Well guys, I've had the Monte Carlo for about a year and a half now, and I'm not gonna lie but I am getting rather sick of it. GM really fails at building reliable electric systems, at least for that era of cars. I am not going to be getting rid of the car just yet, even though it is just about to hit 70,000 miles (I bought it at 44,000 if you remember) and quite frankly I don't have the money to replace it at the moment. However, I am in the process of entering the armed forces and therefore will be coming on a fair amount of loose change that can be devoted towards a new car (talking around $500 per month at least). I have a list of cars I am currently considering, if you want to go ahead and toss in your two cents. Again, this might not go down for another year or so, depending on how long Uncle Sam takes and also what cars are out at the time.
Basic qualifications include at least 25mpg on the highway (the more the better. My other ride is going to be an air plane so I don't need to burn up as much as that bastard will), manual transmission, backseats are preferred but I have no opposition sacrificing passenger capacity in the name of performance. We are probably talking an absolute max price in and around the $35-40k range with the ideal range no more than $30k depending on the car.
The current list of contenders:
2012 Ford Focus Hatch (first year of the Euro Focus in the states)
2010/11 Ford Mustang GT Premium
2011 Buick Regal GS
C6 Corvette
Alfa Romeo Brera or 159, when/if Fiat brings it over.
3.0L Acura NSX
VW GTi
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