I almost forgot: how style conscious are your friends? It would take a bit of haggling, but an '03 Infiniti FX35 could be had for 20 grand. Those will get 23 mpg on the highway and the Nissan V6 sounds sublime. More importantly, the FX looks like it is hewn from sex, rather than metal.

Obvious answer: Subaru wagon. The bonus of the 6-cylinder Legacy wagon is that with an aftermarket exhaust (or the stock exhaust with a leaky muffler) it sounds like a 911 when you stand on it. Surely even non-car people can appreciate that.

"And Leon's getting larger"

I realize this feature isn't that old, but this is the best PCH of all time!

Meh. I'm not voting no, but I think I'm probably going to abstain. While impressive, the RS4 just lacks a certain something to me. Granted, I haven't driven one, but while most publications like it, few seem to love it as intensely as Ja... in a more pedestrian 335i. On a track with more long straights the Audi…

Slow car fast, but the slow car doesn't have to be a damned Festiva. The most fun car I've ever owned was a Miata, and one of those will get smoked in a drag race by any front drive V6 family sedan. But unlike the aforementioned Diablo, you can fearlessly drive it at 8/10 all day long.

@Bumblebee

Oh, and I'll have to amend my answer if I were driving across my country not for pleasure, but for speed. Then nothing but a '79 Dodge Sportsman van with massive extra fuel capacity and an even more massive Mope big block (done up in Trans-Con Medivac livery, natch) will suffice.

@wookie1901:

My answer is fairly close to Jonny's. For driving across the USA, one needs a late-60's to early 70's vintage full-sized American convertible. However, the Mopar fan in me forces me to eschew the traditional Caddy, in favor of a fuselage-styled Chrysler 300. Gas mileage would suck, but who cares?

"A car with fins like this really needs a 392, preferably with a really lumpy cam and multiple carburetors."

"With Caliber sales ahead of expectations across the Atlantic..."

@B:

I don't know about your questioning this vehicle's level of bitchin'-ness, Murilee. When I imagine running over some lady at the county fair, and not even getting arrested, because my dad's the mayor, this is pretty much the exact car I picture. Only with T-tops.

@Euromobile:

I'm a rotary guy and former RX-7 owner. But I can't get behind the old Cosmo, because of how it looks. They've always reminded me of Chevy Monza with a late-80's Buick Century snout grafted on.

@geeteeoh:

I gather that this list was limited to cars that are currently available new?

Yeah, the 914/6 was friggin' awesome. They still make basically the same car, you know, only it's called the Cayman. If only the 914/6 hadn't cost almost as much as the 911, it would have sold like hotcakes.

Damnit, I wish the Volvo was still available. Bertone 262C + Sawzall = surprisingly good looking convertible. Add the aforementioned small block, and learn what dangerous chassis flex is all about.