I have a problem…

My favourite pastime

I want to buy a car. Specifically a fairly cheap, sort of fun runaround beater kind of automobile. But given my current situation, it cannot be any car. Let me explain:

-I live in Canada, specifically Montreal, which has some of the worst roads that mankind has ever encountered. Seriously it’s so bad, people tend to drive on the grass on the side of the road because it’s more comfortable. It’s so bad, people don’t know they ran over a dead moose on the road, because it feels just like driving out of a pothole. It’s so bad, NASA came here to test out the Mars Rover, because if it can survive here, Mars will be no problem. (Jay Leno moment over)

-I live in Canada, hence snow, ice and occasional beavertail on the road.

Canadian road (photoshopped, hence lack of holes)

-I live in the city, and work in the city, so I don’t *actually* need a personal vehicle. Plus parking is ridiculously expensive. It’s so expensive… no I’d better not do that again.

-I like to drive. A lot. And I like road-trips. A lot.

-I like cars that have a soul, and don’t look like they were designed by committee.

From the looks of it, it could be an easy decision. I should be looking for something that is pretty reliable, fairly rust-resistant, comfortable, exciting and with good power and handling. Oh, and this goes without saying, it must have a manual transmission, because I have not given up on life yet.

And yet…

Good Handling: removes most American brands (remember I said fairly cheap, so anything after 2005 is out). Also, removes most Toyotas.

Reliable: This removes anything that came out of the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, Latin America, South America and Malaysia. Also removes most Japanese cars that are now on their 56th owner.

Fairly rust-resistant: This removes cars coming from the pre-mentioned countries.

Comfortable: This removes most sports cars.

Exciting: This removes most Japanese cars

And before you mention it, I’m going to remove the Mazda Miata (MX-5). Just because this is my blog, and I don’t like them that much. Seriously, they are over-rated

So up to now, there is still quite a bit of choice, such as a very few (almost 1 car per brand) Hondas, Toyotas, Mitsubishis, anything by Subaru, a lot of German automotive excellence.

But as this will not really be my daily driver, I can try and search a bit more, and go for something a bit more special, unique and good looking.

So no Civics, Imprezas, Golfs or other stuff. The Honda S2000 seems perfect here, but what if I don’t want an open-top?

Let’s recap: Fairly cheap, reliable, fun to drive, exciting, manual, enough power, comfortable, fairly unique, can be found almost anywhere and looks good.

I can only think of one thing: Porsche 944!

Porsche 944, the answer to every question

So screw the Miata, the answer should always be 944 (at least for people who value themselves).

Any suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

NB: On a serious note, I’m also thinking of a BMW E24 635 CSI, BMW E28 535i, Mercedes W123 280E or CE, or a 3rd Gen Subaru Legacy GT