The fact that you didn't even mention that dash layout while driving this car really emphasizes just how bad that engine really is. I did enjoy the (manual) transmissions in that era Civic Si, though.

"Your Mileage May Vary" - it's a catch-all to say that anecdotal evidence does not equal a statistical norm.

My buddy's dad got 115K (including three old man track days) on his magnetic ride absorbers on his CTS-V before he got a giant bill. YMMV

Because no matter how much faster it is, it still takes away from the driving experience. It's like getting a gourmet, seven course meal on paper plates. Sure, it's more efficient - but it's still not what I want.

My mom has almost 160K miles on her 530i (RWD but slushbox) and it's doing just fine. As for the "Under $25K" range, if I am willing to give up the proper three pedal manual transmission, I can find a plethora of V8 RWD Hyundai Genesis sedans with stupid low mileage and equally solid reliability.

THIS. My old Jaguar XJ6 made it to 75K just fine. At about 130-150K was where the difference between it and a comparable Lexus (or even BMW) was noticeable.

Couple year old V6 Camry with 25K miles. Accord vs Camry has always been about who can care less about driving and more about getting the average family of four from point A to point B without the neighbors noticing. Sure, just about any car this side of a minivan is more involving to drive - but that's not what…

It is the pinnacle of soul-less, appliance engineering from Honda. It's supposed to compete with what - a BMW 5-series or a CTS? Both of which I can buy with a stick shift, rear-wheel drive, and VASTLY better handling. It's probably reliable, I'll give you that - but just like my old 2008 Accord EX-L v6 coupe - I…

"Show me another car with anywhere near the price and space" - Kia Soul is the first thing that comes to mind. The old Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Vibe come to mind also. The former is a GREAT buy used because you can find a couple stick shift, low-option examples and they last forever.

LOL at Subaru's being "reliable". I'm sure you live in Minnesota, Buffalo, or Montana - but *most* of the country (by square miles and by population) has absolutely no need for AWD. It's wasted complexity that hurts reliability (what this is about) and gas mileage.

Not as much as you might think. I think the best deals out there are the plethora of super low mileage C5's (mid teens) - ideally an FRC with a stick shift and the suspension. Throw $5K in mild mods at it and you have a very potent and reliable weapon.

You can pick up C5 Z06's in the low $20's all day long, or base model C5's in the mid teens.

You say that like it's a bad thing. Thanks to steep depreciation, I enjoy the combination my 335i Daily Driver and my C5 Z06 weekend/track toy for the price of an average new "near-luxury" SUV.

I like to call this the "Honda Aztek"

You won't be able to find a decent, low-mileage, stick shift, example for anywhere near the $5 limit. The inclusion of the IS300 is a joke.

Uh...wut? The Mazda3 isn't even on this list, and 175K miles is way higher than what I would be looking for. My discussion was about the inclusion of the Lexus IS300 - and again, I challenge someone to find me a clean, manual IS300 with under 100K miles for anywhere near $5K.

LOL at all the folks now shopping for an IS300. The three guys in the US that have clean, stick shift, low-mileage IS's for sale have just upped their asking prices from an average twelve grand to sixteen grand.

The bottom two on this list are good advice. Above that...uh....not so much.

The selection you used for the Panther platform is a terrible choice. I know the "sport model" looks good, but a quick tour of eBay shows many Crown Vics and Grand Marquis owned by blue hairs with crazy low mileage. For example, this GM "Ultimate Edition" has a whopping 26K miles on it : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Merc…

That's what I thought. The IS is a decent enough car, but when you can buy a 'stick shift 07-'09 328i for the same money - it ceases to be the dependable near-luxury bargain that this purports it to be.