That era was a very low point for the Mustang. Definite poseur car. I ended up getting one as a rental back in 2008 and I was almost castrated by my girlfriend's father for talking down on how awful it was. Middle-aged baby boomers just love the retro styling of those cars. The newer Mustangs (305+ HP) are a different…

Are you, by any chance, an aspie?

The jumps aren't that bad. I'd be petrified by all the damned spectators right next to the track, though. Killing someone that isn't in my car would really ruin my life.

Easy (we're talking enough for a small fleet here):

You have to intend to get an ST. Unlike the Abarth, which someone could just trip into, you need to know how to drive a manual, which isn't a common skill in the general US population. Of those that can, many are older and quite a few wouldn't want to drive one in traffic. These cars are training the next gen of MT…

I can't remember the last time I saw a 500 of any type anywhere near where I live. Up to two FiSTs, though, so they're also super rare.

The FiST dynos close to the claimed full boost reading without boost and in the mid-200s with boost, so it's even more underrated than the 500 Abarth.

And how many 80s luxobarges are still running in those countries today? Probably not many.

That was adding a bit of humor to the concept. ;)

Sounds like a GM vehicle, except the headliner.

You can replace vacuum hoses easily. No worse than wiring, really.

Keeping everything in a GM car running properly is what will eat your wallet alive. As long as you can ignore everything that fails, you can keep enduring it indefinitely. The problem is when those annoyances get so bad that you simply can't endure it, since the thing will probably still start and move itself...

Except airplanes are maintained like yachts. Cars are maintained like a Gillette Mach 3 razor. People buy/change blades because the handle is heavy and the blades are affordable to replace, but when something goes wrong that takes more than a blade replacement, they go in the trash.

Except, eventually, you find the part that breaks every 10 years and you've already removed it from car #2. The parts that wear and break will not do so in an orderly manner; you'll have some random parts that never break and some that break constantly (with 20-30+ years of ownership, "constantly" is every 5-10…

I agree, but it also depends on the model in question. Some estates look better, some hatches look better, and some sedans look better. Practicality cannot be disputed, though.

They throw in a better drivetrain and transmission to sweeten the deal. Not sure if it is worth $15k, but we're not talking about cars we're buying, either, this is just options we'll check on a configuration.

Do you keep it indoors? The roof is in a location that will always endure the most heat and sun damage, so if a drain gets plugged it has an above-average risk of leaking. Maybe my fear is irrational.

Are these mandatory equipment in the UK? I've never had a rental car without one there, while they're only seen on luxury models here. Even cheap small cars had them.

They'll sell you an S4 with a manual.

That panel where the infotainment system would be... I think this is how they define penalty box these days.