[rfross]

I'm in the exact same place Krulux was in before he purchased his car. I'm 59 and semi-retired. Attended my 40th high school reunion last year and a close friend from school and fellow car guy (he's a first gen Viper owner) suggested that I get a 'nice' car as a retirement car. Something to play and have fun with and hold on to until I keel over.

My budget is similar to Krulux - I really don't want to spend more than $40k if I don't have to. But my semi-retired job in event marketing for a company that has Chevrolet among its clients has given me the opportunity to drive a bunch of new cars including the C7 Corvette as well as do hot lap ride alongs in some fast cars.

So on the short list of cars I'm considering are the Camaro SS, Mustang GT, Corvette and BRZ/FRS twins. Thought about a Porsche Boxster and Cayman but the initial cost is too high as well as the maintenance costs. Considered a Challenger but it's really riding on a Charger/300 chassis and not too exciting. A Hemi RAM regular cab short box pickup is also on the list but I already have a 2007 GMC Canyon as my daily driver and it is just now reaching 100k miles with more to go before it needs replacing. And as far as the Corvette goes I have a hard time justifying spending upwards of $70k for the version/options I really want.

My plans for the new ride are as a touring car for cross country travel with the ability to get at least 24 or 25 mpg on the highway. As far as track days and autocross go I might consider doing one or two a year just for grins.

Part of my problem is I live in the Detroit area and only about 1 1/2 miles from the GM Tech Center and I'd like to support the domestic automakers. And I also I love, love, love the sound of a V8. Muscle cars abound around here and I really like that scene. But the practical/frugal side of me also likes cars that are cheap to own and are small enough to not take up a big chunk of my limited garage space. So that gets me back to the BRZ/FRS twins.

I had a chance to spend some time in the BRZ at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and all 6' 225 lbs of me was very comfortable. I really liked the way my hand fell right on the shifter and there was plenty of legroom. The seat bolsters didn't seem to intrude on my frame although I probably wasn't in the seats long enough to really see how they would feel over a long distance.

The other nice thing about these cars is that there seems to be a huge amount of performance goodies available. I wouldn't mind adding a little more horsepower via a tune, exhaust and CAI but I don't feel the need to step up to FI although once I get the bug who knows where it will lead. A new set of light weight wheels/tires is a must for me, too. I want something that is reliable and gets good mileage without breaking the bank. So it looks like for about $30k - $32k I can get pretty much everything I want in these cars including the price of the car and self installed mods.

I've got to stop by my local Subaru dealer in the next week or two to spend some more time in the car. Fortunately that dealer is on the good dealer list here and that is really helpful. I'm also a Costco member and will probably purchase through their auto referral program. Looking to purchase later in the year so it may be a 2015 unless I can get a real deal on a '14 model year closeout.

Bob