(a topic bound to generate plenty of discussion here, if ever...)

Many of you have read me kvetching about all the problems my BMW Z3 Coupe has had over the years. The warranty expires in February '04, giving me an incentive to replace that bastard car before I have to start paying for its design inadequacies and continuing mechanical failures, never mind putting up with the astonishingly rude service departments.

The criteria for my next car (in no particular order):

- zoom, zoom (0-60 times under 6 seconds, traction control, strong brakes)
- back seats (optional, but could be useful)
- vaguely useful storage space (kills the Porsche Boxster or Honda S2000)
- half-way decent reliability (kills most American & European cars)
- ability to install my empeg without too much hassle
- manual transmission ('nuff said)

At this point, the major contenders, also in no particular order, are:

- Mazda RX-8 (clever back seats, under-powered, stereo integration nightmare)
- Infiniti G35 Coupe (big engine, kludgy ergonomics, maybe possible to hack empeg in as if it were a satellite radio receiver)
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evo (serious zoom, unfortunate rice-boy styling)
- Subaru WRX STi (same pluses/minuses as Lancer Evo except possibly better reliability based on Consumer Reports numbers)
- Lexus IS-300 (slowest of the pack, but has the nicest interior trim and possibly the highest reliability; the manual transmission doesn't come with the fancier traction control and there are some reliability concerns about that, if you go read the IS-300 chat board)


Other possibilities, that I don't know as much about, but might still be worth considering:

- Acura TSX (based on the smaller European/Asian-market Accord, meant to compete with the BMW 3-series, as in the Lexus IS-300. The one that I saw at an auto show had this useless integrated video screen for doing everything, which makes a third-party stereo much harder to install)
- Pontiac Grand Prix (Australian built w/ Corvette guts, interior that seem order-of-magnitude better than typical GM products)



My current thought is that I need to be able to test drive everything on this list before making a decision, which should be possible before the end of the summer. The RX-8 seems like a good balance of features, while it's hard to ignore the blistering turbo-charged performance you can get from Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Hmm....