personally I didnt like the wrx. to cramped on the inside and didnt like its look. While the Z is a sweet ride, have taken about 3 test drives in them they really arnt a practical car for anything besides 2 people and maybe a few bags of anything in the trunk...Fun ass car though.
the acura rsx-s would be my choice...but thats me...Im still happy with my 2k maxima though...but not for too much longer.
I had a 88 and a 95 Escort GT the 95 was a blast to drive that little 1.8L DOHC mazda motor they put in them had some balls... I'd go for the WRX myself. I love the way they look.
350z? No. 300Z, sure Never driven it, though it does look very nice. Probably not too good in the winter, though I don't know many RWD "sporty coupes" that are
[align=center]<img src=http://i54.tinypic.com/j9tydf.gif> <i> My get up and go must have got up and went. </i>[/align]
i should've put a (*) next to the 350z....it's a true sports car, not a coupe. that's why it probably doesn't fit into my needs because what i buy will still be driven in less than perfect weather. my commuter is for winters, but you never know.
PreDatoR-- you got it...the 1.8L DOHC mazda engine is very solid. it's funny because most people have no clue that the escort gt can actually hold its own on the highway. 127hp vs the standard escort's 88 or something like that. 50% more power in the GT model. it's a 5-spd of course, so if you push it it'll move when needed. hehe
that 1.8L was fun... I was little liquored up one night a buddy of mine had a 97 Eagle Talon. Just had the bone stock 2.3L in it no turbo... at 70 we both hammered down and started racing... i looked down the needle was burried it went to 120 and it was about 15 past that cause it could swing all the way back to 0. I looked over and was slowly pulling ahead of that Talon and just started busting up laughing. My buddy wasn't too happy that his car got smoked by a Escort lol I know if we both were taking off from a stand still that talon would have ate me alive but it still felt good lol at about 120 that car got light. It was fun to drive would corner like hell had too much body roll but i was never able to break traction on the front end... had the rear kick out on me a time or 2. I had a formula for how fast i could take corners in that car... double the posted speed and add 20 and i could take it at that speed... hit a 50mph corner at 120 one late evening it didn't hesitate to rip right around it. should hav kept that car found a turbo with about 25psi boost bigger throttle body and 2.5" exhaust i bet i could eat up most of the ricers around here... lol The stock set of goodyears that were on it i blew 2 of them out hitting a pothole one night so i put a set of BFG's on it with a 150mph speed rating. dropped the size down to a195/50/15 for a little more grip. It had a goofy ass sized tire on it from the factory a 185/60/15... at the time i blew those tires out i could replace them with the original goodyear tires for 160 a tire or bridgestone made a set and that was it. I got the set of bfg's for it for less than 2 of the goodyears would have costed.
A used 1987-89 Mercedes 560SL. Cost about $18K for a cherry one with less than 70K miles on it. Will be a better car than any of those new Kitchen appliances masquerading as new cars out there now..... They come w/ a hardtop ( removable ) and a ragtop. It'll turn more heads than any of those other plastic things you have listed.
Take the other 12 grand and buy a beater for the winter.
All of those cars you listed b-man are nice, if you're looking new. If you don't mind used, there's more options (I'm getting a sport coupe next spring myself).
Toyota Supra
Mazda RX-7
Dodge Stealth AWD R/T Turbo
Nissan 300ZX Turbo
Toyota MR2 Turbo
Eagle Talon TSI AWD
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Sooo many nice cars out there to chose from... of course, most of these aren't practical or winter cars...
not planning on any perf mods at this time...i have been changing cars pretty quick lately and i don't want to mess with putting them on and then removing when i sell or trade in.
the rsx-s is pretty quick when driven properly, which i've noticed will take some practice. the people at clubrsx.com are getting high 14's for the 1/4 (one guy posted a 14.7x entirely stock). not bad! average drivers are low/mid 15's.
the thing i find amazing about the car is how smooth the transmission and clutch are...infinitely better than any other car i've owned or driven. silky-smooth...mmmmm. hahaha
Never driven it, though it does look very nice. Probably not too good in the winter, though I don't know many RWD "sporty coupes" that are 
