Maggie’s Sports/Muscle car advice?

[RTS]

CTS-V is a monster for straight line, and it will handle decently in the twisties. Not as good as a 6 series, but those don't have the straight line (even the M6) that the CTS-V has. Back seat in both 6 and CTS-V is just barely enough for kids up to around 9 or 10. Small adults can squeeze in; if I remember right, CTS-V coupe has a little more room than the 6 did.

Get the CTS-V; just be prepared to replace rear tires every 4 or 5k miles.

 

[Jhnmdahl]

In your price range, you might also look at something like a BMW M5.

 

[Okie Gordon]

A couple of thoughts since I have been at the same place as you are contemplating.
Back in 1999 I bought a Formula Firebird, basically a generation older than your GTO but real similar. It was my daily driver but turned low 13's at the drag strip and had lots of modern conveniences and got 25 mpg crusing on the highway.
I also had a real hotrod at that same time, a low mileage mint 1972 Road Runner with a build 440 cu. in. engine that was bored and stroked to 496 cu. in.
The car put out 520-590 HP on a chassis dyno depending on the state of tune.

Realistically, of you have an older car it is something to bring out in nice weather and to play around with. Even if it is in top shape you will still have to mess with it on a regular basis and have to added negatives of horrendous fuel mileage. Generally they don't have the same nice features as newer cars such as comfortable seats and crisp steering and good brakes. Even the better handling classic cars are not in the same ballpark as newer cars unless they have components changed out. Older technology -vs- the latest and greatest.

As I get older I am not interested in spending any time at all getting dirty and spending money on repair parts and garage upgrades/fixes so my interest has leaned towards buying a newer performance car that I can make payments on and drive. Not even interested in buying a newer car that would then get modified to bring it up to my expectations such as would be the case with an STi or a base Mustang GT.

Based on all that, my present leaning is towards a 1 or 2 year old Cadillac CTS-V because they are available as either a 2 door or a 4 door or a wagon and have probably not been trashed by the first owner. I am leaning towards the 4 door version based on the usability of the extra doors. If you specifically want a 2 door and nothing else, the new supercharged Mustang would have to be at the top of the list. My boss has a 2010 and it is wicked fast. The extra 150 HP of the new one's over his would be just plain scary to me.

One biggie to look at is insurance cost. Check with your insurance agent before hand as I have heard from a couple of people that the GTR in particular is seriously expensive to insure.

 

[rwest309]

this guy ^^^ knows what he is talking about. About 18 years ago I owned a 65 pontiac lemans that I dumped an easy 10k into the motor, 2-3k in a built trans and drive shaft, another 2-3k in the interior, 3-5k in chassis work, exhaust, paint, trim, emblems, etc etc. It was a fucking monster. It would pull the front wheels off the ground and set off peoples car alarms at an idle. Almost every time I drove that god damn car something on it would break. It was fun but a very very labor intensive hobby.

I paid 53k for my 2011 CTSV wagon from a dealership in Michigan. It was a certified pre-owned with 3400 miles on it. Some one bought it and brought the fucker back because they were afraid of it. I thought that story was bullshit too until I drove it. I ordered my first stage of mods based on the easiest cheapest most reliable way to milk 100+ more horsepower out of a 550hp stock supercharged LS motor and now I could not ask for more.

There is absolutely nothing else I would do to the thing. You have more power than you can use, more luxury than you can stand, more speed than any sane person could want. I ran this thing up to the rev limiter in 5th gear at 179mph. In 6th gear...who knows. I turn into a pussy around 187-188 and let up. If you have the bug to mod a car these things have the potential to run 9s in street trim if you have the cash and the desire to make it happen. I got the wagon for 2 reasons. No one else has one (well maybe 3-400 in the us) and It makes people feel really bad when a station wagon runs and hides from their hotrod.

I do concur the back seat sucks. It has room for an adult no problem. Getting in and out of the back is a bitch. The angle of the back portion of the door / pillar is fucking horrible. Looks cool that way but watch your head. My only other bitch with the car is the fact that you have to plug your I phone / pod in to the thing with a cord. A fucking cord???? in 2011 a cord? wtf in a Cadillac?

oh yeah. It handles just fine. I have pulled a 1.0 g lateral in mine to the left and a .9g to the right. I can photo the g meter (ya it has a fucking g meter in the dash) if anyone doubts it. I have also turned the traction control / stability control completely off and nearly killed myself in this thing too. It is definitely not for kids.

 

[plastikosmd]

If I want to go fast, the gt-r rocks

If I want to be loud, the 79 f250 557ci beast smokes the 35s like they are not there

Better for haulin toys too

 

[x ring accuracy]

It takes a hell of alot of HP to make an old Chevelle run fast. I know, I tried in my past. Also tried to make a 69 GTO fast. Making a 4400 lb turd run fast is insanity. My 06 Mustang I put a Kenne Bell supercharger on was the easiest ZOOOOM factor I have ever done. Nowadays you can buy factory supercharged cars that make us old guys cry in disgust over what we used to go thru.

 

[oneshot976]

Here are mine. I am a big fan of classic and modern muscle. I don't think you can go wrong either way but depreciation is much less of an issue with classic muscle. Good luck on your search!!

Mike

1972 GTO

1969 Mach 1

2013 Boss 302

 

[Victor N TN]

But would anything like that have the reliability?

That depends on WHO does the work. Muscle cars are like everything else. A $400 rifle from WallyWorld might shoot a bullet to 1,000 yards. But I doubt it will hit the 10 ring reliably. Same with everything mechanical. Your cousin down the street might be able to change the spark plugs. But can he REALLY tune it correctly?

