Lately I've been considering just what sort of serious vehicle purchase will come next for me. And by serious, I mean one that isn't a project or so old as to be impractical as a daily driver.
At some point, I will need to replace the Tahoe and the ROPOS with a half-decent truck that I can plow with and use for all of the things I do workwise. But that can happen over time since the Tahoe now owes me some miles (and I like it).
The vehicle I am considering will have to be better on fuel than the Tahoe (not hard to do), be a manual, and be something I can enjoy when I drive it. It will also have to be low-mileage and long trip worthy since I am way overdue for some good road trips.
Sedans are out of the question, as are asian brands, and the price should be in the 10-15,000 dollar range.
I'd love to find a Solstice coupe, but it would rapidly become too rare for me to drive with abandon and without guilt. And, would cost too much to begin with.
Now I loved my GTO, and would have a hard time saying no to a good deal on one if I ran across it. But, being honest with myself, it wasn't too easy on fuel (even on highway trips).
So, I keep going back to the 98-2002 f-bodies as the most sensible option for me. They are a ball to drive, and can get near to 30MPG on the highway. If you look carefully enough, low-mileage examples are to be had at reasonable prices, and enough special versions exist that finding something interesting, and well-preserved , really isn't all that hard to do.
I'm still thinking it over, but another F-bod just might be in my not too distant future. I'll be clearing out the projects (or at least thinning them down) first, but another LS1 6spd. may be just what I need.