Originally posted by offtheheezay
I drive a MR2 Turbo. Cars I had in mind are NeonSRT-4, RX7, 240sx, 280zx, supra, mr2, ect. Sure, these cars arent equivvalent in price by the year, but even the older ones offer more erformance than that of any modern Civic. You note that the general Civic populations chooses them because they are cheap? They why spend close to $1000 on intake/header/exhaust, only to see minor horsepower gains? Again ,this question is more about performance.
Okay, a '91 MR2 Turbo can be had for about the same price as a 96+ civic...again, reliability/insurance. RX-7 - if you mean Touring then forget it, can't be done for the same price, even a '93, and non-Touring. If mean FC, then yes, but I need not mention the reliability of those engines. Supra, if you mean '93-98 TwinTurbo, then no way...if you mean old gen, then yes...but alot of those are junkers now. 280zx/240sx? yeah, a good RWD alternative but upgrades are expensive comparitively (ask any 300ZX owner about Stillen).
Regarding your second point, why buy cheap and then dump money...that I cannot answer
I have been wondering the same thing. I guess it comes down to "Hmm...don't have 15K now, but I can get a car, and since I'm working I can put money into uprgrades as it comes".