 

[Bolt_Overide]

That depends on WHO does the work. Muscle cars are like everything else. A $400 rifle from WallyWorld might shoot a bullet to 1,000 yards. But I doubt it will hit the 10 ring reliably. Same with everything mechanical. Your cousin down the street might be able to change the spark plugs. But can he REALLY tune it correctly?

QFE

you can buy all the top shelf cars, and parts for them in the world, but if it isnt put together and tuned by a pro, its a waste of money.

I did the work on my car mostly myself, and had a guy I know do the initial tune to get it running. When I finally got it to a real tuner for a proper dyno tune, it was running 308 hp, the tuner got that up to 431, and its dead nuts reliable.

 

[E. Bryant]

Building an old-school muscle car that performs well in a variety of aspects (acceleration, handling, braking) is one thing - it's not a cheap task, but it can be done as the "Pro-Touring" guys have proven. Building one that is actually drivable and reliable enough for daily use... that's a serious engineering task. Here is a particularly nice example:

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Red Devil Pro Touring - Review - Car and Driver

But good luck finding/building something like this for only $50k.

Despite not being the biggest fan of the 5th-gen Camaro, I will admit to being rather smitten with this beast:

2014 Chevy Camaro Z/28 is back! [w/video]

I don't think it'd replace my 300C SRT8 as a highway cruiser, but it'd be a lot of fun for track days.

 

[Okie Gordon]

Just saw the announcement of the 2014 Z28 on the news.
Sounds like it might fit the bill.
500 HP, 6 speed, nice handling, back seat, well within the price range of all the possibilities mentioned in the original post.
A real plus would be that it is a brand that has dealerships all over the place.
It sucks to only have one dealership within 100 miles to do warranty work.

 

[rwest309]

That z28 is bad ass. I saw the new-tered version of the cts-v that caddilac is coming out with as well. Fucking twin turbo 6 banger. I cant believe it. It makes me sick. I know there is alot a twin screw six can do but damn. No more LSA motors for Caddilac it seems. The stock HP numbers for the new V suck balls too. WTF. No V Wagon either. I better just quit driving mine now with 9k on it and wait for barrett jackson in 45 years. That black bitch will be worth a million bucks in 2058.

 

[yz45067]

Sick ass cars man! I would say caddy as well. Just like the ride, power and stance of them things.

 

[Rainier42]

Mustang Boss 302 ... 444HP and great bang for the buck!

 

[Magstang1]

If I was within my means, a CTSV wagon would be in my garage right now. Bad mother fucking ass!

Luxury, style, comfort, power.

Old cars a sweet but they just can't compete with technology.

 

[ArmaHeavy]

Don't get any special edition models if you want to actually upgrade it yourself.

Be careful about European models as some have become more complex than a nuclear sub, and require probably a Ph.D in some obscure subject in order to change the headlights.

Buy American, the parts are easiest to get, and cost less than a Euro wagon.

 

[E. Bryant]

I saw the new-tered version of the cts-v that caddilac is coming out with as well. Fucking twin turbo 6 banger. I cant believe it. It makes me sick.

That "neutered" TT V6 can outrun my first-gen SRT8. It's not a wimpy engine by any means. If you understand anything about modern turbocharged engines, it's that they perform far better than their peak HP and torque numbers would indicate due to their broad powerband (which, in turn, leads to more "area under the curve").

And the V-spec model isn't dead. Cadillac always introduces V-spec cars at least a year or so after the introduction of a new model (just like nearly every other manufacturer "staggers" their introduction of upscale models), so expect to see a new CTS-V for MY2015. I don't know what will replace the LSA, but if the base model car is available with a 420 HP engine, then expect the next V-spec to be even more spectacular than the current model (especially if Cadillac wants to continue playing with the big boys from Germany, all of whom are offering some monstrously powerful turbo V8s).

Settle down, and enjoy the fact that you currently own a nice car. No one is trying to take it away from you. In a couple more years, you'll likely be able to buy something even nicer.

 

[Wolf22]

Give alpha6164 a shout and see if he'd give some words. he's def. been behind some nice cars and might offer some good info/warnings for those listed above.

 

[The Mechanic]

Here you go. It is in your price range and has a bumper to bumper warranty.

 

[razerwire]

Best of both worlds ,Z06 corvette with 505 hp stock and about 3100 lbs. Or Shelby cobra with 660 hp and about 2200 lbs. Totally different trip to drive the cobra. I went to all the events I could last year, it was 50 year anniversary of the cobra and had a ball. Draws a different crowd than the Corvette. Don't know how to post pictures or link to videos , shows my age I guess. Most recent video was car crazy show on Pomona 50 year reunion. My car is guardsman blue with white stripe and number 7. Barry interviewed Parnelli Jones with my car as a back.drop . Send the wife and kid ahead in Corvette and follow in Cobra. I don't know much about kit car cobras but I think you can pick up a good one for about 30k and a 2007 zo6 for about 40k, so there you go.

 

[The Mechanic]

Carroll Shelby was one of our sponsors when I was racing back in the day. I went up to his place to pick up some rims for the 1,000 and talked to him for about an hour. It was awesome. It was truly a highlight of my life to hear the stories he had, and the fun. He had a beautiful blue Cobra there and I kid you not that if I did not have to get back to San Diego I could have had a ride in that thing with him. Man I miss those days. Did I mention showing Chuck Norris the fast way over the whoops in a class 7?