even a 305 TBI might be a little much for a kid I'm not entirely sure I wouldn't have had a minor accident with my RS if it had been a 305 TBI instead of a 2.8. I drove my first 305 TBI last week, and it certainly moves off the line smartly enough to get you in a little trouble. Granted, its completely dead past 3,500 and my GP could beat it 0-60, but still...the torque could get you, especially in the rain

 

Actually its more pear-shaped than round.

 

are you telling me its not flat?

 

When my daughter is 16 (she is 10 now) I want her to have something with enough power to get her out of a bad spot, but not too much to get her into trouble. Kids can and will get into trouble even with slow gas miser cars.

 

Well, I always wanted a Camaro or Trans Am for as long as I can remember....I don't really think either a Mustang GT or a Z/28/TA is too much for a 17 year old, (I say this 'cause I have one), it's just you have to be comfortable with driving already, none are good cars to learn with. For example: My friend with a '94 Camaro auto crashed it twice in like 3 months, and the last one did it in...Other friend with a '96 GT auto crashed it into a curb when he lost the rear end, and killed a rim, nothing major...Other friend with a '92 GT 5 speed fishtailed it and jumped a curb, (wasn't his fault, he hit black ice, no major damage to the car and he's a good driver so I don't really count this one. He's had the car a year and has had no other issues besides speeding tickets, lol)...Other friend: Just got an '03 or '04, (I forget), GT 5 speed....Lets just say the way he drives isn't confidence inspiring, and as much as I don't want to say it I think he's gonna' crash it...Just today he got a loudmouth 2 catback and x-pipe for it, and he can't even drive it. I hope he proves me wrong but I doubt it. I've had my '97 Z/28 m6 for about 3 months now. I've had no problems with it, I've also driven a '94 Z/28 m6 w/ bolt-ons, a '94 Formula m6, a '99 z/28 m6, a '96 GT auto, a '87 GT 5 speed w/ a good bit of work done, and a '91 Camaro RS auto 6 cylinder....No problems with any of them either...I think it depends completely on the person...I've been in 1 accident since I started driving, I got rear-ended in a '95 Mazda 626 5 speed, lmao