RE: What does
RE: What does
Bryan,
Are you serious..the NSX is impractical?? My bud had one. Drives around like an Accord. More comfy BY FAR than a Corvette. As reliable as a Civic. It is the MOST practical exotic around. (I'm not the only one to say this either...all car mags agree, and when Ford designed the new GT, they used the NSX as the benchmark for practicality and street civility). Have you driven one??? It is at the top of my list. (Danoz, if I rubbed off the Acura emblem and put a Ferrari emblem on it, you'd love it) Doesn't look ricey at all, and is rather timeless. It's a shape that doesn't seem to age.
Infiniti isn't quite used enough yet...my problem is Infiniti released the car in Canada in silver only for the first little while..so all G35 I see are silver. Yuck.
I had to look at the Vette just cause it's a value leader as far a sports cars go.
Boxster was very nice, but would not buy one.
Supra I like ALOT. But they are still expensive...and they are few and far between here in Canada. Outstanding engine.
SLK32. I don't have to dream...it is affordable, but just barely. I can get them for low $50's here. Affordable, but I have no intention of spending my load.
Another MB we drove I REALLY liked was the CLK430 AMG. Very nice.
Which brings us to the Jaguar XJR. I nearly bought one last week. (even called Sandy and told him about it). For whatever reason, XJR are DIRT CHEAP here. New, they were over $100,000 here. A 1999 in mint condition, with all service records, with so-so mileage was offered to me at $25,000 CDN. They go from $25K-$35K CDN..much cheaper than the US market. However, (as with most of these cars I've looked at, I ask the price of replacement parts and such) to replace the engine on this car is upwards of $17,000. Yep..you read it right. So that kinda turned me off in a hurry. I like the car, and intend to keep it far beyond any warranty period, so it's a definite concern. Used engines are possible, but are few and far between, and in some lot of those engines, many had Nikasil problems with them..so I'd be a little leery.(danoz, the XJR runs 13.6 STOCK. Imagine a little pulley and some chip work?? It's a VERY fast car stock...drive one..it will suprise you as much as it did me!)
Oh..another car that I really liked that I'd rank #2 (maybe #3..the CLK430 was very good) below the NSX was the Lexus GS400. LOTS of power, luxury like you couldn't believe, and VAULT quiet...which was part of the problem...it was TOO quiet. Almost antiseptic in the personality dept. It was loads faster than my modified Mark, especially off the line. Had lotsa power down low, which was kind of suprising considering it is also a DOHC V8. The tiptronic push button was neat, but I suspect I'd bore of it in a day or two. I wish I would have bought a GS instead of my Mark. It's a fantastic car.
So to sum things up my list, as of now, looks like this:
1)NSX = Solidly #1..daily driver friendly, semi-exotic, fairly quick, and smiles by the mile.
2&3) The GS and the CLK430 are very close here. I MIGHT give the nod to the GS, since the engines are very nearly bullet-proof. But the GS is lacking a little in personality...nothing a blower couldn't cure!
4) Supra. A very close 4th. VERY close. The ricey tail turns me off. The cost turns me off too. Car could look racier too...would need a very mild body kit. Engine and tranny are very tough though. Blocks will hold 700HP with ease.
5) G35 (350Z..maybe). Waiting for a wider colour selection.
We have done tons of research....and have drove nearly every vehicle under the sun over the course of the last year...still undecided, but the NSX is the leader at this point.