Having owned a few FWD cars in the past, I've vowed never to do so again. Reliability factors aside, when you do inevitably have to service one, a FWD car SUCKS ARSE compared to a RWD model ... or at least a logitudinally (sp?) mounted motor (such as a Dodge Intrepid). That, and they never handle quite right compared to a RWD sports car, as you can't blip the throttle to control the rear end in a turn, and they almost always tend to understeer whereas a 'Stang is far easier to oversteer (and thereby easier to correct, versus plowing straight into a tree or wall).
If you want something cheap and fun to drive, go hunt for a Miata. They've got a pretty good reliability rep going for the 94+ models, they're RWD, they get good mileage, and they're pretty zippy little turds in stock trim ... and even better with a supercharger plopped on there. (They're downright INSANE if you go with a Monster Miata conversion and drop in a 302 ... but you'll be giving up the whole nifty 50/50 weight distribution feature.) And hey, Mazda's all buddy-buddy with Ford, so there won't be as much brand loyalty guilt to deal with, either...
If you want something cheap and fun to drive, go hunt for a Miata. They've got a pretty good reliability rep going for the 94+ models, they're RWD, they get good mileage, and they're pretty zippy little turds in stock trim ... and even better with a supercharger plopped on there. (They're downright INSANE if you go with a Monster Miata conversion and drop in a 302 ... but you'll be giving up the whole nifty 50/50 weight distribution feature.) And hey, Mazda's all buddy-buddy with Ford, so there won't be as much brand loyalty guilt to deal with, either...
